Mr Efficiency Spent His Life WAITING for My Bestie Chapter 01
Zane Quinn lived and breathed efficiency. He detested anything that wasted his time.
He’d skipped the wedding rehearsal, dismissing it as a pointless drain on his schedule. When he saw the long line at City Hall for our marriage license, he simply turned around and left.
On Valentine’s Day, I had booked a private dining room to avoid any wait and arrived early at his office.
As I walked down the hallway, I overheard two subordinates gossiping in hushed tones. “Mr. Quinn waits in the employee elevator line every single day just so he can leave work alongside Assistant Kelly.”
Sure enough, there stood Zane, dead last in the elevator queue, chatting casually about work with my best friend, Susan Kelly.
When the elevator reached the lobby, I hurried over to them. Zane’s face darkened the moment he laid eyes on me. “Nina, we haven’t tied the knot legally or thrown a wedding reception. What makes you so desperate to play the boss’s wife?”
I shook my head, speechless.
He’d always forbidden me from visiting his office to avoid gossip. Terrified he’d bail on our date again over delays, I’d rushed over in stiletto heels to pick him up after work.
Just then, Susan feigned distress. “Oh no, I left my laptop upstairs. I need to run back and grab it—don’t wait up for me.”
Zane placed a steadying hand on her shoulder, his tone softening instantly. “I’ll get it. You take Nina to the car first.”
He turned and rejoined the end of the elevator line heading back upstairs.
In that exact moment, I knew this relationship—the one he’d never bothered investing time in—was over.
……
Thirty minutes passed while Zane was gone.
Susan had called him five times in that span. He had answered every single call, letting her hang up first each time—a courtesy he never extended to me.
My mind went hazy.
Zane and I had a standing rule: our phone calls could never run longer than two minutes. If we went over, he hung up without hesitation.
The night before, I’d asked him for the passcode to our new front door. After I mistyped it twice, our call hit the time limit. He’d cut me off cold.
I’d sat huddled by our front door for two hours until he got home.
When I asked why he’d ignored my texts, his reply had been brutally blunt. “Nina, your lack of a schedule doesn’t justify wasting mine.”
Zane pulled his car around. Susan climbed straight into the passenger seat.
Office staff streamed out of the building, and their whispers carried clearly.
“Mr. Quinn treats Assistant Kelly like gold. He drives her everywhere, rain or shine.”
“Whenever Susan’s in the room, his meetings always run ten minutes late.”
“The efficiency-obsessed CEO turned lovesick puppy for her. I totally ship them.”
Susan sighed in mock exasperation, yet her smile shone bright. “Nina, they’re just joking. Don’t take it seriously.”
She pulled up a photo album on her phone, showing a doctored wedding photo of her and Zane, laughing it off. “They even edited our faces onto a wedding photo.”
I sat frozen in the backseat, unable to laugh. “A stranger would think you two are actually married.”
Zane’s voice dropped sharply. “Let other people talk, but Susan is your best friend. Why would you mock her like this?”
Susan jumped in to smooth things over. “It’s Valentine’s Day. As long as Nina’s having fun, I don’t mind.”
Zane’s jaw tightened. “She only cares about her own amusement. She waltzes into my office without a second thought for the trouble she causes everyone else.”
“Nina, I won’t have rumors about our engagement derailing the company’s IPO. Don’t come to the office again.”
My gaze landed on a pair of earrings Susan had left resting on the dashboard. “Then why don’t those fake wedding photos of you and Susan need to stay under wraps?”
Zane’s brows drew together. “Because the truth speaks for itself!”
I bit back a bitter laugh.
Their fake wedding photos were innocent. Our engagement, which we hadn’t even announced publicly, was treated as nothing but a liability.
Susan tugged at Zane’s sleeve. “Nina booked that bistro. I’m starving—let’s go eat.”
Zane glanced into the rearview mirror at me, momentarily thrown off. “You should’ve told me you made reservations. You had Susan wandering around the city with you for no reason.”
What was supposed to be a date for two turned into dinner for three. I passed one of our two appetizers over to Susan.
My mom called, asking about wedding arrangements. She wanted to speak to Zane.
He took the phone. My mom asked what wedding date they’d settled on.
“Pick any date. There’s no point obsessing over trivial nonsense. We’re busy, I have to go.” He ended the call abruptly.
He handed my phone back to me, tone casual. “Nina, you fixate on every little detail, but I want this wedding as stripped-down as possible.”
My chest felt tight.
Texts poured in from my mom, full of apologies.
[Nina, I’m so sorry. I didn’t know you were busy.]
[Tell Zane I’ll make sure to schedule a proper time to call next time.]
[Don’t stress about the wedding. We can wait, really.]
I’d lost my appetite and made an excuse to go to the restroom. I pulled the door shut and stood quietly outside.
Behind the door, Susan’s laughter rose and fell. She chattered about office gossip. Zane listened quietly, chuckling along every now and then.
I’d once vented to him about unfair treatment at my own job. He’d cut me off mid-sentence. “Nina, do you honestly expect me to care about your petty little grievances?”
It hit me then. It was never that he hated wasted time. He just didn’t think I was worth his effort.
I texted my mom back: [Mom, the wedding’s off.]