Red Sky at Morning

Chapter

One

THE HOTEL LOBBY was full of people: men in business suits, and women in equally well-tailored suits of their own. The plush carpet muted the conversation, but the buzz tickled the senses as the crowd shifted and moved, sophisticated glances meeting and mouths tensing into polite smiles.

Behind the long, marble-topped front desk, two reservations agents observed the cocktail party with mildly bored expressions. “I hate these parties,” one confided. “They’re so stupid.”

Her companion shrugged. “They’re all right. At least, this bunch is okay. They tip. That convention we had in last week...shoulda ended up at the Motel Six.”

“You got that right.” The female clerk fiddled with her terminal, then leaned on the counter and sighed. “How much longer?”

“Two hours.” The dark-haired man leaned on the counter next to her, watching the crowd. “Uh-oh...”

“What?” The woman peered in the direction of his gaze. “Oh.” She rolled her eyes. Entering the hotel’s elegant glass and brass revolving door was someone obviously out of place in the lobby full of expensive, chic clothing.

The sweat-shirted, blue-jeaned figure edged its way through the party, collecting stares along the way, headed unmistakably for the desk. Rips sliced the denim above the knees and complemented the hiking boots that scuffed across the thick carpet.

“Water fountain,” the man guessed.

“Bathroom,” the woman countered.

“Directions.”

“Change for a dollar.”

They both smiled sweetly as the scruffy figure came to the desk and rested long, powerful hands on the polished surface. “Yes...ma’am?” the male clerk inquired. “Something we can do for you?” His tone indicated polite doubt.

One of the hands lifted and removed the sunglasses hiding a pair of remarkably piercing eyes, which now drilled right through him. A dark, perfectly shaped eyebrow lifted wryly as the woman answered,

“Roberts. I have a reservation.” It was a low voice, but distinct, with the 2 Melissa Good faintest hint of the South in it. “But I’d be just as happy if you told me I didn’t so I could get my ass on a plane back home instead.”

The male clerk blinked. “Um...” He rattled a few keys, then managed to get the name typed in, aware of his co-worker peering avidly over his shoulder. To his immense surprise, the name obediently returned an actual reservation, of which he studied the details.

“Yes...yes, Ms. Roberts. We’ve got it right here. Um...do you have any luggage?”

“Just this.” The woman hefted a weathered leather overnight bag slung casually over one shoulder. She took the key the clerk handed over. “Elevators?”

“Over to the right there, ma’am.” The man’s tone had altered to one of tense respect. “Is there anything we can send up for you?”

Dar turned and surveyed the crowd, some of whom were eyeing her disreputably ripped jeans with distaste. “Aspirin.” She enunciated the word carefully, then turned and made her way to the sleek elevators, ducking inside one and punching her floor. The doors closed lazily, blocking her from view.

The two clerks watched her leave, then glanced at each other. The man shook his head. “Son of a bitch.”

“That’s their CIO?” The woman stared at the computer screen.

“She’s got the VIP suite?” She looked up at the now closed elevator.

“Holy shit.”

“I don’t get it.” The man shook his head. “These nerds are something else.”

DAR SIGHED AND leaned back against the wall, swallowing as her ears popped with the rising of the car. She was already regretting agreeing to present the company’s quarterly results at their stockholders’ meeting here in New York City, all the more so because it was so close to the Thanksgiving holiday, and that meant crowded planes, and crowded airports, and lots and lots of traffic.

Dar closed her eyes. And small elevators. She felt a familiar queasiness start in her stomach and concentrated on taking long, deep breaths, clenching her hands around the straps of her bag and the laptop case over her other shoulder. Add that to the sinus headache she always got when flying in the winter, and the dry heat, and by the time the damned elevator grudgingly allowed her out, her body was tense and shaking, making her nauseous.

The hallway was also small, and she edged down it, finding her room and opening the door, moving forward into a plush, thankfully acceptably large room, and letting the heavy partition shut behind her.

She dropped her bags down on the huge bed and collapsed into the nearby chair, her head falling back to rest on the soft leather. “Alastair, I’m going to get you for this.”

Red Sky At Morning 3

As though in psychic response, her cell phone rang. With a silent curse, Dar removed it from its clip on her belt and opened it. “Yeah?”

“Well, well, good afternoon, Dar.” Her boss’s voice sounded calmly cheerful. “Where are you?”

“The hotel,” Dar replied, keeping her eyes closed. “Finally. We circled for over two hours before they let us land at LaGuardia.” She exhaled. “Damn weather.”

“Well...”

“Damned Northeast. Why the hell can’t we have these meetings in Houston?”

“Now, Dar.” Alastair’s voice grew placating. “It won’t take that long. Besides, I thought you liked to travel.”

Dar thought about the hours spent inside the crowded plane, pressing in on nerves newly sensitized by an accident weeks earlier that had reawakened a latent claustrophobia Dar had thought she’d conquered years back. “Not as much as I used to,” she admitted, having been surprised by the level of discomfort she’d had to endure. “Maybe I’m just coming down with something. Anyway, did you need anything, or are you just calling to bust my chops?”

Alastair McLean, the CEO of ILS, chuckled. “That sounds more like you. Actually, I wanted to invite you to dinner. There’s a nice place just across the road from here...good Italian.”

Dar let her eyes flick around the room, aware suddenly of its silence.

“I realize I’m not as interesting company as Ms. Stuart is, but...”

Alastair coaxed. “C’mon, Dar, I promise I won’t talk football at you.”

