Hurricane Watch - DK2

by Melissa Good

  ”You’re not just a bit of good looking fluff, are you?” Michelle finally asked, in a speculative voice.

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  Now she turned, and crossed her legs, leaning on the arm of her chair. ”I’m not sure I understand the question,” she replied. ”I’m here to do a job, Ms. Graver, not for any other reason.”

  Michelle laughed. ”Oh, come on now. You’re not going to deny it at this late stage, are you? Your whole little building here is talking about you and your boss, honey. Wake up.”

  Kerry stood up and walked over, making the most of her two inch height advantage, a complete luxury for her. ”I’m not denying anything,” she replied softly. ”But my relationship with Dar has no bearing on whether or not I can do my job.” She paused. ”And while we’re at it, don’t you think you’d better take a look at your own motives, Ms. Graver?”

  “What?”

  She’d caught the woman off guard, she could see. Good. ”You know, when I met you that first time, I really admired you, because I saw how you looked past the surface bullshit in those meetings, and I appreciated how you made your decisions based on what was good for your company, not on a personal agenda.”

  The gray eyes watched her warily. ”Thank you. I do try to do that,”

  she replied, a little uncertainly. ”I just don’t like to be jerked around.” A pause. ”So to speak.”

  Kerry mentally flipped a coin, and took the plunge. ”You weren’t being jerked around,” she replied quietly. ”We were just starting to become friends, in Orlando. She was my boss, nothing more than that.”

  Michelle's brows lifted. ”You’re joking. Honey, have you seen those pictures?”

  Kerry folded her arms. ”Yeah, I have, and I look at them and it seems so obvious, but it wasn’t obvious to me.” She pursed her lips.

  ”And I think Dar was going along business as usual, except she got to a certain point and she just couldn’t go any further, because of me.

  Because she didn’t want me to think badly of her.” She looked up

  ”Don’t hate her for that.”

  Now, Michelle looked a little amused. ”You poor kid.” She shook her head slowly. ”You had no idea what you were getting into, did you?”

  Kerry glanced at the carpet. ”Not really, no,”” she replied, frankly.

  ”But I don’t regret a minute of it.” She lifted her eyes and gave Michelle a direct look. ”And to answer your original question, no. I’m not just a piece of fluff. I’m a professional who does this for a living. I didn’t get this job by sleeping with Dar.”

  ”I see,” Michelle drawled. ”Well, well.”

  The phone beeped, and Kerry crossed back over to it, hitting the answer button and trying not to let her shaking hands show. ”Yes?”

  ”Port’s crapping out,” Mark replied succinctly.

  ”Thanks.” Kerry hung up and dialed the networking office. ”John, here is a router name. ”She rattled it off. ”Serial port 0 is intermittently Hurricane Watch

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  bad...can you hot swap it, please?”

  ”Yes, Ms. Stuart. We can do that,” the man answered. ”We’re still researching that trouble call for you, should have an answer back shortly.”

  ”Thanks...bye.” Kerry hung up, then turned to face Michelle. ”That should solve your problem.” She was glad they’d isolated it, but really, really ticked off that she’d had to do it. It was a basic step anyone should have done in the networking group. Someone was going to hear about it that was for sure. ”Sorry you had to bring it to this level.”

  ”I’m not.” The older woman chuckled, then shook her head.

  ”Sometimes it’s good just to clear the air.” She sauntered over and picked up her folder, then she slapped Kerry lightly on the shoulder with it. ”And don’t bother trying to track down that trouble call, there wasn’t one.”

  Kerry blinked at her. ”What?”

  ”We thought it was us,” Michelle told her cheerfully. ”Thanks, kid.” She strolled out, leaving Kerry standing there with her jaw slack.

  ”Son of a bitch.” She exhaled, sitting down hard in her seat. ”You little Wienerschnitzel.”

  PACE, PACE, PACE.

  Dar paused near the far wall, and regarded the credenza with an evil look. Even the pretty flowers didn’t help her mood.

  Pace, pace, pace.

  Now she was on the near wall, and contemplating the closed door for the hundredth time.

  Pace, pace, pace.

