23. That’s What Friends Are For
That’s What Friends Are For
L ater that night, Kellan sat on their couch, the glow of the TV flickering soundlessly across the room. The remote lay forgotten beside them as Cassie’s words looped in their mind, louder than anything on-screen.
They didn’t want to believe it. Alex wasn’t that kind of person. From everything they’d seen, Alex was thoughtful, intentional. More self-sacrificing than self-serving. But Cassie had looked gutted. And there had been moments that didn’t make sense. Small things. Slippery.
Kellan opened their laptop and started searching. The press release announcing Leah’s predecessor’s retirement was dated early June. But when Kellan double-checked the internal calendar, they saw the man’s last day had been a week before Alex even set foot in the LA office .
Which made the email Kellan found from Alex, sent their first week in LA, all the more strange.
It was short and polite: a quick note of congratulations to the former director on “his impressive run with the agency” and “enjoying a well-earned retirement.” It sounded friendly.
Normal, even. But Alex hadn’t met the guy. He was already gone.
And that detail. That timing. It lodged itself in Kellan’s brain like a splinter.
They clicked through to LinkedIn. Alex’s page still listed the end of their New York position as early June. They hadn’t started in LA until July. Three weeks off in between.
A full break, Kellan thought. Not a rushed transition. Not a scramble to fill an emergency vacancy. A plan.
Kellan sat back, a slow chill crawling up their spine. Had this been in motion before anyone at the LA office even knew a change was coming? They took another sip of wine and opened a new tab. If they wanted answers, they needed to follow the breadcrumbs.
***
The office was quiet. Most of the floor had cleared out for the night, but a light still glowed under Alex’s door. Kellan hesitated outside for a beat before knocking.
“Yeah?” Alex’s voice sounded tired.
Kellan stepped in and closed the door behind them. Alex sat at their desk, sleeves rolled up, a half-drunk coffee by their elbow, and a stack of client briefs untouched beside them.
“We need to talk,” Kellan said.
Alex looked up, brows furrowed. “Is this about Cassie? ”
“She overheard Eddie and Leah,” Kellan said, getting straight to the point. “Talking about the Senior Director position. About you.”
Alex leaned back, their jaw tightening. “What did she hear?”
“That your dad called Eddie. That the job was never meant for her.”
A muscle in Alex’s cheek twitched. “Shit.”
“She thinks you knew,” Kellan said quietly. “That you’ve been lying since the day you got here.”
Alex stood, pacing a few steps before turning to face Kellan. “I didn’t know. I swear I didn’t know she wanted the job. Or that anyone in LA was in line for it.”
Kellan studied them, arms folded. “But you knew there was a vacancy before Frank even announced his retirement?”
Alex sighed. “My dad told me. Said there was an opportunity. Said Frank was planning to step down soon. He made it sound like the job was open, clean.” They looked down, voice tightening. “I asked both of them, my Mom and Dad, if there were any internal candidates. They both told me no.”
“Why would they lie?”
“They didn’t. My dad lied, but my mom didn’t know.
She trusted my dad.” Alex sucked in a deep breath.
“And my dad wanted me back in LA.” Alex’s voice was bitter now.
“I think... I think he was setting this up for a while. But I didn’t know, Kellan.
I wouldn’t have taken the job if I knew it meant screwing someone over. ”
Kellan was quiet for a long moment. “Cassie doesn’t believe that.”
“I know,” Alex said, sinking into the edge of their desk. “She shouldn’t. Not without proof. I wouldn’t believe me either.”
Kellan let out a breath and nodded slowly. “Then we find the proof.”
Alex looked up .
“If your dad manipulated this, there’s a paper trail. Emails. Dates. Something that shows when you accepted the job and when the retirement was announced. We dig.”
“And then what?” Alex asked.
“Then we show her. Everything.”
***
Cassie was skimming over a draft, her fingers idly tapping against her desk as she considered the color balance in one of the campaign layouts.
The motion graphics team had sent over an update, but something still felt off.
She was about to make a note when Kellan appeared beside her, notebook in hand, looking unusually earnest. That was the first red flag.
“Hey,” they said lightly, a little too casually. “Got a sec?”
Cassie barely spared them a glance. “What is it?”
“I’m reviewing some of the Del Ray creative—motion spots, a few sound design transitions. Something about the pacing is off, and I could really use your opinion.”
Cassie finally looked up, suspicious. Kellan was an expert at animation pacing.
If something wasn’t working, it usually meant it was a bigger issue—one that required brainstorming with the entire creative team, not just her.
“You can bring your laptop over,” she replied, already turning back to her screen.
Kellan hesitated. “It’s better on the bigger screen. And I need the audio setup.”
Cassie narrowed her eyes. “So reserve the conference room.”
“I did.” Kellan smiled, a little too quickly. “I just need ten minutes of your magic touch. ”
Cassie stared at them, her gut telling her something was off.
Kellan was many things—talented, infuriating, an absolute menace—but they didn’t usually need her to personally review creative unless it was something they had already fought over with a client.
“Is this some kind of trap?” she asked flatly.
Kellan put a hand to their chest, feigning offense. “I would never.”
“You’re absolutely lying,” Cassie deadpanned, shoving her chair back. “But fine.”
The second red flag was the way Kellan didn’t even gloat as they led the way down the hall. Cassie stepped into the conference room, coffee in hand… and froze.
Alex stood near the monitor, hands wrung tightly together, face pale and wide-eyed.
The room seemed to contract around Cassie, the easy comfort of her routine shattered in an instant.
She barely processed Kellan slipping past her as her brain caught up to what was happening.
A meeting. With Alex. Set up behind her back.
Cassie’s eyes snapped to Kellan, betrayal flashing hot in her chest. “You lied to me.”
