She checks her phone at lunchtime

Her fork scraped along the bottom of the salad bowl without her really tasting it.

Spinach. Feta. Strawberries. Vinaigrette.

All of it might as well have been cardboard.

Emily sat alone at the little break table outside her office, the rest of the admin staff either out running errands or hiding behind closed doors. The blinds were half-drawn. The sun shone through in fractured streaks across the tile floor.

She glanced at the time.

12:41.

She hadn’t thought about the phone for… well, maybe three minutes now.

The drawer felt like it had been humming all morning.

Buzz.
Pause.
Buzz-buzz.
Silence.
Then one more, right before she left for lunch.

She hadn’t checked.

She’d been proud of that.

But now, sitting there with her bowl mostly empty and her appetite gone somewhere she didn’t want to name, she pushed her chair back and stood.

Slid into her office.

Closed the door.

Walked straight to the desk drawer and opened it.

Her phone screen lit up the moment she touched it—five notifications stacked like unanswered questions.

All from Will.

She sat down. Quietly. Crossed her legs. Unlocked the phone.

The first one had come less than a minute after her photo.

Will:
…Jesus.

Then, two minutes later:

Will:
That was the sexiest thing I’ve ever seen in my life.

Then:

Will:
I don’t even know what to say.
I mean, I could say a lot. But I won’t. Unless you want me to.

And finally, five minutes after that, just before 10:00 a.m.:

Will:
You’re incredible, Emily. That photo’s already burned into my brain. I haven’t even opened it again. I’m scared I’ll stare too long.

Emily sat back, phone resting in her palm.

She hadn’t expected poetry. Hadn’t even wanted a response.

But something about his words… the way they hovered between reverence and restraint…

She felt her cheeks warm again. Not just from embarrassment.

From power.

She took another bite of salad. Chewed slower this time.

Her phone buzzed again in her hand.

A sixth message.

Still from Will.

Will:
If you ever want to hear what I thought the second I saw it… I’d tell you. But only if you asked.