  Her initial charge had lead her right up to Kerry’s door, and she’d actually had her hand on the knob, ready to fling the door open and barrel in, when her conscience had stopped her cold.

  Kerry was supposed to be thinking about doing her former job.

  What message would her rushing in there like some goddamned half assed knight in frigging rusted armor send? That she didn’t trust Kerry, that’s what. That she figured she couldn’t handle one measly little Michelle Graver, without big, bad Dar coming in and taking over.

  Pace, pace, pace.

  So she’d come back here, to her office, and decided to wait and see what happened. Unfortunately, she’d forgotten just how much she hated waiting for anything. ”Guess I’m just an instant gratification kinda gal,” she muttered to her reflection in the window. She’d tried to concentrate on her email, but had found herself reading the same one six times, and that was a personnel advisory from Mariana.

  She sighed. Maybe I should go take a walk.

  Pace, pace, pace.

  I am walking. It's not helping. She drummed her fingers on her 296

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  thigh, curiosity almost driving her insane as she wondered what was going on down the hall. Damn it, Kerry. You've got sense enough to yell for help if you need it, right?

  Right. Yeah, sure.

  Pace, pace, pace.

  What if Michelle was making a play for her? Dar stopped in her tracks, and pressed her fingertips against the glass of the window, her breathing suddenly tight. What if Kerry... She shut the thought down savagely. Don't be stupid, Dar. Don’t start that crap. Don't even insult her by thinking it. She loves you. Dar let her head rest briefly against the sun warmed glass. Just go over there and sit down before you drive yourself crazy.

  But she didn’t move. Instead, she just watched the waves for a few minutes, letting the calm blue of the sea soothe her.

  Until her hearing picked up a soft, rhythmic footfall in the back corridor. About damn time, she cursed, bounding across the room and getting into her chair moments before the gentle knock came. She took a deep breath, and leaned her chin on her fist, picking up a report at random and studying it. ”C’mon in.”

  The door opened, and Kerry entered. ”Hey.”

  Dar forced herself to wait a few seconds before she looked up, drinking in the sight of her lover with quiet relief. ”Hey, yourself.”

  Kerry appeared calm, and unflustered, definitely a good sign.

  Kerry crossed to her desk, and took her favorite perch on the corner, laying a hand flat on the wooden surface and leaning on it. ”I ordered you lunch. Maria’s doing a Chinese run.”

  ”Mm, wondered where she went,” Dar mused, putting her report down and giving Kerry a smile. ”Thanks.”

  Kerry smiled back. ”Anytime. Listen, Michelle Graver was here.”

  Dar nodded. ”I know, Maria told me,” she replied casually. ”But she said you were handling her so I figured it was under control.”

  ”Oh.” Kerry felt a quick jolt of surprised pride. ”Well, yeah, it was,” she confirmed. ”I mean, she had a problem, but I figured it out, and we got it fixed, so everything’s great.” She gave a satisfied sigh. ”I was worrying about dealing with her a little, but things turned out okay, and it all, um...it’s fine now.”

  Dar smiled back. ”Good job.” She patted Kerry’s knee. ”I knew you could handle her.”

  Kerry nodded a little, folding her arms across her chest. ”Yeah, it
was...it felt good,” she confessed. ”And I think we sort of came to an understanding. Maybe she won’t be so nasty now.”

  A dark brow lifted. ”Really?”

  ”Yeah. I talked things out with her, straightened out a few misconceptions she had,” Kerry replied.

  ”You did?” Dar asked, curiously. ”Like what?”

  ”Uh.” Kerry scratched her jaw. ”Well, that whole Orlando thing, Hurricane Watch

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  you know,” she replied offhandedly.

  ”Oh...right...that,” Dar replied, at sea. ”Well, I’m sure you cleared everything up.”

  Kerry remained contentedly silent for a moment, drinking in the warm confidence. ”Thanks for trusting me. I was half expecting you to come in at some point just to make sure she was behaving herself.”

  Wide, innocent blue eyes gazed up at her, as Dar nibbled her lower lip. ”The idea never crossed my mind,” she told her, sincerely. ”I just came back here, and studied my reports without a care in the world.”

  Kerry's eyes dropped to her paper. ”Really?”

  ”Yep.” Dar smiled.

