THE HIGH-STAKES HANGOVER
The air at the dinner table was so thick with tension it felt like a physical weight. Sofia sat across from Fay, her black suit a sharp contrast to the tropical white linen of the resort. Between them sat the untouched seafood tower and the bowl of porridge that started this war.
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Bzzzz, Bzzzz, Bzzzz
Suddenly, Kei's phone buzzed with a rhythmic, urgent vibration. She looked at the screen it was her lead engineer from the Luz Group.
"I have to take this,"
Kei said, her voice strained.
"The new hydrogen-cell engine is having cooling issues in the prototype phase. If I don't fix this now, the launch is dead."
She looked at Sofia, then at Fay,
"Please. Just… eat. I'll be ten minutes."
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As Kei walked toward the edge of the deck, her voice dropping into her "CEO mode" as she barked orders about thermal dynamics and fuel injectors, Fay and Sofia were left in a silence that was louder than the crashing waves.
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Sofia leaned back, swirling her wine.
"She's brilliant, isn't she? But she's also loyal to a fault. That's why she stayed with me for fifteen years, Dr. Sterling. Loyalty. Something you wouldn't know about, since you were busy 'moving on' while she was rebuilding her life."
Fay's grip on her glass tightened.
The jealousy she had felt earlier was now a cold, hard knot in her chest.
"I didn't move on. I waited. And I'm the one she's here with now."
"Are you?"
Sofia smirked.
"Or are you just a ghost she's trying to appease? Let's settle this like adults. Or rather, like people with too much to lose."
"_"
Sofia pointed to the row of expensive, high-proof Tequila bottles on the side bar.
"A drinking contest. The last one standing gets to stay in the villa. The loser takes the private jet back to the city tonight."
Fay looked at the bottles.
She was a surgeon, she usually kept her hands steady and her mind clear. But the sight of Sofia's hand on Kei's arm earlier had pushed her over the edge.
"Fine,"
Fay said, her voice icy.
"But when I win, you take your porridge and you vanish."
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For the next twenty minutes, as Kei paced the beach below, arguing about engine torque and cooling systems, the two most powerful women in Kei's life went to war.
Round 1: Straight tequila. Neither flinched.
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Round 2: Sofia told a story about Kei crying on her shoulder after a failed business deal. Fay downed two shots in a row.
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Round 3: Fay showed Sofia the old photo where kei was sleeping in fay lap in the library. Sofia finished the bottle.
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By the time they reached the fourth round, the "classy" atmosphere had dissolved. The "Master" and the "Original" were leaning against the table, their faces flushed, their words slurring.
"You… you don't even know her favorite color,"
Fay mumbled, her head lolling.
"It's green,"
Sofia countered, her sleek hair finally coming undone.
"I… I made her. I built… her....I....Loved…..her…".
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[Yeah engineer tell Secretary yumi about it and let's talk about the budget at the office].
[Yeah...boss....]
Hung up
When Kei finally hung up the phone, her head was spinning from technical jargon and the stress of a million-dollar engine failure. She walked back onto the deck, expecting to find a shouting match or a cold shoulder.
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"_"
Fay was slumped over the table, her head resting on her arms right next to the empty lobster shells. Sofia was slumped back in her chair, her head tilted back, snoring softly with a half-empty glass still clutched in her hand.
They were both completely, utterly wasted
Kei stood there, staring at the two women who had just spent the last hour trying to "win" her. The "Master" and the "Wife" both defeated by a bottle of beer.
"Unbelievable,"
Kei whispered, a tired but genuine smile finally touching her lips.
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She walked over to Fay, gently brushing a strand of hair behind her ear. Then she looked at Sofia, the woman who had truly been her sister-in-arms for a decade. Despite the chaos, seeing them like this quiet and harmless was the first moment of peace Kei had felt all trip.