i did one thing right

10

Brian is probably staring at the clock about 10 minutes before 5 p.m. It's as if he celebrated New Year's Eve when the clock strikes five. He quickly grabs his bag and walks over to my desk.

"Nards, I want chicken wings!" he exclaimed enthusiastically.

"I'm not a chicken wings vendor," I said as I grabbed my bag.

"I'm saying you should treat me," he said as I said goodbye to our coworkers and walked towards the elevator.

"And why would I treat you?" I ask as he follows me to the elevator.

"Because we're close friends, and good friends take care of each other," he explained.

"Think of me as a bad friend," I said, pushing the button as I fished my phone from my pocket to see if I had any messages.

"Just tell me if you no longer want me to be your friend," he said dramatically, putting so much distance between us that he's already standing on the elevator's corner.

"I don't want to be your friend anymore," I said as I waited for the elevator door to open.

"You don't mean that!" he exclaimed like a five-year-old.

"You instructed me to say it," I explained. The elevator door then opens, and we proceed through the lobby.

"Do married women change that much?" he wonders.

"Probably if they have a friend like you," I said as I walked out of the building. Then I noticed a familiar van outside. Ali then exited the vehicle. "What are you doing here?" I ask.

"Ali wants to treat me instead... I knew I'd make a new good friend," Brian asserts.

"I'll pretend I didn't hear that," Ali says, adding, "Reg told me to pick you up because you didn't bring your car to work."

"I'll just go see Lola Berta because I know she always has food for me," Brian says.

"Would you like to ride along? We'll be picking up Nathan anyway," I asked Brian.

"No, I have my car with me, and I don't want you two to ask me for a gas payment just because I sat inside the car," the overly dramatic Brian said.

"All right.. drive safely," I said, shrugging off his dramatic antics. Ali and I walk towards the van as he drives us back to Lola's house.

"Do you mind if we pick up Regina on the way back? She was still in a meeting when I left, and she's pretty much finished by now," Ali asks as he drives.

"Am I even allowed in the company?" I ask.

"Why wouldn't you be? Just tell people who you are and you won't need any employee ID," he joked.

"I'm still not an employee there, no?"

"Your Nathan's other mother, as well as the CEO's wife"

"Not officially," I replied, and Ali laughed, causing my brows to furrow in confusion.

"When I told Regina that you agreed to settle down, she spent her entire lunch break researching countries that have same sex marriage. Please don't tell her I told you about this, she might kill me," he laughed.

"Isn't it possible to arrange for papers to be signed just to make things easier?"

"You don't want to have a wedding?" he asks.

"I'd like to, but isn't Regina busy with the company? It seems like too much trouble," I admitted honestly.

"Listen, Regina don't give a fuck about how busy she is," he chuckled again. "She'll literally drop everything for this. Plus, a wedding ceremony is a requirement for marriage; they won't recognize your marriage legit if there's no ceremony. Also, Narda, let down your guard a little bit. Don't feel like you're bothering Regina because she'll feel sad about that. You're literally talking about marrying each other. Feel more at ease and look at her as your wife, not a friend you used to like or a CEO of a massive company."