Hurricane Watch

Chapter

One

THE OFFICE WAS mostly silent, save the faint scratching of a pen on paper and the soft, distinctive hum of the computer on the desk. It was a room filled with warm mahogany wood. On one side there was a small conference table surrounded by chairs, and a discreet credenza where a pitcher of water and a set of glasses rested on trays. In the rear center, there was a desk, its back facing a large, floor to ceiling window which afforded a horizon view of a choppy, greenish blue Atlantic Ocean.

Seated at the desk was a tall, dark haired woman, dressed in a conservative gray skirt and white silk shirt, the sleeves of which were rolled up past her elbows, exposing tanned, muscular forearms. Draped over the back of the chair was a gray blazer, and the dark head was propped up on one fist, while the other hand curled about a busily moving pen. One paper was completed, and then turned over coming to rest next to a small aquarium where two suspicious Siamese fighting fish swam languidly, sparing occasional fishy eyes for the desk’s tenant.

”Twelve down, eighteen to go.” Dar sighed, scratching her jaw with the edge of the pen. ”You’d think we’d have gotten our staff evaluations on computer by now.” She paused, and then punched a button on the large console phone on her desk. ”Mari?”

”Yes. Hello, Dar. Good afternoon.” The Personnel Vice President’s voice was relaxed and friendly. “How are you?”

”Mind if I ask why one of the largest, goddamn IS companies in the world can’t put its evals on the intranet?” Dar asked, testily. ”Do you know how much faster it would be?”

“Oh, I’m fine, thanks. How’s Kerry?”

“Electronic forms, Mari. I already used up my social ten seconds today.”

“Ah, Dar,” Mariana sighed, as though she’d been answering that very question all day long, which she had. ”If we did that, how would we comply with the regulation that dictates we make sure all our senior staff knows how to write longhand?” she inquired lightly. ”Now, now, you shouldn’t complain. You only have thirty people you’re directly responsible for. Think how José must feel. He has two hundred.”

Dar considered this, chewing the end of her pen. ”You’re right.

That put me in a much better mood.” She chuckled. ”He must be tearing 2

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what’s left of his hair out.”

”You’re not kidding.” Mari sighed. ”Actually, the reason they’re not e-forms is because there were some concerns about employee security. The e-forms might be accessible by people on the intranet that really shouldn’t be able to read them.”

”Oh.” Dar thought about that. ”So, I probably shouldn’t tell you that I just passed by the main printer room and saw all of José’s completed forms that he had his secretary type in for him printing out?”

Mari sighed aggrievedly.

”It was like a feeding frenzy in there.” Dar grinned at the phone.

“I’m surprised we don’t have Metro Dade downstairs treating a hundred cases of terminal paper cut.”

”And you didn’t stop it? Come on, Dar, you’re supposed to be the responsible management up there.”

”Hey, how was I supposed to know that wasn’t a new sales incentive of his?” Dar asked, reasonably. ”After all, I fill out mine longhand.”

”Jesu. All right, I could use a cup of coffee anyway. I’ll wander down there.” Mariana exhaled. ”How are you doing?”

”Bout halfway,” Dar lied.

”Uh huh.” Mariana sounded supremely unconvinced. ”Why do all you guys have to wait until the last minute?”

”Because it’s such a pain in the ass, Mari.” Dar responded, exasperatedly. ”Tell Houston to get their anal pusses into the 21st Century with the rest of us, and put these damn things online. If they’d migrate to Linux, security wouldn’t be a goddamned problem!”

”Can you spell that phonetically, Dar? I’m sending them a carrier pigeon,” Mariana responded, in a serious voice. ”All right, I’ll put in a recommendation, again, for the forms to be changed to e-forms.”

”Thanks,” Dar grumped. ”Gotta go.” She hung up, and went back to her task. Each form had fifty categories in which she had to grade her employees, and a comments section which by regulation had to be filled in. ”Jesus Christ,” she sighed, riffling through the stack. ”Can’t I just send in a slip of paper that says ‘If they’re not fired, they’re fine?’” she complained to the fish, who wiggled their fins at her.

”No, huh.” She bent her head to the paper, then reached out and snagged a piece of dried fruit from a cobalt blue dish on her desktop and nibbled it.

A tap at the outer door was a welcome interruption. ”C’mon in,”

she called out, looking up to see her secretary poke her head in. ”Maria, have we gotten the status reports from marketing yet?”

The short, older woman shook her head. ”Nada and I have called that new facilitatoria there three times.” She walked across the carpeted floor and put several folders into Dar’s inbox. ”Three new accounts.

Kerrisita is going to be busy this week.”

