Everything to Everyone

by Sherryl Hancock

  “You mean you knew her,” Devin said. Just because she knew her from high school, it didn’t mean she still knew the girl.

  Harley looked back at Devin. “Yeah, you’re right.”

  “Well, hopefully it works out okay,” Jet said.

  Later that night, Dakota climbed into bed beside her girlfriend. She held her from behind, sliding her arm under her neck and putting one hand on her waist.

  Jazmine turned her head. “Is that room making you crazy again?” she asked tiredly.

  Dakota grinned. “Uh-huh,” she murmured.

  Dakota was working on their house, wanting to make changes to one of the rooms to open it up, but it was driving her insane. The previous owners had done all kinds of crazy half-assed repairs and renovations. Dakota constantly had to undo something that had been done and make it right before she could change it.

  Jazmine turned over, looking at Dakota.

  “Favorite movie line,” Jazmine said.

  It was something Jazmine did to help Dakota get her brain to let something go for a bit.

  Dakota grinned. “Uh…” she stammered, “has to be ‘I think we need a bigger boat.’ ”

  “Jaws!” Jazmine exclaimed.

  Dakota smiled, nodding.

  “Okay what’s yours?” Dakota asked.

  “Gotta be ‘He didn’t eat me! That’s ’cause he just ate a cow, stupid!’ ”

  Dakota looked back at her for a long moment, then shook her head. “Nope, don’t know it.”

  “Lake Placid!” Jazmine said, grinning.

  Dakota blew her breath out, shaking her head.

  “Well we’ll have to watch it sometime. Okay, favorite season?”

  “Fall,” Dakota answered.

  “Me too!” Jazmine said. “There are tons of cute boots and I look better in warm colors and layers!”

  “You look better in nothing, babe,” Dakota said, smiling.

  Jazmine laughed. “Okay, you win.”

  “Cool, what’s my prize?” Dakota asked, her eyes sparkling in the semi-darkness of the room.

  “Me?” Jazmine said.

  “Ohhh, best prize ever,” Dakota said, leaning in to kiss Jazmine’s lips.

  They kissed for a few minutes, and then Dakota stopped and looked contemplative.

  “You just figured it out, didn’t you?” Jazmine surmised.

  “Yup,” Dakota said, nodding. “Thanks babe,” she said, getting out of bed.

  Jazmine sighed, shaking her head, even as she grinned. Her relationship with Dakota only seemed to get better with time. For someone who was formerly completely against any true commitment, Dakota was very single-minded when it came to Jazmine. Women came on to Dakota all the time, easily sensing her sexual prowess in the confidence that oozed from every pore. Dakota rarely even looked for long; she was perfectly happy and settled with Jazmine. For Jazmine it was a balm to her ego that had been seriously damaged by Rayden Black Wolf’s rebuff of committing to her not once but twice.

  A half an hour later, Dakota returned to bed, sliding her hands over Jazmine’s skin skillfully. Jazmine awoke to her body alive with sensations. Dakota spent the next hour making love to her and bringing her to multiple orgasms before finally allowing Jazmine bring her to her release. Afterwards they lay together, Dakota next to her, lying on her stomach with an arm and leg thrown over Jazmine’s body possessively.

  “Have I mentioned how much I love it when you lie like this?” Jazmine said, looking up at the ceiling, her hand stroking Dakota’s arm that lay across her torso.

  “Once or twice,” Dakota said, her tone sated.

  “I really love it,” Jazmine said. Then she turned her head to look at Dakota. “And I really love you.”

  Dakota nuzzled Jazmine’s shoulder, kissing it softly. “I love you too,” she said softly.

  Jazmine had been the first woman Dakota had ever allowed herself to be completely open with. That was because Jazmine had been the first woman who’d been willing to see past Dakota’s tough exterior and off-putting behavior. She’d seen the side of Dakota that she’d kept well hidden from everyone except for a very small handful of people.

