Merriwether looked beautiful in a white lace dress, and everyone had made an effort to show up and look festive.
Jane and Benjie had come with Phillip and Hailey, and they had a good time on the drive. It was the first fun Jane had had since her encounter with Dan Fletcher, and all the fallout ever since. She had had thousands of responses to her Wanted poster with Dan’s photograph on it on Instagram. Dan was in jail, determined to go to trial. She wasn’t looking forward to it. In the era of social media, the entire world knew every detail of what had happened. She had told her parents about it, and they were upset, but her father was glad that she had gone to the police and pressed charges and that Dan would wind up in prison. He had called Bob and discussed it with him, and Bob had been deeply apologetic.
There were waiters circulating at the party with trays of champagne and margaritas. Allie had one of each, and then stuck with the margaritas. She had worn a shocking pink silk dress that was so low-cut you could see most of her breasts, and it had a slit up each side. It was the sexiest thing she owned, which she thought would cheer her up after the breakup. But it didn’t. Nothing did, and she found herself talking to Benjie as they both lay on deck chairs at the pool. She didn’t feel steady enough on her feet to mingle, and she wasn’t in the mood. She was wearing six-inch heels, and Benjie said he’d had a lot to drink too, and the margaritas had hit him.
“Yeah, me too,” she confessed. “I broke up with my boyfriend two days ago and I feel like shit,” she admitted.
“That’s too bad. He must be crazy if he let you go,” he said, admiring her cleavage and the slits in her dress.
“Thank you,” she said, wondering if she should go home. She wasn’t having fun, and no one would notice if she left. She spotted a hammock in a back corner behind the pool under a tree, took off her shoes, stood up unsteadily, and told him she was going to lie down for a minute.
“I’ll come with you,” he volunteered, and then held the hammock for her so she could get in it without falling out. The party was in full swing, with most of the people around the other side of the house where there was Mexican music and dancing. Then Benjie rolled into the hammock with her, and they both nearly fell out as it moved and swayed. She giggled as the hammock rocked. They held on to each other to steady themselves, and he found his hand on her breast without meaning to. She looked at him and didn’t stop him, and he slipped his other hand easily into the slit in her dress, and his fingers into her thong. She moaned softly and closed her eyes, but then had to open them again so she didn’t get sick. He kissed her, and she arched her body toward him, trying to pretend to herself that it was Eric and not this awkward, drunken boy who belonged to someone else. She didn’t care who he belonged to at that moment—he was inside her by then. They both came quickly and it was over within minutes. He wondered where Jane was. He hadn’t seen her in a long time. But Allie was too exciting to leave, so they continued lying in the hammock for a while, her dress had slipped below her nipples, and she didn’t care. After a while, she noticed Hailey walking toward them. She was looking for someone or something, and Allie waved. The hammock started rocking again, and Benjie hung on to her as Hailey reached them.
“I was looking for you,” Hailey said, starting to smile, and then she saw that Allie’s dress had slipped, her bare breasts exposed, with Benjie’s hand resting on her thigh, and she could guess what had happened. “Are you okay?” Hailey asked her in a low voice, and Allie shook her head.
“No, I’m not. We’re broken up,” she said drunkenly as Benjie tried to get out of the hammock, finally managed it, and stood up. He looked at Hailey, coming to his senses a little, and straightened out his clothes.
“I’d better find Jane,” he said, and stumbled off.
Allie started to cry. “I’m such a mess. I really love him.”
“Benjie?” Hailey looked horrified.
“No, Eric,” she said forcefully, and then looked chagrined. “I think I just had sex with Benjie,” she whispered, and Hailey looked at her intently.
“Allie, listen to me. Don’t tell anyone that. Ever. You’re out of your mind tonight. Forget that you said it or did it, or whatever happened. You don’t want him, and he’s Jane’s.”
“I know.” She nodded, lying there. “He’s Jane’s. She can have him. I don’t want him. I want Eric.”
“Then go back to him, and don’t let Bob bully you into breaking up with him. If you love him, get him back. He loves you too. Don’t tell anyone what happened tonight. Not Eric or Jane or anyone. Now let’s get you cleaned up so you can go home.” She helped Allie get to her feet and pull up her dress. Hailey got the slits of the dress back in the right place and covered Allie’s thong again. They found her shoes, and Hailey smoothed down her hair, like a child. Allie thanked her and wrapped her arms around her neck and leaned against her.
“Everything’s been so fucked up since Dan left, hasn’t it? And Francine left. I never really liked her, but I’m going to miss her. And now you have her job and I love you,” Allie mumbled to Hailey.
“I love you too. If I put you in your car, do you think you can get home okay?”
“Yeah, but I might throw up on the drive,” she said as Hailey put an arm around her waist and walked her to the parking lot. She had her shoes in her hand.
“Leave the windows open in the car,” Hailey told her, and asked one of the valets to find Allie’s car and driver, and he pulled up a minute later. He could see the condition she was in and helped her into the car. Hailey put her seat belt on and made sure that he had Allie’s address. They pulled away a minute later and Hailey hoped that no one ever found out what had happened that night. She went to find Phillip and saw Benjie sitting in a chair, looking glazed, while Jane danced with a group of young agents.
“Where were you?” Phillip asked her.
“Dealing with a minor problem. Everything’s fine now.” It wasn’t, but at least Allie had left.
“Allie?” he asked her, and she nodded. “She was in bad shape when we arrived. I gather that she and her boyfriend broke up. You look beautiful tonight, by the way.” He loved her dress, which was ladylike but just sexy enough.
“So do you.” She smiled at him. He had worn white slacks and a white shirt, and a navy blazer. He led her out onto the dance floor. They made a handsome couple, and she noticed that Merriwether was dancing with Bob Benson, and Jeff was hanging out at the bar. They had provided jitneys and cars and drivers for everyone, so they could drink as much as they wanted, and no one had to drive home drunk. She was happy to note that Phillip wasn’t drunk, nor was she. She still had to go home to her children, and she had wanted to be helpful to Bob and Merriwether. She was grateful that she had found Allie and Benjie before someone else did, particularly Jane, who didn’t seem to care that he was blind drunk. She hadn’t even noticed that he’d been gone for a while. She was having fun with her colleagues and loved being a full agent now.
Phillip kissed Hailey for the first time on the dance floor that night, under a full moon. It was the perfect moment, and she forgot everything else while he did—Benjie and Allie and Jane and all the others. She stood smiling at him afterwards, and he kissed her again.