”Mm,” Dar agreed, a faint grin tugging at her lips. ”Hang on.” She Hurricane Watch

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punched a number into the phone. It rang twice and then a perky voice answered. ”I need to talk to José,” Dar stated crisply.

”I’m sorry. He’s in conference right now,” the voice answered.

”Tell him to get out of the john and onto the phone or he’ll have me in there hunting him down in thirty seconds,” Dar replied, pitching her voice lower. “With a web cam.”

Dead silence. ”One moment, please.”

Dar waited, checking her watch. She tilted her head and regarded her admin, who had a discrete hand covering her mouth to stifle her laughter. “I’m waiting,” she barked, after about twenty seconds.

At twenty two, the line picked up. ”What the hell, Dar?” José snarled.

”I need those status reports,” Dar snarled right back. ”And I frankly don’t have the time to have my goddamned staff running around the building chasing down your staff to get them.”

In the silence, she could hear his heavy breathing. She waited making a few more comments on the sheet she was working on, and munching another piece of dried fruit. ”I’m waiting,” she commented crisply.

”Hold on.” The line went to music, and Dar hummed along, selecting a pecan from the dish and pushing it towards Maria. ”Want some trail mix?”

The secretary accepted the offer, picking up a piece of apricot and putting it into her mouth. “Is good, yes?” She indicated the dish.

Dar glanced at the mix and then she took another nut. “Yeah,” she said. “Just something different for a change.”

”They’ll be there in five minutes,” José’s voice came back on. ”And stop scaring the shit out of my staff.”

”If your staff did their jobs, I wouldn’t have to be calling you now, would I?” Dar replied silkily, before she disconnected. ”Asshole” she muttered, shaking her head. ”Okay. If you don’t get those reports by the time you get out to your desk, let me know.”

”Si. Dar, have you seen Mr. José’s new assistant?” Maria lowered her voice. ”I’m not the one for to be talking in corners, but I hear twice today he is very sharp, and they are looking for him to how you say...go against you.”

Dar leaned on her elbows and fiddled with the pen in her hands, then looked up. ”I’ve heard the same thing.” Her pale, intense blue eyes regarded Maria. “Here we go again, huh?”

”Dios Mio.” The older woman's brow creased. ”Is trouble, no?”

Her boss pondered the words, then gave a half shrug.

“Mr.

Fabricini and I have met before,” Dar said. ”In fact, we used to be friends.” Her lips quirked. “Sort of.”

“Si?”

“Mm. We’re not friends now,” Dar acknowledged. “He doesn’t much like me anymore.”

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Maria sighed. ”Is bad.” She frowned. ”Why cannot everyone just come, do their work, go home, not spend all day making problems,” she exhaled.

“Yeah, I know.” Dar fiddled with her pen. “Kerry’s got a meeting with him today. Figured she’d at least start off neutral.”

“Poor Kerrisita.”

A quiet smile edged Dar's face. ”She’s tough. She’ll be fine, Maria,”

she said. ”Listen, I know I’ve got a meeting after lunch with the executive committee, but did we reschedule that client briefing for tomorrow or is it still at four?”

”I’ll check.” Maria headed for the door. ”And I’ll let you know about those reports.”

”Thanks.” Dar let out a breath, and went back to her task, concentrating for a minute, then dropping her pen down and leaning back, her expression thoughtful. After a moment, she got up and stretched, dropping her pen on the desk before she turned and strolled to the almost hidden door in the back of her office.

Pushing it open, she entered a long, utilitarian appearing hallway with walls on both sides, broken here and there by an anonymous door.

Whistling softly under her breath, Dar covered the length of it and paused before the door at the other end, then lifted her hand and knocked lightly on it.

The door opened so quickly she almost jumped back as a young woman of middling height and athletic build appeared in front of her.

“Whoa.”

“Hey.” Kerry Stuart entered the hallway, bumping her back a step and closing the door behind her. “I was just coming to look for you.”

She pushed the sleeves on her mint green linen shirt up past her elbows, and looked up at Dar, her pale hair ever so slightly disheveled. “What’s up?”“Word of warning. Maria heard rumors our new friend in Sales is after me,” Dar told her, with a wry expression. “And if she heard it, it must be white boarded over in Sales somewhere.”

Kerry rolled her eyes.

”Sorry.” Dar’s gaze dropped. “I didn’t expect that bit of my past to come back around and kick me in the ass this month.” She leaned against the wall and exhaled. “Like we don’t have enough problems.”

“Don’t worry about it, boss.” Kerry gave her a friendly pat on the side. “Thanks for the warning, but I can handle him,” she said. “I’ll let you know what happens in the meeting, okay?”

“Okay.” Dar stuck her hands in the slit pockets of her skirt. “See you later.” She gave Kerry a smile, then retreated back down the hallway to her own office.