  Kerry gently reached down and turned the paper right way up, then she affectionately patted Dar’s cheek. ”You are so busted.”

  Dar glanced down, then back up at her, like a six year old caught in the cookie jar. ”Uh oh.” Then she laughed, leaning back and relaxing in her chair, shrugging her shoulders with a look of endearing helplessness. ”But I stayed right here, doesn’t that count?”

  Kerry tried to hold her scolding look, but lost it, and started laughing as well. ”Yes, that counts.” She leaned over and kissed Dar lightly. ”And, thank you.”

  Dar sighed, giving her a sheepish glance over dark eyelashes. ”For being a nervous worry wart?” she replied. ”Even though I know better?”

  Kerry put a hand on her cheek. ”For caring,” she answered. ”You weren’t worried I couldn’t solve the problem, were you?” She waited for the head shake no. ”You were worried she’d be nasty to me.” Now the head nodded yes. ”Well, she sort of was, but we got things worked out.”Dar scowled. ”Bitch.”

  ”Dar, she thought you were playing with her,” Kerry told her. ”I’d have been a bitch, too.”

  ”Mmph.” A grunt of grudging agreement. ”Yeah, all right. I can see her point.” Dar sighed. “I kicked everyone’s ass in the meeting.”

  “I heard.” Kerry smiled. “Sometimes you end up in a stall in the ladies room at just the right time to hear people bitching.”

  “Ahhhh.” Dar chuckled wryly. “You know what? I decided if Alastair wants a bastard in charge here, I might as well give him a bastard in charge. Wait until I throw a request for a multimillion dollar network upgrade on his desk. He’ll choke on his tie.”

  Kerry nodded. “Well, let me go get back to work.” She stood up.

  “I’m glad Maria went for lunch. I wasn’t looking forward to being the main course in the café today.”

  “People talking?” Dar watched her expression intently.

  “Yeah.”

  “Bother you?”

  Kerry put her hands in her pockets and looked out the window at 298

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  the bright, sunny day. “I thought it would,” she admitted. “But you know I realized they all thought it anyway, Dar. We weren’t fooling many people.”

  Dar chuckled softly.

  “So what the heck.” Kerry shrugged. “I’ll deal with it.” She turned.

  “It’s worth it to be able to order lunch for you and walk in together without feeling like a felon. That was really starting to get to me.”

  Her partner nodded pensively. “Trade-offs,” she said, briefly. “I have my first board meeting tonight. I sent Alastair my acceptance and he didn’t waste any time.”

  “I’ll get a ride home.” Kerry patted her on the shoulder and headed for the hallway door. “See you later.”

  “Mm.” Dar slouched back in her chair, watching her partner leave until the door closed behind her, then she pulled over the two packets she’d taken from Mariana and flipped open the first one.

  “Stevie.” Her eyes flicked over the contents. “What in the hell am I going to do with you.” She glanced through the stack of employment papers, running a cursory eye over the last sheet before she stopped, and reread it more carefully.

  DAR LEANED BACK in her chair and closed her eyes, letting the argument over the speakerphone travel past her. The moon shone in her window, and she half turned to regard it, as she lifted a hand and rubbed the back of her neck.

  Board meetings, when your board was international, were a pain in the ass. But Dar hadn’t been able to wiggle out of this one, since Alastair was using the opportunity to introduce her to the rest of the board members.

  She sighed. Kerry had gone home hours ago, dropped off by a cooperative Mark, and she wished she could just hang up on the group and go join her lover.

  ”Don’t worry about it,” Kerry had said.

  Yeah, yeah, yeah. Dar grumbled silently, closing her eyes and wishing she had some aspirin. She tried to put the headache out of her mind, and think about something more pleasant instead. Hot tubs, for instance. Kerry had definitely mentioned hot tubs for tonight, and a spicy chicken stir fry with noodles that was very, very tasty.

  ”Dar? What do you think about that?” Alastair’s voice interrupted her daydreaming.

  Oh shit. ”What I think about that is...that it’s ten o’clock here in Miami, and we’re going rapidly nowhere. Why not schedule a meeting when everyone has their acts together?” There. Throw a few insults; see if that gets things moving. ”That’s what I think,” Dar added, for good measure.