Just hearing Kerry’s name brought a smile to Dar’s face. Her friend, lover, and roommate was stuck back in Miami, consolidating a large deal with one of their major clients. “All right,” she finally replied.

“You’re not bringing the whole board, are you?”

A snort. “No, I wouldn’t waste the clam sauce. Just you and me, Dar,” Alastair reassured her. “I’ll drop by your room at six, all right?”

Dar eyed the clock. It was barely four, and that gave her time to shower and relax a little. “Sounds good.” She let a smile cross her face.

“See you then, Alastair.” She closed the phone and relaxed a little, stifling a yawn with the back of her hand. “Damn.” The hand lifted and rubbed her eyes. “I need some coffee.” The hotel phone was nearby, but her body resisted moving, content to remain nestled in the leather chair, now nicely warmed and comfortable.

She slumped there limply for a moment, then lifted her cell phone and thumbed a number into it without looking. Dar lifted the instrument to her ear and listened to its buzzing ring. Once, twice...then the noise stopped and a soft grunt issued down the line, bringing a smile to Dar’s face.

“Hello?” Kerry’s voice sounded almost breathless.

“Avoiding the elevators?” Dar queried.

4 Melissa Good

“Oh.” Kerry exhaled, then apparently stopped moving. “How’d you guess? They just called me down to the tenth floor, and I thought I’d jog back up.” The sound of a door opening and closing, then the echo of the stairwell vanished, replaced with a soft hum. “Where are you? Did you just get there? How was the flight?”

Dar pictured her lover striding down the hall, with that distinctive, sexy walk, and her nose wrinkled in pleasure. “Hotel, yes, pain in my ass,” she replied succinctly. “Just thought I’d check in. We hit weather over Virginia.”

“I know,” Kerry answered over the sound of a door closing. Now the hum was gone, and it was quiet. “I, um...tracked your flight.”

Dar stretched out her long legs and felt her muscles relax. “Oh, you did, huh?”

“Yes, I did.” Kerry’s voice dropped a little, taking on a hint of huskiness. “I worry about you, y’know.”

Mmm. Dar smiled at the ceiling. “Well, I made it here. Alastair’s taking me out to dinner, then I’m gonna get some sleep. The meeting starts at eight tomorrow.”

“Ew,” Kerry replied. “I’ve got that group meeting at the church tonight, then Colleen and Ray are meeting me and we’re going to walk down the beach and see what trouble we can get into.”

Uh-oh. Dar imagined the possible results. “Be careful, okay?” she advised her lover.

“You too.” Kerry replied seriously. “That city can be a scary place.”

Dar smiled. “I will. Talk to you tomorrow, okay?”

“Okay.” Kerry was smiling too, easily heard in her voice. “I love you.”

“I love you, too.” Dar exhaled contentedly. “Night.”

“NIGHT.” KERRY LISTENED until the call ended with a slight click, then regarded the phone for a moment before she leaned back in her comfortable desk chair and tapped her pen on her notepad. Her desk was neat and clean, the LCD screen and her phone on one side, her inbox, notepad, and the small wood-framed picture on the other. Idly, she reached out and lifted the picture, smiling at the beautiful face gazing out at her. “Don’t you be getting lost down any subway tunnels, cutie pie,” she instructed the picture. “We’ve got holiday plans in a few days.”

Thanksgiving. Kerry set the picture down and started straightening out her things in preparation for leaving. Her very first real Thanksgiving, where she was in charge and had decided what they’d do and who they’d invite. She’d decided on a turkey and a party, and Dar had amiably agreed, having never experienced the occasion as a host herself. She’d gotten her turkey—an enormous, frozen thing—and all the trimmings, and Colleen had volunteered to come over early that Red Sky At Morning 5

morning and help with the cooking.

Dar’s parents would be there. Kerry smiled as she picked up her laptop, slipped it into the leather shoulder bag she carried, and clipped her cell phone to her belt. She heard a light knock and looked up as the door opened and her secretary Mayte peeked in. “Hey.”

The slim young Latina girl smiled at her. “You go home, yes?”

“Not exactly,” Kerry answered easily. “I’ve got a meeting to go to, then some socializing to do. What about you?”

“I have my group tonight,” Mayte replied. “I was going to ask, if it is not too much trouble, if I could get a ride with you just passed the bus stop.”

“Absolutely.” Kerry circled the desk. “C’mon, we’ll beat the traffic.” She motioned the girl out before her and they left the office, walking together down the hall. They were both dressed with casual elegance, and Kerry was amused to note that Mayte had taken to carefully studying Kerry’s own choices of silk shirts and well-tailored slacks and had chosen items as close as she could without copying Kerry’s selections outright.

As they entered the elevator, Kerry straightened her shoulders in reflex, drawing the eyes of the occupants already inside, her wine-colored shirt with its tiny embroidered flowers contrasting neatly with her pale hair and fair complexion. “Evening.” Kerry returned the quiet murmurs with a brief smile, acknowledging the slightly uncomfortable silence from the marketing clerks who were years older than she was and probably aggravated beyond words that someone who looked just about Mayte’s age of low twenty-something had been promoted to vice president, regardless of what her qualifications were.

Or, she admitted wryly, they could also be fundamentalists who disapproved of her very publicly known alternative lifestyle. The doors opened on the bottom floor and the other women moved out quickly, heading across the huge brass and marble lobby toward the front doors of the building.

“Ms. Kerry?” Mayte murmured as they followed more slowly. “I do not think those ladies like you.”