Kerry watched Dar until she disappeared, then she leaned back against the wall, letting her head fall back against the hard surface.

“Well,” she said, after a moment. “No one ever said this job was going Hurricane Watch

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to be easy now, did they?”

She pushed off the wall and re-entered her office, pausing at her desk long enough to pick up her mug and then heading out the front door into the hallway.

Unlike the back corridor, the walls here were covered in stately and expensive textured weave, and the floor was covered in dark carpet.

Kerry walked a few steps on it before she turned into the break room and proceeded over to the counter at the rear of it.

“Morning, Kerry,” a woman seated at one of the tables greeted her.

“Morning,” Kerry replied cordially. She removed a canister from one of the cupboards and took a tea ball from it, setting it into her cup and running hot water over it. A gentle steam of raspberry and cream emerged.

“How was your weekend?” the woman asked. “Do anything interesting?” She was flipping through a fashion magazine in a bored manner.

“Not really,” Kerry replied. “Just did some stuff around the h...apartment. You know laundry, that sort of stuff.” She half turned.

“What about you, Margie?”

The other woman was looking at her. “Same stuff,” she agreed.

“Thought you were away somewhere. I didn’t see your car in the lot,”

she added. “My boyfriend lives in your complex.”

Kerry picked up her cup and stirred it. “It was in the shop,” she answered, after a brief pause. “But it’s true. I’m not around a lot. This place keeps me pretty busy.” She took a sip of her tea. “How are things over in Marketing?”

Margie closed her magazine. “Same dry stuff, different end market.

You know the drill. Nothing exciting happening around here, I guess.”

She gave Kerry a faint, speculative smile.” Though I hear there might be some action over in Sales coming your way.”

Kerry shrugged. “Show me the money,” she remarked. “Then we can talk. So far all I’ve heard is some pretty unrealistic projections.”

Margie got up and brushed off her silk dress. “Well, that’s not my area,” she said. “See ya.” She detoured around where Kerry was standing. “Nice shirt,” she added. “Doesn’t Dar have one just like it?”

With a grin, she walked out and left Kerry alone in the break room.

“HELLO, STEVEN.” DAR stood quietly behind her desk, her hands resting on the surface, as he entered. “My assistant said you wanted a minute. That’s all I’ve got.”

”Well, well, well, look at what we have here. If it isn’t my old and best buddy, Dar Roberts.” Steven sauntered in, shutting the door behind him as he crossed the room towards her.

He hadn’t changed much, Dar noted. Still tall, with a sleek, runner’s physique, and thick, dark hair. His hazel eyes studied her as he 6

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came forward, and that slick, toothy smile creased his face as he held a hand out. ”Been a while, hasn’t it?”

Not nearly long enough. Dar reluctantly took his grip, and returned the strong handshake with one of her own. ”Certainly has,” she’d replied evenly. “I believe the last time I saw you was right after you were thrown out of school that last semester.”

”Mm...yes, and you enjoyed engineering that, didn’t you?” he chuckled. ”That’s okay, no hard feelings. After all, things turned out all right, didn’t they? Here we both are.” He’d spread his arms out. ”My office isn’t as nice as this one.” Now he turned his eyes on her. ”Maybe that’ll change soon.”

Dar had merely lifted an eyebrow and refused to take the bait.

”Well, best of luck to you,” she’d said, keeping a neutral expression.

A knock came at the inner door. “C’mon in,” Dar called out, half turning her head to watch as Kerry entered.

Kerry had passed through the sunlight pouring in her window, burnishing her pale hair, and highlighting her graceful physique. ”I’ve got those reports,” she said, giving Steven a curious look, then turning her attention to Dar. ”That New York center is going to be almost impossible to complete. Verizon is projecting sixty days to pull the circuits.”

”Not good enough,” Dar had said, tersely. ”I’ll see what I can do.”

She turned to where Steven was watching with interest. ”Kerry, this is Steven Fabricini, José’s new AVP,” she stated. ”This is Kerry Stuart, my right hand, and our Director of Operations.”

Kerry almost, almost smiled at that. Dar could see the crinkling of the skin around her eyes as she extended a courteous hand to Steven.

”Pleased to meet you.”

”Likewise, I’m sure,” he said lazily, giving her a charming smile.

”We’ll be working very closely together, I can see that.”

Kerry merely nodded, then turned and slipped out, leaving them alone again.

”Well, well, Dar, you old whore. Your taste certainly has improved.” Steven laughed. ”That’s a nice piece of ass.”

Dar felt an odd, cold flush come over her, and she realized almost too late he was trying to get under her skin. Her jaw tightened on her first, instinctual reaction and she used leaning against her chair back to give her a moment to revise it before she answered. “Discriminatory comments about employees are against policy, Steven.”