  She took a contented sip of chocolate milk as the soft hiss from the Hurricane Watch

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  phone indicated a shocked worldwide silence. Another Dar Roberts legend in the making, I bet. She rolled her eyes, regarding her bare feet resting on her desk, crossed neatly at the ankles. “Regretting your decision already, Alastair? Next time, you’ll ask first, huh?”

  A gentle clearing of the throat. ”Well,” Alastair responded. ”That would be a novel idea.” He sighed. ”Okay, so Monday after a disaster was a bad choice of times. Let’s reschedule for Friday, same time?”

  Fine. She’d call in from her cell phone, while floating on the Atlantic. ”Sounds good to me,” she agreed, stifling a grin. ”I’ll have the proposal for the new networking center by then.”

  ”Good...good...all right then, good night, ladies and gentlemen.”

  He paused. ”And Dar.”

  It hit her unexpectedly, and she burst out laughing, hearing a rustle of sound as the rest of the group belatedly joined in. ”Good night.” She sighed, hitting the release button, and shaking her head. So much for my first board meeting, but at least it was more productive and less antagonistic than their usual staff gatherings. So maybe that was a good sign.It was very quiet in the office, with only the soft hum of the air conditioning, and the gentle, sporadic clatter of her hard drive to break the silence. With a sigh, she slipped her shoes back on and stood up, pulling her jacket over her arms and shouldering her briefcase.

  The elevator ride was quiet also, and she was conscious of her own footsteps as she crossed the long, empty lobby and headed for the door.

  The security guard met her and opened it, touching his head in a military type of manner.

  ”G’night, Ms. Roberts,” he remarked, politely. ”Late night, eh?”

  ”Night, Pete.” Dar gave him a smile. ”Same old, same old. You know how it is.”

  ”Yes, ma’am, but we haven’t seen you here at night for a while. I was wondering if you’d changed offices.”

  No, just priorities. ”I’ve been here...just not late,” she commented.

  ”Take care.”

  She walked across the parking lot and unlocked the Lexus, dumping her briefcase inside and getting in, exhaling as the cool, soft leather surrounded her. She closed the door and sat for a mom
ent, resting her hands on the wheel, before she started the car up and pulled out of the parking lot.

  KERRY WAS CURLED up contentedly on the couch, her head resting on the arm, and Chino tucked up in a ball against her belly. She let her eyes follow the action on the television screen, though she found herself watching the clock almost as much.

  Oh well. She snuggled down further into the couch and watched the crocodile man try to trap a crocodile. He was just stringing his net 300

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  up when the phone rang. She picked it up immediately. ”Hello?”

  ”Hey.” Dar’s voice sounded quiet over the dull roar of boat engines. ”I’m on the ferry.”

  ”So I hear,” Kerry responded. ”How’d the meeting go?”

  ”Bullshit,” the executive replied. ”It was mostly Alastair just blowing hot air across three continents. I finally called him on it, and he rescheduled for Friday.”

  ”Ew,” Kerry replied. ”That’s not fair.”

  ”Nah, we’ll be out on the boat. That’s why god made cell phones,”

  Dar chuckled. ”How’d your night go?”

  Kerry rolled over, and let her head rest on the sofa arm. ”Well, I got home, and put together a little dinner for us, then I stuck that in the frig and took Chino for a nice long walk.”

  ”I could live on Frosted Flakes. You didn’t have to do that,” Dar protested gently.

  ”You cannot live on Frosted Flakes, Dar Roberts, so hush,” Kerry shot back. ”So, then I went over to the gym and worked out for a couple of hours. You know, I like that gym, Dar.”

  ”Yeah, I haven’t seen much of it lately,” her lover responded ruefully. ”But it’s pretty well stocked. They’ve got a circuit there I really like. The gym by work doesn’t have it.”

  ”Mm...yeah...then I got home and took a shower, and now I’m just watching Steve Irwin, and waiting for you,” Kerry concluded.

  Dar couldn’t help the silly little grin that crossed her face at Kerry’s words. ”Waiting for me?”

  ”Yep,” Kerry confirmed. ”Chino and I are right here, watching the door.”