Page 38 of Hot Mic

‘I’m sorry, Valeska,’ Robin said quietly, reaching for her glass. ‘Tell me more about Joshua Tree.’

Thirty-One

The main course had been cleared, and dessert was incoming. Sienna couldn’t remember what she’d ordered. Something quick, hopefully.

Claire was currently talking about her work as a risk analyst, explaining the painstaking process of auditing supply chains for mid-sized tech firms. She was articulate and had a calm energy.

In any other circumstance, Claire would have been a great date. If Sienna could have given her any focus whatsoever.

Sienna had truly believed she could think her way out of any kind of jealousy that might arise. That she could step back and say to herself, ‘What are you doing? You could never make it work with her.’ What she hadn’t calculated was the volume of the feeling. It wasn’t a mild pang. It was a knife in the gut.

Across the room, Sienna watched through a large mirror as Robin threw her head back in a rich, throaty laugh at something the photojournalist said. The woman reached across the table, playfully brushing her fingers against Robin’s forearm. Robin didn’t pull away.

A sudden, insane impulse gripped Sienna. She wanted to stand up, walk over to the emergency panel near the kitchen doors, break the glass, and pull the fire alarm.

The thought was unhinged. But the irrational urge to force every single person to evacuate just to interrupt that woman’s hand on Robin’s arm was so overwhelming it horrified her.

Get a grip, Sienna ordered herself. You are losing your entire mind.

‘...which is why we had to redo the third-quarter audit entirely,’ Claire was saying. She chuckled. ‘I’m still a bit shocked I’m even sitting here telling you about it.’

Sienna blinked, bringing her attention back to the table. ‘Oh? Why is that?’

Claire chuckled, tapping her fingers lightly against the subtle wire hidden beneath her collar. ‘When your producer reached out to me on Hinge, I thought it might be a scam. Normally, I’d block a message like that immediately, but I took the chance because... I’m actually a fan.’

‘Oh?’

‘Yes. Of both you and Robin, actually.’

Sienna was surprised into a laugh. ‘I’m amazed we have crossover appeal.’

‘I’ve been loving Head vs Heart. It’s cool I get to be a part of it.’ Claire adjusted the small battery pack tucked at her hip. ‘I’ll admit, being mic’d up for dinner felt completely surreal at first. But honestly, I’ve pretty much forgotten it’s even there now. You’ve been so…’ She laughed shyly. ‘…So lovely, Sienna. I wasn’t sure what to expect, but I’m really glad I came.’

Sienna felt awful. ‘I’m glad you did too, Claire. The producer nailed it. You’re a hell of a date.’

Claire smiled. ‘Oh, thank you.’

Across the room, Robin was signing the credit card receipt. Then she stood up, slinging her jacket over one shoulder, laughing softly as her date leaned in close to say something in her ear.

As they reached the exit doors, Dora swooped in from nowhere. She swiftly unclipped both of their mics, dropping them into her bag with a quick, approving nod.

Robin stepped out into the night air with her date, her shoulder brushing against the other woman’s.

Sienna watched the whole thing in the mirror without managing to give the game away to Claire. But as she watched the empty doorway in the mirror’s reflection, her mind was swirling.

They left together.

When dessert was finished, Claire smiled warmly as Sienna paid. ‘This was lovely, Sienna. I’d love to do it again sometime. Without the mic, of course.’

‘That sounds nice,’ Sienna said politely, as they gathered their coats and began unclipping their body packs.

Dora popped up like a jack-in-the-box, though she was somehow even more unnerving. ‘You done? I’ve got somewhere to be, and the techie refused to come, said she has a wedding or something, so I need to grab those mics and head off.’ She shook her head angrily. ‘As if I’ve got the time to stand around waiting for equipment.’

Sienna nodded. ‘Take it.’

Dora unclipped the gear from Sienna and Claire almost roughly and buggered off immediately, without so much as a goodbye.

‘She’s a charmer,’ Claire said.