He laughed. “That’s right. Straight arrow stickler for policy, weren’t you? How could I forget?” His expression shifted. “She know you’re gay?”

Dar merely stared back at him. “Your minute’s up.”

”Ah now, Dar.” He stood up, that obnoxious smile sliding onto his face. ”You’ve got everyone here so blinded by that kiss my ass attitude, but I know better.” He pointed a finger at her. ”I know you, and that’s Hurricane Watch

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how I'm going to beat you.”

Dar looked at him coolly. ”Steven, I’m not the person you knew back then. Be careful you don’t promise things you can’t deliver.”

“Aren’t you?” Fabricini asked. “I guess we’ll find out. I know I’m a lot smarter than I was back then,” he said. “Smart enough to know a status quo that needs rupturing when I see it.” He turned and sauntered out, waggling his fingers at her as he left the office. “Do yourself a favor, and just stay out of my way.”

Dar sighed, and sat down in her chair. “I swear I should go run a taco stand on South Beach.” She propped her head up on her fist.

“Worst thing I’d have to worry about there is drunken rollerbladers.”

Her phone buzzed. “Dar?” Maria’s voice echoed softly. “Are you ready for the conference call?”

“Yeah,” Dar said. “It’ll go through lunch. Mind bringing me back something?” She looked over at the fish, studying their twitching motions. “Too bad they don’t have sushi.”

“Como?”

“Never mind. Put ‘em through.”

THE MEETING ROOM was small, only an oval table, with six chairs around it, and a whiteboard against the beige corded wall covering. Currently four people were seated around the table, three of them staring across the table at the fourth.

”I’m sorry. I’m not sure I understand the question,” Kerry stated, turning her pencil in her hands, and peering patiently across the table. José, Eleanor and Steven rounded out the participants, and Kerry had the very uncomfortable sensation of being a rabbit in a cage with three hungry snakes.

Fortunately, she sighed, rabbits did have claws, and teeth, and could use them when needed. ”What does half a dozen prospective leads that haven’t even gone to bid status have to do with projections from last year?”

Steven Fabricini had been very obviously miffed that Dar had sent her, Kerry realized, but she also understood why her boss had done so.

She had the answers to their questions, and it prevented the meeting from appearing to be a forum where Dar would be pushed into the defensive, attacked by the three sales and marketers.

Now Steven stood, walking to the whiteboard. ”Well, as I see it, if we can show that kind of potential, then facilities has the obligation to add bandwidth so we have the ability to close the deals.” He held his hands out. ”What is there to understand?”

Kerry cocked her head. ”That’s like saying you’re going to buy six hamburgers at McDonalds because you might be hungry,” she stated.

”Upping bandwidth on the network is done via a formula based on your department’s past performance. If you want that changed, you need to 8

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close more contracts, because we are not going to acquire hard circuits on the possibility of leads.”

She consulted the information Dar had printed out for her.

”According to the last five years projections, infrastructure is increasing the acquisition of circuits based on a new account rate of ten percent.”

She looked up. ”Are you saying we’re going to close more new accounts than that?”

”We have no idea!” José threw his hands up. ”But we can’t sell the accounts if we don’t have the bandwidth to handle their demands immediately.”

”Don’t you see, Kerry?” Eleanor added smoothly, smiling at her.

”We have to have a bargaining chip.”

”Ah,” Kerry stated, folding her hands over the papers. ”Okay, so what happens if we don’t add that many accounts and we end up with a negative balance we have to compensate for?”

”See? That’s your problem, cupcake. You can’t think like that. You have to think positive.” Steven pointed the marker at her. ”You’re too conservative, and it’s killing our potential to sign new business.”

Kerry propped her chin up on one hand. ”No, we’re just following the written guidelines for new business, as set down by corporate in Houston.

If you have an issue with how the business case has to be structured, you need to address that with Alastair McLean, since it’s his model.”

She neatly flipped the tables on him. ”And those five accounts you tossed into this issue do not adhere to that standard. In fact, two of them show significant potential for our taking a loss on the overall account, despite the bonus you all will get for signing the new business.” Her voice was gentle, and almost pleasant. ”So, as you can see, I’m really not convinced we should go to Infrastructure on this, and ask them to accelerate their program.” She stood up. ”Now, if you’ll all excuse me, I have a lunch meeting I’m due at in twenty minutes.”

José grabbed his papers and left with a disgusted look. Eleanor trailed after him, leaving Steven and Kerry in the room. He sauntered over to her. ”You’re pretty sharp.”

Sea green eyes regarded him. ”Thank you.” She picked up her papers. ”Excuse me.”