“Nope.” Kerry gave the security guard a smile and received one in return as they exited the building. “There are people out there that don’t.” She led Mayte over to the dark green Mustang convertible and unlocked the doors, popping her hatch to set her laptop bag down inside. Then she got in and fastened her seat belt, watching her assistant do the same. “You know how it is.”

Mayte was quiet as Kerry started the car and backed it from its spot. The space next to her was conspicuously empty in the full lot, having been filled with Dar’s Lexus until the CIO had left for the airport. An irrational desire to have left right along with her flared suddenly, but Kerry suppressed it and turned her attention to the traffic as she pulled out of the parking lot.

6 Melissa Good

“Did la jefa get to New York all right?” Mayte inquired shyly.

“Mamá was worried; she said there was a big storm somewhere.”

“Yeah.” Kerry nodded. “She called me just before we left. It took them forever to land, but she’s there, safe and sound.” Her brow contracted. “I should have called your mother and told her. I know she was concerned.” She turned west, and winced as the sun invaded the car. “Whoops.” One hand fished into the center console and emerged with her sunglasses, which she put on, cutting the brilliance and restoring her vision.

“I will tell her when I get home,” Mayte reassured her. “I think you were worried too...you did not eat your lunch.”

Hmm. Kerry’s nose wrinkled. Busted. “Well, everything turned out okay, so I’ll just make up for it at dinner.” She chuckled, then considered her choice of streets. “Listen, I have to go downtown anyway—why don’t I just drop you off at home?” she offered. “No sense in you having to grab a bus at this hour.” Normally, Mayte rode home with her mother, María, who was Dar’s assistant, but the older woman had left early for a doctor’s appointment after Dar had gone to the airport.

“You don’t have to do that.” Mayte looked shyly pleased at the offer, though. “You’re so busy.”

“Nah.” Kerry produced a grin. “Besides, after what I’ve heard about the Metro buses, I’d be a nervous wreck until I saw you again tomorrow morning.” She pulled out onto the highway decisively, almost cutting off a huge truck as she ducked nimbly across two lanes of traffic.

“Oh. Sí. ” Mayte closed her eyes resolutely and grabbed for the overhead handle. “I am feeling much safer already.”

IT WAS, AFTER all, New York City, and here she was, dining out at night, with the CEO of one of the largest IS firms in the world. Dar crossed her ankles and reviewed the dark fabric covering her legs. At least he gets the jeans without the rips. She gazed across the table at her boss, who was watching her with a bemused expression. “Am I ruining your image?”

Alastair laughed. “Who, me? Just because half the people in here know who I am and are dying of curiosity as to where I picked up the beautiful vagrant I’m eating dinner with?” He poked a fork at Dar’s sweatshirt sleeve. “They’ll find out soon enough.”

Dar returned the chuckle. “Sorry. I would have changed, but I fell asleep after you called and barely had time to get my head on straight before you knocked.” She stretched and picked up a fragrant garlic stick, nibbling its end appreciatively. “I was at the office at four AM.

Needed to get that new contract squared away before I left.”

“Ouch.” Alastair winced. “How’s that going?”

Red Sky At Morning 7

“Not bad,” Dar replied. “I’ve got a meeting scheduled next week with the top brass down at Southeast Command...that’s where Gerry wanted me to start.”

“Close to home.”

“Mm,” Dar acknowledged. “They’ve been getting a pile of complaints about the training programs down there. He wants me to go in and do a complete systems and processes evaluation.” She carefully ignored her salad and dipped the breadstick into the spicy Italian soup.

“Gonna be a little strange. One of the bases he wants me to review is the one I mostly grew up on.”

Footsteps closed in, and they both looked up to see a sharply dressed man standing at the tableside. “Hello, Al.” The man had a slight accent, but it was hard to tell exactly what kind. “I was hoping I’d get a chance to see you before the meeting.” He flicked a lazy glance over Dar’s body, and the corner of his mouth twitched. “Sorry. Am I interrupting something?”

Dar considered the repercussions of stabbing him with her fork and weighed the amusement value of hearing the scream versus the certain lawsuit she’d have to deal with. She sighed and just continued eating.

The food was excellent, and she’d missed both breakfast and lunch, which hadn’t helped the headache flying had given her. “Nah, go ahead. I’m just his new intern,” she commented lightly, sucking in a strand of spaghetti.

Alastair exhaled and hid a smile behind his hand. “Good evening, Bob. Sit down, will ya? What can I do for you?” Bob Trancet was the head of corporate sales for the New York office, which handled a good deal of their international business as well.

The tall man sat down and folded his hands, ignoring Dar now. He was clean-cut and good looking, with silvered black hair and a strong profile. His athletic body was balanced, and he had a very self-assured air. “Nothing major. I was just hoping to put a bug in your ear about a possible new alliance. Datacom contacted me today and started sniffing around the edges of suggesting they want us to take over their network ops.”“Really?” Alastair propped his chin up on one fist. “They’re big competitors of ours in some places.”

“Mm. But they can’t compete with the new network, and they know it.” Bob smirked. “They’re talking strategic partnership now—trading off them selling our net in exchange for us getting a lot of their South American stuff.”

“Not worth it,” Dar commented, biting a meatball in half. “They’ve got twenty-year-old infrastructure, and it’ll cost us over a million bucks to upgrade their nodes to our spec.”

There was absolute silence for a moment, giving Dar some peace and quiet in which to slurp her pasta.

“Spunky intern,” Bob remarked dryly. “But all of a sudden, I’m 8 Melissa Good realizing that voice is familiar.” He waited for Dar to lift her eyes and met them with a twinkle of amusement. “I finally get to meet the infamous Dar Roberts. That was outstandingly stupid of me, wasn’t it? I should have figured it out from the start.” He held out a hand, which Dar reached over and clasped. “Intern, eh?”

