Gwen and Carly sat on the couch while Reagan took the armchair. They were creatures of habit—same food, same seats, and same drinks. Reagan snagged a couple cheddar cubes and popped them in her mouth, washing them down with a swig of Upland Wheat Ale. “Now, Carly had started telling me about her new job when you got here. Time for more details. Where’s it at again?”

“Touchpoint Media. It’s an advertising agency. I’m one of three people in their IT department.”

“Do you like the other two so far?” Gwen asked.

Carly shrugged. “Seem like nice guys so far. A bit quiet.”

“You’ll fit right in there,” Reagan said with a wink.

Carly laughed. “Yeah, that’s true. Oh! I never told you about my first run-in with the Ogre.” She pulled her legs onto the couch and sat cross-legged, holding her glass in her lap.

“The what? Who’s he?” Reagan asked.

“She is some head honcho in the marketing department.”

“Is she ugly or something?” Gwen asked as she took a sip of her wine.

“Definitely not. She’s got that prim-and-proper hotness, and she totally knows how to fill out a suit. But she seems a little intense. She came back after a late lunch on my first day while I was setting up her new computer. And let me tell you, she intimidated me so much I thought I was gonna pee my pants.”

Reagan snorted. “What’d she do?”

“She didn’t really do anything. Just stood there with her arms crossed, narrowed her eyes at me, and told me not to mess up. Then she barked at her assistant.”

“Well, did you mess up?” Reagan asked, hiding her grin as she drank her beer.

Carly looked at her with wide eyes. “Of course not. What do you take me for?”

Reagan held up her hands. “I’m kidding, my friend. It’s so easy to rile you up.”

“Jerk,” Carly muttered. “Just thinking about her scares me, though.” She shuddered. “Thankfully, I shouldn’t have much interaction with her.”

“Cheers to that too,” Reagan said as she held up her glass.

Gwen and Carly raised theirs in response. They spent the rest of the night catching each other up on the little things that had happened since their last get-together. Reagan sat back, listening to her friends and sipping her beer. She had missed this.

* * *

“Wow. You actually came,” Sam said as she ushered Jill into her condo. Sam’s place fit her well. It was modern, sleek, and ridiculously expensive, everything Sam was on the outside.

“I said I would. And you never specified a time so I came as soon as I finished up with work.”