The Difference Between Getting and Needing

f o r t y - s e v e n

'cause look how far we came,
i know we'll be o k a y . . .

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Cyclone Sutton: PLEASE tell me you found a dress you liked on your own!! Obvi we have different styles but I sent you 13 links last night and you never answered me. Today marks ONE MONTH until the big day so you HAVE to find something to wear ASAP!!! Call me later and we'll figure it out!! xo

The text from my sister popped up on my phone at the ten-minute mark until the end of my workday. True to her form, it was filled with an excessive amount of exclamation points and some random words in all caps to further prove her excitement.

I could've responded by saying I would call her as soon as I got home. Instead, like a bitch, I waited for the screen to dim and left her message unread. All I wanted was to leave the office and go right to my weekly dinner with Collin. A draining phone call with Sutton wasn't on my schedule because knowing her, it wouldn't be a quick conversation, nor would it be easy.

She had been on my ass every single day about not having picked out a wedding dress. It was the last thing we needed to do before "the big day" and since it was only a month away at this point, I needed to come up with something fast.

To be fair, I was just as stressed about it as Sutton but clearly I didn't show my emotions in the same ways that she did. I think I was so stressed that I catapulted myself to the point of not caring, which was a bad habit of mine. Then again, I never knew what to wear for anything so this wasn't a totally unusual scenario for me. I supposed my belated wedding dress should have been an exception.

It wasn't. I was back on my Bayla bullshit and my sister tried everything in her power to stop it. She'd been calling and texting me so much that I was a fraction of a second away from blocking her, though it'd be pointless since she'd go to the ends of the earth to get in contact with me. Even if that meant writing a letter by hand and having a pigeon drop it off at my window.

She could accomplish a lot, I'd admit, but there was one thing that even the great Sutton Makana couldn't do. This particular dilemma required a different kind of reinforcement, some courage on my behalf, and some wise advice from the only person that could help me out.

"Hey, Nad?" I called out to my coworker, who was packing up her things for the day on the other side of the room.

"Huh?" She grunted for a response, not bothering to look away from her overstuffed tote bag on her lap. 

"Do you think it'd be weird if I invited Donatella to my wedding?" I came right out with the million dollar question.

Her dark topknot bobbed with the jerky movement of her head as her sharp green gaze latched onto me. "This is random," she stated.

"I know," I sighed, dropping my elbows on my desk so I could prop my chin up with my hands. "I've been going back and forth about this for days. It's a month away at this point and if I'm gonna do it, I have to do it now. What do you think?"

She hummed in thought and digested my question. If there was one person in this world besides Collin that could give me the best guidance, there was no doubt it was Nadia. Especially when it was anything regarding our wild card of a boss.

"Well, in one way, it could be overstepping a boundary line because she is our boss," she said honestly, and I nodded. Her own head tilted to one side and she scrunched her face in disagreement with the point she just made. "But also, it's Donatella. She's not a normal boss. We know more about her than some of her family members, so I don't think it'd be weird."