办公室恋情——你Hold得住吗？

Joshua Ogden-Davis/肝脑涂地

中国有句成语叫“日久生情”。每天共处一室8小时以上的男男女女，呼吸着共同的空气，久而久之，难免会产生几分好感、几分暧昧。然而，办公室爱情并非如水晶般透明无瑕，由此带来的性骚扰、婚外情等问题不容忽视。但是，恋情来了，难以抗拒，不少人还是打算做个勇敢的人，但是有勇无谋却不行，为了让办公室恋情有个幸福结局，大家一定要谨慎待之。

Jordy： Good morning， Megan.

Megan： Hey， good morning， Jordy.

Jordy： Um， hey， look， can I ask you something？

Megan： Whats on your mind？

Jordy： Before I ask you， I need you to promise to keep it a secret. I dont want this getting around the office.

Megan： Dont worry. ①My lips are sealed.

Jordy： Its like this： Im really interested in someone in the office.

Megan： Does she know about it？

Jordy： No， I havent 1）approached her about it yet. In my last company， relationships between co-workers were 2）prohibited， so I want to be really careful.

Megan： 3）Banning romance sounds a little extreme， but youre right， you really should be careful. Do you know about the companys relationship policy？

Jordy： ②Yeah， I gave it the old once-over last week. As long as I inform the HR department， and as long as it doesnt affect our work， ③then its still coloring inside the lines.

Megan： Thats good. Next question： does she work under you， or are you her 4）subordinate？

Jordy： No， shes in a different department. Why does that matter？

Megan： Can you imagine trying to give orders to your girlfriend？ What if your girlfriend had to criticize you at work？ Jordy： ④Yeah， I guess that would be a sticky wicket. OK， what else do I need to think about？

Megan： This next one is a bit personal. How well can you handle a breakup？

Jordy： Wow， that is a personal question， but I guess Ive handled breakups well before.

Megan： Thats really important. You dont want to have a really bad breakup…

Jordy： …and then have to see your ex at work everyday.⑤Youre right， things could get out of hand pretty quickly.

Megan： Well， thats all the questions I have. ⑥If you came to ask my permission， Id give you the green light.

Jordy： But how can I approach her？ ⑦Coming on to someone at work is 5）tricky. I dont want her to get the wrong idea.

Megan： Good thinking. You dont want a 6）harassment suit on your hands. But really， its not as hard as you might think. Jordy： Im still at a loss. I came to talk to you because I needed a womans opinion.

Megan： Youre smarter than you look！ Just remember： dont make her feel any pressure. Even if she says no， you still have to see her every day in the office.

Jordy： ⑧So dont come on too strong， or else well both be embarrassed？

Megan： Basically， yeah. Just casually ask if she would like to have dinner. Lunch is even more low-pressure.

Jordy： If she says no？

Megan： ⑨Then its probably best to just leave it at that. Pushing further could make things uncomfortable. And maybe youll get another chance later， anyway.

Jordy： Well， that sounds like a plan then. By the way， how do you know so much about office romance， anyway？

