Tropical Storm

Chapter Six

KERRY SETTLED BACK into the leather seat, refusing to think about what she was doing. That left her mind free to watch the rain lash against the windshield during the drive cross-town, as she listened to the soft music Dar had chosen. Her cuts hurt, but they weren’t that bad, and her knee seemed only to be twisted. It wasn’t giving her much trouble while she was sitting, though she suspected she’d be limping for a few days. Things could definitely have been a lot worse.

Dar shifted her grip on the wheel, glancing right as she changed lanes, and Kerry noticed an ugly bruise that covered her knuckles. One was even scraped, and a stain of dried blood was visible in the low light from the dashboard. “What happened to your hand?”

Dar glanced down, then returned her eyes to the road. “I banged it into something,” she answered absently.

Kerry looked down at her own hand, bruised from her earlier impact with the wall and raised an eyebrow at the similar markings. Hmm. She pondered that a moment, then shifted her attention to the weather again.

Waves of rain were rippling across the street, moving in and out of the lights and reminding her vaguely of snowstorms back home.

She was running on pure adrenaline, though, and she knew it, and she hoped she was home in her own bed when everything came crashing down on top of her. Because she’d been working on the report, she’d only slept a few hours the previous night, and the long hours were beginning to wear on her.

Another look at Dar’s profile made her wonder if Dar wasn’t having the same problem. There were shadows under her eyes that the dim light revealed, and she was blinking a lot, which was something Kerry did when she was very tired. “Guess you’ve been working pretty hard on this thing too, huh?”

Blue eyes flicked to her face. “It’s been a long week, yes.” Dar guided the Lexus into the parking lot of the corporate headquarters and parked under the entrance overhang, ignoring the No Parking signs. She got out and waved at the security guard as he emerged. “Just me, Jack.” The man waved back and tucked himself back into his guard station, out of the rain. Dar waited for Kerry to join her, then led the way into the building, swiping her security card at the entrance in a smooth, graceful motion.

Kerry tipped her head back as they entered the lobby, looking up through the atrium which rose the entire length of the building. “Whoa.” She hugged the sweatshirt to her, glad of its warmth as the cold air flowed around them.

“This is, um…” She tried to find a politically correct term. “Um, it’s…”

Tropical Storm 57

“Pretentious,” Dar commented wryly, as she keyed the elevator. “It’s supposed to be.” She held the door for her smaller companion, then let it close and punched the fourteenth floor, slipping her keycard in when the elevator beeped a complaint. “Lesser mortals are supposed to stand in awe in the lobby.”

Kerry leaned against the wall and stifled a yawn. “Be careful, Ms.

Roberts,” she warned. “If you keep that up, I might get the idea you have a sense of humor.”

Dar looked at her, then, slowly, the faintest hint of a grin twitched her lips. “Sorry, they make you leave that as a deposit when you get issued your keycard.” She held up the item, then gestured for Kerry to precede her out of the elevator as it reached its destination.

Dar’s office was dimly lit by her twenty-one-inch monitor, and the small desk lamp she usually worked by at night. Her screensaver was on, jungle animals prowling across the dark surface accompanied by soft sounds. As they approached the desk, a macaw cried softly, and Dar reached over and gave her trackball a spin, bringing up the worksheet she’d been looking at before she’d left earlier. “Take a look,” she offered. “I’ll get some Band-Aids.

You mentioned coffee?”

Kerry perched on the edge of Dar’s very comfortable leather desk chair and looked around. “So, this is how the other half lives, huh?” she murmured, then turned her attention to the executive. “Um…where are you going to get coffee at this hour?”

Dar looked at her. “The kitchen. Yes or no?”

A blonde brow lifted. “You have a kitchen in here? Let me guess, it comes with a microprocessor that cooks things for you, right?” She saw Dar’s lips twitch again and smiled herself. “Okay, okay. Sure. I’d love some coffee.”

“Cream and sugar?”

Kerry sighed. “If I’m being good, I should say no and no, but I hate the taste of coffee, so yes and yes.”

Dar snorted softly and disappeared.

The blonde turned her attention to the monitor, but not before she looked around, taking in the huge office with wondering eyes. The desk was smooth wood, its surface covered with reports as her own had been. The carpet was a thick burgundy, and there was a long, low-slung couch to the right. The entire back wall was glass, and looked out over the bay to the ocean, right now showing the brilliant flashes of lightning and the thick swaths of rain that lashed against the clear surface.

It smelled of wood polish and wool from the carpet, with a faint hint of the perfume she’d noticed that Dar wore. That the shirt wrapped around her body also bore. She decided she liked it.

Dar came back a moment later, bearing two steaming cups and a small kit tucked under her arm. She put one of the cups down in front of Kerry and perched on the edge of her desk, tucking one leg up under her and leaning forward to point at the monitor. “That’s the problem right there.” She traced a column. “Watch what happens when I plug in your scenario.” She did so, and the numbers changed. “I can’t have…” a fingertip pointed at the last field,

“…that.”

