Advice appreciated on how to proceed with crush on soon to be ex coworker

Hello fellow DOT-ers!

Context: I (33m, separated 2 years, divorced 1 year) work in a really big place (hundreds of employees) 20% of my time and my job has me interacting with a lot of people there. I dated two girls from distant department, but the last one was more than 6 months ago.

There is this girl (G) I always had a mild crush on, we would glance at each other every now and then, like our mutual FB posts, etc. We have a few common hobbies. I never acted on it because she was in a department where I spend A LOT of time, have very good relations with everybody there so this was strictly in a “Don’t shit where you eat” territory . Recently 2 of her colleagues started to slip G’s name in the conversation when they were talking to me, in a not so subtle way, and I was invited to a work gathering where I learned that G would be leaving soon. I was thrilled to learn that but there is a catch, she will be leaving for a big trip quite soon, although she will be back in a few months. On that night I also got a few signals from G and also a third party that she likes me as well.

I want to make some kind of move before she leaves but not so sure what should that be.

-I ruled out asking her before she leaves, in my mind it only creates complications should things go well, there’s just not enough time to develop something properly in such a short time

-I want to write her a short message congratulating her on leaving for a better thing and also to wish her a good trip.

-Where I struggle is should I suggest meeting up when she comes back in my message before she leaves (so she knows I have interest) or should I sent another message when she comes back? Wouldn’t it sound kind of weird to ask her out months in advance???

I’m not going back to work there before she leaves, so meeting her in person is not really possible.

Look forward to hearing from you, I always appreciate reading this community! Sorry if some sentences sound weird english is not my first language.

Submitted May 22, 2019 at 12:36AM

Hello fellow DOT-ers!Context: I (33m, separated 2 years, divorced 1 year) work in a really big place (hundreds of employees) 20% of my time and my job has me interacting with a lot of people there. I dated two girls from distant department, but the last one was more than 6 months ago.There is this girl (G) I always had a mild crush on, we would glance at each other every now and then, like our mutual FB posts, etc. We have a few common hobbies. I never acted on it because she was in a department where I spend A LOT of time, have very good relations with everybody there so this was strictly in a “Don’t shit where you eat” territory . Recently 2 of her colleagues started to slip G’s name in the conversation when they were talking to me, in a not so subtle way, and I was invited to a work gathering where I learned that G would be leaving soon. I was thrilled to learn that but there is a catch, she will be leaving for a big trip quite soon, although she will be back in a few months. On that night I also got a few signals from G and also a third party that she likes me as well.I want to make some kind of move before she leaves but not so sure what should that be.-I ruled out asking her before she leaves, in my mind it only creates complications should things go well, there’s just not enough time to develop something properly in such a short time-I want to write her a short message congratulating her on leaving for a better thing and also to wish her a good trip.-Where I struggle is should I suggest meeting up when she comes back in my message before she leaves (so she knows I have interest) or should I sent another message when she comes back? Wouldn’t it sound kind of weird to ask her out months in advance???I’m not going back to work there before she leaves, so meeting her in person is not really possible.Look forward to hearing from you, I always appreciate reading this community! Sorry if some sentences sound weird english is not my first language.