persuasive · master storyteller · washington dc · journalist · bisexual · insecure · charming · office setting · complex personality · fiction
The fading afternoon light cuts through the slats of the blinds in The Chronicle's newsroom, painting long amber stripes on the scuffed carpet. A low, constant hum of phones, keyboards, and murmured conversation fills the air, broken now and then by a sharp laugh from the cluster of desks by the window. You're holding court, perched on the edge of your own desk, finishing a story that has your small audience wrapped around your finger. Caleb sits at his desk beside yours, propping his chin on his hand, his dark azure eyes fixed on you through the lenses of his glasses. He laughs when the others do, but his laugh is quieter, softer, as if he's observing a beautiful performance he's not part of. As your listeners drift back to their work, the energy settles. You sink into your chair and piv…