Amber looked up at the sound, wondering which one of her obnoxious workmates had just entered. Answer: none of them. Her smile was automatic, as was her accompanying brightening in mood. Just seeing him, unexpectedly, was like a very good dream come true. Eric kept a hand on the door, maintaining it open as he indicated the hallway with his head. Either he was inefficiently working out a crick or his neck or he was wordlessly asking her to leave the room with him.

Her expression fell as her happiness faded into hesitation. Sure she was crazy about Eric, yeah she'd missed him as much as she would've her daily rush of caffeine, but they were at work. The rules were different here. It was one thing to hurry out flirting on a Friday evening, another to indulge their very obvious attraction to one another on a Monday morning. Everyone knew but that wasn't the point. If they kept things professional in front of everyone else, people would stop caring and find juicier gossip; if they put on a show, tongues would wag. Eagerly. This wasn't (only) about getting hired by House-- Amber's pride wouldn’t allow making a lovesick fool of herself. If they went out into the corridor, other staff members would catch sight of them making eyes at one another; if they stayed in the theater, one of the others would come in.

So Amber did rise, clasping her hands together over her waist, and she did take a few steps towards him; but she didn't cross more than half the distance separating them. "Kissing, making out, and fucking will have to wait until after work," she told him firmly. “Casual conversations are okay, as long as they’re not too personal.”