I heard she was going to the nearby coffee shop to meet a new colleague of hers at 2pm, which gave me an hour to think about how I might slip her a note.

On a small piece of paper I wrote, You’re beautiful, call me sometime followed by my phone number. An hour later I took a moment to build up some courage, then walked to the coffee shop.

I saw her and, thankfully, her back was to me. I ordered a small coffee, pulled the note out of my pocket, and walked towards her. When I was close enough, I slid the note onto the table making sure the words were visible, but kept walking towards the exit. Her new colleague inhaled nervously, and as I opened the door to flee I could hear her laugh and say, That’s my husband.

I’m proud to say: she called me later that afternoon.