Megan： Well… you know Tom in accounting， right？

Jordy： Yeah， I do. Wait， you dont mean to tell me…

乔迪：早上好，梅根。

梅根：嘿，早上好，乔迪。

乔迪：嗯，嘿，听着，我能问你件事吗？

梅根：你想问什么？

乔迪：在问你之前，我要你保证会保密。我不想这件事传遍整个办公室。

梅根：别担心。我会保守秘密的。

乔迪：是这样的，我对办公室里的一个女生真的很有好感。

梅根：她知道吗？

乔迪：不，我还没有让她知道呢。在我上一家公司，同事之间的恋情是被禁止的，所以我真的想慎重点。

梅根：禁止（同事间）谈恋爱听起来有点过分，但是你是对的，你真的应该小心点，你了解公司有关这方面的规定吗？

乔迪：嗯，我上个星期草草地看了下。

只要我通知了人事部，只要不影响我们的工作，但还要谨慎行事。

梅根：那就好。下一个问题，她是你的下属，还是你的上司？

乔迪：都不是，她在另外一个部门。有什么关系吗？

梅根：你能想象给自己女友下命令的情景吗？如果你女友在工作中批评你又该怎么办呢？

乔迪：嗯，我想这会是个棘手的问题。好，我还需要考虑什么呢？

梅根：下一个问题比较私人。你如何处理好分手？

乔迪：哇，这真是个私人问题，但我之前都能处理好分手。

梅根：这真的很重要。你不想有个很糟糕的分手……

乔迪：……然后每天工作的时候难免会看到你的前任。你是对的，事情会很快一发不可收拾。

梅根：好吧，这是我所有的问题。如果你问我，我会允许你这样做的。

乔迪：但是我怎么接近她呢？在工作中对某人表示好感很考验人。我不想她误解我。

梅根：你想得对。你不想惹上骚扰的罪名。但是说真的，事情没有你想象中的那么难。

乔迪：我还是不知所措。我来找你谈，是因为我需要一个女生的意见。

梅根：你比表面看起来聪明！只要记住：不要让她有任何负担。即使她说不，你每天也必须在办公室看到她。

乔迪：所以不要太操之过急，否则我们两个人都会很尴尬？

梅根：基本来说是的。只要随意地问她是否愿意共进晚餐，（一起吃）午餐可能会让她更加没有压力。

乔迪：如果她说不呢？

梅根：那么最好就是到此为止。继续强求只会让事情变糟。但是也许之后你还会有机会。

乔迪：嗯，这听起来很可行。顺便问一下，你怎么知道这么多办公室恋情的东西？

梅根：嗯……你认识财务部的那个汤姆，对吧？

乔迪：嗯，我认识他。等等，你不会是想告诉我……

Megan： You guessed it！ Weve been dating for two years already！

梅根：你猜得对！我们已经在一起两年了！

Smart Sentences

① My lips are sealed. 我会保守秘密的。

My lips are sealed： used to indicate you will keep sb.s secret， same as“your secret is safe with me”（用以表明你会保守某人的秘密，等同于“your secret is safe with me”）。例如：

—Im going to tell you what happened last night， but you have to keep it to yourself.

我把昨晚的事告诉你，不过你得保密哦。

—My lips are sealed.

我会保守秘密的。

② Yeah， I gave it the old once-over last week. 嗯，我上个星期草草地看了下。

give sth. the old once-over： look at sth. quickly（草草地看一遍）。例如：She gave the new proposal the old once-over and decided to reject it.

她匆忙地看了一遍新建议，就决定否决它。

③ Then its still coloring inside the lines. 但还要谨慎行事。

color inside the lines： used to refer to playing it safe（谨慎行事，不冒险）。例如：

If you are taking on the new project， you need to color inside the lines and dont be too aggressive.

如果你接手那个新项目，务必谨慎，不要急功近利。

④ Yeah， I guess that would be a sticky wicket. 嗯，我想这会是个棘手的问题。

a sticky wicket： a difficult or embarrassing problem or situation（麻烦，困难：令人尴尬的难题或形势）。例如：

The corruption scandal was a sticky wicket for the new mayor.

腐败丑闻让新市长很难堪。

⑤ Youre right， things could get out of hand pretty quickly. 你是对的，事情会很快一发不可收拾。

get out of hand： out of control（失控）。例如：

The spending got out of hand and the project had to be put on hold.费用支出失去了控制，项目被迫暂停了。

⑥ If you came to ask my permission， Id give you the green light. 如果你问我，我会允许你这样做的。

give sb. the green light： give sb. the permission to do sth.（允许某人做某事）。例如：

Our team was finally given the green light to go for a trial production.

我们小组终于被允许进行试生产了。

⑦ Coming on to someone at work is tricky. 在工作中对某人表示好感很考验人。

come on to sb.： try to attract sb. romantically（对异性表示好感，示爱）。例如：

Leo was trying to come on to me during the Christmas party.

利奥在圣诞节晚会上想对我表示好感。

⑧ So dont come on too strong， or else well both be embarrassed？ 所以不要操之过急，否则我们两个人都会很尴尬？

come on strong： seem aggressive； impress people initially as very aggressive and assertive（给人过于积极的印象；以强势的印象）。例如：

The new supervisor comes on too strong at first.

新上司一开始给人一种过于强势的感觉。

⑨ Then its probably best to just leave it at that. 那么最好就是到此为止。

leave it at that： say or do no more about sth.（到此为止）。例如：

Well wait for Tom to come back and see what we can do. Now， just leave it at that.

等汤姆回来，看看我们能做些什么。现在就先这样吧。