In Netflix’s ‘Office Romance,’ the CEO of an airline company falls in love with her employee. While the chemistry between them is undeniable, workplace rules prevent them from dating. However, love and desire push them to break the boundaries, but this act of rebellion comes with a cost. Before they find their happy ending, they end up on the verge of losing everything they have worked so hard for. In the end, they face the choice of losing it all and moving on or continuing to fight and stay together through it all. SPOILERS AHEAD.
Office Romance Plot Synopsis
Jackie Cruz runs Air Cruz with an iron fist. She has given her life to the company, and she is focused on nothing but its success. In doing so, she inadvertently develops the image of a cold, ruthless leader whose very presence intimidates her employees. When her longtime, trusted lawyer falls ill, she is forced to have Daniel, the new lawyer who has recently joined the company, sit in for an important deposition. When Daniel sees her for the first time, he is smitten, which makes him lose his words and wit. It doesn’t inspire much faith, but then, in the deposition, he proves himself to be a highly competent lawyer.
This is when Jackie becomes interested in him. As their crush on each other grows, they find excuses to be around one another. And then, Jackie discovers that she has to fly to the Dominican Republic to resolve an issue for the company. She decides to take Daniel with her, and by the time they return from the trip, they have slept together a few times. Thus begins their whirlwind romance, which they are forced to keep secret because not only are they violating company policy, but the news of their affair could be very damaging to Jackie’s public image.
Jackie and Daniel Meet a Breaking Point in Their Relationship
The risks make their affair even more exciting, and they keep sneaking around. While they think they have everyone fooled, Jackie’s best friend and co-worker, Sydney, suspects something is going on between them. She becomes concerned because Jackie barely made it out of her last heartbreak, and Sydney doesn’t want her to go through the same thing all over again. While she tries to prod the truth out of Jackie, things get more serious in their relationship. Jackie truly opens up to Daniel, revealing all her quirks and kinks. He, however, approaches things differently.
And that’s what eventually causes a strife that threatens to break their relationship for good. As Jackie and Daniel’s romance soars, they start to think about their future together, which means they also have to consider that they went against the company’s policy against dating a co-worker. That, however, turns out to be the least of their worries, as more pressing problems emerge pretty soon. To begin with, Jackie notices that while she has freely opened her heart to Daniel, he hasn’t reciprocated the act.
Whenever they talk, it’s about her, which makes Jackie feel like she doesn’t really know him. She meets her breaking point when he mentions that he has to take care of some personal stuff, but gives her no hint as to what that is. At first, Jackie tries to give him his space, but then her curiosity gets the better of her. She follows Daniel and discovers that he goes to prison to meet with his incarcerated sister, Lizzie. Though she tries to stay under the radar, she ends up meeting Lizzie, who isn’t entirely surprised by Jackie’s actions. Daniel, on the other hand, doesn’t have as amiable a reaction as his sister.
Do Jackie and Daniel End Up Together?
Daniel feels like Jackie has encroached on his personal space, even though he didn’t want to share it with her yet. But Jackie retorts that a relationship is supposed to be mutual, and his privacy doesn’t give her any confidence that he’s being honest with her. The seeds of this conflict grow as pressure mounts on Jackie ahead of the impending trial. Even though she wants to go public with her and Daniel’s relationship, she knows she cannot do that now that questions are being raised about her character.
If she reveals she has been dating her employee, it will validate the argument of her competitors about her promiscuity, and she could lose everything she has built so far. After weighing everything, Jackie decides that she cannot lose her company. She tells Daniel they should break up, and he agrees. They try to go about business as usual, but the breakup doesn’t mean their feelings for each other are completely gone. Things get more complicated when the exposé of their affair threatens to tear Air Cruz apart.
Daniel decides that it’s best for them to go their separate ways now. He resigns and takes a new job elsewhere, but his feelings keep nagging at him. At the end of the day, he realizes that he doesn’t want anything more than being with Jackie. If he has to give up his privacy for it and open up, then that’s what he will do. In a swoonworthy declaration of love, he admits his mistakes, promises to change for the better, and publicly declares his love for her. Her reciprocation seals their relationship’s fate with a happily ever after.
Jackie Comes at a Crossroads With Air Cruz
Jackie gave her whole life to Air Cruz, so it makes sense that it always prioritized the company above all else. Still, everyone thinks that the company actually belongs to his father, who built it from the ground up. It is during a long-awaited confrontation between them that it becomes clear her father had almost run the company to the ground. Things had gotten so dire that it seemed everything he worked for would be lost. But then Jackie came in with the idea of pushing through. Instead of giving up, she thought about investing in their business and going commercial. This is when Air Cruz really took off.
Her bold decision became the foundation on which the company now stands, but she was never credited with it. She never received a word of affirmation, let alone a pat on the back, from her father about what she had done. Now, the very company that she built is on the verge of being sold to its competitor. She could have won this war, but then, her enemies seem to have an ace up their sleeve. It turns out that when she seemed unbeatable in a conventional fight, they decided to change the game. A private investigator was set upon her to dig out her deepest, darkest secrets.
The said PI turned out to be the hotel housekeeper in the Dominican Republic, where Jackie and Daniel gave in to their desires for one another. The PI continued to follow them and took pictures, which, if released, could ruin Jackie and her company. The competitor shows her the pictures to tell her what’s at stake. Now, she has no option but to do his bidding. Jackie is sad to discover that her mistake could undo all the hard work that not only she but also all of her employees put into the company. Instead of losing to her enemies and letting down Air Cruz, she decides that it’d be best to part ways with it. She believes it would be in everyone’s interest if she steps down as CEO.
Does Jackie Resign as CEO of Air Cruz?
With that, the pictures would become useless, as there would be no point in blackmailing her. At the same time, she would also be free to pursue her life, particularly her romantic life, as she sees fit. She wouldn’t be bound by any rules or regulations, and perhaps with that, her life could truly be her own. In her mind, this is the best decision, but Sydney doesn’t agree. When Jackie breaks the news of her departure to Sydney, the latter tries to tell her it’s a bad idea. But when Jackie seems steadfast in her decision, Sydney realizes that it’s more about the breakup than the blackmail.
She figures that Daniel is the only one who can convince her now, so she calls him. When he learned about the pictures, he resigned and moved on to another company. His heart, however, stayed with Jackie and Air Cruz. In the end, he rushes to Jackie to stop her from resigning. In doing so, he has to publicly express his love for her, giving up his need for privacy. With that, he proves that he really is in love with her, and despite the blackmail, she shouldn’t give up her company. His gesture warms Jackie’s heart, and she decides to fight for Air Cruz, especially now that Daniel is by her side and will be so forever.
Read More: Where Was Netflix’s Office Romance Filmed?
