Dar shook her head negatively.
"Yes." A thumb traced across the well shaped lips. "I've seen pictures, Dar. Don't give me that icky face."' Kerry remembered one in particular, a full length shot of Dar at thirteen or fourteen, in shorts and a dirt covered t-shirt, long dark hair half obscuring her face, but not the sharp blue eyes peeking out or the hesitant half grin that surely identified the camera holder as her father.
Gorgeous. Even then, Dar's face had been distinctively unique and the smudge of mud across her cheek only amplified the character of it.
"Kerry?" Dar whispered into her ear. "Hello? Earth to Kerry?"
"Sorry honey." Kerry felt the pounding in her head beginning to subside. "I just so absolutely love you I can't help drifting off into dreamy hazes sometimes." She turned her head so her good eye could meet her partner's.
Dar was blinking at her, an expression of somewhat puzzled pleasure on her face. "Really?"
Kerry traced her fingertips over Dar's lips again, and nodded. "Thanks for taking care of me." She felt a smile tug at her mouth. "And I think you're right. He did go the wrong way. I just wish I could have stopped in time so I didn't hit his foot."
Dar lifted the ice pack, and leaned forward, brushing her lips over the injured area before she replaced the gel again. "I'll kick his ass for it next week." She promised solemnly. "And then I'll teach you how to duck."
Kerry exhaled in satisfaction, putting her accident behind her for the moment. "Hey. I've got an idea." She burred softly. "How about I wear a patch over my eye tomorrow, kinda like a pirate?"
Dar chuckled soundlessly.
"Arrrr... Avast ye mateys!"
DAR DROPPED INTO her seat, glancing at the clock on the wall in some mild embarrassment. She shook her head, then leaned forward and hit the intercom. "Maria, what the hell's on my schedule today??"
"Uno momento, Dar. I will be right there." Maria answered promptly.
"Hope it wasn't anything that started at eight." Dar remarked to the empty office. Both she and Kerry had fallen asleep together on the couch and woken abruptly at eight, realizing they'd forgotten any kind of alarm.
Kerry's ice pack was a sloshy, warmish pack by then, and it had slipped down off her face, revealing a still swollen and tender area underneath. Her eye was mostly closed, and Dar didn't have much trouble in convincing her to stay home and relax once she'd seen her reflection in the mirror.
So here she was at just past nine, trying to collect the scattered threads of her day after its late start and hoping she hadn't missed anything really critical. Dar folded her hands as Maria entered, carrying a pad of paper, and gave her assistant a wry grin. "Morning."
"Good morning, Dar." Maria sat down. "Is Kerrista all right? Mayte said that she would not be here today."
Dar sighed. "We had an accident at kickboxing class last night. Kerry got bopped in the head, so I made her stay home. It's not that bad, but she looks like she was beaned in the eye with a baseball."
"Dios Mio!" Maria exclaimed. "That poor thing!"
"Yeah." Her boss agreed. "Wish I was..." She paused awkwardly. "Anyway, what's on the schedule? Did I miss something already this morning?"
Maria smiled at her, and looked down at her pad. "Ah, no, no. There is a meeting after lunch today, with the gentleman from A&T, and a conference call for you at four for the international." T
Rats. Dar sighed again. The four o'clock international call tended to last forever, and she... "Okay." She cut off her thoughts abruptly, reminding herself she was actually a corporate officer here. "Thanks, Maria. Let me get to work on the damn inbox. Tell Mayte to forward any calls for Kerry over here to me."
"Yes, I surely will." Maria stood up. "Would you like some coffee, Dar?"
"Do I look like I need it?" Dar replied with rakish grin. "Yeah" sure."
"I will be right back," she said. "While you are getting your things ready."
Dar watched her leave then she gave her trackball a spin bringing up her inbox in the hope it would keep her occupied and not wishing she was at home.
One note caught her eye, and she opened it, scanning the contents quickly. Her fingers drummed lightly on the keys, then she hit reply and answered. She hoped Kerry would forgive her for it.
THERE WERE A lot of things Kerry knew she could be doing. However, she was curled up in their waterbed with the blinds drawn, listening to an audio book playing softly in the CD player instead. Her eye was still swollen shut, and trying to read anything, much less her laptop screen just wasn't working for her.
So she'd retired to their bedroom instead of her office, keeping her laptop nearby for mail purposes, but she simply laid there in the comfortable air conditioning with her other eye closed as well.
It felt good to just chill out. Kerry felt a little guilty as well, but not enough for her to get up and do anything about it.