  Dakota felt extremely fortunate to be with the beautiful, very sexy, and talented dancer. Jazmine frequently danced in music videos and was the dancer artists would use when they wanted a woman that was extremely eye catching and stood out from the crowd. With her long rich red hair, perfect body and curves, sweetheart-shaped face, and bright emerald-green eyes, Jazmine was definitely a stand out. Dakota found her endlessly appealing. Jazmine was also an incredibly caring, sweet, and warm woman who took care of Dakota and supported her every step toward independence.

  It was really good relationship for each of them.

  ***

  It was three weeks before Shiloh’s background check was completed and another week after that before she was able to start working. The day she finally started, the security officer told her that she was scheduled to meet with Special Agent in Charge, Rayden Black Wolf, first thing. Shiloh was surprised by this information, but did as the security officer instructed and went to the second floor. In Rayden Black Wolf’s outer office she was greeted by a secretary who told her to go on in.

  “Special Agent in Charge Black Wolf?” Shiloh queried timidly.

  “Yes,” Rayden said, smiling. “You must be Shiloh,” she said, standing from her desk and extending her hand to Shiloh.

  Shiloh was surprised by Rayden’s height and build. She looked very much like the Indian warrior depicted in the statue on her desk, down to the long black braid down her back. A black wolf stood next to the warrior.

  Rayden glanced down at the statue, smiling fondly.

  “My wife found that,” she said, grinning. “Unfortunately it depicts a Plains Indian, so not really my people, but the idea is there.”

  “And your people are?” Shiloh asked.

  “Cherokee,” Rayden said, grinning.

  “Oh,” Shiloh said, nodding. “Okay, so mountain people are really yours.”

  Rayden grinned, her eyes reflecting surprise as she nodded.

  “I love Native American history,” Shiloh said. “I studied it a lot when I was younger.”

  “I see,” Rayden said, smiling. “Well we’ll need to talk some time; I’d love to see how accurate your information is.”

  Shiloh inclined her head. “I’m sure you could tell me a lot of things I don’t know about your culture,” she said. “So, you wanted to see me?”

  “Yes, please have a seat,” Rayden said, nodding.

  Shiloh sat down, folding her hands in her lap, trying not to appear as nervous as she felt for some reason.

  “As you may or may not know, I’m technically Harley’s boss,” Rayden said.

  Shiloh nodded, blinking a couple of times.

  “I wanted to meet with you because I wanted to tell you what your job is really going to be about.”

  Shiloh’s eyes widened slightly. “I’m sorry, ma’am?”

  “Well, my understanding is that you know Harley, is that true?”

  “We went to high school together, but I don’t really know her that well now.”

  Rayden grinned. “Well, she asked me to hire you, so I’m guessing she feels like you’d be someone she can work with,”

  “She was doing me a favor, ma’am,” Shiloh said. “We ran into each other the morning that I had my interview and I told her how I really needed the job. I guess she felt sorry for me.”

  Rayden’s grinned widened. “Well, we’ll see how grateful you are when you have to deal with her for a while,” she said, her tone amused.

  Shiloh looked back at Rayden, her face reflecting hesitation. “Harley said she was a pain in the ass too… Now I’m starting to worry…” she said, her moss-green eyes wide.

  Rayden laughed a deep rumbling sound that was rather contagious.

  “Harley is… Well, she’s the best damned programmer out there is my understanding,” Rayden said. “And accordi
ng to Devin Boché, who’s apparently known her for years, she is absolutely frenzied when it comes to her programming. So, that’s exactly why I needed to hire an assistant for her. You are basically going to be Harley’s handler.”

  “Handler?” Shiloh repeated, a little shocked.

  “Basically,” Rayden said, “Harley is not only ADHD, but she is also extremely intelligent, which unfortunately lends itself to her being rather manic about her work.”

  “Okay…” Shiloh said, her tone leading as she tried to figure out where the handling was going to come in.

  “The ADHD tends to make her hyper-focused at times,” Rayden said. “Workwise it causes her to miss meetings, conference calls, and it also sometimes means she doesn’t go home for one or two days at a time, which management, namely me, really frowns upon.”

  “A lot of overtime?” Shiloh said.

  “And with as much as she makes, that’s murder on my budget,” Rayden said, rolling her eyes. “But it isn’t just that, because I really like the kid. She literally forgets to eat, sleep, and just plain relax sometimes. And then there’s that damned jet that she drives.”

