The late afternoon sun has lost its warmth as I pull into the parking lot of the location of tonight’s catering job. Luxor’s vans are parked by the curb and I spot Lola’s car in the back of the lot by Isaac’s. I pull in beside her, get out, and walk briskly to the back door.

This afternoon has thrown me for a loop. I hate this nagging feeling in the pit of my stomach that everything is falling apart, that things aren’t capable of ending well. It just drums up so many bad feelings that I find myself wanting to vomit every few minutes.

“Mrs. Baker, did you see photos on Malarky’s website? Did you see your husband snorting cocaine off a prostitute’s tits?”

“Mommy, why did Daddy leave us? Doesn’t he love me anymore?”

“You’re a worthless piece of shit, Alison. You have nothing to offer a man like me.”

My stomach rolls right along with the memories.

I walk around the side of the van and stop dead in my tracks. A woman is standing on the curb, a Cheshire cat-like smile carved on her glossy lips. She’s beautiful—tanned skin and long, blonde hair. When she sees me, she turns to face me.

“You’re Alison, aren’t you?” she asks.

The disdain is undeniable in her tone, poison leaking off of each syllable. I throw my shoulders back and take a deep breath. “Yes, I am.”

Keeping my head up, I quicken my pace, but she steps in front of me.

“I’m Lacy McKay,” she voices, loud enough so that I can’t pretend I didn’t hear her. “I thought we should meet.”

The air around us changes, sweeps from a normal fall evening to one of a horror movie. She can tell I know who she is because she smirks. That one little movement in the right corner of her lips changes everything.

“I don’t see why.” I’m stopped, unable to go forward without physically running into her, and I’m not giving her that. I narrow my eyes right along with hers.

She laughs a high-pitched squeak that makes me cringe. “Oh, honey, don’t act like you don’t know who I am.” Her palm presses flat against her stomach, her eyes narrowing. “And that I’m having Barrett’s baby. You did know that, right?”

Even though I knew this was coming and I know it’s false, or that Barrett says it’s false, still, it knocks the wind out of me. The thought of the possibility of Barrett’s child in her stomach makes my entire body shiver, my entire self ready to come out of my skin.

I hate the smug look on her face. I loathe the entire concept behind this. I abhor being in this situation to begin with.

Still, I can’t let her win. “Oh, honey,” I say, giving her words back to her, “you can’t get pregnant from fucking him in your dreams.”

Her mouth drops open, and I soak up the small victory. She gets herself together much more quickly than I anticipate. “No, but you can get pregnant when he fucks you on his desk in the Mayor’s office, can’t you?” She takes another step closer, looking down at me from the good two inches she has on me. “It’s just as well that you know now and can leave him before all of this comes out. He’s never going to be with you anyway. I mean, shouldn’t that be obvious to you by now? You’re going into work,” she says, making a face, “in there. If he were serious about you—”

“If he were serious about you,” I bite out, “you wouldn’t be in my face tonight.”

She takes a step towards me, her breath hot on my face. “Guess where he is right now.”

“Working, just like I need to be,” I say, trying to take a step around her. “Now if you’ll take your pathetic ass out of my way ...”

She blocks my path. “He’s with Daphne Monroe.”

The pleasure she gets in informing me of this isn’t lost on me. Her pupils shine with absolute delight.

I try to temper my reaction, not let my features show the surprise I feel, the blip of shock that’s sitting right in the center of my core. “If that were true—”

“Oh, it’s true,” she snickers. “Pull it up online. It’s her on his arm in front of the city tonight. Not. You.”

I make myself laugh, even though I don’t feel anything of the sort. But I want to make her feel stupid ... and me feel stronger. “Well, it’s not you either. So that makes you, what? At least number three on his list and you’re supposedly carrying his child. What’s that say about you?”

“You little ...” She huffs a breath, her eyes blazing. “You think your shit doesn’t stink, don’t you?”

“Nice imagery,” I snort. “Very classy. Now if you’ll excuse me ...”

As I’m walking around her, she grabs my shoulder. It throws me off balance and I stumble, just as her hand smacks me across the face.

“Ah!” I yelp, my cheek stinging from the contact. I turn quickly only to see her falling into the van behind her.

“You hit me!” she screams, her voice piercing the autumn air. “Someone help me!”

I can’t move, frozen in place by the unbelievability of the situation. Shock stiffens my body, even though my brain tells me to run. I feel a hand on my arm, men’s voices speaking, and my body being guided into the building.

The cool air hits my face, and I regain my bearings enough to see Lola running at me. Isaac is standing next to me, his arm on mine.

“Are ya okay?” he asks, his large brown eyes searching mine.

“I ... I think,” I stumble, my arms stretching for Lola. Collapsing into her, hearing her shout directions at Isaac and then to Mr. Pickner, the tears flow freely. All of the emotion of the day pours out of me with reckless abandon.

“What happened out there?” Mr. Pickner bellows.

“Some girl attacked her,” Isaac says.

My face is buried in Lola’s shirt, soaking it. She pats my hair and holds me tight.

“Shit,” my boss hisses. “We don’t need this kind of publicity.”

“Are you seriously worried about that right now?” Lola barks. “She’s a mess!”

“She is not my problem. My business is. I don’t need a bunch of fucking camera trucks here wanting to get the scoop on the Mayor’s fuck buddy.”

“I can’t believe you,” Lola gasps. “What kind of man are you?”

“Not much of one,” Isaac chips in from behind me. “You call her something like that again, and you’ll be picking yourself up off the floor. You got it?”

“Is this over your boyfriend?” Mr. Pickner asks, scowling.

“My ... what?” I ask, lifting my face and drying my eyes with the end of my shirt. I feel like I’ve been beaten with a whip and it has nothing to do with Ms. Third Place out there. The toll of the day, this life, has gotten to me. And I feel it everywhere.

“This spectacle you just caused—was it over Landry?”

His eyes are cool, his jaw set hard. He watches me with contempt, and I thank God I’m not alone with him because I don’t trust him. Not at all.

“Yes,” I sniffle.

His head shakes subtly, his eyes narrowing. “I’m going to suggest you give me your notice and get the hell out of here. If anyone asks, you were coming in tonight to quit.”

“What?” I say, standing straight. “I need this job! I don’t want to quit.”

“You are a liability to me, Alison. Think of how this will look for me, won’t you?” He chuckles. “Think about how that,” he bites out, nodding through the door, “will look for Landry. Do you think that’s going to help his public image?”

The realization of the words pummels me. My hand shakes as Lola takes it in hers.

“What Landry will care about, Pickner, is that you just fired her for no reason. I wouldn’t want to be you when shit hits the fan.”

He shrugs. “If you could please escort her out of here, I’d appreciate it.”

“You can take your party tonight and shove it straight up your sweaty ass-crack,” Lola fires back.

“You know what,” Isaac says, looking down at our boss. “Lola and I will walk her out and neither of us will be back in. And you can bet when I’m interviewed about what happened out there tonight, I’ll make sure I tell everyone what happened in here as well.”

“Isaac ...”

“Fuck you, Jim,” Isaac says, wrapping his arm around my shoulders. “May God be with you when Landry finds out what you’ve said tonight.” He looks down at me and smiles kindly. “Let’s get out of here.”

I look around his shoulder to see if anyone is on the sidewalk, but it’s clear. I sigh a breath of relief.

Isaac smiles so sweetly, yet with a touch of ferocity, that I nearly kiss him. “Thanks, Isaac.”

“Anytime. Now let’s get you home in one piece.”