Dar smiled at him, and their eyes fenced briefly, two very strong wills gently testing each other. She could feel the intense magnetism he was putting out, and as his glance drifted over her and showed a distinct admiration, her ego pricked its little bat ears right up. “Well,”

she drawled, “it was better than the other obvious conclusion.”

He grinned right back. “Better for who? That would have done wonders for Al’s reputation.”

Glancing between the two, Alastair cleared his throat. “I hadn’t realized you’d never met Dar, Bob. I know you’ve spoken on the phone, though.”

“No, no.” Bob slowly shook his head, still apparently fascinated by Dar. “Never had the pleasure; and I do mean pleasure.”

Dar took a breath and went back to consuming her dinner. “If Datacom wants to deal, they have to pay for their own upgrades before we sign anything. I don’t want them bottlenecking us,” she stated, then sighed as her cell phone rang. “Yeah?”

“Dar, it’s Mark. We’ve got a situation.”

Figures. “Hang on.” Dar stood and tucked her napkin under her plate. “Be right back.” She edged around where Bob was sitting and headed for the door, out of the noise, where she could hear better.

Alastair took a sip of his wine and gazed drolly at his longtime associate. “Put your tongue back in your mouth, will ya?”

“Son of a bitch.” Bob laughed, shaking a finger at him. “You told me she was smart, tough, and stubborn. How come you never mentioned she was gorgeous?” His eyes stayed pinned on the tall, lanky figure leaning against the door outside, phone pressed to her ear. “That is a serious hunk of woman, Al.”

Alastair rolled his eyes. “You never change,” he snorted. “Wipe your chin. You’re drooling.”

“Hell yes, I am!” Bob asserted. “That’s one sexy item I intend to get a closer look at.”

Alastair held a hand up. “She’s taken.”

“Bullshit. Nobody owns her—not in this lifetime, Bucko.” Bob shook his head firmly. “Don’t get so serious, Al. I just want to have a drink with her, not get married.”

Alastair threw his trump card. “Bob, she’s gay.”

“And? Your point is what?” his chief salesman replied. “Who cares? I sure don’t.” He balled up the napkin he’d been playing with and straightened. “I’ll just in—hey!”

Alastair had reached across the table and fastened one hand on his wrist. Now he bore down and pulled, a suddenly serious, intent look on Red Sky At Morning 9

his face. “You listen to me, mister. Don’t fuck with her.”

A tiny pocket of shocked stillness surrounded them. Bob blinked and stared at his boss, nonplussed. “Hey, c’mon, Al,” he said, softly.

“Take it easy.”

“I mean it,” the CEO stated flatly.

The younger man drew in a breath and held out his other hand, palm up, in a gesture of conciliation. “Okay, okay, boss. I hear you.” He gathered his composure and sat back as Alastair released him. “Is it okay if I just talk to her? She’s very bright, and I’d really like to spend a few minutes doing that.”

A finger pointed at him. “If you go a step further than that, I will personally fire your ass. Understand?”

“Understood,” Bob acknowledged quietly, as Dar reentered the restaurant, moving back toward them and taking her seat. Alert blue eyes flicked first to Alastair, then to him, and he got the curious sensation of being analyzed like a faulty piece of code by the raw, potent intelligence lurking just behind Dar’s now watchful gaze.

“Trouble, Dar?” Alastair took a gulp of his wine and swirled the remainder around his glass. “Didn’t think we had that much going on this week.”

“Ah.” Dar twirled a forkful of spaghetti and munched on it, swallowing before she answered. “It’s that damned conversion in Chicago. They’ve been trying to tie in that big ATM pipeline up to Canada for two weeks, and every time they do it, they take down half the Midwest.” She took a sip of her own wine. “I may have to send a team out there.”

“Lousy time to be traveling,” Bob ventured. “Holidays and all.”

“Mm,” Dar agreed, meeting his gaze. “Comes with the territory, though. My people know that. Work comes first.” She finished off her meatballs and sat back, crossing an arm over her chest as she sipped the wine. The problem was aggravating, for sure, and she wasn’t entirely convinced she wasn’t going to have to go there in person to take care of it.

Which truly, truly sucked.

“Hey, Dar?”

She looked up to find Bob leaning forward with a look of friendly interest on his face. “Mm?” Something had gone on between him and Alastair, that much she knew, but what that was... Probably didn’t involve her. “Something on your mind?”

The corner of his mouth twitched. “Get to the city much?”

That surprised her. “No. I try to not cross the Mason-Dixon unless I have to,” she replied dryly, giving Alastair a look. “Why?”

Bob folded his hands together. Dar noticed they were nice, strong ones, with well-tended nails and just a hint of callus along the top of his index fingers. “I’m pretty proud of the place. I’ve lived here since I was shorter than the fire hydrants outside. Will you let me give you a quick tour?”

10 Melissa Good Dar considered the request. “If you put an itinerary together for tomorrow night, sure,” she agreed amiably. “It’s been a long day.” He was attractive, and a sharp businessman, and it never hurt to build a few bridges when one had the chance to. Especially with the sales and marketing side of the house, with which she tended to be forever at cross-purposes.

“You’re on.” Bob grinned, then pushed back from the table and stood up. “Al, it’s been a pleasure as always.” He inclined his head.

“See you at the soiree tomorrow.” His eyes shifted. “And you, as well, I hear, Madame. Looking forward to hearing the presentation.” With a slight bow, he turned and threaded his way through the now truly busy restaurant, disappearing into the New York night once he cleared the door.