”Hey, hey, hold on.” Steven circled around and perched on the table. ”I’m not going to bite you.” He smiled. ”Unless you want me to, of course.” He flicked the papers. ”No need to be hostile. We’re on the same side, remember?”

”Are we?” Kerry asked. ”Then why accuse our division of deliberately sabotaging yours?” She held up the printed out email. ”Or didn’t you write this?”

”Aw, c’mon,” Steven chuckled. ”It’s just a game, loosen up.” He slapped his folded papers against her arm lightly. ”We’re both pretty new here, right?”

”More or less,” Kerry replied relaxing her pose.

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9

”So, we can talk. Look, I’m not here to make trouble, okay? I’m just trying my best to jump-start some sales here. It’s to all our benefit, remember?” His brows lifted. ”We can help each other. Things are kind of stagnating, and if we work together, maybe we can get things moving again.”

Kerry studied him. He was charming, he knew it, and she could feel the allure of that engaging smile. ”I’d be glad to help in any way I could,” she answered, carefully. ”Without compromising our standards.”

He moved closer, in a casual way. ”Ah, now Kerry, would I ask you to compromise your standards?” He grinned. ”I heard you say you have a lunch meeting, maybe tomorrow we could grab a bite in the cafeteria and chat. How about it?” Steven captured her eyes, and his lips twitched a little.

”All right,” Kerry said, quietly. ”We can do that.” She shifted her papers. ”I have to go. I’ll be late for my meeting.” She favored him with a gentle smile.

He winked. ”Go on, cupcake. See you later.” He watched her leave, and then smiled to himself, letting out a low, soft chuckle. ”Now that is a nice piece of ass just waiting to be led out of the cesspool.”

THE CAFETERIA WAS crowded with the early lunch people, staff who came in before eight, and by noon were more than ready to eat.

Kerry picked up her tray, and wound her way through the room. She spotted Maria and several other older women seated near the back where a window allowed a view of the water. ”Hi,” she greeted them, putting her tray down by an empty chair. ”Looks like we’re going to get some rain.”

”Si,” Maria agreed, looking out at the threatening clouds. ”How are you, Kerrisita? Did your meeting go all right?”

Kerry seated herself, and picked up her silverware. ”More or less.”

She took a sip of her iced tea, and speared a piece of lettuce. ”We agreed to disagree, you know?” She gave the older woman a wry look, then glanced around casually. ”Boss get stuck again?”

Maria nodded. ”Si, a conference call from France. She asked me to bring her a sandwich.”

Kerry clucked and shook her head, but didn’t say anything. The table talk turned to the latest episode of a favorite TV show, and she joined in cheerfully, pausing to acknowledge the arrival of newcomers at the next table. “Afternoon.”

“Good afternoon, Kerry.” Duks Draefus settled his tray down, one of his staff at his side. “You are here early today also.”

Kerry gave the Finance VP a brief grin. “I take an early lunch any time I can. Everything tends to fall apart in the afternoons here.” She turned back to Maria. “Right?”

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“Always,” Maria agreed. “Tomas and I will go see the movies tonight. Have you seen that new one, Kerrisita? With the pig?”

The others at the table chimed in, and Duks was left to dissect his meatloaf with his staff.

”Guess that honeymoon ended fast.” The faintly sarcastic remark made Duks raise his head, and regard the speaker coolly.

”Excuse me?”

Comptroller Selene Advosan leaned closer. ”C’mon, Duks. When she first started, she and the ice princess were tighter than a champagne cork in a bottle. I haven’t even seen them eat lunch together since the New Year. I guess the novelty wore off.”

The Financial VP chewed his corned beef sandwich thoughtfully.

”Never noticed.”

He shrugged, then glanced over at Kerry, who appeared perfectly at home with her tablemates, and was laughing at something Maria had said. ”Maybe they’re just busy. Dar never did lunch much anyway, and they seem friendly enough.”

”Yeah, but I thought we had a juicy one going there for a little while.” Selene sighed. ”I should have known better. Dar’s way out of her league.”

”Mm.” Duks dismissed the subject, and concentrated on his lunch.

Kerry put her tray away, and joined Maria as the secretary ordered a sandwich for their boss. The older woman checked the available options, then glanced sideways. ”What you think, chicken salad?” she inquired, her brow creasing.

”Tuna melt, on raisin toast,” Kerry murmured. ”With French fries.”

”Aie, Kerrisita!” Maria winced, and gave her an appalled look.

Kerry shrugged, and smiled. ”Dios Mio. All right.” She ordered the sandwich, and gathered some napkins as it was being made. She took the bag the counterman handed her and clucked, then followed Kerry out the door and to the elevator, which swallowed them up along with several other staff members. At the last minute, running footsteps and a hand between the doors delayed them as Steven Fabricini slid in.

