A few days later, Valerie nearly jumped out of her skin when Ashley suddenly showed up at her office. The timing couldn’t have been worse—Valerie was just about to head home to her new apartment. Ashley’s face was all storm clouds, like she was carrying a whole suitcase of bad vibes.

But, true to form, no matter how ticked off Ashley got, she never actually ditched Valerie. That was just who she was—ride‑or‑die, always choosing to hash things out instead of blowing up and walking ...