Conflict of Interest

Chapter Sixteen

Carrie

"Damn," Kim commented, getting into my car at 9:01, on purpose, I was sure. "Hey, sexy, want to come upstairs?"

"Shut up," I warned harshly.

"But you're my girlfriend," she smiled, getting a kick out of this. I briefly wondered if she was always this irritating undercover.

"I'm your ADA," I corrected. "In fact, I'm not even your ADA. I'm just an ADA."

"Like ice," she commented, giving me flashbacks to that morning when I'd been told the same exact thing. For some reason, it didn't bother me. I just pulled coolly onto the road.

"So what scent is your car this week?"

"Clean linen," I answered truthfully, despite her derisive tone. Usually when she asked me questions designed to criticize me, I just answered them honestly and it generally took the fun out of it for her.

"Isn't that what it was last week?"

"No."

"What was it last week?"

"Clean cotton."

"Will you use anything with 'clean' in the title?"

"Absolutely," I agreed.

"To hide that you're dirty at heart," she continued to tease.

"You know me too well."

"What are you thinking about?"

"Pardon?"

"You sound, like, super pissed."

"Did you just say super pissed?"

"Yeah, I guess so."

"You sound like my intern."

"What's the matter?"

"Nothing's the matter," I swore. "Just, thinking."

"Yes, so I gather," she pressed, before asking again, "About what?"

"About what it will be like to go on a date with the infamous Kim Hayden," I answered coolly.

"Infamous?" she smiled, loving the sound of that. "You mean the prospect of a date with me has made front page headlines in Carrie Everett's thoughts? I'm honored."

"Well, I think it's a valid thought," I rationalized. "You certainly seem to get a lot of them. I'm interested to see what all the hype is about."

"There's hype?"

"Don't be so flattered."

"I don't get a lot of dates," she dismissed. "I get a lot of sex."

"Dear God."

"I mean, given, I don't get a lot of sex anymore, but I sure used to."

"Aw, Kim, let me summon all the sympathy I have for you," I condescended. "It must be so tough not to be a complete slut anymore."

"Did you just call me a slut?"

"Uh, no, I believe I called the former you a slut. The use of the words not and anymore were supposed to make that clear."

"Okay, you act like you're so holy," she criticized. "I can't be that slutty, or else you wouldn't have had sex with me. God knows you won't touch anything dirty."

"You're really going to bring that up?"

"You're really going to pretend it didn't happen?"

"No," I argued. "It did."