Yet probing this unfamiliar territory of the workplace has proved too seductive to ignore. From "Mad Men" to Bill and Melinda and the latest film set fling between two stars, the workplace romance has become one of the stables of media production and consumption.

Read: Work friends increase engagement

But is it on the rise, or merely coming out of the shadows? Two job hunting services that annually undertake an office romance survey — CareerBuilder and Vault.com — report quite different responses from recent surveys when they asked if people had engaged in an office romance. According to CareerBuilder's group, 37 percent reported an office romance, while more — 56 percent — of Vault.com reported the same.

The latter firm reports that survey results indicate the office romance stigma is fading, perhaps driven by the advent of social media, with its share-everything ethos, and the advice of most therapists that honesty is the best policy, even when it has  unpleasant short-term outcomes.

Regardless of the truth about office romance incidences, there are tales to be told and lessons to be shared. Let's circle back to our textile assistant. She offered the following bits of advice for others who would venture down this oft-troubled road:

• I would recommend it to others so long as it feels OK;

• the romance should proceed without pressure;

• Dress smart to please, but not leggings or micro miniskirts;

• Away from the office still keep him interested;

• Make sure comments are genuine and not just for lust;

• Take your time to get to know each other before making any long term commitments.

Hers is the sort of advice the experts on workplace interactions hand out, but perhaps more valid, since it is the result of actual experience. Her anonymity isn't uncommon, given the historic stigma surrounding the office fling. Yet other online confessions of a fling at work are being divulged with real names attached.

One that can be found on the web comes from marketing consultant Gary Steel, who posted a piece on office romance on his LinkedIn account. Steel offered his account of his own office romance at a radio station that led to a 35-year marriage with kids.

While this was back in the day when the taboo was much stronger, the details of his romance are quite familiar: an early attraction to a coworker, excuses found to interact around work issues, that first admission of passion, and the clandestine encounters that ultimately led to the alter and beyond.

Steel's views on how to manage the office romance are as follows:

• Know your company's policy on office dating. Every company is different and there may be consequences from the start. You might find yourself in a situation where you have to quit your job or change locations for the fire to keep burning.

• Keep it professional. Refrain from the cute touching, kissing and other PDA. Your co-workers will appreciate you both for being discreet.

• Assume that the staff knows, but don't flaunt it. Back in the day people got a kick out of the office romance game. Not anymore. Many may be offended. Their opinion, whether you like it or not, counts.

• Let the boss know before she/he finds out from someone else. Your professional attitude will go a long way in maintaining the boss's respect.

• Consider what might happen if the relationship doesn't work out. Give it more than a minute's thought. It's best to think about it when you are sober.

• Show respect. While this is true in any circumstance, it is especially true in a professional environment. Go the extra mile to be thoughtful, polite and understanding.

• Don't take business trips together. Your chances of crossing the lines of Company policy get very muddy with this one.

• Understand that no means no. If he/she says that they don't want the relationship, don't push it. Not only is that unprofessional, it's creepy.

He also shares his pros and cons of the workplace affair, which can be found on his LinkedIn account.

Even fuller disclosures of recent affairs can be found at match.com. Among the tales shared there:

From Alex Ryan, 28, Chicago: "On my first day of my new job, I chose a seat next to a cute guy listening to an iPod. Every time I asked him a question, he had to take his headphones off. Soon, he stopped bringing the iPod, and we talked constantly. We discovered that we lived two blocks from each other, and started hanging out on the weekends. I thought he just liked me as a work friend, but one night he dropped by my apartment with a coffee cake he had made for me. That's when I knew he liked me liked me. Finally, one day we kissed… and kissed — but not at work! We're careful not to stand too close at the office, but we do kiss in the elevator when we go on our Starbucks run: 22 floors gives us about 30 seconds alone."

Then this from Beth Gissinger, 35, Avon, Mass.: "My office romance got off to a bumpy start… but ended well. When things began between us, my guy was a co-worker who'd just gotten divorced, and I helped him through, as a friend. Even when our relationship was completely innocent, people at work started speculating about us. One day while having drinks after work, he kissed me. Once we became involved, the gossip was already in full-swing, so trying to keep our romance secret seemed futile. The low point was when we were caught fooling around — in his office — by the receptionist. Ouch! Eventually, I found another place to work, and we're married now. The awkward times sure were worth it!"

Ali Ludlow, 31, of Brooklyn, N.Y., shared this fairy tale-less tale: "I moved to New York from Georgia and took a job as receptionist. My boss was the CFO, 30, and really hot. Right after I started, he and a bunch of people from work took me out for my 21st birthday. They kept buying me shots, and my last memory was saying to him, 'We should sleep together once I leave the company.' After that, things got flirty real fast. We started dating in secret. Finally, after a year, I decided to leave the company so our relationship could finally be out in the open. But once I did, he started acting weird. Within two months he was engaged — to a woman from our marketing department. I learned a real lesson about dating co-workers after that one!"

Now, let's get back to the stats. This year, when CareerBuilder conducted its annual survey on the office romance, it asked some new questions. Among them: What would rule out someone as a candidate for passion at work or, as CareerBuilder put it, undateable? Here's what came back:

1. Doesn't work on a consistent basis: 39 percent

2. Has already dated someone else at work: 25 percent

3. Travels extensively for work: 21 percent

4. Has to work nights: 8 percent

5. Earns less money than me: 6 percent

6. Has to work weekends: 6 percent

"When broken down by gender, however, women and men have differing opinions of what makes a colleague "undateable." Women are much less likely than men to date someone who doesn't work on a consistent basis (52 percent say they wouldn't versus 28 percent of men), has previously dated a co-worker (29 percent versus 21 percent), or earns less than them (10 percent versus 2 percent)," the study reported.

Although folks are clearly more willing to discuss their flings with a coworker today than in decades past, many still don't share openly about it at work. CareerBuilder found that 36 percent kept their relationship on the down low.

And some other myths appear to still reflect reality. Vault.com says that men still tend to date a subordinate and women a supervisor more than the other way around and that, perhaps not surprisingly, given the nature of relationships, the percent of men and women who've dated someone at work is about the same.

Let us close with this report from a Match.com confessor from Los Angeles. Christine Henry fell for a subordinate. They shared some meals, some drinks, but Henry was getting impatient.

"Nothing happened, though, so I wasn't positive he felt the way I did. But I also suspected he'd never make a move on his boss, so one night I just blurted out, 'Is this a date or what?' There was dead silence and I wanted to hide under the table. I thought, 'I am definitely going to get sued for sexual harassment.' But then he practically yelled back, 'Yes!' Soon Nick got a great new job, and so did I. Now we're married and have a baby. Going in, I knew it was a risky career move, but I also knew that good jobs are out there but amazing guys are one in a million."