Kellan winced. “Technically, I omitted—”
Cassie turned on her heel to leave.
“C-cassie wait. Please.”
Alex’s voice cracked. That was the only reason she hesitated. Her shoulders tensed, but she didn’t turn back.
“I didn’t know about you,” Alex rushed on, urgency threading through their words. “I didn’t know there was anyone else being considered for the job. I didn’t know your name. I didn’t know you. If I had, I swear to God, I never would’ve taken it.”
Cassie closed her eyes, jaw clenched. She wanted to believe them. She wanted to turn around, look Alex in the eye, and let herself believe that this hadn’t been personal .
But it was personal. Because whether Alex had known her or not, they had still taken something Cassie had worked for. Something she needed. And no amount of words could change that.
Cassie turned slowly, her expression unreadable but her hands clenched into fists.
“I’ve heard that from you,” she said coldly. “Over and over. But then I hear Eddie say otherwise. I hear Leah hesitating. You congratulated Frank before his retirement was even announced.”
Alex flinched. “Because my dad told me. He told me the job was open and promised there were no internal candidates.”
Cassie’s jaw clenched, tears threatening but not falling. “You still took it. You had every resource, every connection, and you just… walked in and took what I worked years for.”
Alex took a shaky breath. “I didn’t know. But I should’ve. I should’ve asked more questions, pushed harder… something. Anything.”
Kellan stepped in gently. “That’s why we’ve been digging. We didn’t want you to take Alex’s word for it. So we found proof. We built the whole timeline.”
Cassie’s eyes flicked to Kellan, still full of betrayal. “And you thought ambushing me was the best way to share it?”
“It was the only way,” Alex said, voice small. “Y-you won’t talk to me. You won’t even look at me. But if you just see this... if you see how it happened, maybe you’ll believe me. Just five minutes, Cassie. Please.”
Cassie stood there, chest heaving. Then, after a beat… “Five minutes,” she said, voice brittle. “And not a second more.”
Kellan didn’t waste any time, dimming the lights and bringing the screen to life.
“Timeline: Senior Director Transition ”
Cassie froze. Her eyes darted between the screen and Kellan and then Alex. She stepped back. “What the hell is this?”
“It’s the truth,” Alex said quietly, stepping forward. “Please just… let us show you.”
Kellan nodded and advanced to the first slide.
May 6: Alex is told by their father about Frank retiring and the Senior Director job opening.
“I didn’t say yes right away,” Alex said. “I didn’t trust him. I asked my mom, too… she swore there were no internal candidates. I thought I was just filling an open role.”
May 21: Alex formally accepts the job offer.
May 23: Frank informs Eddie of his plan to retire.
Cassie’s arms folded. “That’s the same week.”
Kellan nodded. “Frank gave notice after Alex accepted. Two days later.”
Cassie looked at the screen again. Her mouth opened—then closed.
May 27: Frank’s retirement is officially announced. Leah is offered the Managing Director position.
June 2: Leah talks to Cassie about the Senior Director position.
Cassie blinked. “She told me she had been promoted, and she wanted me to step into her old position.”
Alex stepped forward. “I’d already put in my notice in New York. Everything was in motion.”
June 10: Leah and Cassie are told Alex will be taking the Senior Director role.
Kellan set the remote down. “We double-checked it all—emails, calendar invites, even Slack messages. This is the real sequence.”
Cassie didn’t move. Her breathing was shallow, her fingers clenched at her sides .
Alex broke the silence. “I never lied to you.”
Cassie’s voice came out low and tight. “But you didn’t ask the right questions. You trusted your dad.”
“I know,” Alex said. “And I shouldn’t have.
I just…after everything…my mom begging me to move back home for years, swearing there wasn’t anyone else for the job, my stupid ex…
I was tired. And lonely. All my friends were actually her friends.
” Taking a shuddering breath, Alex swiped at their eyes.
“I thought maybe I could come home, do good work, and keep my distance from family politics. But I walked straight into a mess.”
Cassie’s eyes burned. “You walked into my job.”
“I didn’t know it was yours,” Alex said. “And when I found out. When I realized… you have no idea how sick I felt. I confronted my parents. My mom was furious. My dad’s never lied to her like that before.”
“And your dad?” Cassie asked, voice cracking.
Alex’s jaw clenched. “He admitted it. Said even though he wasn’t involved in the day-to-day, it was still his company. That it was time. Like I was a pawn.”
Cassie turned away, staring at the darkened glass wall.
“I never would’ve taken this job if I’d known,” Alex said. “Never.”
Cassie didn’t respond.
Kellan glanced between them, sensing the air had shifted. “I’m gonna give you two a minute.” They slipped out quietly, closing the door behind them. The silence that followed was deafening.
Alex took a tentative step forward. “Cassie…”
She turned slowly. Her eyes shimmered with tears, but her voice was steel. “I hated you,” she said.
Alex’s breath caught, a sharp, stabbing pain piercing their chest. They knew she was mad, but hating them… that struck hard .
“I hated that you got everything I’d worked for. That you looked at me like you didn’t understand why I was angry. I thought you were pretending… gaslighting me.”
“I wasn’t,” Alex whispered. “I just didn’t know how to fix what I never meant to break.”
Cassie shook her head. “Were you already here when I was told I wasn’t getting the promotion?”
“N-not yet,” Alex said, voice hoarse, “I got here three days later. But I was basically packed. H-had shipped everything the day before you found out.”
Cassie blinked hard, a tear escaping despite her best efforts. She wiped it away angrily. “I don’t know if I believe you yet,” she said.
Alex nodded. “You don’t have to. Just… believe I’m trying.”
Cassie looked at them for a long, heavy moment. Then she walked out without a word.
Alex didn’t follow.