”Well, hello there.” He sorted his way through the mailman and two administrative assistants, choosing to lean against the same wall as Kerry. ”How was lunch?”

”Fine thanks,” Kerry replied readily. ”This cafeteria’s really not bad. It’s better than most of the restaurants around here.”

”Ah.” He watched as the doors opened, and one woman left. ”You live in the area?”

”Kendall,” Kerry answered amiably.

”Hey, me too.” Steven smiled. ”Seems like most of the building does; either that, or up in Miramar.” He glanced up as the mailman and the other woman left. ”Guess we’re headed to the same place,” he noted, seeing the fifteen button the only one left lit.

”Guess we are.” Kerry eyed him. ”Where in Kendall did you end up?”

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He told her, crossing his arms. ”It’s a nice little complex, got a clubhouse, and all that.”

”That’s not too far from where I am. I like the area. We go rollerblading down to that little bakery on the corner near the mall all the time,” she commented.

”Hey, I blade all the time.” Steven smiled. ”Maybe we’ll bump into each other sometime down there. I like that little place.” The door opened and he gestured. ”Ladies first.”

Kerry followed Maria out, seeing the stiff set of the secretary’s back and biting off a tiny smile. Steven accompanied them down the hall and into Dar’s outer office, where the executive’s distinctive, vibrant voice could be heard growling through the thick wood paneling. ”Aie, what now,” Maria sighed.

Steven chuckled. “Dar never needed a reason to be rude, crude and obnoxious.” He brushed by them and walked into Dar’s office, closing the door behind him.

Kerry and Maria exchanged glances, then Kerry picked up the paper bag. ”I’ll drop this off.” She paused with a hand on the doorknob, then opened the inner office door, and stepped inside.

”Mike, I don’t give a goddamn what they’re telling you, it’s bullshit.” Dar punctuated her words by slamming her pencil on the desk. ”I’m not going to accept sixty days to pull a lousy circuit, so they better come up with something else.”

”Look, Dar, we’ve been going around and around with them for two months. They won’t budge,” the man's voice answered, sounding tired. ”They’ve got unions to deal with up there, and facilities that are older than my damn mother.”

Dar looked up as the door opened, and her nostrils flared a bit as Steven walked brazenly into her office. ”Hang on a minute.” She hit the hold button. ”People knock before they come into this office.”

Steven clucked, and dropped into a chair. ”Get your panties out of a wad, Dar.”

”What do you want? I’m in the middle of something,” She snapped back.Steven leaned back, glancing up as the outer door opened, and Kerry slipped in. ”Thought people knocked first?” he asked mockingly, smiling at Dar.

”She doesn’t have to knock. She works here,” Dar replied. ”You’ve got ten seconds. Talk, or get out.”

Kerry paced quietly across the carpet and deposited the bag on Dar’s desk. ”Lunch,” she murmured, then headed for the inner door.

”Thanks.” Dar spared her a brief glance. ”Hold on a second; I have some contracts to turn over to you.” Then she focused back on her unwelcome guest. ”What is it?”

”I want a task force.” He leaned forward abruptly. ”I want two people from your staff so I can figure out what the hell you’re trying to 12

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accomplish around here, and see if I can straighten it out.” He pointed.

”I want Kerry, and whoever else you have assigned over to me for a period of two months, starting tomorrow.”

Silence fell. Dar folded her hands over her desk, and blinked at him. ”That’s what you want?” She inquired mildly.

”That’s what I want.” He smiled.

One long, powerful finger pointed at the door. ”What I want is you out of my office,” the executive stated flatly. ”I don’t have the time, or the people to dedicate to you for your wild goose chase. If you want to bring in temps to play with files, talk to Mariana.”

”Afraid of what I’ll find, Dar?” He crossed his legs, and smiled at her, as he glanced sideways at the quietly waiting Kerry. ”You can’t hide it forever.”

Dar merely stared at him.

”Fine.” He stood up and brushed his pants off. ”I’ll just make it a formal request up the line. I’ll get what I want, and everyone will know it. Sorry, Dar, I was trying to spare you that for old time’s sake.” He winked at Kerry then left, the door closing behind him with a bang.

A silence settled, then Kerry cleared her throat. ”You know what I want?”

Dar raised an eyebrow at her.

Kerry walked over and settled on the corner of Dar’s desk. ”I want a shower.” She pointed ”Right in that corner, so every time I have to talk to that sneaky little piece of pig manure I can go and wash myself off.” She made a face and gagged. ”He makes me feel so slimy!” She shuddered. ”Ugh, Dar! Gag! Gross! Yuck!”

