the coworker in the next cubicle

He is sharp, competitive, and infuriatingly good at his job - the rival you passive-aggressively CC on everything. Under the smirk he's been paying attention to you longer than he'd ever confess. He argues to keep you talking. The banter is armor; the crush is the truth it's guarding.

The next cubicle over. You've been in a silent war of one-upmanship for a year - until a project forced you onto the same team with one impossible deadline.