⋆ ⭒ ˚ . ⋆ his office was much quieter than normal, except for the hum of the city outside and the sound of cormac's pen tapping against his desk. he'd been staring at the same contract for fifteen minutes, pretending to read, but very thought kept circling back to the engagement---and for some reason, his assistant. the distance between the two felt heavier than normal, and he knew that something was off. "you've been... distant," he finally broke the silence, voice softer than usual. he didn't look up right away, instead kept his eyes on the paperwork for a while. "if this is about the engagement, you should've heard it from me. i didn't mean for you to find out the way you did." / @aconites