True love is invincible

My coworker, the queen of passive-aggressive, posted a picture of her holding hands with my boyfriend.

The caption? "True love conquers all!"

I countered by sharing my boyfriend's HIV positive test results on my Insta story.

"True love’s great, honey. Just hope your immune system is as strong.”

1

Seven AM, my phone’s voice memo woke me up.

“Hey, Lindsay, is Jakey-boo gonna pick me up today? It's raining!”

That was Tiffany, using our little group chat. "Jakey-boo" was my boyfriend, Jake. We’d been going steady for a year, and he drove me to work every day, rain or shine.

Before I could reply, Jake’s voice, all smooth and charming, popped up: “Sure thing, Tiff. We'll swing by at eight sharp. Just wait by the curb.”

My sleepiness instantly vanished. I frowned, “Jake, going to get her is a half-hour detour. Are you gonna make it on time?”

He hesitated. “It’ll be tight, but we'll be fine. You know,” he said, playfully tapping my nose, “it’s raining! Tiff's your coworker, gotta look out for her.”

I swallowed my annoyance and put on a fake smile.

Morning rush hour traffic was a nightmare. Jake was busy navigating, so I couldn't really text.

"Babe, why don't you text Tiff? Tell her we're almost there.”

I nodded, sent the message, but Tiffany didn't reply.

Ding-dong!

But Jake's phone lit up with a text: “Okay, I’m out! Drive safe, Jakey-boo! (Cutesy emoji)”

Seriously?

Was I invisible now?

I was beyond confused, and Jake tried to soothe me. “Oh, she probably thought you were driving. No biggie.”

I pouted to show my displeasure, but let it slide.

We pulled up to the curb, and Tiffany tried to open the passenger door.

She looked pale. “Lindsay, I'm feeling a little faint. Could you switch seats with me?”

WTF?

Jake saw my face and jumped in, trying to smooth things over. “C’mon, Lindsay. Tiffany’s sick! Just switch, it’s not a big deal.”

“You’re so sweet, Jake!” she gushed at my boyfriend.

I was actually pissed. Jake was driving my car, and now he was kicking me to the back seat?

But then a cop showed up, yelling: “Move it, or you’re getting a ticket!”

Ugh, whatever. I'd been with Jake for so long; I paid for everything, even the parking tickets, and the car was mine anyway.

So I sulked and went to the back seat.

At the office, Jake gave us both polite goodbyes, and Tiffany watched him drive off, beaming.

Then a bunch of texts from Jake popped up:

"Don't be like that, Lindsay!"

"You know how much rent is at The Summit? At least $5k a month! She shops at Neiman’s! She's doing us a favor by letting us give her a ride. You need to play the game! She might connect us with a big client."

Jake, a sales manager, always emphasized the importance of networking.

His lecture made me scoff.

The Summit’s apartments? Seriously?

Honey, my family developed that complex.

My dad left me an entire building to rent out.

2

Monday mornings were always crazy.

And there was Tiffany, just chilling and chatting.

“OMG, Tiffany, that new Gucci b...