Charles put his coat over that scratchy turtleneck sweater - his attempt at hygge instead let him feeling sweaty - and stepped out into the cold winter air.

He already felt better. He started to feel suffocated inside Diana's small apartment, with small talk and the incessant pitch by Kelsey's boyfriend on a book Charles did not care much about. He walked a few feet before he spotted Liza, standing out on the corner looking down at her phone.

Earlier in the night he eavesdropped on Liza and Kelsey arguing, and Diana told him they were fighting, and it worried him. He pushed that out of his head. Not your job to get involved in personal issues, he reminded himself.

"Hey," he said, walking slowly towards her. She looked up and smiled. "Waiting for a cab?" He wished then he could invite her to his apartment for a drink, to talk to her about what was going on - as a friend, not a boss. No, he thought. Liza sighed.

"My Uber driver canceled, and I'm trying to get another one but the surge pricing is insane," she said. "I might just walk to the train."

Charles knew he shouldn't but he saw this as an opportunity for the one thing he secretly wanted more of: Alone time with Liza, his employee, but also someone who had captivated him in a way he couldn't explain. They were on York Avenue, a few avenues east from the subway at 86th Street. It was cold, and Liza pulled the collar up on her coat as she said it.

"I'm walking that way, too," Charles said. "Great," Liza said, pausing only briefly, and shifting a bit awkwardly towards the crosswalk.

Charles took a large step towards her and they set off across 88th Street. "So...that was fun, right?," Liza said. These parties were always a little awkward, with a weird mix of people stuffed inside Diana's apartment.

"As fun as it could be," he said. "I know it's part of the whole game of publishing but I always hated these marketing events."

"Too much pomp," she said. "Awkward small talk."

"And all of it trying to get to the end game - looking for a favor," Charles said.

His neck itched under the sweater but he resisted the urge to scratch it.

"Well, hopefully we sold the idea of comfort," Liza said. They were two blocks up and deep in conversation when it began to snow, softly, but enough for them to each notice and look towards the sky.

"Did you know it was supposed to snow?," Charles asked. Liza's coat wasn't up for the cold weather; it was short and wool.

"I didn't pay attention to the news this morning," she said. "Too busy planning for the party." The snow kept falling. They stood together on the sidewalk for a few moments when a gust of wind nearly toppled them over. Across from them was a dive bar, an old Irish pub Charles remembered going to a few times as an underage high school student.

"Want to pop in there for a drink to see if it slows down?," he asked. There were only a few customers inside when the two of them barreled in, dusting the snow off of their jackets.

They took two stools at the corner of the bar, and quickly ordered a drink. There was something about the dim lighting, something about the rush of energy they felt running into the bar to escape the snow, that seemed to electrify them. Charles quickly ordered their drinks, and for a second they both sat there and smile goofily.

"Cheers," Liza said, when her whisky arrived. She raised it and Charles followed. "To hygge," she said.

They clinked glasses and both slowly sipped it. They talked, about the party guests, about Empirical's latest acquisitions, about Diana's kitchen decor. On their second round Charles thought he'd go for it.

"So, I - are you and Kelsey -"

"- Oh, that," Liza said. Charles took another sip of his drink.. "I don't ask this as your boss, but as a … friend. Are you two OK?"

"We're fine," she said. "Just minor drama but we are fine and most importantly, Millennial is fine."

"Diana said something about Kelsey stealing your boyfriend?." It was a two-fold prying, but he didn't care. He finished his drink.

Liza laughed. "Diana may think she knows what she's talking about, but she doesn't," Liza said. "Don't tell her I said that of course."

They both laughed. "Kelsey did move in with… Josh," she said. "And that's not even the weirdest New York City real estate story I've ever heard. No stealing. I have no boyfriend to steal."

She's single, he banked in his brain. "Anyway, Kelsey's actual boyfriend was there tonight talking your ear off, remember?" she said.

Charles grimaced - at the thought of that blowhard, but also at his turtleneck. The bar was warm. It just got warmer the more he drank.

"Are you OK in that?," Liza asked. "It's kind of hot in here."

"I've been dying to get out of this sweater since I put it on," he said, and then his face felt flush. Just the thought of mentioning taking off his clothes in front of Liza …

"Why don't you take it off?," she said, and then her face felt warm. "I mean, of course, if you have something -"

" - I do," he said, and laughed. Pauline had bought him that sweater years before and it was just one reason why he hated it, but it also screamed "warmth" to him. He had on a white undershirt underneath. At this point he was on his second whisky and rounding towards a third. He looked at Liza briefly as he pulled at the bottom hem of his sweater.

"Looks like someone's embarrassed," Liza said, smirking. She's flirting with me, he thought, so he smiled and grabbed his sweater and pulled it up over his head. It got stuck up here briefly. He could hear her laughing through the wool. In a few seconds it was over his head, and he was free.

He was sitting at the bar across from his employee in a tight white t-shirt and jeans, his hair messed up from pulling the sweater over it. And then Liza reached over and playfully straightened his hair.

I would like to remember the way her fingertips felt on my scalp forever, he thought.

"Do you feel better?," she asked. "I'm not sweating anymore," he said. "Why'd you wear it in the first place?," she asked. "Hygge," he said.

"Warmth. Norwegian. It's Norwegian, right?" "Ja," Liza said.

"My style is suits. Workout clothes. I'm not very good at the casual warmth," he said. "My wi- my ex bought me this years ago."

"Wives usually make good personal shoppers," she said. Liza shopped all the time for David, even when she knew he was having an affair, because it felt natural. But he usually hated what she bought him.

"Oh, you have plenty of time for that," Charles said. "You're young. I bet you'll make a great personal shopper for your future husband."

Liza snorted into her drink. "My ex hated everything I bought him," she said, and Charles looked at her, his head askew.

"Ex boyfriend I mean," she said. "Uh - you know, Josh."

There was something that always didn't add up about Liza - the way she seemed to understand things he didn't expect her to, as a woman in her late 20s. She was also so open and warm yet it was as if she was hiding something, he thought. Charles just smiled.

"Of course," he said. It had stopped snowing long ago, but neither of them noticed. They were glued to the bar stools, leaned into each other with enough space to respect who they were.

Charles' phone buzzed and he grabbed it from his pocket. "Shit," he said. "The babysitter." Liza looked at her phone, too.

"It's after midnight," she said. "And it stopped snowing," Charles said, waving over to the bartender to close out. He then waved Liza off as she began to reach for her wallet.

"I asked you if you wanted to have a drink," he said. "Turned into drinks," Liza said. "And I'm sure all those whiskys - "

"- I got it," Charles said. "It's, uh, worth it to spend the time with you."

He looked down quickly, his face red, as the bill arrived in front of him.

Too far, he thought. "I always have a great time with you," she said. Too far, she thought.

"Not the free whisky talking." They stared at each other.

Charles' phone buzzed again, and he ignored it briefly. "You should get that," Liza said. "The babysitter might leave the girls." Charles looked at his phone and let out a deep sigh. Gah, he thought.

He would have given anything to walk with Liza anywhere, so long as they could keep talking.

"I have to - call one of the company cars and - "

Liza fiddled with her phone and handed it to him. "Let me call you an Uber -"

"- No, no - "

" - Charles, put your address in," Liza said. "If it makes you feel better I promise I'll expense it."

The Uber arrived in what felt like seconds. "See you Monday?," he said before ducking in. He went in tentatively for a hug and sighed. "And thank you."