  “Huh?” Shiloh asked trying to catch up.

  Rayden grinned, thinking the poor girl was really going to have a fun time dealing with Harley.

  “The car that Harley drives is some kind of supercharged something or other,” Rayden said, grinning. “You’d have to get Harley to explain, or better yet, when you meet Skyler Boché ask her, she’ll more likely make sense and she knows all about the kind of car it is.”

  “Skyler Boché?” Shiloh asked. “Married to Devin Boché?”

  “Exactly,” Rayden said, nodding. “Skyler has the same model of car, but apparently Harley’s is way faster, and believe me, if you get in that car with her, you better buckle up and hold on.”

  “It’s that fast?” Shiloh asked.

  “She handed everyone their asses on a run a few months back,” Rayden said grinning. “Except for Quinn; she still needs to have a rematch.”

  Shiloh looked confused.

  “Next time you’re in the parking lot, take a look at the cars out there. Anything that looks remotely fast probably belongs to one of the group.”

  “The group?” Shiloh repeated.

  “A group of women that hang out together. If you’re around Harley long enough, I’m sure you’ll meet them at some point.”

  Shiloh nodded, trying to take in everything she was being told. “So you need me to keep track of things for Harley and remind her of things,” she surmised.

  “Yeah, but believe me it’s not going to be as easy as it sounds,” Rayden said, chuckling. “And I would really consider it a favor if you’d kind of keep an eye on her with regards to things like eating and when she’s overdoing it.”

  Shiloh nodded, thinking it was crazy that someone needed to be reminded to eat, but she didn’t figure Rayden was telling her this for no reason.

  “How will I know when she’s overdoing it?” Shiloh asked, looking worried.

  “Trust me, you’ll be able to tell,” Rayden said. “About a month and a half ago, she had apparently been up for days working on a program to detect some kind of signal computer voodoo stuff. She literally passed out in the café upstairs, scared the crap out of the owner.”

  “Yikes!” Shiloh said, her eyes wide.

  “Yeah,” Rayden said, nodding. “The way I see it, she wasn’t behind the wheel of her car, but that’s when I knew I needed to get someone in here to assist me in keeping an eye on her.”

  Shiloh nodded again. “I will do everything I can.”

  “That’s all I can ask,” Rayden said. She stood and extended her hand to Shiloh again. “If she gives you too much shit about anything, just let me know, I’ll chew on her. Or if worse comes to worse, I’ll call her dad.”

  “Her dad?” Shiloh repeated surprised. “The biker guy?”

  Rayden grinned. “I guess that was his cover, yeah.”

  “Cover?” Shiloh queried.

  She remembered how much grief Harley had gotten in high school, not only about her name, but about her father being some ‘dirty biker.’

  Rayden looked at Shiloh for a long moment. “Her dad was one of the best undercover narcs in the city,” she said.

  “He was a police officer?”

  Rayden nodded, grinning as she did. “And I guess even Harley kept that a secret.”

  “Yes, she did. Everyone really thought he was a biker when we were in high school.”

  Rayden pressed her lips together. Shiloh had a lot to learn about this world that she was now a part of.

  Shiloh knew she was never going to pass her algebra class without help. Every boy that said he’d “tutor” her had that lascivious look in his eyes when he said it. The instructor had told her that she should ask Harley Davidson, and she had practically laughed in his face. Now she was desperate, because if she failed the next test, the instructor said he had to tell her father. She reconsidered.

  She found Harley at lunchtime sitting on the lawn alone, for once not with all the other degenerates she hung out with regularly. The girl just didn’t have any style at all. Her blond hair was a mess, and she wore tattered jeans and a black t-shirt that had the name of some random band on it. Her shoes were beat up Vans. Shiloh looked at her in her Jimmy Choo slides, rolling her eyes that she was standing on the grass in them.

  “Excuse me?” she queried, her tone condescending.

  “Yeah?” Harley asked, looking up at her, her hand shading her eyes.

  “I was wondering if you could tutor me in algebra,” Shiloh said more than asked, her tone far from entreating.

