I watched the digits on the bottom of my laptop screen. My eyes stung from staring too long, but I couldn’t look away. Time seemed to be crawling where I was concerned.

4:53 pm.

Seven minutes more. My fingers drummed against my worktable. From my periphery, I spied Mr. Parker, my boss, pulling out a file from a new folder. My gaze dropped to the telephone on my desk, expecting it to ring with another request from him. It didn’t. Oh. Was he working on something new?

I pulled up a new screen on my laptop to check his itinerary for the rest of October. The only unchecked item on the list was a meeting with the CEO of Sterling Corps, Indiana’s most popular weaponry dealers. I still hadn’t figured out why Mr. Parker was trying to meet up with them when the company had a dealer. But I wasn’t in the position to ask that question. My job description as an assistant required obeying the boss’ orders.

The phone on my table buzzed, and Fumi's name popped on my screen. I ended the call and sent an automated “call me later, I’m busy” text, and she responded immediately. A ghost of a smile darted across my lips as I typed a new reply. My phone pinged with a text from Becca before I could hit send.

A glass wall separated our offices, and Mr. Parker wasn’t one to poke into my business, but I still turned as I typed in a reply on our FBB Instagram group chat. Fumi created it a few days after the three of us met on campus.

Me: I’m on my way.

Today was supposed to be a half-day at Parker Agency, so I fixed it for our gift shopping. Well, they were accompanying me. According to my friends, I had poor taste. And they were doing me a huge favor by squeezing time out of their busy schedule to follow me.

Fumi: you said that ten minutes ago

Becca: it was actually TWENTY minutes

Me: writing that in capital letters makes no difference

Becca: YES IT DOES

Me: I have a job, you guys. I can’t just up and leave.

Becca: YES YOU CAN

I rolled my eyes at the keyboard. Unlike Rebecca Hamilton, I wasn’t a trust fund baby. And no, I couldn’t leave until it was closing hours. Companies had rules. She would know that if she worked outside one of her father’s companies for longer than a day.

Fumi: HURRY UP ELIZABETH!!

Me: be there in twenty-five

Becca: Make that five. See you in five.

Another glance at the laptop screen and a sigh escaped me. A minute more. Come on. As soon as the clock hit 5:00, I shot to my feet. My chair squeaked, and Mr. Parker’s head raised. He pushed the glasses down the bridge of his nose, and I pretended to rearrange the files on my desk. I shut down my laptop, hoping he would also do the same.

All done, he was still seated at his desk. I dropped my handbag on my desk and walked to his office. He could see me through the glass walls, but I did the necessary by knocking.

“Come in, Elizabeth.”

I cringed at his use of my full name. One would think after my years at the firm, I would be used to it. Nope. If my friends called me anything other than Beth, it was to scold or tease me. I entered his office and waited by the door until he motioned for me to step forward.

Stopping behind a chair, I gripped the top.

“Ready to go?” he asked. I glanced down at the pile of unsorted files on his desk. “You can leave. It’s fine. I’ll be here much longer.”

“I could wait behind to help.”

Mr. Parker shook his head. The first button of his shirt was undone, his tie askew, and his blond hair messy. I wanted to remind him that even CEOs required rest. If his frequent visits to the doctor were anything to go by, he needed the break more than I did. He might not look his age, but he was way over sixty.

“You can go, Elizabeth.” He waved me off as he spoke. I wasn’t about to say no. The girls were waiting. “I’ll handle it. Goodnight.”

“Goodnight, Mr. Parker.”

I was at the door when his voice stopped me. “Do you need the driver to drop you off?”

One perk of working with a kind boss was the offer of free rides and sometimes free lunches. I would take the offer since I was trying to maintain a budget, but I didn’t want him to know where I was headed.

I released the knob. “Not today.”

“How’s your mom, sister?” I flushed from his question. Since he learned about my relationship with my father, he has made it his duty to care. “Do you need anything?”

“No, thanks.” Mr. Parker gave me that look, the one that convinced me to accept the undeserving salary raise I currently enjoyed. “If we need anything, I’ll ask, I promise.”

Silence followed, and I took that as my cue to leave the office. Grabbing my things, I made my way downstairs. A familiar face waved me over as I stepped out of the elevator. Joe, a colleague and friend. He worked in the IT department.

Blowing air kisses as he pulled me into a quick hug, his curly brown hair caressed my cheek. I willingly relinquished my laptop case to him, and we started for the glass doors.

“What are you still doing here?” he asked.

“The same thing you’re doing. Working.”

We both laughed. Joe opened the door and waited for me to step out first. My phone buzzed in my bag. My twenty-five minutes must be up by now. I extracted the phone from my bag and shuddered to see a group call from the girls.

“Everything good?” Joe asked.

“Yeah.” I followed him to his car in the staff corner of the company’s garage. “Just my friends.”

