10 years older, taken colleague keeps teasing and touching me

I’m 24M and currently a trainee in a bank. I have a colleague (34F) who I believe might be interested in me. When I first joined the new branch, I was assigned to the securities department while she worked in retail banking. Still, she would regularly come to see me and seek contact, including physical touch.

One example: I was focused on my work when she snuck up behind me and suddenly started massaging my shoulders. Then she wanted me to come with her—we sat down in a side room where she showed me her stock portfolio. I think she sees me as very smart and wanted my opinion. She once told me, “You probably listen to classical music in your free time.” By the way, I’m the best trainee in my region.

She often initiates physical contact (e.g., touches my arm) and asks me many personal questions.

She once showed me a photo of herself in a pink jacket and asked what I thought. I said it looked childish. She replied, “If you had a girlfriend, you’d probably tell her what to wear, right?” I said, “Definitely.” She then said, “No, I don’t think so—you don’t seem like that kind of guy.” It felt like she was testing my confidence.

While I was talking to a colleague about my plans to become self-employed, she said she wants to book a meeting with me in a few months to talk about it because she was also thinking about becoming self-employed. A colleague joked, “Usually men book meetings with women.” After that, she said something implying that nothing would ever happen between us—though indirectly.

She has mentioned several times that she has a boyfriend (e.g., that they cuddled on his birthday or that he’s handsome), but at the same time, she continues to flirt with me (e.g., asking me how I shape my beard so perfectly).

Later, when I was already working in her department, she once gave a long massage (around 10 minutes) to a female colleague. After she finished, she came to me and asked, “Do you want a massage too?” I replied, “No,” without even looking at her and just kept staring at my screen. That was during the time I was intentionally giving her the cold shoulder. That is because I generally don’t trust any of my colleagues in the bank. I believe most would throw me under the bus at the first opportunity. That’s why I kept my distance from the start.

Every time our eyes meet, she immediately smiles at me. I usually smile back. But yesterday, for the first time, that didn’t happen: There’s now a young and attractive new trainee (19F) sitting next to me. When the colleague, who might be interested in me, came in that morning, she saw me talking to the new trainee. Our eyes met—I smiled, but she didn’t smile back. That was the first time ever. Normally, she starts smiling the moment our eyes meet.

So, is this colleague just being friendly, or how would you interpret the situation?

Edit: This colleague is not my boss. Also, I‘ll leave the bank in a few weeks

submitted by /u/AugustoPinochet420
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