Free Grave Apparel by Ellen Byerrum Page B

even a kid could be an accomplice in a crime that went wrong? Maybe develop an attack of conscience after it soured?”
    “Yes, but not this kid. It doesn’t feel right. He was just in the wrong place at the wrong time. Maybe he was screwing around in the alley, skipping out on the Christmas play, then saw some thing he shouldn’t. But involved in the attack? No.”
    Vic hugged her. She closed her eyes and breathed in the warm spicy scent of him. “This is your call, Lacey. Much to my chagrin, your instincts are usually right on target, when it comes to bad guys anyway. If you think the kid is really just a good Samaritan, maybe he is.”
    “So you didn’t hear the part about Cassandra’s missing cell phone?”
    “What cell phone?”
     

Lacey Smithsonian’s F A S H I O N B I T E S
     

    The Office Holiday Party: Land Mine—or Booby Trap?
    Christmas. It’s the most wonderful time of the year. And the most stressful. Add the challenge of shining at the an nual office holiday par ty , standing out with style and as surance. Dressing for this hightension event can blur the fine line between Dress to Impress and Dress to T rans gress. This highstakes highwire balancing act is not as easy as it sounds. Remember , you’ve got to go back to work with these people Monday morning.
    After all, this is Washington, D.C., the stuffy bastion of sartorial conservatism that just happens to house the gov ernment. Wacky, creative, and revealing outfits won’ t win you brownie points or gold stars here. Unless you’re an intern looking to trade your resume for a torrid tabloid li aison, in which case you don’ t need fashion advice from me. Just a thong in your heart.
    The Washington office party isn’ t merely about free food and drink and conviviality. It’s about offering the un wary opportunities for fashion fiascos. Y our office gossips will dine on these delicacies for months, even years. Some typical pitfalls:
    • Y ou show up at the blacktie office fete in your blue jeans and corduroy jacket, and that one rumpled tie you always keep folded up in your jacket pocket just in case you have to “go formal.” Y our CEO’ s first question: “Uhoh, who let the reporter in?!” His sec ond question: “How do we get rid of him?”
     
    • That lowcut micromini dress that shows o f f all your assets, right down to the bottom line? Hot for after hours at the club. Not so hot for prime time with your coworkers. Ice cold, if you want that coveted corner office on K Street. Spare the top of the office food chain the visual inventory of your tattoos and piercings. Nothing too short, too tight, too see through, or too low cut. If you must share, do it among friends. Y our boss may say he or she is your friend. She’ s not. She’ s your boss. Quick test: Ask a friend for a paycheck.
    • The invitation said “black tie optional.” Y ou show up wearing “casual Friday.” Y our subconscious fashion statement: “I don’t get paid enough to dress up! What I wear has no bearing on how well I do my job. Besides, black tie is stuffy and oldfashioned. I gotta be me, dude!” Your boss’s subconscious hears: “Y ou don’ t care enough to wear your ver y best, so maybe you don’ t care enough to do your ver y best, in this stuf fy, oldfashioned town. Be your self somewhere else, dude.” And you haven’ t gotten a word in edgewise. Hint: In Washington, the word “optional” often means “mandatory.” When in doubt, let your tux do the talking.
    • Dif ferent rules for different folks. Y our company’ s Vice President of Obscure Facts and Irrelevant Non sense wears the same utterly bizarre of fice par ty out fit ever y year? Smile! It’s probably considered a charmingly eccentric company tradition by now. Y ou can dish about it the next day with your real friends. Remember , when you get to be the Vice President of Obscure Facts, you can wear your own charmingly eccentric of fice par ty outfit. As long as it’s not too