Early on in her career in Native American education, Taylor Dawn Maki accepted a role as a youth coordinator at Torres Martinez Tribal Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF), a social services program for Native Americans in Long Beach, Calif.

On her first day at the TANF office in November 2017, Ms. Maki met Jorge Armando Melgoza, a driver for the organization. Their brief exchange left an impression — enough that Ms. Maki, 31, returned to her desk and immediately scanned the office phone directory.

“I wonder what his name is,” she recalled thinking. “Is it Adrian? Maybe it’s Daniel.”

Mr. Melgoza, 39, who had been working at there for five years, was also curious about Ms. Maki. She had filled a role that his friend had applied for, and he was disappointed that his friend didn’t get the job.

Ms. Maki’s office, which she shared with two colleagues, eventually became a hangout spot. Employees gathered there during breaks, and each time Mr. Melgoza stopped by, she wished that he would stay a bit longer.

Mr. Melgoza was not in a dating mind-set at the time, though. He had recently ended a 14-year relationship and was still healing. To make matters more complicated, his ex girlfriend’s sister-in-law was Ms. Maki’s supervisor.

“At that point, I was comfortable being alone,” he said.

They got to know each other better in the office, and in January 2018, Ms. Maki invited him over to her place for some homemade cauliflower pizza. When he received the text, Mr. Melgoza was at Starbucks with a friend, chatting with two women they had just met. But he quickly ditched them to hang out with Ms. Maki. And though the pizza was completely burned when she pulled it out of the oven, they ordered takeout and talked late into the night.