yes i will yes i said yes

You frown as Mrs. Hansen, the owner of your company, announces a promotion of yet another of your teammates to lead the department instead of you. You applied for the last three vacancies and haven’t gotten any of them. You’re not sure why. You know you’re not the most socially smooth person out there but in your, admittedly biased, opinion, you’re the best analyst in your department. At least your new boss is someone you consider a good analyst, and you think she will be better than the last few managers who had been, in your opinion, frat-boy jocks from other departments. Fortunately they hadn’t lasted long since the power had more or less gone to their heads and they had never bothered to learn how your department ran before moving on. Unfortunately, however, your new boss seems to not like you very much.

You were hoping that the announcement would be about your promotion and would improve your day but as it is, it’s just something else in an already shitty work day. Since the owner had called this meeting at the end of the work day, all there is for you to do is shut down your computer and go home to your small studio apartment.

You turn to leave the room and you’re bumped aside by yet another of the ubiquitous frat-boy jocks who seem to populate the other departments.

“Watch it, nerd,” he growls, and then walks away laughing with one of his buddies. You notice they high-five each other.

You just sigh and follow them out of the room and go to your desk. You lock up and pack your bag and walk out of the building, barely mumbling goodbyes to the others in your department. You can’t even muster a smile for Kate, the one person in your department you have more than a nodding acquaintance with. Penelope, your new manager, isn’t even a nodding acquaintance for all that she is very outgoing and outspoken in team meetings, etc. With everyone but you, to be accurate. In fact, you’re pretty sure she avoids you as much as she can.

You sigh as you acknowledge that her outgoing nature is probably why she got the promotion, but you can’t muster the energy to think about it at the moment. You walk to the bus stop just in time to see it drive away. You look at your Apple watch and realize that Mrs. Hansen took just long enough in the meeting that you were later leaving than usual. The way your day’s been, you sort of expected the bus was leaving early. Of course, this isn’t much better.

Fortunately the next bus is due in fifteen minutes, so you just sit down on the bench to wait.

Halfway through the wait, Kate pulls up. “Missed the bus?” When you nod and shrug, she asks, “Want a ride?”

You know that would take her really out of her way, so you turn her down. “The next bus should be along in five minutes or so, but thanks.”

“You sure?”

You sigh. “It’ll add an extra hour to your commute, right?” you say. “So… yeah, I’m sure. Thanks, though.”

She looks at you. “Jacob,” she says, “you’re my best friend. Getting to spend an extra hour with you is not an inconvenience. So… hop in, okay?”

Your eyes widen. Three years ago, a few days after you joined the company, Kate told you that she would be your ‘work wife’. She very quickly became your best friend, but you don’t think she’s ever actually said that you’re her best friend.

Then again, you’ve never said those words either.

“Okay,” you say. You get up from the bench and open the passenger-side door to her car and, after a minute of fussing with the seat-position control (at six foot two, you’re almost a foot taller than Kate), the two of you are off.

As her car stops at the traffic light, you see the next 78 bus coming through. It’s packed.

“God, look at how many people are on the bus,” you say. “Thank you so much.”

“Hey,” she says. “You know I’d do anything for you, right?”

Your cock twitches. Kate is one of your main jackoff fantasies – she’s really pretty, she’s got shoulder-length wavy black hair and big brown eyes, and she’s stacked – but you’re sure she didn’t mean that sexually. Because everything you found online confirms that ‘work wife’ is platonic, and you’re not the kind of asshole who’d push her into changing the boundaries of the relationship.

“Yeah,” you say. “Yeah, I do.”

“You live in Marklin, right?”

“Uh huh,” you say. “518 Anglesey.”

She types it into the GPS, and then the light changes.

“Also,” she says as the car moves through the streets, “when you said this would add an hour to my commute, you didn’t mean –”

“ – an hour to my apartment? No, thank god. That’s from work to my place, and then Marklin to… you’re still in Sienna, right?”

She nods. “North Sienna, yeah. So it won’t be an extra hour that we’ll be together.” She shrugs. “Better than nothing.”

The car makes its way to the on-ramp. Soon you’re on the expressway. None of the bus routes take the expressway, and you realize you might get home earlier than you thought.

“So how’re you feeling?” Kate asks. “About the promotion. About not getting it, I mean.”

You look out the window for a moment. “Miserable,” you reply.

Kate makes a sad noise. It feels nice to know that she cares.

“I don’t understand it,” you admit. “I know the department. I know how everything works. I keep applying, and I keep getting passed up! Penelope’s only been here a year! I mean, she’s good, but… only a year! What’s wrong with me!”

Kate grimaces. “Jacob,” she says, “please don’t take this as an insult, I don’t ever want to hurt your feelings, but… do you want an actual answer to that question?”

You stiffen. “Um. I, I, I… I guess? Okay?”

“Jacob,” she says, “you’re shy.”

“I’m an introvert,” you protest. “There’s nothing wrong with that!”

“You’re shy,” she repeats. “I thought I was shy, but you’re a lot worse than me. I know you’re great with a few people at a time, but as a manager, you have to be able to lead meetings. When’s the last time you even gave a presentation?”

You slump. “Shit. You’re right. Penelope’s great at that. Shit.”

“Also – oh god, I hate to say this, but… the bullying?”

You sigh. “Go on?”

“I’m not saying it’s your fault that Jackson and Ryder are assholes to you. It’s their fault. But… I mean, I talked to HR – don’t worry, I didn’t mention any names – and Veronica said she can’t do anything unless you actually ask her. Do you think they’d stop bullying you just because you’re a manager?”

“Well, I… I guess not, no.”

Kate looks sad. “I’m sorry,” she says.

“No, no, you’re right, that was stuff I needed to hear. I guess if I really want a manager position, I’d have to… to really change who I am.”

She makes a face. “I don’t want you to change so much that you stop being Jacob! I like Jacob! He’s my best friend!”

Your mouth twitches. “Jacob appreciates that. Incidentally, speaking of presentations – you’ve got one on Thursday, right?”

“Wednesday,” Kate corrects you.

“Got everything you need?” you ask, and the two of you chatter pleasantly about work for a few minutes until you reach the off-ramp and exit into Marklin.

The car makes its way through the streets, and then, just as you’re about to turn onto Anglesey, you run into a roadblock.

With police cars.

And, oh god, fire trucks.