58 Melissa Good Kerry took a sip of the coffee, then peered at it. “What is this?” She licked her lips. “Mmm.”

“Café con leche,” Dar answered absently. “Cuban coffee with milk and sugar.”

“Hell.” Kerry laughed. “If they’d served it to me like this, I’d have drunk it more often.”

They spent an hour going over the various approaches, and Kerry got a much better understanding of what it was Dar was trying to do. “Oh, god, you have to show this all as an expense?” She pointed at her section. “But you can’t show any of this as a profit, because it’s past date?”

“Right.” Dar sighed, biting on the edge of her cup.

Kerry sat back, stunned. “But that’s not fair!” she protested.

Dar closed her eyes momentarily and rubbed them. “I know,” she agreed wearily. “But it’s the law.”

“What happens if you don’t make that number?” Kerry pointed at the last field.

Dar peered at the screen, blinking. “Well, we don’t show consistent growth, and the stockholders go ballistic. That means we have to show austerity measures, and that…usually means a minimum level layoff.”

Kerry thought about that. “How many people is that?”

“Between five to seven thousand,” the executive replied quietly.

Green eyes lifted to hers. “Just like that?” Dar nodded. Kerry absorbed that. “So I guess my piddly little two hundred and thirty people are kind of a minor thing,” she commented softly, as she looked up at Dar. “Nothing personal, right?”

Dar’s lips tensed, and she looked down. “Usually, yes,” she admitted.

“You don’t like to waste resources, but,” one bare shoulder lifted in a shrug,

“sometimes you just have to do what you have to do.”

Kerry studied the screen, flipping through the twelve different scenarios Dar had been working with. All save one included her solution. She let her hand rest on Dar’s knee, searching her face intently. “I didn’t understand,”

she stated quietly. “And I still don’t, not really, but thanks for trying.”

Dar glanced at her watch. “Eleven thirty. I’ve got to update this before midnight.” She stared at the screen. “Damn, I just wish I could…” She traced a column with one finger. “Some way to put a plus there.”

“Mmmm.” Kerry examined the fields. “Like you can with that Miami group—because they take on outside stuff, so you can offset their expenses.”

Dar froze, only her pale blue eyes darting across the wide screen.

“Mierda,” she whispered. “Can your people do internet support? TCP/IP?”

“Uh…um, what? Yeah, of course.” Kerry stared at her. “The entire support group runs on an intranet. We’ve got three resident webmasters. But what…” She yelped, and hurriedly got out of the way as Dar dove into her seat, her fingers racing across the keyboard in a rattle of keys.

“Son of a bitch. Son of a bitch…” the executive cursed softly. “Where are you… Ah!” She requested a screen and scanned its contents. “Gotcha.” One hand reached over and punched a series of numbers into the phone pad. It rang three times, then a voice answered. “Hello, Peter.”

Frozen silence preceded, “What the hell do you want?”

Tropical Storm 59

“I’m taking those two extra contracts,” Dar informed him. “Don’t bother protesting. Goodnight.” She hung up and hummed under her breath as she recoded the projects, giving them a new classification. A few clicks, then she drummed her fingers, waiting for the mainframe to redraw the columns.

“Ahhh…” One hand snaked out, cutting a range out and clicking over to her spreadsheet, then pasting. She recalced the document, then sat back and smiled in triumph.

Kerry just watched her, confused.

Dar pointed at the last field. “I got my number.”

The blonde woman studied the sheet. “But that’s got our stuff in it.”

“Uh hum,” Dar agreed. “It sure does.”

“How did you do that?” Kerry asked, entranced by the smile that now transformed the executive’s face, the smile which now grew broader.

“I made fifty percent of your staff a profit center and awarded them two major government support contracts.” Dar folded her arms over her chest in visible satisfaction.

“Really?” Kerry blinked in surprise. “Can you do that?”

A dark brow edged up. “I just did it.” Dar grinned, then she sobered.

“You’ll still have to make those cuts.” She made several rapid-fire keystrokes, then hit the Transmit key. “It’s done.”

Kerry blinked. “But everyone else gets to stay?”

Dar nodded. “I got your list of people to transition. I think it’s here…”

“I’m not on it.” Kerry said very quietly.

Dar froze, then stared at her. “What?”

Kerry exhaled. “One of me…was worth two of them. I couldn’t take two slots.” She looked up at Dar.

“One of you is worth a lot more than two of them,” Dar blurted indignantly, then almost knocked the phone off the desk when it rang. She punched the button in irritation. “Yeah?”

Kerry slowly sat down on the edge of the desk, watching Dar’s profile with an unfathomable expression.

“Just got the update, Dar. Spectacular.” Alastair’s cheerful voice grated on her like beach sand. “Great job. What do I owe you for this one? You going to finally take me up on using the chalet and taking a damn vacation for once?”

Dar stared at the phone in frustrated silence. “What do you owe me?” she finally asked. “I’ll tell you what, I want fifty-one six-and-sixes, and a head.”

Alastair was stunned. She could hear him coughing a little.