That got a weary chuckle from Dar, who shook her head and sighed. ”He’s a piece of work, that’s for sure.” She punched the phone button. ”Mike you still there?”

”Yeah,” a muffled voice answered. ”Just eating my lunch.”

”All right, gimme the name of someone up in their chain, and I’ll see what I can do to shove things along a little.” Dar propped her head up on one hand. ”Sixty days, my dog could pull a circuit in less than sixty days.”

”Probably do a neater job of it,” the voice agreed. ”I’ll email you with some names. Thanks Dar.”

”Yeah, yeah.” Dar sighed, as she disconnected, and turned to face Kerry. ”Hey.”

Kerry cocked her head and smiled. ”Hey.” She indicated the bag.

”Tuna on raisin...better eat the French fries before they soak through the bag.”Dar’s expression gentled and she captured Kerry’s hand, squeezing it. ”Thanks. How’d the meeting go? You must have made an impression, or he wouldn’t be asking for you.”

Kerry rolled her sea green eyes. ”I think he’s just bound and determined to screw you over. He went from being condescending and Hurricane Watch

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antagonistic, to hitting on me.” She made a face. ”He wants to do lunch tomorrow.” She watched Dar’s right eyebrow lift. ”Here, just in the cafeteria,” she amended with a gentle twinkle. The eyebrow remained where it was. ”Oo, do I sense some territoriality raising its head?”

”Hmph,” Dar snorted softly. ”No, that’s not… You can go to lunch with whoever you want to, Kerry. I’m not—”

A hand cupped her cheek unexpectedly. ”I’m flattered,” Kerry whispered.

Dar fell silent, then chuckled a little. ”Yeah, well, I’ve been known to be territorial before,” she admitted wryly. ”But be careful, all right?

He’s very sharp.”

Kerry leaned closer. ”Not as sharp as you are,” she murmured softly. ”Even though he thinks he is,” she informed her boss. ”What is his problem with you, anyway?”

Dar sighed. ”We went to school together and we were pretty good friends, even though we didn’t have much in common. We were both in the martial arts together, and hung out with some of the same crowd.

The trouble started when I beat him in the nationals that year.”

”Ah.” Kerry lifted a hand. ”I get it. Let me guess, he was god’s gift to karate?”

”No,” Dar replied, surprisingly. ”He wasn’t really that good, maybe that was the problem. He never made it past the preliminary rounds, and I was the one that kicked him into the loser’s bracket, purely by chance.” She exhaled, remembering. ”He felt I should have helped him get further because he was trying to impress this girl on the opposing team that he’d been after for years. It was why he got involved in the stuff to begin with.”

”That doesn’t make sense. Why would you have taken a dive for him?” Kerry inquired. ”I can’t see you doing that in any case.”

Pale blue eyes winked at her from under long, dark lashes. ”It was complicated. He thought I owed him the favor, but at any rate, I didn’t, and he lost. He dropped out of the karate program after that.” She paused, ordering her thoughts. ”He was majoring in systems design, and through a chance routine I was running, I discovered he’d stolen his entire senior design matrix from someone else.”

”Uh oh.” Kerry winced.

”Yeah, well, me being a moral and upright bastard in the old days, I had to go running to the department head with it. Steven was tossed out of school.” Dar sighed. ”Our last meeting wasn't very pleasant. He told me he’d get back at me someday, and now, here he is trying.”

”Jesus, he should get a life. What was that, ten years ago? What a waste of time.” Kerry folded her arms across her chest. ”He gives me the creeps.”

”Mm,” Dar agreed. ”Well, we have to deal with him. If he keeps pushing you, you can tell him you’re not interested, or that you’re involved with someone.”

14

Melissa Good

”Both of which are completely true,” Kerry agreed.” Your sandwich is getting cold.” She gave her boss a not so subtle nudge.

Dar smiled, and opened the bag, tugging out the sandwich and munching on a fry. ”Mm…bet Maria made a face at you for this.” She bit into the gooey sandwich happily. ”She usually brings me chicken salad on pita.”

“You like pita?”

“No.” Dar wiped her lips with the napkin from the bag. “But if I’m hungry enough I’ll eat pretty much anything and she knows it.”

“Hmm.”

“Don’t get any ideas.”

Kerry watched her indulgently for a minute, then stood up. ”Yes, she did give me a hard time, but not nearly as bad a look as when old Stevie snake was flirting with me.” She touched Dar’s shoulder. ”I think she has a protective streak, too.”

”Mm hmm,” Dar nodded, with her mouth full. ”She thinks you’re a manifestation of the Blessed Virgin for getting me to eat trail mix instead of malted milk balls.”

Kerry snorted softly. ”That didn’t take much effort at all. C’mon, anyone could have done it.”

