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Relationships

Mumsnet has not checked the qualifications of anyone posting here. If you need help urgently or expert advice, please see our domestic violence webguide and/or relationships webguide. Many Mumsnetters experiencing domestic abuse have found this thread helpful: Listen up, everybody

Being a secret admirer - clever, or just a bit creepy?

134 replies

ThePrague · 20/06/2015 20:55

I've join MN purely to get peeps opinion, as I anticipate that I'll get a fair, honest and measured hearing here compared to forums I normally frequent where it's likely I'll get laughed outta town!

Anyway, I'll try and make this as short as possible without leaving out any vital information:

I'm a guy in my late twenties and have started a new job about a month ago. Incidentally, the job is great but it's not exactly what I'm used to or something which find really fulfilling but jobs and job and hopefully I can move on next year. ANYWAY....

So, on my first week I get ferried across departments, basically to sit with and understand their roles before starting my actual job in the second week. On the third day, I'm sitting with one of the guys as his talking me through what his doing when this girls walks past, I smiled at her and she smiled back. (she must have been off on the second day when I was in her dept).

Now, I'm not stupid, I know she was smiling to be polite. However, I think you know where this is going, so yeah, my heart skipped a beat, literally everything I find attractive, I'm actually amazed I smiled rather than my jaw hitting the floor!

Now, we're three weeks out and I can't stop thinking about her. Massive crush, and the horrible thing is I have never spoken to her, and the chances of being able to engineer the opportunity are slim to none - different departments on different floors, different lunchtime, and on the odd occasion she has been in my office, it's impossible for me to just straight up go and talk to her because it's just going to get people asking questions - it's a very quiet dept. She doesn't seem to know I'm even there :(

The other issue with just talking to her, other than the aforementioned impossibility, is that I'm been burned before, the 'friend-zone' nonsense making it impossible to go further without upsetting things. In short, [i]I don't want to be her friend[/I], to put it bluntly.

I do know bits about her - I'm quite certain she is single, she is popular, respected and appears altogether lovely.

So, after a lot of thought, I'm sitting here thinking the only safe, practical and least potentially creepy option is to become a 'secret admirer'.

IF I go through with this, I had this itinerary in mind:

Week 1 - Leave flowers with a small handwritten note on/in the boot of her car (she sometimes drive her parents SUV), on the days when she finishes later than me. I figured that this is least likely to a) be noticed by anyone else, b) unlikely to come across in any way as creepy, and c) show her that I'm thoughtful and a little brave. In the note I'd say something along the lines of "if you liked the flowers, say thank you on your Facebook (we're not FB friends but it's and open account)", which obviously would give me the go ahead for...

Week 2 - this is where it turns a bit brave. Now, leaving something on her car again will just be a bit one dimensional as I've done it once, so I'd send chocolates to her VIA WORK, so that she'd have them delivered to her department and everyone she works with would see it! The logic being that she would share the chocolates, let on to them about the flowers, and then her colleagues would basically do my work for me by pushing her to keep going. Again, in the note would be the Facebook thank you line to confirm back to me that she is still interested.

Now, at this stage I'm a little unsure of whether to go for a third gift (what else is there?!), or go for the big one...

Week 3 - I would book a table at a nice restaurant, and then send her (again via the post at work) an invitation to a date. The only risk is that I book on night she can't attend. Again, asking her to confirm on Facebook.

What do we think? I'm a little unsure on the Facebook element, but the only alternative is to set-up an email address, but the problem there is that she might be hesitant to share her personal email address, though I suppose she could use her work email address.

OP posts:
Gabilan · 20/06/2015 22:31

"Won't Facebook come across as trying to avoid talking to her? "

No. Unless you try to chat endlessly on FB without either of you ever saying "fancy a coffee?"

Thenapoleonofcrime · 20/06/2015 22:31

I think asking her to add you on Facebook is just fine.

I think you also need to step away from the fantasy of how this is all going to turn out. You seem to think that if you put in a lot of effort (e.g. buy gifts, book nice restaurants) then this will win her over. The thing is- she'll either like you or she won't and all this extra stuff is just noise and decoration. You can't just decide you are going to woo someone and then they fall into your arms. You need to look for a few signs of encouragement or interest, otherwise you are likely to make a real blunder and yes, you will get described as creepy if you pursue people with no signs of interest or encouragement.

