Mary glanced to her right. Lex was leaning back in her chair with her legs folded and her hand wrapped around one knee. She had her eyes fixed on the stage.

Mary couldn’t imagine Lex suddenly being super interested in the latest eco-friendly packaging. She thought Lex was probably only pretending to be paying attention.

So was Mary. It was the last day of the conference and the lineup of speakers was impressive. But not impressive enough to keep Mary from staring at Lex way too often.

Every time she stole a peek, she discovered something new she liked about Lex. The subtle birthmark right under her earlobe, for example. What an excellent spot to place a soft kiss.

And the delicate veins on Lex’s hand were an invitation to follow their path up to her slender shoulders. Mary wondered what Lex’s skin would taste like.

But Mary knew she would probably never find out. Lex had made it clear she didn’t want that to happen. She didn’t want anything to happen between them.

What had Lex said again? That they shouldn’t act on their mutual attraction? Well, Mary didn’t know how that would work. Not now that she knew that Lex liked her too.

Yesterday, after Lex’s text from the bathroom, Mary had been ready to talk. And frankly, for a few minutes, she had believed a lot more than talking could happen.

But Lex had taken things in a completely different direction. Rationally, Mary knew Lex had been right to do so. There were plenty of reasons to take a step back.

They were co-workers. They hardly knew each other. And they lived in different worlds. What exactly had Mary hoped would happen?

Really, she had had no other choice than to agree with Lex’s suggestion. It was the only thing that made sense. But that didn’t make it easy.

Last night, Mary had kept telling herself this plan would work. She was mature enough to put her feelings aside, wasn’t she? It was just a silly crush after all.

She just had to get through two more days of being around Lex. The weekend would bring a welcome break. Mary was sure some time alone would help.

But getting through this first day had quickly proved to be more challenging than expected. Her resolve had evaporated as soon as she had seen Lex this morning.

The dark grey blouse Lex was wearing had instantly stirred the butterflies in her stomach. It fell open just enough for Mary to get a glimpse of what was underneath.