Might As Well

Chapter 1

"I could kill you for this," Lexa glared across the table at Anya who was staring at her phone.

Friday Happy Hour at the dive bar around the corner from the office had been a staple of Lexa and Anya's work week for over a decade. They were best friends in college who graduated side by side with business degrees and found themselves in the same entry level class of salesmen for Grounder Inc, the biggest office supply company in the country.

Twelve years ago they were fighting their way into small businesses to hock copy paper and toner. Lexa, now thirty-four, was the executive director of sales on the west coast, and the youngest director of sales in the country. Anya and her connivingly creative brain had moved to the sales strategy team after a brief stint in HR.

The happy hour tradition began back when they were young bucks, but it became more important as they switched roles, climbed higher and stopped seeing each other every day. Now that they both had offices on the executive floor of the building, the pair of best friends were back to seeing each other all the time.

For better or for worse.

"Oh, spare me," Anya waved a hand before picking up her pint of beer. She didn't look up. She had the face on that she saved for tedious emails that could have, and should have, waited for Monday morning. "You say that all the time and you never do it. Why are you so bent out of shape about this? It's not a big deal."

"It's a very big deal! You put me in a shitty position to be a liar and a jackass!" Lexa snapped. She was thankful for the full beer in front of her after another extremely long week. "This is on you, by the way," she gestured the glass at Anya who shrugged.

"That's fair," Anya sighed with relief before setting her phone, screen down, on the table. Her entire body relaxed. "Alright, it's officially the weekend now."

"And I'm officially screwed," Lexa gave her a fake smile that carried the subtext of impending violence. She shrugged out of her blazer and draped it over the back of the booth.

"Officially seems a bit strong," Anya rolled her eyes. She noticed that her office badge was still clipped on her lapel and tucked it away in her bag to erase the final reminder of the work week.

"There are some days that I don't even really like you that much anymore," Lexa pulled a big swig of her beer. "I love you to death. Probably always will. But I'm not always certain that I actually like you."

"I get that a lot," Anya tossed her hair over her shoulder sarcastically.

"I'm sure you do," Lexa scowled.

In all of their years together, it was always Anya that made the poor choices and Lexa that went along for the ride whether she liked it or not, and then tried to get them out of trouble. In college, Anya was a wild animal. Lexa chased behind her swearing and using her good grades and good nature to talk their way out of Anya's latest prank. Anya was the one to start conversations with strangers and then drop Lexa in to finish up. Lexa swore up and down that if she had a dollar for every time she told Anya 'I don't think this is a good idea,' she could've taken a year off.

Anya frequently reminded Lexa that if they weren't friends, and she didn't have such exciting antics, Lexa would have very few stories worth telling.

"Well, hey!" Anya's face lit up at someone behind Lexa.

"Happy Friday, boss ladies!" Lincoln arrived at the table with a pitcher of beer and an empty glass for himself. Anya scooted over in the booth so he could join them.

Lincoln was also in their rookie sales class. He got himself out of sales as quickly as possible and into distribution. He preferred a different flavor or pressure and was at the top of shipping and receiving now at the biggest warehouse in the company. His office was in the same industrial park as the home office where Anya and Lexa kept their nameplates on their desks. The crew of friends kept in touch primarily through happy hour beers almost every Friday, and it kept their friendships close.