It's fine to ask once, and perhaps send one note, but beyond that, if there is no interest, then the answer is no, and you need to go in knowing that might be the answer, not set your heart on someone and imagine all kinds of stuff which may not be her- you might have crap chemistry once you get together for example.

I personally hate it when guys have fixated on me in this type of way (doesn't happen so much any more) because it's almost like they have decided you are perfect without getting to know you at all and this love-sick besotted behaviour doesn't appeal to me at all (I like keen people, but not people who are keen when they don't know you at all and so are projecting how amazing and wonderful you are). I turned down quite a few such approaches in my younger days because I just wasn't into the person, however much they had noticed me for weeks blah blah.

ThePrague · 20/06/2015 22:34

@ Gabilan

Well, I suppose I'll give it another week to see whether I can talk to her (which I want to point has been what I've wanted to do from the start!*), and if not then just msg her on FB. I'd rather not do that though, but clearly this situation isn't doing me any good.

  • The bloody chances of her not being in on that day I was in her dept on that first week!!! Seriously, you couldn't make it up.
OP posts:
ChilliAndMint · 20/06/2015 22:35

Take a chill pill and talk to this woman. There is nothing to be gained from sending flowers or private notes. Just man up and show her you are genuinely interested. You wont lose face by chatting to her.Forget the Facebook stuff , just wink or whatever.

ThePrague · 20/06/2015 22:38

@ Thenapoleonofcrime - Thanks, I think it's because of the time factor, I've let this go on for too long and it's not helped at all.

Honestly, if you had said to me two months ago I'd be sitting here, I wouldn't have believed you. The aim was, and continues to be, to gain experience and move on after one year, I wasn't looking for someone at all, last thing on my mind.

OP posts:
27inmyhead · 20/06/2015 22:39

You are worrying about leaving a message on facebook but were seriously considering leaving flowers on/in her car, sending chocolates to her workplace and booking a table in a restaurant before asking if she was free.

ThePrague · 20/06/2015 22:41

@ 27inmyhead - well I'm not now. This is why I posted in the first place.

OP posts:
BastardGoDarkly · 20/06/2015 22:58

Saying 'I think you're great ' in a message though, have you even spoken to her?

ThePrague · 20/06/2015 23:15

@ BGD - unfortunately, kind of why I'm where I am with this situation. You have to also remember that I've had about a week or so in between where I've just tried to ignore it but then I see her very briefly and it comes back. In way it would be a relief if she said "hell no!" as at least then I'd know.

OP posts:
Beaverfeaver2 · 20/06/2015 23:17

I love it. Sounds romantic

ThePrague · 20/06/2015 23:22

@ Beaverfeaver2 - I think we've established it's terrible by any measure, thanks for your input.

OP posts:
Momagain1 · 20/06/2015 23:39

concerned about is that by the time I've had the chance to talk to her ...! - that I'll have missed my chance.

If you havent had a chance to talk to her, you havent missed a chance to talk to her. And this is all an elaborate plan to faff about rather than talk to her. If

Week 1, leave a simple note on her car making clear exactly who you are (name, dept and work phone), and saying you would be interested in getting together for a talk over coffee, and to please call you if she wouldnt mind exchange personal phone numbers. or, get this, you could wait around and just talk to her. Like a normal person would.

If you go the note route and she hasnt responded by the end of the week1, workmate zone her and move on.

Don't waste any more of your time building up a huge romance in your head and getting over invested when you havent even spoken to her.

MadeMan · 21/06/2015 00:04

"Why are you so obsessed with asking her out?"

Oooh, this does happen occasionally and it's a bugger when it does happen. There are some women (not always a stereotypical 'stunna') that can make a man go crazy insane. Blush Smile

ThePrague · 21/06/2015 00:13

Yes, I'm not going to lie, obv the physical attraction is what has drawn me in, literally if I listed everything that I find attractive, she's got it (and they are particular things to me, that not everyone would consider 'conventionally' attractive if you like). And what I do know of her as a person, boxes are being ticked. My friends often ridicule me for being very very picky, so yeah, I've been hit for six really.

