When Christine entered her father's office and found it set to "welcome" lighting, she breathed a sigh of relief. He was in a good mood, at least. Perhaps that would make the task at hand a little easier.

"Hello dear," he said tiredly as he flipped through a thick stack of papers. He was growing to regret his decision of taking the paperwork side of the business.

"Hey dad..." she took a seat at his desk. He looked up inquisitively.

"Something on your mind?"

She shrugged casually. "Oh nothing big, I was just wondering if you had time to discuss a few ideas I've been thinking on."

Gustave gladly set his mountain of paper aside. "Certainly. What have you been thinking?"

Christine shifted in her seat. Here goes nothing. "Just a couple small things...like...what would you think about commissioning a mural for that big blank wall next to the elevator?"

His eyes brightened and he nodded. "That's a great idea. What would it be of?"

"Music themed, of course. I thought we could let everyone submit ideas, narrow it down to a few basic things, and then just let the artist work from there."

"I like it! I'll ask Nadir to track down a good artist for us."

Christine nodded absently, tapping her palms together. Casualness was key. There was nothing different about this conversation than all the other conversations she had with her father. "And then, the other thing...I was wondering if it might be time to revisit a few of our office policies?"

Gustave pursed his lips and cocked his head. "Alright, which ones?"

"Well...I think no snacks in the conference room isn't really needed. As long as people are discreet and still paying attention, I don't see why we can't let them have their morning coffee during the briefings."

He paused, considering this for a moment. "Sure, alright. We can do away with that one."

She smiled. "Great. And then...I thought it might be nice to extend everyone's lunch to forty five minutes? They work very hard, I think they deserve it."

He nodded. "Definitely. That's fine."

Her smile grew. This was going better than expected. She took a breath.

Keeping her voice level, as if her next words were a mere afterthought, the very last thing she was concerned with, and certainly not the sole reason for this discussion,"And how about the policy against management employee relationships?"

Gustave's expression changed. His easy smile disappeared, replaced with a hesitant grimace. "I don't know about that one..."

Christine attempted to conceal her crushing disappointment. "Why not?"

He sighed and shrugged his shoulders in a helpless gesture. "Well you know why it was instituted in the first place. When our floor supervisor started dating the recruiter all hell broke loose."

She rolled her eyes. "Oh come on, that's a bit of an exaggeration.

"Barely! She let him get away with everything! He was coming in late, missing appointments, not clocking out for lunch! Mixing romance and business never ends well."

"But that was a long time ago," Christine argued. "We have much better staff now, staff we can trust."

Gustave's eyes narrowed at her insistence. A sly smile creeped over his face. "What's bringing this on anyway?"

Christine's heart burned a path straight to her stomach. She managed a shrug. "Nothing, really. I was just thinking it seems a little dictator-ish, saying who our employees can and cannot see."

"Nooo," he he chimed incredulously. "There's something else, I can see it on your face..." He stared at her intently, his smile slowly growing. Christine froze, lips parted in terror. She didn't dare speak. Gustave tapped his fingers on his desk thoughtfully as he watched her, wheels turning. Then, it hit him.

"I know."

Christine's pulse skyrocketed.

"It's Justin and Emily, isn't it?"

A dying man finding a desert oasis would have felt less relief than Christine did at that moment. Letting out a breath she didn't know she had been holding, she smiled.

"Yes, Justin and Emily. Ya."

Gustave gave a short laugh and smacked his hands together. "I knew it! I thought those two seemed awful close."

Courage renewed, she pressed on. "So don't you think it would be kind on our part to abolish that policy? They're both excellent employees, I don't think it will be an issue."

His victorious smile slowly faded once again. He gave an exasperated sigh. "It's not that I disagree. I do trust them. But it's the principle. We can't push aside such an important policy on the whims of individuals. Not to mention, there's no guarantee we'll always be able to trust all our employees."

When Christine's face fell, he continued with a sigh, "Look, how about a compromise? I can't allow an employee and their direct supervisor to become involved. But perhaps if they were in different departments, that would be allowable. Maybe there's a position for Emily in Artist Relations?"

"Sure...I'll look into it..." she responded numbly. But unless there was a position for Erik in Artist Relations as well, her father's compromise was far from satisfactory.