A car beeped. The front lights of a black Honda flashed. Joe dropped my bag on the car’s roof while I answered the call.

“Bitch, tell me you’re out of there,” Becca screamed as soon as her face occupied part of my screen. I laughed. Foul-mouthed as ever, one of the reasons Mom didn’t like her.

“Yep, I’m out now, ladies.” I switched to the back camera, moving my phone around. “What’s the plan?”

“Just stay there,” Fumi answered, “we are coming to get you.”

Joe cleared his throat, and I switched back to the front camera. He waved, and Fumi immediately went mute. Becca waved back.

“Hi,” he greeted.

Before Becca could flirt with him, I cut her off, “Becca,” I said to the white girl on my screen. “Meet Joe. Joe, Becca.” Nodding at the shy dark-skinned girl, I continued, “And that’s Fumi. Don’t let their smiles fool you.”

There was a reason all three of us fit in our friendship group. Becca, the wild. Fumi, the crazy, and Beth, the calm. Thinking about it now, Fumi and I instantly connected because of our skin colors. We were both black. Well, I was mixed. Her parents were both black. She was friends with Becca, and I became a part of the group.

“Hey,” both of them chorused.

“I’m waiting,” I said and ended the call.

“Those are your friends, huh?” Joe said as I slid my phone into my handbag.

“You have a girlfriend,” I reminded Joe.

He wasn’t allowed to sniff the air around other women. Cheating was a big no for me.

When Joe tried to speak, I added, “Fumi is married. Becca is engaged. Don’t bother.”

“Right. How’s the boyfriend?”

I smiled at the mention of Ian. We were going gift shopping for him. He would be thirty next month. I hoped my friends were right about him getting ready to propose. Why hadn’t he called? He promised he would as soon as he landed in California.

“Good.”

I leaned back on his car, my eyes on the gate leading into the company. I didn’t have to wait long for the girls to show up. A car blared from the gate, and I face palmed when I spotted the black limousine. Half of Becca’s body poked out of the sunroof. She curved both hands around her mouth and screamed my name. Elizabeth Scott. Typical Becca, always embarrassing the rest of us.

“Is that them?” Joe asked.

“No,” I lied, grunting as I swiped my load off the top of his car. “I’ll see you tomorrow.”

Without waiting for him to reply, I hurried to join my friends. Becca winked as I drew close. The evening air slapped her blond curls against her face. Instead of taking that as a hint to get back in the car, she laughed.

The door of the backseat opened. I tossed my stuff on the seat and yanked her down. She collapsed to the chair, and I smacked her boobs. Sometimes, I wish life would hit her in the face so she could fix herself up.

“Seriously?” I yelled. I didn’t need to elaborate.

Becca straightened up and tried to reach for a bucket of what I could bet my life on was champagne, but I swatted her hand.

“What? I’m celebrating my engagement.”

“You celebrated it last week,” I told her.

Michael proposed to her last Saturday, making me the only one yet to be officially engaged.

“There’s nothing like too much celebration.”

“Fumi.” I turned to our quiet friend. A glass of champagne perched between her fingers, and she lifted it slowly to her lips to take a sip. They both drank too much. “Tell her.”

“Tell her what? Becca is right.” I sighed and kicked off my shoes. Fumi had to be bored with her new hobby. Her husband was mostly in and out of town, so she tried out different activities nearly every week to keep her mind busy. “Nothing like too much celebration.”

“Whatever. Let’s go.”

“Has Ian called you?” Becca asked, changing the conversation. Good move. Talking about my boyfriend always made me happy.

My head dropped to the top of the seat, and I closed my eyes. “Not yet. Very soon.”

“Very soon?” Fumi murmured. “Can you hear yourself?”

“Are you sure he isn’t balls deep in another woman?” Becca hooted, and they laughed. I ignored them. So what if I didn’t have an active sex life like Becca? Someone touched my arm. My eyes parted to reveal a grinning Becca. I grinned too. I could never stay mad at the foolish girls I called my best friends. “Just kidding. He probably hasn’t landed.”

“Yeah.”

The driver’s calm voice broke through the quiet of the car. “Where to, Miss Hamilton?”

I gulped as Becca mentioned a high-fashion jeweler. Maybe I shouldn’t have invited her to shop with me knowing we had different tastes and sizes of bank accounts. As the car glided down the busy roads of Indiana, I couldn’t help muttering, “I’m on a budget.”

“We know. These guys are affordable.”

Affordable had different meanings for both of us. But I only nodded. Fumi pushed close to me and placed my hand on her leg.

“How was work?” she asked.

“Fine. What did you do today?”

A smile touched my lips as she filled me in on her day. Becca chipped in a few times, cracking us up with her silliness. They might seem shallow to others, but I knew better. Beneath the noise were two people who cared very much for me.