I'm not sure if anyone cares about this anymore because I took forever to update lol, but I still love writing this as one of my outlets. I'm going to try to update more often now that my head is finally back in it. If anyone is still along for the ride, I hope you enjoy!

Let the tension grow...

Tris had never been one to care much about fashion, but she had to admit that she felt pretty damn happy in her pencil skirt, button down, and heels. It took about half of her energy to keep herself from grinning like a crazy person, and half of her energy to actually walk in the heels without breaking an ankle. Anyway, it wasn't the clothes that made her happy so much as the purpose of her clothes- this outfit, this corporate attire, signified the long awaited start of her career.

She took a deep breath to steady herself, as she walked into the office and was greeted by the same secretary that she met on the day of her interview. The secretary hastily told her that she could see herself to Tobias Eaton's office, so she did just that.

Breathe, her brain chanted, as she walked towards his office. Breathe, breathe, breathe.

She walked into the office and knocked lightly on the doorframe to alert him of her presence. Through the frosted glass barricade that separated her desk from his, she saw him look up.

"Tris," he greeted her, as he stood up. "Welcome, it's good to see you."

She felt her throat go dry, as he came closer and stood in front of her.

Get a grip! she thought to herself. Now was not the time to sort through her completely inappropriate infatuation with her new boss.

"It's great to see you too," she said, immediately kicking herself for the obvious awkwardness and nervousness in her voice.

He smiled a little before motioning to the desk closest to the door.

"So, this will be your desk obviously," he said, as he pulled the chair out. "Why don't you start getting set up and we'll start training in a bit?"

"Sure, of course!"

For a moment, she hesitated before realizing that he had pulled the chair out for her. The realization only came when he gestured for her to sit while still holding onto the back of the chair.

"Thank you," she said softly, trying desperately to ignore her heartbeat. It wasn't enough to be handsome- he had to be a gentleman too?

He simply nodded, as he began to walk around the barrier back to his desk. As he sat back down, she could still hear him through the barrier.

"It's obviously pretty close quarters in here," he chuckled a bit. "I hope that's all right with you."

"Oh, that's okay," she replied.

That's more than okay.

The first week flew by, and Tris already felt that she had a strong grasp on her position. Tobias himself had told her that he was impressed with how quickly she was picking things up, and they had begun to develop a good working relationship. Tobias had even started asking small questions about her personal life, and Tris tried her best not to overthink it.

Now, it was Saturday morning, and Christina decided to force Tris into a gym outing. Between of both of their work schedules, they had barely had time to talk to each other despite living with each other. As they worked out, Tris listened to Christina chatter away about her most recent date with her boyfriend Will as well as how work was going for her. Finally, as they moved off to the side to stretch, the conversation inevitably came back to the topic that Tris was dreading.

"So, how's work for you?" Christina asked. "How was your first week?"

"Fine," Tris said quickly, making Christina raise an eyebrow at her. "It's been good, I feel like I'm really getting the hang of it."

"But?" Christina prodded.

"But what?"

"Tris, I know you. I can tell when you're hiding something, so out with it!"

After a quick eyeroll and sigh, Tris decided that she might as well come clean. Christina was like a dog with a bone- she knew she wouldn't stop pushing until she got an answer.

"Okay, fine. Maybe I've been feeling a little... distracted?"

"Distracted?" Before Tris could reply, Christina smirked. "Ooh, distracted."

Tris rolled her eyes, as Christina wiggled her shoulders playfully, the smirk never leaving her lips.

"Please stop that."

"Hey, I don't blame you," Christina continued. "I was ready to quit my job and take yours when you showed me that picture of him."

"I'm sure Will would love that."

"He'll get over it," she smirked. "So what has been going on?"

"Nothing, really, it's stupid," Tris sighed. "I just have this stupid crush on him I guess, but I'm sure it'll pass."

"Stupid crush? Tris, you don't have crushes."

"I know, that's why this is so confusing. I feel so drawn to him. I can't even explain it- I mean, I barely know him, but every time I see him, I just feel something."

"I know what this is about," Christina interjected. "You need to get laid."

"Christina!"

"What?" Christina giggled, as Tris' face turned red. "It's been like over a year at this point, hasn't it? That would explain why you're swooning over your boss, of all people. I think you just need to get it out of your system!"

Tris buried her face in her hands and groaned. Over time, the two both realized that Christina was far more open about her sex life than Tris, but that did not stop her from trying to pry and give her input on Tris' sex life any chance she got.

"Speaking of swooning over your boss..." Tris peaked over her hands, as Christina gestured across the gym. "Isn't that the guy from the picture?"

Tris whipped her head around and looked across the gym only to see the one and only Tobias Eaton. Here. In the same gym as her. Lifting weights in a shirt that only made him look more muscular than usual.

"You've gotta be kidding me," she muttered, as she turned back to face Christina, hiding her face from Tobias' view in the process.

"You should go say hi!" Christina smirked.