  “I could,” Harley said wryly. “But didn’t you have like twenty other offers?”

  “I need help with algebra, not to be felt up by some guy,” Shiloh replied snidely.

  Harley half laughed, half coughed. “Okay.”

  “So will you tutor me or not?” Shiloh asked impatiently.

  Harley shrugged. “Yeah, I guess.”

  “Your generosity is only exceeded by your overwhelming enthusiasm,” Shiloh said sharply.

  Harley looked up at her, her look blank.

  Shiloh sighed. “When can we start?”

  Again, Harley shrugged. “Whenever,” she said, picking at a thread on her jeans.

  Shiloh stood staring at the other girl for a full three minutes. Harley continued to pull at the string on her jeans, succeeding in unraveling a full section of thread. She wondered if the other girl had actually forgotten she was standing there.

  “Hello?” Shiloh queried.

  Harley looked back sharply. “What?”

  “Oh my Lord!” Shiloh exclaimed her voice strident. “When can we start? And if you say whenever one more time…” she warned.

  “When do you want to start?” Harley asked, her look inscrutable.

  “Tonight?” Shiloh queried.

  “Sure,” Harley said, her tone amiable.

  “You are impossible!” Shiloh exclaimed. “Seven o’clock at my house. Don’t be late.”

  “Where do you live?” Harley asked.

  “Everyone knows where I live!” Shiloh said, rolling her eyes.

  “Except apparently me,” Harley said, her tone wry.

  “Fine!” Shiloh said, sure that Harley was just giving her trouble.

  She pulled a pad of paper out of her notebook, wrote the address on the paper, and ripped it out handing it to Harley.

  Harley arrived twenty minutes late, and Shiloh was livid, right up until Harley was the first person to ever explain algebra to her in a way that made sense. It was like a miracle.

  Shiloh left the meeting with Rayden and went back down to Harley’s office. She knocked on Harley’s office door. Once again, she could hear loud music and was certain that Harley hadn’t heard her knock. Something she was going to need to get used to she imagined. She opened the door and peered in. Harley was tapping away at the keyboard. She was wearing jeans, boots, and t
his time a tank top that had a picture of a light bulb on it. Above the picture it said, “How many programmers does it take the change a light bulb?” Below it, the wording said, “None: It’s a hardware problem.” Shiloh grinned at the shirt. She noted Harley’s white-blond hair was up in a ponytail, except for two long rainbow-colored braids that extended halfway down her chest.

  As she walked into the office, Shiloh waved her hand at Harley who finally looked up. Harley immediately reached out to turn her music down.

  “Hey,” Harley said, smiling at her.

  “Hi,” Shiloh said, smiling back.

  “So you’re here now?”

  “Yep,” Shiloh said, nodding.

  Shiloh looked around Harley’s office, trying to get a feel for how Harley organized things. Harley watched her, grinning as she did.

  “What?” Shiloh asked.

  “What’re you doing?”

  “Um, trying to figure out how you organize.”

  “I really don’t,” Harley said, shaking her head. “I think that’s what bugs most people.”

  Shiloh smiled. “Okay, so will you be okay if I work on organizing you?”

  Harley shrugged. “Sure.”

  Shiloh nodded, looking around the office. “Do you mind if I look at things? Is there anything I’m not allowed to look at?”

  “You can look at anything you want. I’m betting you don’t read code, so I’m betting I’ll be safe there,” Harley said, winking at her.

  Shiloh laughed, nodding. “You are definitely safe there.”

  Another couple of days and a number of questions later, Shiloh had a simple system for keeping Harley’s files organized. She’d made her project folders and color coded them according to their priority. She set up an iPhone and synchronized it to Harley’s calendar, and met with various other staff that Harley was doing projects for. She’d also found Harley’s major weakness: she almost never said “no.” Even if a new project would completely overwhelm her, and put her behind on other projects, she always agreed to do it.

  After one such meeting, Shiloh knew she needed to try to help in this area as well. She met with Rayden for a few minutes, finding more and more that she liked SAC Black Wolf; she was easy to talk to and seemed to be very supportive of everything she suggested.