KERRY STROLLED SLOWLY along the sidewalk. It was after her meeting and she was enjoying the bustling crowds as they passed around her along busy South Beach. The atmosphere around her was laid back and relaxed, people seeing and being seen, and she felt a sense of anonymous comfort as she dodged a Roller Blader and paused to peer in a shop window.

Fashions. Her nose wrinkled a little. South Beach tended to the avant-garde and eclectic. And though Kerry wouldn’t exactly consider herself stodgy, she couldn’t quite imagine wearing most of what she saw.

Outside her bedroom, anyway.

She pushed the door open anyway and went in, letting her hands riffle through the rich, exotic fabrics as she made a brief, polite eye contact with the girl behind the desk. “Hello.”

“Hi,” the girl replied, in an agreeable tone. “Howaya?”

“Fine thanks.” Kerry paused, her attention attracted by a rack of leather somethings. “Oo.” She pushed aside two pairs of pants and peered at a studded leather bustier, biting the inside of her lip as she tried to imagine herself wearing it.

“Nice, huh?” The girl was now at her shoulder. “That designer’s great. He’s local,” she said. “A lot of people wear his stuff to the clubs.”

Clubs. Dar wasn’t much for clubs, and Kerry really wasn’t either, finding them noisy and chaotic though possessing a thrumming energy she sometimes appreciated. “It is nice,” she agreed.

“You want that for you?” the girl asked, her voice doubtful.

Kerry gave her a sideways look. “Don’t look like a biker rebel club chick, huh?” She caught a flash of herself in the mirror behind the counter, acknowledging that her Midwestern blonde conservative appearance probably leant itself to the girl’s dubious expression.

“Well.” The girl gave her a half grin. “You never know, you know?

But most people who come in here, they’re pretty radical already.”

Red Sky At Morning 11

The door to the shop opened, and the girl looked up. “Excuse me,”

she said. “If you need something, just holler.” She ducked between the racks to greet the newcomers, male and female voices rising in a thickly accented question as she approached.

Kerry turned back to her rack, and took the bustier off the hook, holding it up. It laced all the way down and was cut to fit very tight, studs outlining the breasts adding a blatantly sexy touch. “Hm.” She nibbled her lip. “But what on earth would you do with it, Kerry?” She started to put the hanger back, then she stopped, and turned, heading for the cashier’s desk. “I’ll find a place to wear it even if it’s just to give Dar a good laugh in our living room.”

The two other customers were arguing over long, leather pants, and the sales clerk looked glad enough to leave their side when she saw Kerry approaching. “You going to go for it?”

“Yeah.” Kerry produced a wry grin, along with her credit card.

“You only live once, right?”

“Not according to my abuela,” the girl answered promptly. “She says we all live many, many times. She knows.”

Kerry leaned on the counter. “How? How does she know?”

The clerk presented her with a charge slip and a pen with the head of Ozzy Osborne on it. “She says she knows because every time she gets a cat, it’s her ex-husband coming back all over again.”

They both laughed, and Kerry signed the slip as she shook her head, while the girl neatly folded the bustier and put it in a bag. Kerry pushed the slip back across the table and picked up her bag, turning fully to look at the two other shoppers for the first time.

Ah. She blinked, and gave the two a brief smile as she squeezed past them. Hoping she didn’t catch anything on one of their many piercings or the four inch nails the girl was waving around, Kerry conceded that the clerk certainly did have a point about her usual clientele.

Ah well. She pushed the door open and emerged into the cool evening air, checking her watch as she started down the sidewalk again.

“Coming back as a cat, huh?” She chuckled, as she headed in the direction of one of her favorite sushi dives. “Boy, people believe in some weird stuff.”

She swung her bag over her shoulder and continued ambling along, peeking into windows. She approached one set, with a bench in front of them. The bench held a long limbed man sprawled across it, apparently just enjoying the cool night air. “Evening.” Kerry greeted him a she passed.

“Hey, cute lady.” The man responded, in an amiable tone. “C’mere.

You got great skin. Want something gorgeous on it?”

Kerry glanced at the window, which featured the word Tattoo prominently on it. “Not tonight, thanks.”

“Ah.” The man straightened up and glanced at her, his face 12 Melissa Good interesting, and shrewd. “You want one, c’mon. Admit it.”

Something made her slow down, and she paused, glancing curiously at the man’s skin art, which covered pretty much every inch of his exposed body. Some of the marks were bright and very colorful, some were more faded, but none were hideous. “Do you do those?”

“Sure.” the man said. “This is my shop.” He gestured behind him with a thumb. “Wanna come see some etchings?” He waggled an eyebrow at her, but grinned.

Kerry hesitated, then glanced at her watch. “Not tonight,” she said.

“I’ve got some friends waiting on me for dinner.”

“Uh huh.”

“But thanks for the offer.” Kerry ginned back at him, then she turned and continued on her way, before her curiosity could get her into some real trouble. “Etching, huh?” She chuckled and put the idea right out of her mind. “You’ll be thinking about a motorcycle next, you radical nerd, you.”

Five minutes longer down the sidewalk, she spotted Colleen headed her way. Pushing the thought of tattoos and Harleys from her mind, she called, “Hey!”

“Hey, girl.” Colleen caught her up, the redhead hooking her arm through Kerry’s with casual familiarity. “Ready to party? Ray’s on his way.”

“More than ready,” Kerry admitted. “Today was too damn long.”

She tucked her bag under her arm. “Let’s go get some naked, raw fish and have our way with them.”

