“It was just a coincidence that I saw you,” Katya said. “I was planning to call you this week, but since you were here, I figured I would at least ask.”
“I’m sorry, but that’s crazy,” Isabel said. “Even if Mack did sexually harass me, and I’m not saying he did, why on earth would I tell you at a bar?”
Katya didn’t notice Victor and Nilay until they were practically in front of her. “Hey, babe,” Victor said. He smiled at her and kissed her on the lips. He tasted like weed and beer. “I was looking everywhere for you. My phone doesn’t work down here.”
“Yeah, mine doesn’t either. And it’s crowded,” she said. “You know Isabel, right?”
“Of course,” Victor said. He leaned over to kiss her on the cheek. “And do you know Nilay?”
“I don’t think so,” Isabel said. “But you look familiar.”
“I’m sure we’ve, like…been at the same meet-ups or parties or whatever,” Nilay said.
“Probably.” Isabel smiled. “Well…I’ll leave you all to it. Cheers.” She didn’t look at Katya as she walked away.
“What is this, anyway?” Katya asked. “The guy at the door said it was a private party.”
“Some Google thing,” Nilay said. “I think it’s like…the Maps engineers’ happy hour? I dunno, my friend Jamil invited me. Weird that he said that, though.”
Across the room, Katya noticed Isabel whispering in Andrew’s ear and Andrew saying something back to her and putting his arm around her. He leaned over and said something else to her and she nodded. Andrew handed his drink to Isabel and started walking toward them. This cannot be good, Katya thought.
“Hey, Victor. Hey, Nilay,” Andrew said. “Hey, Katya. How’s it going.”
“Great, man,” Victor said. “You?”
“Good, good. You got a second?”
“Me?” Victor asked. Andrew nodded. “Yeah, sure. Can you guys, uh, excuse us, I guess?” Victor gave Katya a look that said, I have no idea what this is about. She gave him a look back that said, Eeeek.
“Thanks,” Andrew said as Nilay and Katya walked away.
“What’s that about?” Nilay said to her as they moved toward the bar.
“Not sure.” There was no point in bringing Nilay into this. She wanted to look back and see how the conversation between Andrew and Victor was going, but she also didn’t want to. She was feeling hot. She had to get out of this basement, away from these people. “Hey—I think I have to get some fresh air. Can you let Victor know?”
Nilay looked at her quizzically, but nodded. “Yeah, sure.”
She fought her way through the crowd—without Isabel’s help, it took her almost five full minutes to cross the floor of the bar to the exit. The same bouncer was at the door as she walked out. “Taking off early?” he said.
She glared at him and stomped up the stairs two at a time. Once she was outside, she took her pack of cigarettes out of her bag, extracted one, and lit it. Her hands were shaking. She inhaled deeply and closed her eyes just for a moment. This would clear her head. When she opened them, there was a man in a security uniform standing in front of her. “Gotta move away from the entrance,” he said. “Technically it’s supposed to be fifty feet, but if you just move a little bit I won’t say nothin’.”
She sighed. “Yeah, okay.” Katya walked a few yards away; she could feel the man’s eyes on her as she walked. When she turned back toward the street she saw Victor exiting the building. It took only a moment for him to spot her. His mouth was set in a grim line. He came so close to her face that she thought for a moment that he might hit her. Instead, he just stared at her for a second and shook his head slowly.
“What…the…fuck,” he said softly. “What the fuck did you say to Isabel Taylor?” He glanced down at her cigarette. “And you’re smoking. Of course.” He made a face.
“You know I smoke. And you smoke weed every day,” Katya said. “Anyway, why do you care?”
“Don’t change the subject.” He was looking at her through narrowed eyes. You’re the one who brought up my cigarette, she thought, but she kept silent. “What did you say to Isabel?”
“What did Andrew say I said to Isabel?” She took one final drag on her cigarette and stubbed it out against the building, then tossed it on the ground.
Victor rolled his eyes. “You are impossible.” She didn’t respond. Finally, he said, “He said that you basically threatened her, told her that you were going to publish something on TechScene about her and Mack if she didn’t talk to you, and Isabel said that everything you were saying about the two of them was a lie.”
Katya stared at Victor. “First of all, you’re just going to believe her? I thought you were supposed to be on my side. And second of all, everything she said is bullshit. Obviously. I would never threaten anyone.”
“Honestly, Katya, I don’t know what you’re capable of. Sometimes I feel like I don’t even know you.” She bristled at this statement. It was one that had been hurled at her before, mostly by boyfriends but also by friends.
“Oh, come on,” she said. “What does that even mean? You know me as well as anyone in the world.”
“Maybe you’re just one of those people who’s, like, not capable of letting anyone in.” He wasn’t as visibly agitated as he had been when he’d come storming toward her two minutes ago, but he still seemed pissed.
“You sound like a shrink. And what was that just now, anyway? Coming at me basically accusing me of threatening Isabel? What, are you worried that Andrew Shepard is going to be mad at you?” The way that Victor looked at her when she said that told her everything she needed to know. “You are. For fuck’s sake.”