“Wh…”

“You heard me,” the tall woman stated. “Come on, Alastair. That double digit’s going to add twenty percent value to the stock. You can afford it.”

“Well, sure, Dar. I’ll put in the six-and-sixes…but what do you need a head for?” Alastair finally replied, collecting himself. “Whose orgid?”

“Mine,” Dar replied quietly. “I’ve been forty-eight hours without sleep on this one, Alastair. I can’t keep doing this. It’s killing me. I need an assistant.”

The man’s attitude changed immediately. “Well, why didn’t you just say so, you old pirate? I’ve been trying to get you to take on an assistant for years now.” The sound of a keyboard being accessed came through clearly. “For 60 Melissa Good more than a day, that is. You had me worried there for a minute. Hang on…hang on. What are you, a 54010?”

“Uh huh.” Dar replied, playing with pen. “Thanks.”

“Done.” Alastair chuckled. “On your work list, baby. Now I’m gonna go have a glass of champagne. You should too.”

Dar closed her eyes wearily. “Sure, Alastair.” She sighed. “ ’Night.”

Silence settled over the office. Dar kept her eyes closed.

“Forty-eight hours?” Kerry finally said in disbelief. The dark-haired woman nodded. “That’s insane. That isn’t a job, that’s involuntary servitude,”

Kerry spluttered. Dar nodded again. “You must have the world’s best job security, you know that? Nobody in their right mind would want your job.”

A third nod. “Very true.” Dar opened her eyes and gazed at Kerry regretfully. “You ready to go home, Ms. Stuart?” she asked quietly. “We can negotiate your headcount on Monday. I’m sure I can squeeze you back in there.” She paused. “If you want to stay, that is.”

Kerry was perched on the edge of the desk, deep in thought. “I don’t know,” she replied honestly. “I have to think about it.”

“I understand,” Dar said, as she pushed herself to her feet.

“Ms. Roberts?”

“Mmm?”

“What is a six-and-six?” Kerry asked curiously.

“Oh.” Dar stretched a kink out of her neck. “Severance packages for your people.” She sighed. “Six months’ salary and six months’ extension on your health benefits.” Her eyes searched Kerry’s shocked face. “Should make Monday a little easier for you.” She stepped around the desk and started out the door. “Come on, let’s get out of here.”

Kerry was in a daze as she followed Dar out. Six months’ salary? If she decided not to stay, it would give her half a year to find something…and six months’ health benefits would cover her until she did. Her parents would never have to know, until she was all settled in a new place.

Her eyes studied the cloth-covered back of the woman walking before her. She wondered how she had gone from how she’d felt about Dar Roberts before the sunset, to how she felt now. It felt like the night had lasted half a lifetime, to allow her to experience so much in such a short span. She’d gone from despair, to anger, to terror; from a frustrated hatred to a grudging admiration, all in one evening.

Did she want to remain in charge of Associated Synergenics? She’d been doing it for two years, and was just starting to get comfortable. The routine was becoming regular, almost…boring. She suspected life would never be boring around Dar Roberts. And suddenly, she knew that’s exactly where she wanted to be. She didn’t even stop to wonder why.

“So,” she trotted after the tall executive, catching up to her as they reached the door, “what exactly are these other contracts?”

“Oh.” Dar pushed the door open. “You’ll be supporting the IRS.”

Kerry stopped dead. “You’re joking.”

Pale blue eyes regarded her. “Can’t be. I don’t have a sense of humor, remember?” Dar replied, deadpan. “Goodnight, Jack.” She waved at the security guard. She held the door to the Lexus open. “Ms. Stuart?”

Tropical Storm 61

The blonde woman stepped next to her and peered up. “Could you please call me Kerry?” she asked with a wry smile. “You sound like the librarian at my college when you call me by my last name.”

Dar’s expression softened momentarily, and a quick smile transformed her face. “I thought only your friends called you that,” she demurred.

Kerry rubbed her jaw. “Well, friends and people who save my life—you know.” She felt herself blushing a little. “I have to make an exception for that sort of thing.”

“All right,” the executive agreed softly. “But only if you call me Dar.”

Kerry smiled. “Deal.” She shook her head a little. “You know, you’re not really as awful as I thought you were.”

“Oh really?” Dar found herself too tired to be aggravated by the words.

“I’m losing my touch then. Maybe I should go find some puppies to kick.”

“It’s a little late for that, isn’t it?”

Dar had a feeling it was far too late for a lot of things. “Probably.” She indicated the car. “Let’s get out of here while we’ve got a break in the weather.”

“Sounds like a good idea to me.” Kerry climbed up into the comfort of the leather seat, and waited for Dar to join her on the driver’s side. “So,” she folded her hands in her lap, “what does your assistant do?”

As she shifted and started to pull out into the rain, Dar shot her a quick look. “I don’t know. I never had one before that lasted more than a week.” She paused. “It’ll probably be a tough, unpleasant, thankless, wild ride.”

Kerry sniffed reflectively, then buckled the safety belt securely around herself and settled back, folding her arms over her chest and glancing sideways. She found Dar looking back at her. They drove on into the night.