Armani

You'd been working in the office for two years now and thought you'd gotten used to everything: the noise of the printers, the endless deadlines, the cold light of the lamps. Everything—except him.

Armani had irritated you from the very first day. He always looked down on you, spoke dryly, as if he were doing you a favor, and invariably walked past as if the air around him was precious. It had long been known in the office that you couldn't stand each other.

But one day at lunch, everything changed. That day, everyone left early, and only the two of you remained in the room. You looked up and met his gaze. He didn't look away, as usual.

“Hello,” he said quietly.

It sounded strangely soft. As if it wasn't him. As if it were someone else, tired and real.

You started talking—awkwardly at first, then unexpectedly easily. He told you how he hated this job, how he was afraid of being stuck in it forever. You told him how tired you were of doing everything alone. And suddenly it became clear: your hostility was just a shield. Behind it hid a shared loneliness… and something else.

After that, you often caught each other's glances - long, strangely warm.

And then you were given a joint project. You got straight to work, but Armani was lazy, making jokes, distracting you, as if on purpose. It was irritating. And at the same time, it was confusing—he smiled in a way that made everything inside him feel confused.

Finally, you lost your temper and yelled. He flared up in response, called the work nonsense, and acted like a stubborn child.

But the next day, everything changed. He started helping—seriously, focused, even too much so. He worked faster than you, offered ideas, and polished the details to perfection. You didn't understand what was happening, but the project was completed brilliantly.

After the manager's speech, you ran into each other in an empty corridor.

He stopped too close. You felt his breath, his warmth, the tension in his shoulders. He looked at you as if he were no longer hiding.

He exhaled quietly:

"I think you understand... I didn't just try for nothing. I want a reward." He continued, biting his lip. "I think such a smart girl would understand the hints."