Murmurs of relief sounded through the room when the clock finally chimed for break, signalling the staff exodus to the break room.

Clarissa looked to Gus, who was staring at her -  again. But this time his mouth was open as if to say something.

"Hi, Gus!" Jocelyn's honeyed tones oozed out as she ran up to his side and slid a hand up his arm. "I'm so happy you're here. I wasn't sure you were coming today."

Gus snapped out, "Jocelyn." With a last glance at Clarissa – was there disappointment in his eyes? – he turned towards the door; Jocelyn hot on his heels.

Maxine grabbed Clarissa's hand and took off after them.

Jocelyn practically ran to try catching his arm again before he wrenched open the stairwell door. "It's such boring work, isn't it?" Her false laugh trilled out.

"As if she'd know!" Maxine stage-whispered and Clarissa chuckled along with the few people nearby.

Gus loped up the one flight to the staff room level. Clarissa smiled inwardly as the heavy fire door banged shut in Jocelyn's face, cutting off her next remarks.

"Do you mind?" Maxine said as she pushed past Jocelyn to open the door and enter the hallway.

Jocelyn sniffed in protest and shot Clarissa a venomous look before elbowing her out of the way to get through the door.

Jocelyn's voice carried throughout the staff room as she rushed over to the coffee machine where Gus was pouring himself a cup. "Oh, Gus! Would you be a dear and get me some coffee?"

She leaned on the counter and pressed close to him. The fingers of one carefully manicured hand walked up his arm and under the soft grey material of his T-shirt sleeve. She was smiling coquettishly up at him through her long lashes.

Just as she'd done with Billy Mueller before Gus arrived, Clarissa thought, disgusted.

Snickers were heard throughout the room as he shook off her hand. "Excuse me," he said curtly, stepping deftly around her and walking away.

Jocelyn's face drained of blood.

Someone whispered loudly, "Pay up."

Jocelyn glared around the packed room and then strode to the exit and viciously flung the door open. Several people's laughter followed her out.

"I won this round!" Maxine said and waved over the others in the betting pool to collect her winnings. The pool of betters around the table swelled. Jocelyn wasn't one to back down easily.

Clarissa listened to the heated debate of the betting pool as she clandestinely watched Gus thread his way toward the back of the room. Several people gave him nods of approval on the way.

The near shout old Bobby spoke in due to his hearing problem carried to Clarissa when he stopped Gus to say "Jocelyn is one bad apple, but most o' the rest of us are right peaches!" Bobby cackled and slapped Gus on the shoulder in that manly-man way and shuffled off to get his own cup of coffee.

As if he knew where to look, Gus instantly found Clarissa's eyes when he turned to sit at a table against the back wall. She squeaked and leaned into Maxine as a shield. His chuckle carried over the room's conversations when, several seconds later, she peeked out and found him still looking at her. 

Leaning down Clarissa peered through the space between Maxine and Cary Philpot to watch Gus watching her table. Her stomach tightened and her skin tingled at the thought of those hazel eyes singling her out. Her heart sang: He rejected Jocelyn!

Someone asked Gus a question and he turned his head to answer them.

Judging the coast clear, Clarissa leaned in. "Max, I'm going for coffee." Clarissa doubted Maxine heard her through the heated debate of Jocelyn's next move.

Clarissa sprang out of her chair so quickly it almost fell over. She darted to the coffee machine and punched in an order for cafe au lait. One of the perks about working at Sant Publishers was the free, kick-ass coffee machine in the staff room.

She drummed her fingers on the laminate countertop as she waited for her cup to fill. "Come on! Come on!" she urged.

"I find coffee machines to be particularly bad conversationalists," Gus said softly behind her.

Clarissa jumped and turned. At five foot seven, she wasn't exactly short, but he stood so close she had to tilt her head to look up at Gus' six-foot-one frame. She could see how the green and brown flecks made up the hazel colour of his eyes. The heat of his body radiated out to her, and the faint smell of some cologne wafted off him.

"Ugh..." she said. She couldn't clear her head when he stood so close. "How did you get over here so fast?" she blurted, then cursed herself silently, I sound like an idiot! Of course, she felt the heat of a blush creep over her cheeks.

"Well..." Gus drawled, his eyes twinkling in anticipation of teasing her. "I'd like to fly, but I had to use my legs this time."

Reflexively, Clarissa glanced down at his legs. The faded denim of his jeans hugged his powerful thighs and calves.

"I mean," Clarissa stumbled. "Didn't you just get a coffee? How did you drink it so fast?"

"Ah, I see. Well, I wasn't able to actually get a cup since there was ... such an unpleasant crowd ... around the machine when I tried before." He cocked up one eyebrow, and Clarissa's lips twitched up to reflect his impish smile.

Joy at sharing a private joke with Gus clashed with the guilty feeling of laughing at someone's expense, even someone as shallow as Jocelyn.

