I couldn't believe it when I found myself agreeing to marry my best friend that night.
**a ForthBeam short story**
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, businesses, places, events, locales, and incidents are either the products of the author...
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I was vigorously wiping away the coffee cup ring on my desk, my mind preoccupied. The day had been a complete disaster right from the start. A traffic jam delayed my commute to the office by almost forty minutes, setting a negative tone for the rest of the day. Every subsequent event seemed to go wrong.
I was desperately hoping for a change in the afternoon. With less than twenty minutes left in the workday, I knew the email from the head of the development department could arrive any moment. I kept refreshing my inbox, eager to find out which design had been selected for the northwest industrial revitalization project.
This project demanded more hours from my team and me than any other since I joined the city. It held immense significance as one of the most crucial tasks I had ever undertaken. Forth's shop was situated in the northwest industrial neighborhood, making any alterations I envisioned for the area directly influential to him.
Never before had I been involved in shaping a community part that could profoundly impact my life and that of my friends. While I always cherished the chance to directly contribute to the city through my job, this endeavor struck a personal chord unlike any other, surpassing the impact of a pocket park or the addition of lanes to bustling streets.
I finished the last sip of my latte and hit refresh on the screen once more. Just then, Pam and Meen popped their heads into my office.
"Any updates, boss?" Meen asked. It always felt strange when he used that term. I mean, I was technically his boss, but Meen worked just as hard on these projects as I did.
"Not yet, but it should be any minute now."
We had already completed our presentations and sent all the necessary information to the department head. It was a challenging task. However, the anticipation was even more difficult. Soon, we would discover if all the time we had spent meticulously planning, designing, and refining every small detail was worth it or not.
"Ready to be completely crushed?"
Tiew stood behind Pam and Meen. His comment wasn't particularly inflammatory, but it managed to get under my skin. If I were to compare the number of projects his team had been awarded to mine, he would win by a large margin. Over time, his teasing had started to affect me, and my resilience against it had weakened. I composed myself, making sure not to show any signs of being affected. I made sure not to let him know that I had even heard his comment.
Pam and Meen approached, moving closer to my desk. Tiew saw this as an opportunity to enter my office and sat down in the chair opposite me, wearing a smug expression that I couldn't ignore. I resisted the urge to wipe that look off his face with my boot, knowing it wouldn't go over well with my boss if there were blood stains on the carpet.
Tiew then asked, "Where do you think I should take my team to celebrate our victory tonight?"
For a moment, I wondered if I had missed an important update, but a quick refresh of my inbox confirmed that there was no news.
