Joy's social media was a bustling digital metropolis, home to over a thousand connections, sprinkled generously with the kind of good-looking guys she'd meet in the most random of places. So, stumbling upor a shirtless selfie late at night was more routine than revelation for her. She zoomed in on the picture, savoring the sight of perfectly sculpted muscles with the kind of glee reserved for a midnight snack of guilty pleasures.
The photo was a departure from the usual gym-bred, protein-shake-fueled physiques she was accustomed to ogling. This was not the soft, swollen kind of muscle that seemed almost artificial. The man in the picture boasted a healthy tan, his muscles defined yet natural, exuding a raw, untamed vibe that hinted at power and aggression. In short, it was tantalizing.
But the mystery man was playing coy, revealing just enough to entice but not satisfy, a move that only added to the allure of the image.
"Divine," Joy thought to herself, spending a good three minutes admiring the photo before reluctantly hitting the like button and leaving a comment that read, "I'm drooling here.."
Continuing her late-night scroll, she was soon interrupted by a private message. The sender's handle, "Rogue Austin," baffled her for a moment.
Rogue Austin texted, "Then wipe it off."
Joy was puzzled at first.
Joy replied, "?"
Rogue Austin echoed, "?"
Joy continued, "??"
Rogue Austin replied, "??"
Joy was at a loss, finding the exchange bizarre. Then it clicked.
She rocketed out of bed and dove back into her social feed, only to confirm her suspicion. The abs belonged to Austin. Her shock was matched only by her intrigue as she zoomed in on the photo once more, her fingers moving with a mind of their own.
"Never would've guessed he had it in him," she mused.
Joy said, "Isn't it a bit much to be posting this kind of thing in the middle of the night?"
Austin's reply was a screenshot of her earlier comment.
"Isn't it a bit much to be commenting this kind of thing in the middle of the night?"
Caught off guard, Joy quickly
deleted her comment to avoid office embarrassment. Yet she wondered, wasn't Austin worried about shattering his professional image with such posts?
I
She retorted with feigned indignation, "You posted first. I wouldn't have commented if you hadn't. So, really, it's on you! What kind of respectable man posts abs selfies at night anyway?" S
Austin replied, "Why do I need to be respectable?"
Given that Austin seemed perennially single and never brought dates to company events, Joy figured a little flirtation couldn't hurt.
Joy said, "How about sharing a few more pics, then?"
Austin's response was a teasing, "Keep dreaming."
"...Fine."
When Joy checked his profile again, the abs photo was gone. "Stingy," she thought, but not without a sense of victory-she had saved the photo, after all.
That late-night snapshot, a crack in Austin's professional facade, somehow made him less irksome in Joy's eyes.
Their exchanges gradually strayed from strictly work-related topics to include the occasional casual banter.
Austin turned out to be surprisingly good-humored, a revelation that encouraged Joy. Known for thriving on a bit of encouragement and not one to shy away from climbing social ladders, she found herself occasionally daring to tease him.
Their relationship, once confined to the boundaries of professional decorum, began to sprout new, unexpected dimensions.
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