OP posts:
beaglesaresweet · 21/06/2015 00:19

MadeMan, equally there are some men who can have this effect on a woman. Normally though it happens when she wants to fall in love whether consciously or not.

beaglesaresweet · 21/06/2015 00:20

OP, is your self esteem ok at the moment? if so, go ahead talk to her. If not, be careful as if you like her so much, you need an extra thick skin if she rejects you.

ThePrague · 21/06/2015 00:38

I'm ok I guess, of course I don't want her to say no but at the same time I'm at the point where something needs to happen either way. I want it to work simply because I don't recall coming across someone who has made me feel dizzy right from the get-go, but I'm sure that is a common experience for the majority of people.

As I've said several times, it's the fact that the opportunity to talk to her just has not happened has not helped at all.

OP posts:
AndTheBandPlayedOn · 21/06/2015 01:06

To me, the flowers, anonymous notes, chocolates, dinner reservations are all tools to manipulate her into saying yes. Rather like, after all your efforts and attention, if she says "no", then shame on her . It could be viewed as if you are taking her decision making out of the equation , which would be deeply disrespectful to her. I would like to say, in the nicest possible way, that this could be seen as controlling behavior, just so you know, and that is not a good thing.

You did sound like a nice enough bloke, even in your narrow-minded obsessiveness (no wanting to give her fair right to refuse), until you said this:
the aim was, and continues to be, to gain experience and then move on after one year
(I am presuming you meant dating experience?)
So, you just want to use her for a year and then drop her. Since this is in your work environment as well as hers, why don't you spare her (and yourself) the future ackwardness, gossip/entertainment for the entire office, hard feelings ...let alone the possibility that she may eventually have to change jobs because when work place romances go sour it is always the woman who will suffer consequences. Your place of work is not a dating service.

Be professional. Leave her alone.

avocadotoast · 21/06/2015 01:08

OP, I actually feel for you a little bit, because I used to do what you are doing now a lot (as in, I'd see someone I barely knew, and I'd think about them all the time, almost obsess over them, and certainly projected personalities etc onto them).

For me, it wasn't healthy. It never struck me as weird until afterwards.

Basically - what I'm trying to say - if you talk to her, or message her, and she says yes to a date, then brilliant. But please don't be too downhearted if she doesn't. I know how easy it is to get caught up in this stuff and forget that it might actually not go to plan.

Momagain1 · 21/06/2015 01:48

Band he expects his new job to be a one year experience, which is part of his distress over getting something going with his work mate, he feels there is a time limit to sorting it all out.

ThePrague · 21/06/2015 01:48

Avacadotoast - Jesus NO, what I meant was experience in the job, in the job!!! I thought that was really clear and the point was that I didn't go in the role with any sort of idea that I might meet someone there. I don't know how you came to that conclusion when I said earlier that I didn't want her to think I was a player or any bull like that. They are the worst type of people.

I think we have established that the OP is a bad idea already. As for the fact that we're working at the same place, I thought I'd kind of put across that this concerned me a great deal, that I didn't want the situation to have any potential to go badly wrong for either of us. But I don't think you should rule out dating colleagues so long as your honest.

OP posts:
Momagain1 · 21/06/2015 01:49

So, OP. What's your new, simple, direct plan?

AndTheBandPlayedOn · 21/06/2015 01:50

Sorry I misunderstood.

ThePrague · 21/06/2015 01:54

@ Momagain1 - the timing issue is more a) that I've been wrestling with this for too long and b) I don't think she'll be single long, she's just too much of a good catch frankly!

OP posts:
ThePrague · 21/06/2015 02:03

That's ok Band (sorry for getting you mixed with Avo BTW!)

Momagain1 - I think I'll see if the chance to talk to her arises over the next week. If it does, then add on FB and chat further online - I'll certainly make a point of saying to her that she is an impossible person to catch up with lol..

If it doesn't, I think I'll just take the plunge and add and send a FB msg more or less saying I've wanted to talk but you're like the pink panther (won't actually say that), that your vv cute and I really jump at the chance to get to know you better over lunch soon.

OP posts: