Close To Me - Norman Jayden x OC, WIP

An "Office"

The next time she saw Norman, she had returned from the crime scene a few hours later and caught him throwing an imaginary ball while wearing ARI again, as he did when they first met. He seemed to have dried off slightly, but there was definitely dried mud present on the hem of his slacks and over the arms of his suit coat. His brown hair looked darker from the dampness, but still held a suitable shape. Curse men for still looking so damn fine after a Philadelphia rain storm.

She tried to stem that thought, knowing full well that she would have a problem with how attractive he was upfront, after only just managing to stay professional to a point on the last case they worked on. She would fail this time round, no doubt, but she damn well was going to try. 

Nevertheless, she had other things on her agenda and instead sauntered into the bullpen while peeling her leather jacket off, revealing the crisp, white dress shirt she was wearing tucked into her black slacks, her leather shoulder holsters adjusting as she stretched her arms. Natalie could feel eyes on her back, shaking the feeling that maybe he could have been watching her. She chalked it up to her being a familiar face in the station. That was, until someone clapped her on the back with a loud guffaw. 

"You look like a soaked cat!" It was Blake, notorious for his attempted advances on her and overall teasing. She herself was notorious for humiliating him, regardless of his teases or advances. Natalie held back the urge to roll her eyes, instead catching a few of her co-workers rolling their eyes for her at their desks. She gave them an appreciative smile.

"Bug off, Carter. I have an office to get to." She laid on the fact that she had an office thick, causing a deep scowl to change his features. Officers around them all laughed at his expense, cat calling when she winked and blew him a mocking kiss as she leaned against her office door. 

"Oh big deal, Nat. You know---"

The catcalling and shenanigans stopped when Captain Perry appeared from his previous meeting, approaching Charlene at the secretary's desk and muttering a few words to her. It seemed like he hadn't seen a moment of their previous interaction, and everyone quickly returned to what they were doing with their own subtle, cheeky grins.

That was when she caught Norman's eye. It was coincidental, but as he lifted himself from the chair he had been waiting patiently in, his icy stare caught her eye. He acknowledged her with one of his curt nods. The brunet had a smirk on his own face, making her aware that he had seen what had happened. Mustering up a bit of courage, she winked mischievously at him as she reached to hang her coat up on the rack outside her office. 

She knew how he would react, although she tried not to get her hopes up in case he really was in the zone for the case. It still surprised her a bit, as he didn't seem thrown off at her behaviour at all, raising his brows playfully at her before changing his expression to a neutral one when Captain Perry rounded on him, likely at Charlene's instruction. Natalie bit her lip with her smile, shaking her head as she retreated into the safety of her office. She closed the door behind her, leaning her back against the door and releasing a heavy sigh.

What was she doing? Mustering up her courage to flirt subtly with the cute guy from the Bureau? She had an internal argument with herself while she puttered around her office and straightened her clothing out from the heavy rain. Sure, she could be a flirt and a suggestive person, but at any given, normal time she was just a simple girl with a knack for justice.

This was the guy she told about her break up from last year just a few months after it happened. To be fair, he was able to pry it out of her but already that information was less becoming. This was also the guy who's partner slash romantic interest died in a mission gone wrong last year. Even if he had told her he was fine about it, she wasn't so sure.