Chino came over and rested her jaw on the edge of the waterbed, snuffling at Kerry's slack hand until she reached over to scratch the Labrador's head. She licked Kerry's fingers, then hopped up onto the waterbed, making the surface move as she picked a spot and curled up against her owner's body.
Kerry sighed contentedly, taking in a breath and catching Dar's scent, still clinging to the pillow her arm was wrapped around. She was a little surprised when the phone rang, but reached over and snagged it, cradling it between her shoulder and ear. "Hello?"
"Hey, Ker!" Colleen's voice sounded through the phone. "You there?"
"Um." Kerry cleared her throat. "You called my home number and I answered, didn't I?"
"Ah, heh. Yeah." Her friend said. "So, what's the deal? I heard you got hurt?"
Kerry snorted softly into the phone. "Yeah. I was a klutz last night in kickboxing class. The guy I was sparring with slipped and kicked me in the head."
"Oh, Jesus!" Colleen blurted. "So it was some guy? Not Dar?"
"Dar?" Kerry chuckled. "Of course not. She's got more control than the damn instructor." She paused. "Why?"
"Well, that makes more sense." Colleen replied. "No, it was just how I heard it. For some reason it sounded like it was Dar who'd been involved. Boy, she must have been pissed."
"To put it mildly." Kerry felt her brow crinkle as she reviewed her friend's words. "She took me to the doctor, had my head x-rayed, cursed the dumbass who clocked me, and then rocked me to sleep on the couch last night. I can only imagine what she'd have done if it'd been her."
"Aw." Colleen's smile could clearly be heard through the phone. "She's such a sweetie."
Kerry relaxed. "Yeah." She sighed. "So, anyway, I've got this black eye and I can hardly read a screen. Dar made me stay home."
"Darn right." Colleen stated. "You need anything? I've got to go pick up my car so I'm leaving early. I could stop by."
"Nah, I'm fine." Kerry reassured her. "Listen, do me a favor? Make sure whoever's talking about what happened gets the story straight. If
Dar hears people thinking it's her, she's going to have a heart attack."
"No problem, girl," her friend said. "You leave it to me."
Kerry sighed. "God damn it."
"What?"
Her temper flared. "Why in the hell would anyone think she'd done it? That really pisses me off."
The phone crackled a little as though Colleen had shifted or moved. "Hey, hey, relax." She said, in a lower tone. "Listen, I don't think anyone though it was on purpose, Kerry. Just an accident, you know?"
"Bullshit." Kerry rolled over and scowled at the ceiling.
"Kerry." Colleen replied. "Would you take it easy? Honest, no one was mean. It was just...I don't know, I guess people thought it was kind of funny that..."
"Funny?" Kerry growled. "There is nothing funny at all about it. Even if it had been Dar, it wouldn't have been funny. People getting hurt is funny? Me getting hurt is funny? Wow. Nice."
There was no answer for a few seconds, then Colleen sighed. "That's not what I meant."
Kerry plucked at the soft down comfort
er draped over the bed. "Yeah, I know. It's not your fault." She admitted. "I just really hate when people talk bull, especially about her."
Colleen cleared her throat, then chuckled. "Well, I do know that Kerry, me lass. That's how I knew you were falling for her way back when. You nearly took my head off when I dared to call her a rude name."
Had she? Kerry studied the plaster ceiling, a faint smile tugging at her lips. Yeah, she had. Even at the very beginning after she and Dar had bumped heads just once or twice, she?d started defending her. Many of her co-workers had thought, and probably still did, that she was just sucking up.
Maybe even she thought that, back then, or maybe it was just survival. But the instinct to protect Dar had kicked in very, very early. "Yeah," she said. "Sorry, Col. It's just a button of mine." She continued. "And it really hurts, especially after how sweet Dar was last night. I felt like I was being swaddled in silk. Don't even get me started on this morning."
"No problem, girl." Colleen sounded happier. "Listen, let me go finish up a report I've got due. I'll give you a buzz later, okay?"
"Sure." Kerry agreed. "Thanks for calling, Col." She hung up the phone, her relaxed mood gone despite her reassuring words to her friend. "Man that does really piss me off." She reached over to scratch Chino's ears. "Why do people do that, Chi? Why can't they just be nice?"
"Growf." Chino licked her fingers and snuggled closer again.
Kerry regarded the ceiling for a few moments more, then she reached over and hit the speakerphone, dialing Dar's private office number without looking. It was answered after two rings. "Hey."