Then she nearly laughed. She was direct supervisor for every department. There was quite literally nowhere for him to go.

What exactly had led to them walking through the parking garage instead of the front door, Erik wasn't sure. Christine hadn't been herself all day. She had been quiet, subdued, and most surprisingly, focused. She had also barely glanced at him, which would have hurt his feelings had he allowed himself to acknowledge it.

As they had approached the office on their way back for the day, she had mumbled about needing something from her car. Then she made a detour to the parking garage. Erik, of course, followed. The entrance and the elevator near where she parked were at opposite ends. A long stretch of yellow tinted concrete lay before them.

An idea occurred to Erik. One that he absolutely hated. One that he would have never fathomed a few months ago. But Christine was clearly upset. And he hated to see her upset. He didn't feel it was his place to ask her what was wrong. But perhaps he could cheer her up another way.

"Do you recall the verdict we reached during last weeks' discussion?" He asked.

She gave him a quick glance. "No. What discussion?" Her voice was flat.

He chuckled. "I'll give you hint. My verdict was that you cheated."

Slowly, she turned to him, eyes dawning with understanding.

"I think it's only fair I receive recompose, don't you?"

They stopped and looked at each other. Christine began to smile ever so slightly. Her body tensed as she waited. Her eyes were inquisitive yet challenging, daring him to make a move. He let her stand on edge for about five seconds.

"OnetwothreeGO!" He started running before he finished speaking.

Christine shouted a protest as Erik shot away like a bullet. She chased after him with a giggle. His legs were, in fact, much longer than hers, and he covered ground quickly. Realizing she didn't stand a chance in her current footwear, she kicked her feet out as she ran, sending her heels flying. Now barefoot on the smooth concrete, she pushed harder.

It wasn't long before she was gaining on him. Erik looked over his shoulder, expecting to see Christine yards behind him. Instead, he found her right on his tail. With a cry of surprise he turned and tried to dig deeper.

His effort was in vain. Christine was soon even with him. Then as they drew closer to the elevator, she began to pull ahead.

"I hope you're ready to eat it!" She quipped joyfully.

Erik managed a few long strides to close the distance between them. "Oh I don't think so."

Reaching out, he snatched her by the waist, pulling her back. She gave a cross between a laugh and a scream as she suddenly found herself jerked to a stop. Erik pulled her against his chest, wrapping both arms around her middle.

"You cheat!" She squealed, kicking her legs out. Erik lifted her off the ground as if she weighed nothing. "You double cheat!"

"Oh look who's talking!" He managed through a laugh.

"Put me down!" She fought half heartedly against his grip.

"Not until you admit you're the cheater."

"I am not! I was winning!"

"Barely."

She giggled and pried against the arms that held her in place. "You couldn't even win with a head start you cheater!"

He laughed again and turned his body to maintain his grip as she struggled. He happened to glance up as he did so, eyes landing on the elevator.

The doors were open. And there stood Gustave, watching them.

If Erik thought he had ran fast, it was nothing compared to the speed with which he now released Christine and created a foot of space between them. At first Christine looked at him in confusion, disappointed at his sudden change in demeanor. Then she followed his gaze to the elevator.

"Oh! Dad…"

"Hello there…" Gustave said slowly. His eyes were flitting between them. Aside from the slightly downward tug of his lips, his expression was blank. "Sorry to interrupt…"

"You're not," Erik interjected quickly.

"No, no, I was just…um, we were just," Christine stumbled. "We had a race…" was her weak attempt at explanation.

"I see…interesting kind of race…"

Christine bit her lip, wondering if she should risk saying anything else. Gustave seemed to decide for her, bringing the conversation to an end with a slight shrug. He began walking past them.

"Welp, it's been a long day. I'll see you both tomorrow." He paused in front of Christine. "Goodnight dear," he said with only a slight smile. He turned to Erik. "Evening Erik."

The smile was gone.

When he walked away the pair slowly started back toward the elevator, crimson faces barely concealed by the yellow glare surrounding them. When they stepped inside and turned around, they both saw Gustave standing at his car, eyes fixed on them. He continued to stare until the doors fully closed.