Dar studied her sandwich for a moment, before taking a bite of it.

”No one else ever tried,” she remarked casually as she chewed the mouthful, enjoying the gentle tang of the raisins in the bread. ”Even my mother gave up on me.”

”Well.” Kerry reached over and gently pushed an errant, dark lock out of Dar’s eyes. ”I’m pretty stubborn.” She smiled. ”Not to mention a little on the possessive side myself,” she confessed. ”Was your mother into greens?”

”Vegetarian,” Dar replied, wiping her mouth. ”She tried, but my father told me even as a baby I used to chuck up the strained peas, and go after his hamburger. Must have driven her nuts.” She finished off her fries and neatly disposed of the bag. ”Thank you. Now I have just enough time to review this damn status report before the executive committee meeting, and I’m stuck with a new client briefing at four. I won’t get out of here before seven.”

Kerry nodded. ”I’m meeting a few folks over at the gym for a climbing session at six. Will you be over for our class?”

”Oh yeah,” Dar responded positively. ”I’ll be ready for that. It’s been a long, aggravating day, and it’s only lunchtime.”

”Yikes.” Kerry’s hands had found their way across her boss’s neck, feeling the tension in her shoulders. She stood up and went behind the chair, reaching over and giving her a gentle massage, enjoying the warm feel of Dar’s skin under the cool silk of her blouse. ”You’re all wound up, huh?”

”Mm.” Dar closed her eyes and dropped her head forward, submitting

to

her

companion’s

touch

gratefully.

”Yeah.

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15

Ow…oh…damn, that feels good.” She finally leaned back, as Kerry finished, and looked up at her. ”Thanks.”

Kerry smiled back. ”You’re welcome. I’d better get going. Did you actually have stuff to give me, or was that just a reason for me not to leave?”

A soft chuckle. ”I’m not that bad. Here,” Dar handed her the three folders. ”Three new ones, and in case I didn’t say it before, the two you structured last week were very well done.” She patted Kerry on the leg.

”I got a note from Eleanor regarding the New England Power meeting.

She was very impressed with how you handled it.”

Kerry positively beamed. A big, sunny grin covered her face, and her eyes sparkled, as she drank in the words. ”Wow, thanks.”

Compliments from Dar, business ones anyway, were coveted treats all the more so because they were usually unexpected. Her reaction made Dar smile, which made her feel even better. “Boss, you rock.”

Dar’s phone buzzed. ”Dar?” Maria sounded resigned.

”Yes?” The executive answered, leaning on an elbow.

”Personnel, line numero uno.”

”I bet I know what this is.” Dar sighed. ”Thanks.” She hit the button. ”Dar Roberts.”

”You are such the troublemaker, you know that?” Mariana’s voice sounded halfway between irritation and wry amusement. ”Are you trying to set some record for complaints against one employee?”

Dar lifted her hands and let them fall on the desk. ”What did I do?”

she asked. “Now?”

”Oh, let's see…” A rustle of paper. ”Being rude, obstructionist, uncooperative, detrimental to the progress of business…”

”She really wasn’t, Mari.” Kerry spoke over her boss’s shoulder. ”I was here. She was really polite, as a matter of fact.”

Mariana sighed. ”What did he want?”

”Me.” Kerry replied. ”He wanted me, and another staff member assigned to him personally for two months, while he, as he put it,

‘straightened us out.’”

A soft curse in a fluid language followed. ”And you told him no, I take it?”

”I told him I didn’t have the time or the staff to go on wild goose chases and that if he wanted dog’s bodies to hunt stuff down, to go see you,” Dar replied. ”I’m not assigning one of the cleaning staff much less Kerry to that horse’s ass.”

”Mm. I see.” The Personnel VP sighed. ”Well, he kicked a copy of this up to Alastair, along with a bunch of statistics. It looks pretty nasty, Dar. I’ll forward you a copy.”

Dar drummed her fingers on her desk. ”Did he copy José?”

A moment’s silence. ”Um, now that you mention it, no,” Mariana replied.

Dar smiled. ”Okay. Thanks. I’ll handle Alastair if he decides to get 16

Melissa Good

involved.” She pulled a folder over to her. ”Meet you in the conference room?”

”You got it,” Mariana agreed, and hung up.

”He sounds like he really means to make a case out of this, Dar,”

Kerry stated quietly, her brow creasing in concern. ”Would it be easier if we just went along with it? I mean, it’s not like he’s going to actually find anything if he investigates our area.”

The pale blue eyes thoughtfully roamed the room, settling on Kerry’s face with quiet intentness. ”Yes, it would be easier,” she stated flatly. ”But I’m not gonna do it.” The ferocity in her voice surprised Kerry. ”He wants a fight? He’ll get one.”