They were best friends for years, sharing every secret except one. When Felix finally confesses his feelings, Josephine lets him down with a gentle lie: she's not interested in men. Heartbroken but determined to keep their friendship, Felix tries to...
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Ryan leaned back in his chair, squinting at the details of his design on the monitor. The hours had dragged as he refined his latest commission—a promotional graphic for a local arts festival—and he could feel the strain settling in his neck and shoulders. Even so, he was close to finishing and so engrossed that he hadn't noticed the steady stream of colleagues filtering out of the office. The faint sounds of footsteps and the occasional goodbye had become background noise to him, blending with the soft hum of computers and the faint whir of the air conditioning. Only a few desk lamps remained lit, casting a warm, almost intimate glow across the quiet workspace.
Ryan's eyes skimmed over the graphic, catching on details that only he would notice: the faint asymmetry in the font size, the slight off-balance of the color gradient on the left side, and a few stray pixels near the logo. His hands moved automatically, fingers tapping across the keyboard and mouse, bringing each detail to perfection. He prided himself on his attention to the small things, the things that clients might never even see, but which added up to a polished, professional finish. To him, those were the details that separated good work from great work.
Outside the office window, the city lights glimmered in the distance, blurred by the reflections on the glass. It was getting late, but Ryan barely registered the time; he'd entered that focused, almost meditative state where time seemed irrelevant. Tonight, he needed to be in that state. He was close to the end, and a final sweep would ensure there were no mistakes.
Just as he leaned back to take a short breather, he heard a soft knock on the doorframe. Startled, he turned, and there was Josephine, standing just outside his office. Her expression was warm, a slight smile playing on her lips as she took in the scene—him hunched over his work, the room bathed in the glow of his monitor, the silence almost palpable. She leaned against the doorframe, crossing her arms loosely in front of her.
"Hey, are you heading out soon?" she asked, her voice gentle but with a touch of amusement. She knew his work habits well enough by now.
Ryan stretched, rolling his shoulders to shake off some of the stiffness. He looked up at her and smiled, a faint, tired smile that he hoped conveyed his appreciation for her patience. "I was, but I need to get this done tonight," he replied, gesturing to the screen. "The deadline's tomorrow morning, and I'd rather finish it now than worry about it all night."
Josephine stepped closer, moving behind him to get a look at his work. Her fingers brushed lightly across his shoulders, a subtle but comforting gesture. She leaned down slightly, peering over his shoulder at the screen. "No problem," she said softly, her eyes scanning the graphic with a hint of curiosity. "It looks good, though. I can see why they picked you for this."
