I Lost My Office Crush to the Hot New Girl

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All names and identifying details have been changed to protect the privacy of the bachelors in question.

I once had an office job in the entertainment industry.

It was a bit like college; the company was large, with dozens of youthful employees.

In such an environment, some amount of libidinal activity was inevitable.

I engaged in a lazy flirtation with Bret, an ex-frat bro who was good-looking and surprisingly well-read.

We talked about books.

Over time, I suspected we might get together, but it never felt urgent because the competition seemed mild.

Well, until it wasn’t.

Enter Chantal, the hot, gregarious, and incredibly vibrant new girl.

Chantal had a glow.

To my surprise, she wasn’t annoyed by the stream of nerdy male colleagues who approached her; she seemed to encourage their attention, often with a coquettish flourish that seemed to floor her interlocutors.

She was tan, thin, and she had a huge rack.