Black Tie Event

Chapter Twenty Four

"The surprises keep coming, don't they?"

"Ana, don't be like that," I urged.

"Do you hit on everything that moves?"

"Please," I said quietly. "Ana, don't do this."

"Don't do what, Kim?" Allison joined in. "Are you going to dispute the fact that you slut around like it's your job?"

"I have a job," I argued. "And I'd like to do it, without being attacked."

"Well I was just in there being attacked while I tried to do mine. And you didn't do shit to stop it, because you were busy playing house with that bitch of a lawyer."

"Oh please, Allison, don't play the victim here. She was willing to let it go, and you kept fighting her like a teenage girl."

"She was harassing me!"

"Are you sure?" I reminded her. "Are you sure you're sure?"

"Typical. You take her side."

"Okay, how on earth is this typical? Is this something I do habitually? I must have missed the headlines in the last four Sunday papers. 'Kim Hayden Takes Lawyer's Side in Yet Another Catfight.'"

"That's not what I mean, Kim. I'm talking about you mixing your personal life and your work life with catastrophic results."

"You lost an argument, Allison. Some catastrophe."

"That is not what I'm upset about!" she argued hysterically. "And I did not lose."

"But that is not what you're upset about," I said adversely, proving a point. "Look, you know what? I don't give a shit anymore. You two have fun, enjoy your lovely car ride home, and brainstorm ways to verbally abuse me about my sex life. Talk about what a slut I am. See how much closer it gets you to finding her."

"You're not being fair," Ana argued. "You can't act like our feelings are irrational because we're in an emotional state right now."

"Well, I'm sorry, but they are. As much as I'm sure you'd love to monitor my personal life, that's exactly what it is. Personal. And neither of you gets a say in how I conduct it."

"Not even when you lead me on, and try to make me believe that you care about me, then go and sleep with someone else?"

"You weren't talking to me!" I found myself saying much more loudly than I'd intended. "Do you really want to know what happened last night? I was a wreck, because of everything that happened with you. I went drinking with her, because I needed a distraction. I got drunk because I was upset, okay? And that's how we ended up in bed together. I don't even remember last night. But excuse me if that's not exactly the story I want to tell the morning after."

"You would turn this into my fault," she said under her breath.

"You haven't exactly needed alcohol to get to that point in the past, Hayden," Allison added. "You can't use it as an excuse now."

"Excuse?" I repeated, laughing without humor. "I don't need an excuse. I am the oldest person here, a fully functioning human being, and, if I recall correctly, I'm not married to either of you. If tomorrow I find out that there's a law against getting drunk and sleeping with an ADA, then I'll fire up my excuse. Until then, I'm not going to sit here and let you try to make me feel bad about having sex."

"Kim," Allison said, but now it was almost a whisper. She sounded frightened, or agitated, or something, but I ignorned it.

"What?" I demanded.