Tris is kind.
Tobias hated the fact that everyone in the office liked her. They didn't see her in a romantic way, but just in general. She comes across as warm and welcoming. She's easy to talk to and open to everything. Although she may have some strong opinions about certain things, she will respect other people's point of view. Everyone who knows her has something good to say about her. She will always say hello to you, wave discretely, give you a head nod or acknowledge you in some way whenever you cross paths with her. When she walks into a common area, you can feel her presence before actually seeing her. The atmosphere feels calmer and lighter. Her aura is strong enough to shift the atmosphere. It pulls Tobias towards two different directions. On the one hand, it makes him proud of her because he is finally starting to admit to himself that he is falling in love with an amazing girl. However, he is also conscious that she is well liked and he probably isn't the only one to feel something for her. Nothing has ever happened between Tobias and Tris, but anyone working with them could see that there was some kind of mutual attraction between the two.
Tris is modest.
Tobias stood up from his desk and looked over to Tris just in time to see her finish a conversation with her project manager, Peter.
"It's done. The article has been sent", he heard her say.
"Well done, Tris," Peter replied and high – fived her.
Tobias smiled at the interaction. He knew that Tris was good at her job, but again, a little part of him was proud of her. Peter was a harsh boss. He didn't give a lot of compliments to his team, so when he did, you know that you've done an exceptionally good job. Tris smiled broadly and turned back to her computer, trying to keep her smile in check. She looked up once more to see Tobias staring at her. She gave a polite smile before typing away on her computer, blocking out the world around her in order to meet yet another deadline. Ever since Tris joined the company, she's hit the ground running. Projects were thrown at her on a daily basis, deadlines were to be met every couple of hours and she has been juggling everything. Some days she made it look like it was the easiest thing to do; wondering around the office, taking her time making her coffee in the kitchen, stopping to exchange a few words with others. However, other days, she could tear her hair out. She would walk with a vacant look, thinking about what she has done already and what else still needs to be done before the end of the day. From where he was sitting, Tobias could see someone approaching in his peripheral view. He turned his head and no doubt, Tris was walking towards him. His heart immediately started to hammer in his chest as he pretended to be deeply engrossed in his current task. He hated the fact that he felt like he was in high school again where he had to pretend to play it cool. Although some people had doubts about his feelings towards her, he wanted to keep it on the down- low as much as possible. He quickly glanced her way again, only to see that she had stopped at Will's desk, his boss. As they were going through a project together, Tris was scribbling notes on her paper until Uriah came along.
"Beatrice, Beatrice. The girl I was looking for!" Uriah started. "Will, did you know that without Tris, the presentation that we did yesterday would have gone horribly wrong? As the audience started firing questions at us, Tris single handedly answered every single one of them with no hesitation. Honestly, I wish you could have been there to see it. She saved our ass out there."
"That's Beatrice in a nut shell for you!", replied Will proudly.
Tris looked uncomfortable with the appraisal and lifted her gaze to meet Tobias'. He looked at her, raised his eyebrows and turned the side of his mouth downwards. He simultaneously gave a small nod, his way of saying "not bad!". Tris smiled a little, rolled her eyes and shook her head.
"You're just saying that. You would have been just fine without me, Uriah. You know everything like the back of your hand!" Tris answered, deflecting the compliments. Uriah was the kind of person who will always see the best part of people and he loved everyone just like everyone loved him. Although Tris knew that Uriah often compliments everyone, she took his compliment at heart and a part of her was proud of herself.
Tris is loyal and genuine.
Two qualities rarely seen in people nowadays.
"Zeke and I go for coffee every week. Usually it's the same time and same day, but some weeks we change things up a little bit," Tris was telling Tobias.
"You and Zeke, huh?" he couldn't stop himself from asking.
Tobias knew that there's nothing going on between the two of them. They simply work in the same team and Zeke was engaged to Shauna. However, there's a side of Tobias which has always been a little jealous of his best friend. Zeke gets to work closely with Tris and Tobias often catch them in the middle of a conversation before one of them would burst out laughing. He envies Zeke whenever he sees Tris stand up and walk up to Zeke's desk. Sometimes she sits down and they talk for a while and other times it is something that she needs from him which is work related. Every Thursday morning, Tobias sees Zeke wait for Tris by the door to go get coffee with her. Whenever they come back, Tris looks more relax and ready to start her day. Tobias has already questioned Zeke about it, unable to hide his curiosity.
"She talks", Zeke explained. "She says everything that is on her mind and she knows that I won't judge her. She loves her co-workers Nita and Lynn, but I think they can be quite over bearing at times. It's reciprocal too. Some days I'm the one who does all the talking and she simply listens and hears me out. She's important to have on the team. Somehow, she balances everything out."
Tris is fun and carefree.
Although she can pass for the quiet, discrete, introverted girl. Tris knew how to have a good time. Not necessarily going out for drinks or party, but simply taking things lightly. She didn't make a fuss of things and would avoid drama. Tobias loved that about her. Tris was conscientious of her surroundings and she always made sure that she was giving a positive image of herself. However, not everyone can be pleased and everybody cannot like everybody. If something happened or people were talking about her, she simply did not care about it. She knew exactly what was being said, but she keeps her head on her shoulders, and walks around the office like nothing is wrong. She's got the mental attitude where if someone has a problem with her, she expects them to come talk to her and be upfront about it. If no one says anything, Tris will simply assume that nothing is wrong. She doesn't listen to rumours either. She lets people think whatever they want about her, but as long as she knows the truth about herself, she doesn't care. People judge, it's a human instinct, but only a fair few get the actual picture. She is smart enough not to take things seriously and if someone joked with her, she will not hesitate to banter right back.
Tris is strong.
Tobias has witnessed some colleagues go through a hard time, and who is always there by their side? Tris. She somehow always knows the right thing to do or say. Tobias knew that she didn't have an easy life, yet, she walks around with a smile on her face every single day. Tobias often wondered how Tris can manage that. He's seen Tris upset in front of her computer before, but who comforts her when she needs it? He's caught her off guard a few times where she was taking deep breaths in front of her screen with glistening eyes. Tobias couldn't say that he knew Tris well enough to tell her that he was there, but he somehow hoped that she knew that. She's never explicitly told anyone what has happened to her in the past, but he's heard snippets here and there from various people. He's heard that both of her parents had passed away in a car accident only a few months ago. However, looking at her on a daily basis, you would never have guessed.
Unknown to Tris, one morning Tobias saw her walking towards the office with her earphones plugged in. On a closer look, he realised that she had tears streaming down her face and Tobias knew without a doubt that she was going to turn around and call in sick. He was surprised when he saw her lift her head and march into the building like she owned it. Stepping into reception, she swiftly made her way to the bathroom and 10 minutes later, she walked out without a tear stain on her cheeks. Tobias had observed all of that and kept a close eye on her throughout the day, waiting for the moment when Tris would loose it and call it a day. That moment never came. Tobias eventually cornered her in the kitchen area and casually asked if she was okay, like he would ask anyone else. She turned around with a wide smile, a twinkle in her eyes.
"I'm doing great! How are you, Tobias?", she replied.
He almost believed that he had imagined seeing her that morning, but whenever her tear stained face re-appeared in his mind, his heart clenched a little too much for it to simply be a figment of his imagination.
Tris, Tobias realised, is his everything.