He continued, "Now, there's just the right amount of people over here to get one easily, and I crowd I like to be around."

Clarissa was drowning in the direct gaze of his hazel eyes. Why did guys always get long dark lashes like that?

"There's just me." Clarissa said, then her mouth formed an "Oh!" as his meaning became clear.

To hide the sudden flames engulfing her cheeks, she jerked back around toward the machine to hastily remove her own steaming cup before sticking an empty one under the faucet. "Uh... what kind of coffee do you want?" Her finger hovered over the selection buttons.

Gus' breath tickled the back of her neck. As he reached to push the button for black coffee, his hand brushed hers, sending thrills of electricity up and down her body. "Just black coffee will do. I like things simple and uncomplicated." Gus' voice caressed her ear. "Are you a milk and sugar girl?"

Clarissa kept her eyes trained on her cup as she turned. Scalding him with her coffee would really kill the flirting mood. "Cafe au lait." She took a cautious sip, grateful her hands weren't shaking. "My stomach and coffee fight unless there's a lot of milk. Usually the coffee wins." She shrugged and glanced up at Gus, sure he was thinking how lame she was.

Instead he was chuckling, with her, not at her, she realized. He was standing just a touch too close for the sake of social custom. His arm brushed her shoulder and sent a fresh surge of delight through her as he reached around her to retrieve his own cup. They stood sipping in silence, staring at each other over the rims.

Clarissa was so involved in watching his lips curl over the paper rim, she started when he asked, "Why not tea?"

"Huh?"

"Tea? If coffee doesn't agree with you, why not tea?"

Clarissa blinked. She looked down at her cup, surprised to see it still there. "Uh, it's a really great coffee machine. And, I really like the taste of coffee, I guess." So, completely lame .

The buzzer signalling the end of break sounded and Clarissa jumped. "Here, allow me." Did his fingers close deliberately over hers when he plucked the empty cup from her hand?

Clarissa turned to go – and found herself staring at the grinning faces of almost everyone on the shift. The few sourpusses were, not surprisingly, Jocelyn's little posse. Maxine flashed a thumbs up. Clarissa didn't have to wonder if a whole new round of betting – on her - had begun.

Gus placed a hand lightly on the small of her back. "Shall we go?"

"Ugh." Clarissa managed to get out before mechanically following the others down the stairs.

All the way to her work bench her back tingled where Gus had rested his hand ever so briefly. She was sure he would have pulled out her chair if there had been one before he went back to his station across the table from her.

Gus smiled at her whenever he caught her eye, which was about every other minute since she couldn't resist looking at him.

As the clock moved painfully slowly towards lunch, Clarissa was nearly screaming in her need to talk to Maxine about what had happened. Maxine had all sorts of dating experience, while Clarissa had almost none. She'd been asked a few times, but the few first dates she'd had never produced a second.

The warmth that spread from her stomach when Gus smiled at her made her wish she had more time for dating. It had never been high on her priority list between working every part-time job she could get her hands on to supplement her mom's disability cheque and pay for her mom's MS medication. Somehow, with all that, she'd managed to get grades high enough for a horticulture scholarship to the local college. Not that Clarissa had any regrets. Even when her mother was in the depths of depression, Clarissa loved her fiercely.

At five minutes to lunch, the supervisor, Mr. Ferndale, came out of his office. "Gus! A word, please." Gus flashed her a quick smile before he left.

As soon as he was out of earshot, Clarissa leaned over to Maxine. "Max!" she hissed. "He's flirting with me!"

Maxine's grin went from ear to ear. "I know! It's great!"

"No! It's not!" Maxine's eyebrows shot up. "I don't know what to do! You know I'm a bumbling dolt around guys. And why me? I mean... I'm just... me!" Clarissa huffed in exasperation.

Maxine looked shrewdly at Clarissa. "You don't give yourself enough credit," she said gently. "Just go with it. You did fine at break. Just breathe and relax, and let it play out. Just be yourself. And have fun." Maxine poked her in the ribs. The unending support in Maxine's eyes buoyed her up. She nodded, secure in the knowledge Maxine had her back.

"Fun. Be myself." She closed her eyes and straightened her shoulders. "Okay! I can do this." She thought of her lame responses earlier and her shoulders sagged. "No, I can't, Max. I'm an idiot."

The buzzer sounded for lunch, and people began to swarm out of the room.

Max poked her ribs again. "Yes, you can." Jocelyn passed by, shooting them a venomous look. Apparently her posse had faithfully reported the coffee incident. "It's clear he recognizes a good woman when he sees one."

Minutes later, Clarissa sat on the edge of her hard plastic seat, toying with her cheese sandwich and jumping every time the staff room door opened. By the end of lunch, her nerves were so frayed from waiting for Gus to show that she dragged herself, exhausted, back downstairs to the work room.

Why hadn't he come for lunch? Had he gotten in trouble with Mr. Ferndale? The questions swirled around her as she took her place across from Gus' empty spot.