“Oo…aren’t we the wee wild thing!” Colleen laughed. “Such a rebel you are.”

Kerry chuckled as they headed for the sushi place. “Yeah? Wait ’til you see what I got in this bag. You won’t believe it.”

AS SHE STARED into the mirror with a scowl, Dar twitched her collar straight for the fourth time. Not that there was anything wrong with the burgundy silk business suit; the soft folds draped nicely over her tall frame, sleeves cut specifically to her measure, coming neatly past her wrists. The skirt was just above her knees, and with her tan, she could have gotten away without wearing hose. But she hadn’t, dutifully donning the smoky-dark nylons Kerry had tucked into her bag.

“C’mon, Dar,” she repeated to her reflection. “Just pretend it’s a staff meeting.” With over a thousand people. Dar picked up the towel she’d used after her shower and wiped the sweat off her palms. She’d never admit to anyone just how much she hated public, really public speaking. She hadn’t even told Kerry about it. But here, alone in her hotel room, barely an hour before she had to address the stockholders, she could admit to herself that she was scared senseless.

“Jackass.” She glowered into the pale blue eyes in the mirror. A Red Sky At Morning 13

knock sounded on the door, and she almost hit the popcorn ceiling before she gave herself a shake and stalked toward the entrance. She opened the door to find a plant wanting admittance. “Hello?”

Brown eyes peeked out from between the stems of some extremely gorgeous roses. “Ms. Roberts? This came for you.”

Dar surveyed the arrangement and felt her eyebrows lift. She backed up. “C’mon in.” She watched as the bellman carefully put the basket on the room’s small table, then back away cautiously. “Thanks.”

Dar had taken a bill from her wallet and she now handed it to him, ignoring his departure as she explored her new decoration.

It was way too cute and classy for Alastair, she decided, plucking a small teddy bear from the center. “And he wouldn’t send you, now would he?” She sniffed one of the blooms, which was large and perfect, then realized some of the roses weren’t real. Curiously, she touched one, then unwrapped the foil top to reveal rich, milky-looking chocolate. “Ah.” Cheerfully, she took a bite, then fished around until she rooted out the small card. She opened it and peered at the writing, not really needing the confirmation of the sender.

Hey, sweetie.

Give them heck.

I love you.

K

“Aw.” Dar felt her entire body warm, a gentle flush that chased away the chills she’d been feeling not five minutes earlier. “You’re something else, you know that?” She took another bite of chocolate and considered the roses, then selected one and carefully broke its stem off just below the bloom. A few steps took her to her overnight bag, and she fished inside it, coming up with a safety pin and neatly pinning the rose on her lapel.

Her eyes then fell on the tiny teddy, and she very briefly considered tucking it into her pocket, a sudden smile appearing when she imagined the collective reaction of the stockholders if they saw the little toy peeking out of her jacket. “Oh no...no, Dar, that would just blow that little old reputation of yours right out the window and into the Hudson River.” But she laughed, the light sound echoing softly in the room.

She went over to where her breakfast lay mostly untasted on the bedside table and selected a croissant, cutting it open and covering it with butter and jelly. She ate that and washed it down with a swallow of coffee, then clicked off the television that had been playing soundlessly in the background and took one last look in the mirror.

Chin up, shoulders back. Dar straightened and felt her usual confident attitude drop over her in a comforting sensation. She picked up her slim leather portfolio and headed out the door, hearing it close 14 Melissa Good behind her as she walked down the carpeted hallway, her medium-heeled shoes sinking just slightly into the pile.

The elevator had many nicely dressed people in it. Most of them glanced at her as she entered, and most of the guys sucked in their guts.

Dar graced them with a smile, but kept silent, folding her hands over her folder with its distinctive company logo stamped in leather on the outside.

The trip down seemed to last forever, in that elongated awkwardness that elevators often produce. But they did finally make it, and Dar exited the small space, moving into the lobby toward the convention center, where large groups of men and women were gathered near the double doors.

“Dar!”

She turned and waited for Alastair to catch up to her. The CEO was dressed in a dark-blue suit and red tie, and he smiled at Dar as he took her by the elbow. “Morning.”

“Morning, morning.” Alastair ushered her through the door and up one broad aisle toward the podium. “Sleep well?”

“Fine,” Dar replied as they moved up to the table set on the elevated stage. “Did we get the—ah.” She laid her portfolio down and took over the keyboard of the laptop on the table, rattling the keys with a sense of comforting familiarity. “Good,” she murmured, reviewing the data flashing across the LED screen. The system was hooked to an overhead projector, which would allow her to show the stockholders real-time data moving across their new network. “Looks good.”

Alastair glanced at the figures. “You’d know.” He patted her shoulder. “I’m going to get everyone settled, then I’ll introduce you.

Hey, nice rose.”

“Thanks.” Dar glanced at it. “And thanks for dinner last night.

Damn good pasta.”

“Almost as good as the company.” Alastair returned the compliment courteously. “And speaking of which, don’t let Bob run you ragged tonight, all right? He loves this town and loves to show it off, but he gets a little too enthusiastic about its vices sometimes.”

Dar looked up from her data and cocked her head. “Is that a warning?” She watched her boss nod. “All right. I’ll keep that in mind.

Now c’mon, let’s get this show on the road.” She concentrated on setting up the networking monitors and ignored Alastair’s walking over to the podium.

“Ladies and gentleman?” The CEO laid his hands confidently on the wood surface. “If you’d like to take your seats, we’ll get started.”

