The door had barely closed behind Asher before the silence shifted.
Elara felt it.
That look.
The one where everyone pretends to be busy… but isn't.
She slowly sat back down at her desk.
The keyboard tapping around her resumed.
A little too loudly.
A little too deliberately.
Maya rolled her chair over first.
"So," she began casually, spinning once before stopping beside Elara's desk.
Elara didn't look up. "No."
"I haven't asked anything yet."
"You're about to."
Daniel appeared on the other side of the desk, holding absolutely nothing important.
"How long?" he asked calmly.
Elara finally looked up. "How long what?"
"How long has this been happening?"
"Nothing is happening," she said firmly.
Maya gasped dramatically. "You brought him to the office."
"He came to drop off documents!"
"With that soft voice?" Maya raised an eyebrow. "That was not a 'documents only' voice."
Elara blinked. "There are different voices now?"
"Oh absolutely," Daniel said. "There's business voice. Friend voice. And whatever that was."
She stared at both of them like they'd lost their minds.
"You're overanalyzing everything."
Maya leaned closer. "Does he always look at you like that?"
Elara's fingers paused over her keyboard.
"Like what?"
"Like he's… proud of you."
She hesitated.
Because that part had felt real.
Daniel nodded. "He wasn't trying to impress you. He was impressed by you."
Elara cleared her throat, pretending to read something on her screen. "He just said I looked different."
"In a good way," Maya pressed.
"That's normal."
"That is not normal," Daniel replied. "Most people don't notice that much."
Elara tried to focus on her work again, but her coworkers were relentless.
"So where did you meet?" Maya asked.
"At a café," Elara answered automatically then froze.
Maya's eyes widened. "You answered too fast."
"It was casual!"
"Was it though?"
Elara sighed. "We just talk sometimes."
"Sometimes?" Daniel repeated.
"Yes. Sometimes."
Maya crossed her arms dramatically. "Define sometimes."
Elara gave her a look. "You're being dramatic."
"You like him," Maya said bluntly.
Elara's heart skipped.
She didn't respond immediately.
Daniel watched her carefully. "You smile differently when he's around."
"That's not true."
"It is," Maya said softly this time, less teasing now. "You're more… open."
That made Elara pause.
Open.
She hadn't noticed that either.
She was usually careful. Composed. Steady.
But with him…
She laughed more. Talked more. Relaxed more.
She shook her head slightly. "We're just getting to know each other."
"That's how it starts," Daniel said wisely, as if he were a relationship expert.
Maya leaned her chin on Elara's desk. "Do you feel nervous around him?"
Elara thought about it honestly.
"Not nervous," she said slowly. "Just… aware."
Maya's expression softened. "That's kind of sweet."
Daniel nodded. "Yeah. It's not dramatic. It's calm."
Elara finally looked at them properly.
"Why are you both acting like this is some big event?"
"Because," Maya said, standing up straight, "our calm, composed, emotionally stable Elara has a soft side."
"I always had a soft side."
"Not one we've seen," Daniel teased.
She shook her head, trying to hide her small smile.
"Okay," Maya said, clapping her hands lightly. "Important question."
Elara groaned. "What now?"
"Is he coming back?"
"I don't know."
"You want him to?"
Elara opened her mouth.
Closed it.
Then shrugged. "Maybe."
Maya squealed quietly.
Daniel raised his eyebrows in approval.
"You like him," Maya said again, this time gently.
Elara didn't deny it.
She just looked down at her desk, adjusting a paper that didn't need adjusting.
"…He's easy to be around," she admitted.
Maya smiled warmly. "That's the best kind."
The teasing slowly faded after that. Work resumed. Emails were answered. Phones rang.
But every now and then, Maya would glance at Elara with a knowing smile.
And Elara would pretend not to notice.
Yet deep down, she couldn't stop thinking about one thing
The way he had looked at her.
Not dazzled. Not dramatic.
Just… proud.
And for some reason, that felt warmer than any teasing could.