"I'm not going to say hi to my boss while I'm covered in sweat and only wearing a sports bra!"

"You're not covered in sweat, and that sports bra looks cute on you." She started wiggling her shoulders again. "Maybe you can show him what he's missing!"

"Shut up," Tris grumbled, as Christina giggled to herself.

"Fine, don't say hi. Whatever. But I stand by what I said: You've been out of the dating game for a long time. Maybe this little crush is your body's way of telling you that it's time to get back out there."

Tris stretched quietly for a moment while she considered it. After she broke up with her long-term boyfriend, she dedicated all of her time and energy into taking care of her mother. Once her mother got better, she dedicated all of her time and energy into finding a job. And now that she had one, things were finally starting to settle down for her. Maybe now was a good time to get back into dating. Especially if dating would get her mind off her silly crush on her boss and help her focus better at work.

"Maybe you're right," Tris finally muttered.

"I'm always right!" Christinz grinned, as Tris rolled her eyes. "You should download some dating apps, and I'll swipe for you!"

"I don't know about that."

"Well, how else is it gonna happen? You're too nervous to approach people at bars and shit, and you're always picky as all hell when I try to point someone out to you. Hey, what about Al?"

"Chris," Tris said in a warning tone.

Al was a friend from college. Back in those days, Tris, Christina, Will, and Al traveled like a pack. He was a good friend, and they all had a great time together, but there were times that Tris found herself put off by Al's defeatist attitude. She also noticed pretty quickly that any time Robert joined the group to hang out, Al would suddenly turn standoffish and passive-aggressive.

Once Christina and Will started dating, Tris immediately noticed a shift in how Al acted around her, even when Robert wasn't around. One night, he even joked that they were practically on a double date. Will and Christina were too wrapped up in each other to notice, but Tris couldn't shake her discomfort at his implication for the rest of the night. After that, she tried to pretend like nothing happened. Al distanced himself for a bit, but he eventually joined the group for hangouts again. Still, ever since graduation, he didn't come around as much as he used to.

"I'm just saying," Christina continued. "He clearly had a thing for you, and you guys already know each other-"

"No. It's a no."

"Fine, no Al. But just so you're aware, I'm not planning on dropping this dating thing any time soon."

"You think I don't know that?"

Christina smirked, as she continued her stretching. Tris sat up and took a deep breath. She chanced to look over her shoulder, and there he was. Still working with the weights. Still showing off his muscles...

She froze, as Tobias turned and made eye contact with her. For a short moment, it seemed that he was surprised to see her too, but he composed himself quickly. Weights still in hand, he smiled politely and nodded a bit. Tris smiled sheepishly and waved quickly before turning back to face Christina who was already smirking back at her.

"Not a word," Tris muttered.

Tobias watched her turn away before turning away as well. He lowered his weights onto the floor and reached for his water bottles, as his friend Zeke nodded in Tris' direction and smirked.

"And who is that?"

"Relax," Tobias said. "That's my new assistant."

"Oh, that's your new assistant?" Zeke grinned, as he observed Tris again. "You failed to mention that she's very close to you in age-"

"Why would I mention that?" Tobias scoffed.

"I don't know, man, I was expecting it to be some old lady or something." Tobias let out a humorless laugh, as he picked his weights up again. "You also didn't mention that she's hot."

"Zeke."

"That's the kind of thing you share with friends, Tobias."

"Can you focus please?" Tobias groaned.

"Is this why you wouldn't go out with us the other night?"

Tobias rolled his eyes, as Zeke kept that stupid, shit-eating grin on his face. It was just the other night that Zeke had tried to rope Tobias into a double date with Zeke's girlfriend, Shauna, and Shauna's work friend, Nicole. Apparently, Nicole confided in Shauna that she was looking for a relationship, and that somehow became Tobias' problem. Zeke showed Tobias a picture and told him about Nicole and then proceeded to beg him to go, but Tobias would not let up. After hearing about her personality, he knew off the bat that it wouldn't be a match. Nicole was looking for a partner to spend every moment with, experience every experience with. And Tobias was, without a doubt, not.

"You're too damn picky," Zeke continued before Tobias could answer. "That's what it is. She smiles too much? You hate it. She calls you Toby? You hate it. She's a little on the dumb side? You hate it."

"That one was completely valid. She thought Africa was a country, for gods sake."

"Come on, man," Zeke chuckled. "You're ridiculously picky, you hate approaching people, and you find something wrong with anyone who approaches you. How are you expecting to find anyone?"

"Who says I'm trying to?"

Zeke rolled his eyes and chuckled before picking up his own weights and moving on with his workout. Tobias watched him for a moment before looking over his shoulder once more. He watched Tris and her friend, as they put away their mats and started walking toward the locker rooms. As if she could sense his staring, she looked up, smiled sheepishly and waved at him once more, and he nodded back.

He couldn't deny that she looked good, though he would never say that out loud. But what concerned him much more than that, was that he was suddenly struggling to find a flaw.