The crowd bustled into place, scrapes and scuffs overwhelming the conversation as people settled into the comfortable chairs. Almost immediately, a young red-haired man stood up and raised his hand.

“Mr. McLean?”

Alastair looked over at him. “Yes? Thomas Bantelberg, isn’t it?”

Red Sky At Morning 15

The man blinked a moment, obviously not expecting the CEO to recognize him. “Yes. Listen, we’re all really interested in the new network. We don’t want to hear a bunch of corporate BS today, if you don’t mind.” Several people laughed, but more nodded and faced forward.

“Well,” Alastair leaned on the podium, “you know, I had a feeling everyone was going to feel like that.” He had their attention, and the room settled down, everyone listening to him intently. “These stockholder meetings are usually pretty dry, huh?” A round of polite laughter. “I know how much the industry has been talking about our new infrastructure, and I thought that it would be a strong topic of conversation at this meeting.” He straightened. “You all have questions like is it what it’s advertised to be, and how are we going to use it, right?”

Nods.

“Well, good.” Alastair rubbed his hands briskly. “Because I can’t tell you any of that.”

Silence.

“So I brought someone here to do the corporate presentation who can.” He glanced over at Dar, who had finished fiddling with her hardware and was quietly waiting. “Ladies and gentlemen, I’d like to present to you our chief information officer and the designer of the new network, Dar Roberts.”

Dar forced her legs into motion and gave her boss a curt nod as he relinquished the podium.

Then she wondered what all the noise was. Startled, her eyes lifted to see the entire crowd standing up, yelling and waving at her. She looked at Alastair in alarm, only to see the CEO hiding a smirk behind one hand. Only then did she realize that what she was facing was a standing ovation.

Jesus. Now what?

Finally, they shut up and she was able to collect herself, waiting for everyone to sit down before she opened her mouth. Then she shut it again, because she had no idea what to say to the huge, faceless mob, whose attention was now focused on her with fierce intentness.

Well, she had to say something before they all fell asleep, didn’t she?

“The agenda requires me to spend some time at this point outlining the basic plan and infrastructure of why we implemented a new network,”

Dar finally said. “But I’d bet you’d rather just see it, right?”

There was a moment’s silence, beating against her face, then a laugh. Ah. That was good. “Right.” Dar clicked on the overhead and behind her, a slim gray screen exploded into life. “This is the deal...”

“OOH, I THOUGHT she was going to choke there.” Kerry had her chin on her fists and her eyes glued to the IDLN broadcast of her lover 16 Melissa Good explaining in terse detail the advantages of their new net.

“Mm...” Duks was sitting on her desk, and Mark was leaning next to her. “Public speaking is not an easy thing for Dar, I do not think.”

“Nice suit,” Mark commented. “Crowd likes her.”

Kerry watched Dar’s body language, which to her seemed almost painfully stiff. After a few minutes, though, her lover relaxed a little.

“That’s better, she’s loosening up some.”

“Yeah,” the MIS chief agreed. “Boy, she looks nervous. Never thought I’d see that.”

“C’mon, honey,” Kerry whispered to the screen, crossing her fingers and willing Dar to calm down. For a brief instant, the blue eyes lifted from the crowd and glanced right at the IDLN transmit camera, and they were eye to eye; then Dar went back to her information, scrolling expertly through a series of benchmarks and displaying a test of the new network’s capabilities. “Atta girl.” She noticed the rose pinned to her boss’s jacket and smiled.

“What’s she doing now...oh.” Mark leaned forward. “Showing off that new hub. Yeah, lookit that.” They watched Dar shift traffic effortlessly from one port to the other, providing seamless fallback for the accounts on that particular system. “Cool.”

Dar finished her displays, then turned and laid her hands on the podium, much more at ease now. “Any questions?” The rich, powerful voice rolled out over the crowd. A moment’s silence, then a forest of hands went up. Dar seemed to find this funny, the corners of her mouth twitching as she leaned on the wooden surface. “All right. You first.”

She pointed, and the questions began.

“She likes that better.” Kerry nodded. “Questions she can deal with. She has to do that every day.” And certainly, her lover was handling them, becoming more confident as Kerry watched, moving out away from the protection of the podium, illustrating her answers with quick, precise motions of her hands. Kerry sighed. “God, she’s gorgeous.” She became aware of an awkward silence and glanced up to see Mark and Duks making strange faces at her. “Sorry, but she is.”

“Yeah, I know, but...” Mark scratched his jaw. “It’s just so weird hearing that...um...”

“From another woman?” Kerry asked wryly.

“Yeah.”

“Sorry.”

“It’s okay.” Mark shrugged and laughed. “I needed some horizon broadening today.”

They turned back to the screen and watched as Dar took another step forward, her personality visibly emerging as she fielded tough questions, displaying an impressive knowledge of their industry.

“Yeah, you go.” Kerry smiled as the crowd applauded. “Rock ’em.”

Red Sky At Morning 17

“UGH.” DAR FLOPPED down onto her back and stared up at the ceiling, flexing toes newly freed from their leather entrapment. “Well, that wasn’t so bad, I guess.” Her cell phone rang and she lifted it, stretching as she put it to her ear. “Yes?”

“You rock.”

“Oh, I do, do I?” Dar responded with a lazy smile, glad to have the entire affair behind her. “I didn’t sound too much like a walking geek tank?”

“No way,” Kerry laughed. “We all watched it on IDLN. But my God, Dar, your face when they gave you that ovation...I thought you were going to swallow your pager.”

“Erf.” Dar threw an arm over her eyes. “Caught me by surprise; but it ended up pretty good. Those West Indies investors are sharp. They had some good questions.”

