Brook is sitting on the bed rushing her way through her friend’s Facebook posts:
Brooks: “Everyone is so pissed. Some people are saying he’s an alcoholic and they shouldn’t get married, other people are blaming the cops, other people are blaming the friends for letting him drive, other people are saying it’s a ‘sign’ that they shouldn’t get married. My entire weekend is ####ed now.” (throws her phone on the bed)
Me: “It’s definitely not going to be a weekend of drinking and fun around DC with friends”.
Brooks: “I should just go home early”
Me: “Tell you what, go see your friends today – give the hugs and spend a little time. If it looks like it’s going to be a cry-fest weekend, call me, make an excuse to leave and we’ll hang out. I’ll set something up so you get to see DC. I need to go to the office now though to handle a few things. I’ll do a quick group text with Angie and tell her to make sure you can get around, get in the building etc. and so you have her number. Sound like a plan?”
Brooks: (long reflecting pause while looking at me with my “so what do you think?” look/shrug) “I met you yesterday. How can you stand in front of me naked and offer that? ”
Me: “I try to be a good dude, mostly; I help when I can help but I can’t help everyone. I’m just giving you options – options are good in tough situations. Again (looking at the time), I need to get to the office btw”
Brooks: (slowly taking everything in and in the voice of someone I just verbally defeated during negotiations) “…yes…yes…thank you. I’m just…so…weirded out right now”.
Group text with Angie and Brooks:
Me: Angie, take care of Brooks this weekend. It’s her first time in DC
Angie: Company card or your card?
Me: Mine
Angie: Nice to meet you Brooks, call me if you need anything!!!
Brooks: Awe thank you!!!
/end
I set Brooks up with an Uber to get to her friend’s house, I head to the office. Several hours go buy while I’m buried with work; it’s now about 7 pm when I’m in my office doing my weekly wrap up with the other consultants…
Aside: this is normal for consultants because we’re dealing with clients that work mon-fri/9-5ish; we circle up after normal business hours. Friday is the best day because our clients are typically not still working; this way we’re not sidetracked with a “OMG/WTF?” phone call (these typically happen on Mon and Tues after someone was blindsided in a staff meeting and calls us). Friday is also a great day to get that late afternoon meeting with a customer, especially in our business – can’t get them on a Tuesday morning? Well how about we meet 3-4pm for drinks? Then when we meet up later that night so I always have the latest and greatest of what the team is doing. It’s what I call our ‘Denny Crane time’ (Boston Legal reference, sorry).
…then Angie calls my office line:
Angie: “Umm, hey Ronnie. Brooks called me in tears, says she needs a “way out and you should understand if you cared. I asked what she wanted me to do but she wasn’t clear. Who is this chick???”
I look at my cell phone (which I usually keep off when I’m focused on work) and see a few missed calls from Brooks and a multiple missed texts going from “Let’s do something”, “These girls all hate me” to “I knew you were a liar”. Oh boy.
Me: “Crap, Angie I’ve been tied up with work, that’s why I wanted her to go to you”.
Angie: “Well what do you want me to do?”
Me: “Call her, find out where she is and go get her – or send a car to get her”.
Angie: “And do what?”
Me: “Find a bar, start off with shots order some food and tell her I’ll be there in another hour.”
Another hour goes by, our meeting finishes then I try to catch up with Brooks and Angie. I call Angie:
Me: “So, what’s up?”
Angie: “We’re at Coastal Flats (says confidently)”
Me: “In the mall?”
Angie: Yeah!
Me: “It’s her first time in DC, she’s having the worst weekend ever and you take her to a mall restaurant?”
Angie: “You love this place?!?! What’s wrong now?!?! I’m trying and you didn’t say where to take her?!?! (loudly to me and borderline inappropriately dismissive but I could also tell Angie started with the shots, so that’s good).
Me: “Angie, I’m on my way there. (I’m now employing disarming techniques) You’ve done a great job as always. And trust me, this is why I’m still holding onto a few coins to keep you from going over the wall (this is our running Trump’s wall/Schindler's List joke).
Angie: “

I love you Ronnie!”
Me: “I love you too babe”
So, I Angie got Brooks to Coastal Flats for some food and drinks. Angie’s personality is always this, Angie isn’t a good manager of people. She can manage schedules but not people; guaranteed right now she’s just playing ‘order taker’; meaning she just making sure Brooks has what she needs and what I asked her to do is done. Frankly, I don’t want to deal with turning around her bad weekend – and an order taker isn’t going to do that. I really just want Brooks to chill and have a good time this weekend.
I call Ice:
Me: You free or you still have bodies to hide
Ice: You’re talking so yeah, still a body to hide
Me: Free tonight? Like right now?
Ice: You need me to find a guy for you?
Me:

No, it’s a chick I met in Austin (told her the entire story)
Ice: (post fill-in story) …and you took her to a mall for dinner for her first time in DC – you’re a classy one Ron (obviously sarcastic)
Me: Ice – yeah or fail, what is it
Ice: I’m leaving Silver Springs now; I need to stop at your place to change then sure. Oh and my clothes better be correct or I’m beating the help when I see her.
Me: Thank you.
I coordinate meeting at my place with Ice. Do I need her there? No, but I always love Ice’s interaction when I’m around a new chick. Yesx1000. Most of it is I get to dial her back when she’s trying to turn someone up; maybe it’s a yin/yang thing. Lance’s running saying is, “You just like to make stone soup in these situations”.
Ice and I show up at Coastal Flats in Tyson’s. Ice looks fantastic in a very aggressive mock-neck jumpsuit and heals, sheer back with a very “I’ll tie you up in a basement” look. I’m in Friday night mode - shirt fitted in an admiral color Burberry shirt and light AG’s with the
damn Daniels on (this was a thing 15 minutes of fame ago).
We walk in and the hostesses ask us if we need a table, I say we’re fine and meeting friends. They want our names, I just say we see them and keep walking (I didn’t see them).
I quickly make the introductions then invite Brooks to hang out – not here, Coast Flats is a nice place but not a welcome to DC place. Angie and Brooks Ubered, I’m stuck driving. Ice is shotgun and immediately start grilling Brooks.
Ice: How do you know Ron? (she already knows how I know her)
Brooks: (repeats most of what I told Ice)
Ice: “You don’t know Ron”
Ice puts on a song while we’re driving and says, “
This is Ron”.
Brooks V