The elevator was deathly quiet for the first two floors. Then, Christine spoke.

"Well! That was awkward."

Had he not been completely mortified, Erik would have laughed. "Indeed."

Silence. The screen displaying the floor number captured both their attentions for a solid minute.

Christine spoke again, her voice deadpan.

"I forgot my shoes."

They slowly turned to each other, eyes blank.

Then Christine snorted and they both broke down laughing.

By the next morning, the remaining awkward tension had thankfully dispelled. Gustave greeted Erik with a friendly smile as he always did, and Erik returned it. Perhaps he did so with a bit of extra politeness, but otherwise, things appeared back to normal.

Extremely normal, in fact. Recently Erik had began reflecting on the predictability of his days. Aside from Christine's roadside distractions, which almost always consisted of food, each day was remarkably similar. He arrived at 8, waited until Christine was ready to go, followed her around all day - in utter emotional turmoil, of course - and then went home. For someone who had apparently suffered three kidnapping attempts, her last several months had been quite uneventful. And aside from making sure a few over eager patrons minded her personal space, Erik hadn't had to act as much of a guardian. In fact, at times he felt more like her errand buddy.

And on this, another predictable day when Erik was waiting faithfully by the elevator, something different did in fact happen.

He was looking at the two coffees in his hand, trying to remember which one was his before he took a drink. When he looked back up he found Jessie, the friendly blond receptionist, standing in front of him.

"Hello!" She said cheerfully.

"Hello," he deadpanned, already wanting to know what this was about and when it would be over.

"How are you?"

"Fine. And you?"

In his introduction to office curtesy, Nadir had impressed upon him the importance of returning that question. Even if he didn't actually care. This girl seemed to think that he did, however, and took it as an invitation to continue.

"I'm doing great, thank you. It's been a lovely morning. How was your weekend?"

Erik was thoroughly confused. "…fine?"

"That's good! Mine was so boring, I'm almost glad to be back at work." She laughed at herself. Erik attempted a smile. "Did you do anything interesting?"

What was going on? "Uh...no, not really."

She pursed her lips. "Bummer. Maybe one of these days we'll learn how to use our off time huh?" She laughed again. Erik tried not to look as uncomfortable as he felt.

Jessie continued to talk, seemingly unbothered by his lack of response. "By the way, I've been meaning to ask you, where do you get your suits?"

When his brow furrowed in confusion she elaborated, "Oh, my brother is getting ready to start a new job, and his wardrobe is positively hopeless. You should have seen him, he actually thought that jeans and a tucked in shirt was appropriate for a job interview!"

Another laugh. Erik had yet to understand what was so funny. "Anyway, I remembered how your suits always look so nice, so I was wondering where you get them?"

He blinked a few times, then answered, "Um…online."

Her eyebrows went up. "No way, really? They fit so well! I thought for sure you must get them tailored."

He shook his head. "I just know my size."

"Well that's certainly impressive, most men I know don't even know how to pick a shirt properly, much less order an entire suit online and have it look that good!"

She was laughing again. Erik wondered if he was suppose to laugh to, and that's why she kept doing it. Fortunately he was saved from having to wonder much longer, as Christine finally made her appearance.

"Good morning Jessie. Erik."

"Good morning Miss. Daae," Jessie answered happily. "I have your schedule all laid out and emailed to you."

"Very good, thank you. Have a wonderful day Jessie," Christine said with a smile as she pressed the elevator button and accepted her coffee from Erik.

"You too ma'am. Bye Erik!" She gave him a friendly little wave as she turned to leave. Erik just nodded, still very confused over the whole interaction.

They weren't in the elevator very long before Erik noticed something was up. Christine kept turning every time he tried to look at her, her lips in a tight line as if she were hiding a smile.

"What's so funny?" He demanded finally.

Christine looked up at him innocently "What do you mean?"

"You know exactly what I mean, you're over there smiling. That appears to be the thing to do this morning. Is something about me amusing?"

At this, Christine finally let out the laugh she had been holding. Erik scowled as she struggled to regain her composure, her cheeks turning pink.

"I just find it quite hilarious," she managed after a deep breath, "how you obviously didn't notice that poor Jessie was flirting with you."