“You had some great answers.” Kerry leaned back in her chair and propped a knee up against her desk. “Listen, I did call you to say hi and congratulations and all that...”

“But?” Dar drawled through the phone.

“But,” Kerry agreed, “we’ve got a real problem in Chicago, Dar. I think I’m going to have to go out there.” She heard the sigh. “Tonight.”

Another sigh. “Col said she’d watch Chino, since Mom and Dad are in Bermuda.” They were both silent for a bit. “I don’t think it’ll take long.”

“You promised me turkey,” Dar protested with a hint of a verbal pout. “Tell Chicago to stuff itself.”

Kerry gazed fondly at her speakerphone. “We’ve still got two days before Thanksgiving, Dar. C’mon, I’ll be back tomorrow night at the latest. Besides, you’re the one who said you could deal with Egg McMuffins if you had to,” she reminded her boss.

“That was before you mentioned marshmallow-stuffed sweet potatoes,” Dar retorted, then sighed. “I know, I know. I was reviewing that mess myself. I thought I might have to make a trip out there, but you’re really better at handling those people than I am.”

“Thank you.” Kerry preened silently, tipping back and enjoying the twilight outside. “What’re your plans for tonight?”

There was a momentary pause on the other end. “Bob Trancet wants to show me the town,” Dar answered. “But after Alastair warned me off today, I’m not sure I want to be shown.” Another pause. “Hey.”

“Mm?” Kerry was rolling Dar’s words over in her mind.

“Thanks for the roses, the chocolate, and the teddy bear.”

A smile grew. “I saw your jacket; it looked pretty.” Kerry turned her head to one side and regarded the phone. “Hey, isn’t he the guy there was the big scandal about over Fourth of July?” she asked curiously. “Him and a secretary, or something, in the Xerox room?”

“Yeah,” Dar admitted. “He wears his gonads on his lapel, all right.”

Kerry almost spit her tonsils out her nose. She clapped a hand over her mouth and reached for her cup of tea, half choking with laughter.

18 Melissa Good

“Dar, don’t do that,” she spluttered. “I didn’t need that mental image; I really, really didn’t.”

Dar chuckled softly. “Sorry. Maybe I’ll just force him into dinner here at the hotel. I’m pretty tired after all that crap today. When’s your flight?”

“Nine.” Kerry stifled a yawn. “Wish it were landing in LaGuardia.”

She rolled her head to one side. “God, this is ridiculous.”

“What is?”

“Me feeling like a spoiled little brat denied her candy because you’re not here,” Kerry responded wryly. “Dar, this is not normal. I want you to go to Doctor Steve when you get back, so he can figure out what you put out that has me so damned hooked on you.” She paused.

“Stop smirking.”

“I wasn’t.”

“You most certainly were.” Kerry reached out and ran a fingertip along the speakerphone. “Am I embarrassing you?”

“No.” Dar’s voice dropped a note. “Flattering me.”

“Mm.” Kerry’s eyes half closed, and she exhaled. “Well, I guess I’d better get going. I want to get to the airport a little early.” She stifled another yawn. “At least I can sleep on the plane. You go and have fun with Mr. Happy Gonads, okay?”

“Oh yeah. A blast,” Dar mused. “Hey, have a good flight, okay?

Give me a call when you get to your hotel.”

“I will,” Kerry promised. “Later, sweetie.”

“Later.” Dar hung up the phone and set it on her mostly bare chest.

She’d stripped out of her silk suit almost as fast as the damn shoes, and was in her half-slip and bra, the air conditioning raising tiny goose bumps over her exposed belly. She rubbed her chilled skin, then sat up, using one hand to work a kink out of her neck. She got up and trudged over to the dresser, yanking a shirt out of her bag and tugging it on over her head.

“Okay.” Dar addressed her now rumpled reflection, blowing a bit of dark hair out of her eyes with a quick puff of air. “Dinner, a drink in the bar, and we’re outta there.” She took off her slip and exchanged it for a pair of jeans, then tucked the shirt in and buckled the belt. “Might as well get some work done while I’m hanging around waiting.”

Minutes later, she was sitting on the bed with her laptop resting on her legs, reviewing her mail and the two system status reports Mark had sent down. An e-mail opened, and she reviewed it. “Kiss my ass.”

She typed in a response and sent it back, then opened a second. “Bite me.” Another mail winged its way back. Then she opened the third, reading it several times, then cocking her head to one side to watch the tiny gopher graphic dance along its edge sideways. “Ooh. Cool, you got the toes working,” she praised Kerry in absentia.

Then she leaned closer and squinted at the small creature, who seemed to have acquired spectacles from somewhere. “Ah.” A Red Sky At Morning 19

chagrined look crossed her face as Dar nodded in wry acknowledgement. Kerry had been nudging her for a month to get her eyes checked, and so far, she’d found a lot of different excuses not to.

“Cute, Ker, very cute,” she replied to the e-mail, blithely ignoring the addition.

Pausing briefly, she grabbed the remote for the room’s television and flicked it on, thumbing through the channels before a graphic caught her eye. She studied the screen with a frown. “Great.”

Another flick brought the volume up.

“A winter storm warning has been raised for the Northeast,” the man on the screen was saying. “New York is expecting snow and freezing rain, so tonight’s a good night to be staying inside.”

Dar snorted. “Thanks, buddy. Now I don’t even have to make up an excuse.” She glanced at her mail. “Glad your flights going the other direction after all.” She finished typing and hit send. “No sense in both of us getting dumped on, huh?”