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"Knock, knock!"
Nicki looked up from her computer and immediately smiled seeing her best friend and colleague, Cassie, entering her office. The beautiful, five-foot-six woman walked over to her desk, gently sitting on the edge of it.
"Are you almost done? We have plans, and I don't plan on being late because of your ass," Cassie stressed.
Nicki huffed a small laugh, pushing her jet black curls over her shoulder as her eyes continued scanning the bright desktop screen. "Girl, what plans? Cai's game? He'll survive if we're a few minutes late."
"It means the world to him every time we come to his games, and it would probably mean a whole lot more if your workaholic ass would at least show up on time," her best friend badgered her.
"Oh my god, Cas, fine! Let me just finish up these files, and we can leave. I promise," Nicki sighed.
As promised, she finished sorting through the files on her screen, and within a few short minutes, the two women were heading to the parking garage.
They were always grateful when Fridays rolled around. Their typical workday was cut in half on Fridays, giving them an early start to their weekend. Both women worked in the corporate side of the fashion world — Nicki as an inventory planner, and Cassie as a merchandiser. Although their roles in the company were very similar, and Cassie often worked under Nicki, their workloads were completely different. Cassie seemed to have a better work-life balance and more free time, while Nicki was the complete opposite. She could bury herself in her work for weeks at a time if you let her.
"Okay, I'm gonna go change, then I'll meet you there. You wanna grab something to eat after the game?" Cassie asked as they approached their cars.
"Yeah, that's fine. Let's do Mexican. I've been craving a good fajita for a few days now," Nicki smiled.
Cassie agreed with a laugh. They got into their cars and Cassie was the first to drive away. Nicki sat inside of her car for a few minutes, checking the missed notifications on her phone. She had a bad habit of ignoring her notifications while working, but she was relieved to see that none of them were important. Finally putting her seatbelt on, she drove away.
***
The blazing Texas heat was enough to give anyone an attitude for no reason. Nicki's frown was deep as she walked through the crowded stands with her hand above her head, shielding her eyes from the sun. As soon as she approached her designated spot, her mother's eyes were on her. Carol was always happy to see her eldest child, and only daughter. They only lived twenty minutes away from each other, but Nicki rarely visited due to her busy work schedule.
"Well, look what the wind blew in! Why do you look mad, honey?" Carol asked, standing up to pull her daughter into a hug.
Nicki hugged her mother back before quickly pulling away. "It's too damn hot out here. That little boy is lucky I love him, because I promise you I would much rather be in my air conditioned apartment right now."