Erik's mouth dropped, sending Christine into another giggling fit.

"W...what?" He stammered weakly.

"Oh come on, you seriously didn't notice at all?"

"I...I don't..."

Christine held her hands up, indicating for him to watch her, then demonstrated in a dramatically breathy voice, "Oh! Erik! Your suits look ever so good on you," she grabbed one of his lapels and ran her hand down it. "How ever do you manage to look so good? Why I dare say your fashion sense is far superior to any man I've ever met." She flung her hand against her forehead for effect, being careful to do so while holding her coffee. Then she collapsed into a laughing mess.

Erik scoffed and pushed her hand away. "You mean you heard all that, but didn't come put a stop to it sooner?"

"Of course not, it was far too entertaining."

Erik crossed his arms and frowned like a petulant child. "Well then, if I see anyone bothering you today, I might just have to sit there and watch."

"Hey!" She lightly punched his arm. "At least Jessie is innocent, she just has a little crush on you is all."

Erik huffed. "Yes well, I'm not very good with those sorts of situations. Surely there's some policy against workplace romance to be my convenient scapegoat."

It was a surprisingly excellent, if somewhat unexpected opportunity, to naturally bring up the question he had been silently wondering for the past several months. He certainly couldn't ask Nadir. And he had lost his employee handbook about two days after he received it.

Christine laughed again, quieter this time. "No there's not, actually."

"Oh?" Damn, that sounded more enthusiastic than he had intended.

She shook her head. "Nope, not amongst co-workers..." she took a sip of her coffee, then fixed her eyes on the lid, "Just amongst management and employees…"

"Oh." This time he definitely wasn't enthusiastic. "Well, that makes sense…" He crossed his arms and his body tensed up.

Something changed in the air between them and Erik immediately hated it. The lightheartedness was gone. In its place was a heavy tension that neither of them could address. But that didn't stop him from trying.

"Well, I guess I'll just have to break it to Jessie that blonds aren't my type."

Thankfully, that got Christine laughing again. He watched her face carefully, wondering if she would pick up on the fact that he was not completely clueless when it came to flirting.

But other than the slightly red tips of her ears, she didn't appear to notice.

That night, the first thing Erik did was rip off his suit jacket and throw it across the room on his way to the kitchen. He got out his scotch, poured a glass, drank the entire thing and poured another.

He was indescribably angry. At what, he wasn't completely sure. Likely himself more than anything.

What did he think was going to happen? He was going to start dating his boss and everything would carry on without a problem? No, surely he hadn't been that stupid. Hadn't he lectured himself countless times already on the futility of his foolish emotions? Then why did he care about some ridiculous policy so much?

He thought about all the reasons he shouldn't care. He had already made up in his mind that nothing would ever happen. A policy didn't change what reality already was. It just put it on paper. He downed another drink.

Perhaps it was for the best. His dealings with women had never gone well. It always came down to the mask, always. Christine was no different. She would have wanted to know eventually. And he would have refused to show her. And she would have left. And then he would have found himself once again, alone. He downed another drink.

The sweet contradictions began whispering to him. Remember the way she looked at you? No one has ever looked at you like that. She never looks at your mask. Maybe it's not so impossible. Maybe you can find another job. Maybe…

Right on cue, the demons charged forward. Look at you. Grasping at straws. Pathetic. Why do you think she told you about the policy in the first place? Your pathetic feelings ooze from your corpse of a body, she can see right through you. She wanted you to know. So you would stop polluting her company with such disturbing thoughts.

He downed another drink. Perhaps he could beat this. Perhaps he could remind himself of how little she should mean to him. She was just a pretty girl who he saw everyday. Perhaps his own feelings weren't even real. Perhaps he had just been alone too long and now his mind was inventing things that weren't there. It wouldn't have been the first time.

Yes, that was all there was to it. He was simply bored and lonely and Christine was a woman who wasn't all that unpleasant to look at and happened to smile at him occasionally, and sometimes made him smile back, and always said the funniest things…and always looked him in the eye, instead of at his mask…and had the most gorgeous chestnut hair…and the voice of an angel…and the kindest heart…

He downed another drink.