Some positive attention.

Beth's work day proceeded as normal for the first hour or so. She got up around 11:00 to go to the copy room, to make some copies for one of the cases on her desk. As she leaned over the machine, checking the settings, she could feel a presence in the doorway, and she looked back to see Derek Hawkins. Derek was a 30-year old contracts lawyer who worked on the same floor as the PI department.
"Hello, Derek." Beth smiled over her shoulder. "Looking for something, or....?"
"Hi, Beth! You look nice today." He smiled, coming into the copy room. "I need to run some copies myself."
"Why are you doing it yourself?"
"Yasmin isn't feeling well, so I told her to go home." Yasmin was his personal assistant, a perk of his position at the firm. It was whispered that he might be made a partner within a year or two, which would be amazing at his age. They had always been friendly, ever since she had started in the mail room. Derek was smart, funny, fit, and confident. 5'11", around 200 lbs, Beth would have guessed, with stylish dirty blond hair and a bit of stubble at all times. They even happened to work out at the same gym, Crunch Fitness. He sometimes watched her workout and get her pointers.
"That's sweet of you, Derek. And thanks for the compliment.." {if Office Attire = 1
}Beth was conscious, suddenly, of her lack of panties beneath her sundress. Derek's smile made her feel flushed, as well. {elseif Office Attire = 0
}Perhaps the tight, stretchy jeans hugged her ass a little closely, she thought. Derek didn't exactly stare, but she felt his eyes. {endif
}
When introducing her new fiancee to Derek at a firm party, shortly after her engagement, she had learned that Derek and Brian knew each other. They hadn't seen each other in a while at that point; Derek had been a year ahead of Brian at school. The interaction had been friendly, but when they had gotten back home, and Brian had gotten a bit drunk, he admitted that Derek had been his biggest bully in junior high and all through high school. Brian had been a bit of an introvert and geek in school: he hadn't gotten into fitness until college. He didn't like to give details, but she pieced together that Derek had picked on Brian constantly, calling him a "pussy" and a "f**" and embarrassing him in front of girls. Brian had admitted, while drunk, that Derek had banged a couple of girls that he had crushed on, including the girl he had intended to ask to junior prom. For her part, Beth had a hard time squaring that story with the lawyer she knew. Sure, sometimes Derek acted a little like an overconfident frat boy, and he wasn't going to win "LA's most Sensitive Guy" any time soon, but he was a good lawyer and high school was a long time ago.
"I can't help but notice I didn't get my invitation yet." Derek crossed his arms, leaning against the rack of paper and miscellaneous items.
Beth sighed. "It's a small wedding, Derek."
"That hurts me deeply, Beth. I thought we were friends. Besides," he grinned incorrigibly. "I had the perfect gift in mind for you." His eyes and tone gave the double entendre to his words.
"Always so funny."Beth rolled her eyes. The one way in which Derek was still an immature frat guy was the off-color jokes and flirting. But he wasn't her boss, and no woman at the firm ever complained that he went too far, including Beth.
"Tell me the truth. Brian said no, right?"
"That's not... I told you, it's-"
"A small wedding, yeah you said that." He had a smug smile that she found infuriating... and a little bit attractive. In her heart of hearts, she nursed a small crush on him, though she could never admit that to Brian.
"You don't have to cover, Beth. Brian still holds a grudge, right? Some people just can't move past high school, I guess."
Beth made a noise of frustration and grabbed her stack of papers from the copier. "Derek...."
"It's fine, Beth. I don't think my poor heart can take watching such a catch go off the market anyway..." he grinned so wide, that she couldn't help but smile herself despite the corny line. "Especially not to someone so below her league."
"Just had to ruin a nice compliment, huh?"
"Hey, you know how I feel. I've told you you can do better."
"Yes, you have. May I pass, please?" she indicated to the door, and he gracefully stepped aside.
"Well, enjoy the wedding... congratulations."
"Thank you, Derek."
Beth returned to her desk, a little flushed, and also a touch annoyed. It didn't feel good to lie to Derek: It was, of course, 100% Brian's reaction that had kept Derek off the invitation list. She was disappointed that Brian couldn't see that Derek wasn't the same kid he was in high school.
The rest of the day passed without incident. Around 2:30 pm, she got a call from Brian.
"Hey babe, what's up?"
"Hey, I just wanted to let you know that I got a call from my brother, Kyle?"
"Yeah?!" Beth was excited.
"Yeah. He just got into town, so I told him where to find the hide-a-key. He's going to crash on the couch for a little while, so I didn't want you to be surprised when you got home."
"Well that's considerate of you."
"I'm so stoked that he's home this early! We can actually do proper best man stuff, plan a real stag party..." he coughed, and continued, "Um... what I mean is... uh..."
"It's alright." Beth smoothed past his discomfort. "Listen, while I have you.... Are you 100% sure we can't invite Derek to the wedding?"
Silence on the other end for a second.
"I feel like I've made that very clear. Is he bothering you about it?"
"'Bothering' is kind of a strong word for it, baby. He brought it up is all."
"Well, my feelings haven't changed, honey."
"Ok.... I wish... he's not the same guy anymore."
"...I'd like to believe that, Beth. But there's just too much history. You understand, right?"
"Sure. I guess I just figured I'd ask." Beth tried to keep her disappointment out of her voice. Brian was kind of a baby when it came to this subject. "Thanks for the heads up. I'll see you tonight?"
"Yeah, late tonight..."
"Okay... don't wear yourself out, okay stud?" she purred.... and then realized they had gotten cut off. "God damn it."