She leaves the pizza box outside on her desk, and collects the plates from his desk. A moment later, she's putting a plate in front of him. "Two slices, pepperoni and bell pepper, extra cheese because I like to live dangerously."

She settles into her chair with her slice balanced on the corner of his desk, and pops the top on her Coke. There's a moment of awkward silence as she tries to shift from working mode into social mode. During the day, it's busy enough, she never has to deal with the fact that he -- lights her up like a damned Christmas tree.

Just the scent of him in the room is enough to make her trip over her own tongue, let alone the deep resonance of his voice and the warmth of his smile. Having him alone is such a rarity these days, she hasn't had to think about it. And she thinks she's done a pretty good job of keeping it under wraps. She's a professional. But this is different.

"So..."

Smooth, Karen. Really smooth.