It was a Monday and I crawled into the office, looking like I hadn’t slept in two days. That was because I hadn’t as I had just broken up with my girlfriend, Rebecca, when it came to light she had been cheating on me through most of our (thankfully) short relationship. I hadn’t been up all night distraught or anything like that, but out of spite she had only come for her stuff after midnight both days of the weekend. I let out a big sigh and thought, Well it’s over now, I just need to make it through today. I slung my bag to the side of my desk and I began dragging my feet across the office carpet towards the break room for a desperately needed cup of joe.

        As I rounded the corner I jolted to a stop as a small figure appeared in front of me with a yelp.

“Oh, hi Tiff. Sorry about that..”, I said, trying to stifle a yawn.

“No worries, Conroy, I was actually looking for you!” Tiff said, bubbly enough to have obviously already had her morning cup. She held a mug up to me and I gratefully took it, not even saying thanks before taking two big gulps. When I say she held it up to me I meant it, as Tiff was only 4’7” tall. Her short black hair was perfectly straight and styled into its usual messy but professional pixie cut, and she wore a blue pantsuit, just slightly baggier than others around the office, as I’m sure pretty much all clothes were on her. I lowered the cup and I saw her slender arms pulling the pot off of its base before she glided over to give me a refill.

        “Thanks”, I muttered as she poured.

“Rough weekend, huh?”, she said with a bit of concern on her face. It was plainly visible that she already knew about my woes, and I smacked my forehead with an irritated groan.

“Let me guess, Tiffany heard I broke up with Rebecca and the whole office knows as well.”

Tiff just nodded in confirmation, and returned my tired gaze understandingly. There were two Tiffany’s in the office. Tiff’s full name didn’t suit her petite frame and calm demeanor, so she just went with Tiff. She worked as an assistant for one of the floor managers, and was always running around delivering projects and messages to the staff. The other Tiffany was named TiffANY and don’t forget it. She worked the front desk and her name suited her perfectly. She was a ruddy faced blonde who lived to gossip. It didn’t surprise me that despite only meeting my ex at last week's winter office party she had somehow become close enough with her to have heard the news before I made it to the office.

        I shook my head. And put the mug back out for a third refill. Tiff obliged and simply said, “Hang in there, buddy. I’ll stop by to make sure you're still awake when I can.” I nodded and turned to get to work, realizing that I had been inconsiderate a few steps later. I stopped and turned back as Tiff started a new pot of coffee. “Uhm, thanks for the coffee.”, I said. “Think nothing of it! What are office buddies for?”, she said through a grin.

“...”

“Something else to say?” she asked with her head slightly tilted.

“Thanks for not asking what happened, too.”

She waved dismissively, “Forget it, we both know I heard the whole story from Tiffany anyway.”

Despite myself I let out a chuckle. Tiff raised her own mug in a toast of camaraderie and scooted off to her duties without another word.

Maybe it won’t be such a bad day after all. I thought as I trudged back to my desk.

I proceeded to fall asleep four times throughout the day. Three of those times Tiff caught me, but once the Boss did. He was thankfully pretty understanding, probably because he heard all the gossip too. At the end of it all I shuffled towards my car in the parking lot, bleary eyed, when I felt my keys leave my hand. I bent over to pick them up and nearly bonked heads with Tiff, who was holding my keys. “Yeah you aren’t gonna be able to drive.” She said flatly. I opened my mouth to protest when she said “Boss’s orders.” Sure enough, I looked behind me and he was standing behind the glass doorway. He gave a little wave, and I raised a couple fingers in return.

        “C’mon, I’ll take you home, and I can pick you up tomorrow so you can get your car after work then.” I begrudgingly nodded and crawled into Tiff’s hatchback.

     The ride was uneventful, we didn’t say much at all until we passed by the big construction site downtown. “Kinda crazy to think about, huh?” she said. I nodded knowingly. A few years ago part of downtown had been destroyed when a girl contracted the Growth Virus and grew to nearly 160 feet tall, one of the biggest known cases. Most women only grew to be 7’ or slightly taller if they contracted it, and quickly returned to being just slightly taller than before thanks to a drug called NoGro. They say this particular girl had only just turned 18, and the reaction was particularly strong due to strong adolescent hormones still in her system or something. It was an oversimplification, as everyone reacted differently to the virus, but that was the best I understood how someone could have such a strong reaction.

“It must be scary, going out of control like that”, Tiff said.

“Even scarier to be 15' tall for the rest of your life.” I added.

"Men have it easy," Tiff said, "if you catch the virus you may gain some muscle, a few inches of height and it's over, you don't even have to take NoGro everyday." 

"It's true." I replied. I noted that she didn't mention the most common side effect for men; an increase in the size of their sex organ. "But it's not like you would mind being a little taller right?" 

Tiff shook her head with a wistful look in her eye. "It took me a long time to get comfortable with who I am, I'd hate to have to do it again. Besides, what would you do all day at the office if I wasn't always getting you to reach the high shelves for me?" She said with a grin, looking at me side-eyed with her head still pointed at the road.

I chuckled at that, and the car turned quiet again as we turned off the highway and into the residential area where I lived.

    Shortly after thanking Tiff for the ride and promising to be more alive tomorrow, I got a message from my Ex on the one app I hadn’t blocked her on. Already letting a LITTLE floozy drive you home? It read. I blocked her without responding. “Fuck her and Tiffany…” I murmured as I crawled into bed without even brushing my teeth. As I drifted off I thought, What does she know? Just because Tiff is nice to me doesn’t mean there’s anything between us.

Right?