Sarah’s expression soured slightly.

"The unofficial rule now is that dating should only happen outside work hours, no flirting in the office, no obvious displays. Which, honestly? Sounds exhausting. How are you supposed to build romance when you can’t even look at each other fondly during business hours?"

Neville thought about the hours he spent in Grayson’s office, maintaining professional distance to protect himself from caring too much.

"It’s not easy," he agreed quietly.

Sarah gave him an odd look. "You okay? You look... off today."

"Long nights." It wasn’t really a lie. "The new position comes with new responsibilities."

"Right, right, personal secretary to the big boss." She patted his shoulder sympathetically. "For what it’s worth, everyone knows you deserve it. The people complaining are just jealous."

"Thanks, Sarah."

She nodded and returned to her workstation, already pulling up the day’s task list.

Neville made his way to Grayson’s office and stepped inside.

Either way, he had work to do.

˚₊· ͟͟͞͞➳❥

The office romance situation, meanwhile, continued to develop in interesting directions.

Neville observed it from the side and found certain employees would conveniently end up in the same break room at the same time.

There were carefully worded messages exchanged on internal channels, the subtle dance of people trying to build personal connections without violating the unspoken rules.

Bryan and Iris remained the gold standard. They were professional to a fault during work hours, but there were small tells if you knew where to look. 𝕗𝐫𝐞𝕖𝕨𝐞𝗯𝚗𝕠𝘃𝐞𝚕.𝐜𝗼𝚖

The way Bryan’s face softened when Iris entered a room. The way Iris’s no-nonsense expression became a little warmer when she addressed him.

"It’s like watching a nature documentary," Sarah confided to Neville during a rare lunch break. "Corporate mating rituals in their natural habitat."

"That’s a disturbing way to phrase it."

"But accurate." She sipped at her nutrient solution. "Meanwhile, I can’t even figure out how to ask someone to get baragara with me without it seeming like a work thing."

Neville gave her a sympathetic look. "The key is probably context. Make it clear from the start that you’re interested in them personally, not professionally."

"Easy for you to say. You’ve already got the ultimate excuse for constant contact." Sarah’s eyes went to the ceiling, pointing at the executive office on the side. "Not that I’m suggesting anything."

"Good, because there’s nothing."

"Mmhmm." Her tone was deeply unconvinced. "Just saying—if I had access to an incredibly attractive, mysterious, powerful alpha for eight hours a day, I’d probably have developed some feelings by now."

Neville had an expression that seemed to say, ’Aren’t you an alpha too?’

Sarah shrugged at his expression.

Neville shook his head and said, maintaining a calm tone. "Mr. Maxwell is my employer. Nothing more."

"Sure, sure." Sarah waved her hand dismissively. "Just like Bryan and Iris were ’just coworkers’ for five years before suddenly being ’dating.’"

Neville really didn’t know what to reply to that.

Then, this continued for days, and Neville had enough of it.

He stared at the cluster of people gathered near the water dispenser. Their voices hushed but animated. Someone giggled, and another person slapped their colleague on the arm.

The atmosphere reminded him of high school back on Earth—when someone’s crush got exposed, and suddenly everyone became an expert on love.

All because of two people.

"Did you see them leave together yesterday?" one of the junior secretaries whispered, loud enough for half the floor to hear.

"I heard they went to that new restaurant downtown. The fancy one."

"Interstellaire Garden? That place costs half a month’s salary!"

Neville rubbed his temples.

Everyone was being too nosy in other people’s relationships.

[Host, the office romance is really heating up! ♥‿♥] Shelly chimed in his head, her mechanical voice practically dripping with excitement. [Should we take notes? This could be valuable research!]

’Research for what?’ Neville thought back irritably. ’I’m not here to play matchmaker for the entire corporation.’

[But Host~ Love is in the air! Even the system can feel it! ｡◕‿◕｡]

Neville ignored her.

The problem wasn’t that Bryan and Iris were dating. The problem was that their relationship had sparked a corporation-wide dating fever.

Sarah bounced over to his desk, her blonde hair swishing behind her. Her eyes sparkled with barely contained glee.

"Hope! Hope! Did you hear?"

"Which version?" he asked dryly. "The one where they’re already engaged, or the one where Bryan proposed with a mecha figurine?"

Sarah paused, tilting her head. "There’s a mecha figurine version? That’s adorable!"

Neville sighed. He had made a mistake. "I was joking."

"Oh." Sarah’s enthusiasm didn’t dim in the slightest. "Well, anyway, HR just sent out a new memo! Did you see it?"

He hadn’t. Neville pulled up his light brain and scrolled through his messages. His eyebrows raised higher with each line he read.

"They’re... requiring dating reports?"

"Only for interdepartmental relationships!" Sarah said, as if that made it better. "Something about workplace dynamics and conflict of interest assessments. Director Hatfield said it was ’proactive relationship management.’"

Neville stared at the memo. The form required everything short of a blood sample. Full names, positions, duration of relationship, frequency of dates, and—his eye twitched— in the section for "projected relationship trajectory."

"This is ridiculous," he muttered.

Some departments had apparently taken things even further.

The R&D department, with its characteristic enthusiasm for documentation, had created an entire database for relationship tracking.

Strategic Planning had implemented a "dating impact assessment" as part of their quarterly reviews.

And the Marketing? They had turned the whole thing into a team-building exercise, complete with compatibility quizzes and recommended date locations.

The interstellar era was strange, but this felt like it was crossing a line into absurdity.

"I know, right?" Sarah leaned against his desk, lowering her voice. "But between you and me, I think it’s kind of romantic. Like, the company officially acknowledging your relationship? That’s basically a corporate blessing!"

[Host, you should fill out one of those forms too~] Shelly suggested innocently. [Preference: Male Alpha. Projected Trajectory: Marriage and three kids!]

’Shut up.’

[So cold! ╥﹏╥]

"Anyway," Sarah continued, oblivious to Neville’s internal argument, "I was thinking about trying my luck with someone from Marketing."