Molly’s secret admirer sparked weeks of office gossip. But her florist knows the truth.

On a Friday afternoon, James Stevens was packing up flower orders when he noticed something odd.

For four weeks in a row, the same woman had received a bouquet of roses addressed from "your mystery man".

The roses would have, no doubt, been a source of chatter amongst her colleagues, all eager to know the identity of her secret admirer.

Except, he wasn't real. She was sending them to herself.

If you've ever thought about sending yourself flowers to appear more mysterious, you're not the only one. James, CEO of Mr Roses, sees it happen "more often than you'd think".

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"I can't say it is an everyday thing, but it definitely happens enough that we notice," he told Mamamia. "There is always a spike around Valentine's Day and even during office gift exchanges or parties, people wanting to look like they're off the market or to impress someone without making it obvious."

Sometimes, these "fake" flower orders are from fathers wanting to make their daughters happy on Valentine's Day.

"They even add funny messages sometimes like 'we work in the same building' in an attempt to cover their tracks," said James.

Other times, it's a performance, complete with props, designed to create just the right amount of intrigue.

There was the customer who invented a "French boyfriend" named Jean-Pierre, sending herself blooms with a card written in broken French.

Or the woman, known only as Molly*, who requested the message, "To my fiery tigress, keep that spark alive until I'm back from the International Space Station," for a bouquet delivered to her workplace.

"We only hope that it sparked weeks of gossip from the office," James shared.

And then there was the most elaborate of all.

"There was one customer who went all in and created an entire fake persona," said the CEO. "The sender's name was something like 'Captain Will, deployed overseas' and the card read, 'Counting the days till I'm home in your arms, your soldier forever.' They even requested a certain time of delivery to make sure all their colleagues were in the office when it arrived.

"It was incredibly elaborate and honestly, quite convincing," said James.

These aren't one-offs. They're part of a quiet, somewhat cheeky economy of people crafting fake relationships with the help of a florist's delivery van.

"Some want to stir a bit of intrigue, others want to give the impression they're in a relationship, especially around Valentine's Day," James said as to why people engage in the ruse.

"Although we don't always get insights into the true reasons behind, we imagine people are doing it to keep nosy coworkers off their backs, or purely to post on social media."

Sometimes customers are upfront, and even "cheeky about it".

"They'll write notes on their orders such as, 'Yes, this is from my fake boyfriend, don't judge!'" James said.

Others try to keep it fully secret, hoping the charade will slide under the radar.

But James and his team have their methods: "If the name of the person who places the order is the same as the one receiving the delivery, this is usually a dead giveaway."

It doesn't always end well. Fake admirers sometimes collide with real ones.

"It only takes a customer to order roses for themselves as a 'secret admirer' to their place of work, with a real admirer in the office, trying to take credit.

"That, I imagine, can spark some confusion and a very uncomfortable conversation."

Once, after Mr Roses shared a bouquet on their Instagram, a real partner messaged James, asking who had sent the flowers. "I don't believe that would have ended well for them," he said.

The florist has even found himself accidentally entangled in the mess, when he recognises a recipient.

"I have had some awkward situations when I have seen flowers going to women that I know, including mums of friends, and I thought I'd best check who they are from," he said.

If it's from a partner, he'll often add chocolates or champagne, "but a number of times I have found that the message is instead from someone they are having an affair with!"

Sometimes it's about controlling the narrative in a workplace, avoiding the "are you seeing anyone?" interrogation. Sometimes, it's simply for the Instagram photo.

Whatever the reason, one thing is certain: Somewhere in an office right now, a bouquet is arriving, co-workers are whispering, and the recipient is smiling, letting them believe in the fantasy of a secret admirer.

Feature Image: Getty