Marianne knocked on the propped-open closet door. “Miss Martin?”

“Oh, you can call me Alina,” I reminded her.

“You weren’t responding to your instant messages, so I’m here to deliver a few messages.”

I glared at the weak, flickering router on my desk. “I wasn’t notified I had any. What’s going on?”

“We had a few potential office spaces opening, and Mr. Mae thought you’d like to see them.”

“Absolutely!” I practically skipped out of the room. “I can’t believe Damon organized something so quickly. Or was that you, the administrative team?”

She smiled. “He moved it to ‘high priority.’”

 This was the first time any of my propositions had been assigned that category. And it was just moving. Maybe this was thanks for the soup and contract assistance.

“I appreciate your assistance, regardless,” I said.

“Thanks! Same,” she admitted.

“But I didn’t do anything.”

“Um, the delivery yesterday? I can’t tell you how many people were messaging me.”

“Right.” That didn’t feel like a favor. It was somewhere between my job and… family. That was what it was like at my dad’s company. Were we at that stage already?

I hated to read too much into it. I barely had any friends yet and the secretary still used titles and my last name. But one day, maybe one of these people would like me.

At least I had Damon.

Or at least he’d pretend.

As Marianne led me on a mini tour of the office, a head of spiky hair popped up over a white-cased computer. “Heyyy, Alina, right?”

Stunned, I paused. It was the guy from the baseball game—the third baseman. “Hyunsoo! Hi, how are you?”

He pushed his glasses up. “I’m chill. What are you doing here?”

“I work here now.” I clasped my hands, proud and shy all at the same time.

“Oh, we got you as a ringer?”

Laughing, I waved my hands. “No, no, I’ve retired from baseball. But maybe a business ringer?”

“I think they call them sharks.”

“Oof. That sounds scary,” Marianne said.

“Sharks aren’t scary! They’re actually really cool,” he insisted.

We spent a while chatting at his station before we told him we had to be off to see the other room.

“Oh, you should check out the view.” He double-clicked his mouse and hid the tab of cute shark pictures. “I’m totes jealous.”

I gestured behind him. “You have a whole wall of windows right there!”

“Yeah, but I have to turn,” he said, unironically demonstrating, “and sometimes it puts a glare on my screen.”

“Don’t worry, Marianne, I’m not that picky,” I assured her. “As long as it doesn’t trap me—”

His eyes popped wide. “You got trapped?”

“It wasn’t that bad.” I coughed.

Marianne sucked her cheek, hiding a smile. “No, you seemed awfully cosy.”

“Anyway, let’s go see this office!” I dragged her off down a hall, my heartbeat racing. “Um, Marianne, have you told anybody—”

“No, no I’m sorry!” She flushed, hiding her cheeks. “It was just kind of funny. Plus, Mr. Mae was sick, and you have a cough today…”

What was she implying? That I caught his cold? Or feelings?

“Whatever our relationship is, I’d rather people here judged me on my management capabilities before factoring my personal life into things. If this got out before I’ve had a chance to prove myself, people might question Damon’s leadership. I don’t want to cause problems for your company.”

“Agreed.” She nodded, resolute. “Besides, so far, you two make a great team.”

“That’s nice to hear. And he’s really not biased. Sometimes, I’m not even sure he likes me.”

Giggling, Marianne opened an office door. “Sure, Alina.”

Alina! I got the first name!

And the most beautiful, tiny office in the world! Good enough for the next few years, at least.

“This is fantastic! Thank you.”

“My pleasure.” She bowed her head and smiled. “The computer is mostly set up. I’ll let you arrange things how you want, but just message me if you need anything else. I have to get back to my desk.”

“You go, I can handle this.”

She left and I shuffled around some smaller items. The only big thing I needed to move was the bookshelf partially in front of the window. Who would want to block the beautiful view of the city?

I took a bunch of empty binders out and tried to guide the bookshelf onto its side—gently, gently!

“Hey, how are things going?” Damon asked from the doorway.

As I turned, the bookshelf caught on a piece of carpeting. It toppled hard and fast. I tried to catch it, and Damon ran to help, but it still managed to clip me.

“Owww!” I pulled away and shook out my hand and foot. “Yessica is going to kill me.”

“You okay? Let me see.” Damon knelt by my side and inspected my scuffed nails. My heartbeat pulsed loud and strong as he splayed my fingers. Could he feel it?

“Hmm… you might have some bruises,” he assessed”

“Don’t we all?” I joked, biting my lip under his curious gaze. “I’m pretty sure this building has it out for me.”

“Maybe you should make it a peace offering. Just don’t burn any sage. It’ll set off the fire alarms.” He patted my hand, then hesitated before helping me to my feet. “Should I pay for your manicure since it got ruined on company property?”

I burst out laughing. “What? No! Gosh, you almost sound like my dad.”

His shoulders stiffened. “I do not sound like him.”

“Most of the time, you’re correct.” I flexed my hand out in front of us, joking, “What do you think, should I sue for damages?”

“How do you feel about bribery?” He adjusted his shirt collar. No tie today. “What do you think, should we start looking for a ring?”

The words sunk in slowly.

“Yes! Yes,” I repeated more calmly, holding my own hand. “That would be lovely.”