"Hey." Dar's voice sounded reasonably chipper. "How are you feeling?"
"Like a grumpy warthog," Kerry said. "What's going on there?"
A soft creaking came through the phone, surely Dar taking a seat in her leather chair and leaning back. "I'm going to be interviewed in about a half hour," she said. "Mark's still trying to track down that damn device, we've been hit by a dozen more attacks, and we're out of milk in the cafeteria." She paused. "So, how's your day been so far?"
Poised on the verge of spilling her concerns, Kerry hesitated, hearing the stress in her partner's voice. "Boring," she said instead. "I can't really use my laptop, so Chi and I are just lying in bed, listening to Modern Trends in Network Design."
"Ah. Light reading." Dar chuckled softly under her breath. "You could go watch Animal Planet. How's your headache?"
"Better." Kerry felt slightly foolish at bothering her busy partner. "Listen, sorry to interrupt. I was just...um..." She paused. "Anyway, why are you being interviewed?"
"Ah." Dar grunted. "Fallout from that goddamn Telegenics glory hunting with Discovery Channel or whoever the hell that is. Now this woman from the Washington Post wants to talk to me."
"Oo. Make sure she takes a pretty picture for the front page." Kerry teased. "Given what they usually have to put up, getting their hands on you will definitely be a pleasant change.
"Pfft." Dar made a rude noise.
"Same to you." Kerry replied. "Hey, let me let you get back to work. I'm going to laze around here for a while, then maybe catch some sun outside on the porch." She stretched a little. "Talk to you later?"
"Absolutely." Dar answered warmly. "And you weren't bothering me. I'm glad you called."
Kerry smiled as she hung up the line, but the smile faded after a moment and she rolled up out of bed and sat on the edge of it, leaning her elbows on her knees. After she stared at the floor a minute with her good eye, she pushed herself to her feet and trudged into the bathroom.
She didn't really want to look in the mirror, but she did anyway, watching her face twist into a grimace as she examined her reflection. Around her eye, almost in a perfect circle, was a dark, mottled bruise that would have almost been comical if it hadn't hurt as much as it did.
Her eye was puffy and half closed, but that, at least, was an improvement over what it had been last night. With a sigh, Kerry used the restroom then wandered into the living room as Chino jumped off the couch and joined her.
Now that she was stirred up, the thought of lying in bed was almost intolerable. Instead, Kerry went into the kitchen and made some herbal tea, stifling a yawn as she opened the refrigerator to find herself something to nibble on.
Removing a bottle of juice, she poured herself a glass and replaced it, turning in surprise when she heard a soft knock at the door. "Now, who the heck could that be?" she asked following Chino into the living room as the Labrador bounded ahead to guard the door for her. "Oh, pooters. Must have forgotten to tell Clemente not to come in today."
She went to the door and opened it, not bothering to check the peep hole first. "Oh." She blinked in surprise, finding not the stocky hospitality manager, but Ceci outside. "Hi."
"Hi." Ceci had her hands behind her back, and was looking quite diffident. "Can I come in?"
"Sure." Kerry backed up and let her past. "Sorry, I wasn't expecting anyone, but you're always welcome."
"Mmm hmm." The diminutive woman strolled past. "Remember that after you find out why I'm here."
"Uh, oh." Kerry half chuckled. "Want some tea?"
Dar's mother nodded. "Love some. Nice shiner you have there." She came closer and examined Kerry's face. "Don't suppose I can talk you two into croquet or something equally benign instead, huh?"
"Ah. So you know all about what happened, huh?"
"Mmm hmm."
"Dar send you here?" Kerry hazarded.
"Mmm hmm." Ceci nodded. "Me being the only mother she knows in the area, yes. She asked me to come over here and practice my nonexistent maternal skills on you." She gave Kerry a wry grin. "So why not let me get the tea, and you rest your head so I can say I tried. Hmm?"
Kerry walked over to the couch and sat down extending her legs along its length. "Sure," she agreed amiably. "I'll get her back later."
Ceci gave her a big thumb up and disappeared into the kitchen.
"You little stinker wench." Kerry addressed the ceiling. "I will get you later. Just wait." She reached for the remote control and flipped on the television, picking a channel at random and settling back to watch.
Ah well. It could be worse. Kerry eyed the door to the kitchen. It could be my mother.
THE REPORTER ENTERED behind Maria and followed her over to Dar's desk. She was a tall, poised black woman with striking good looks, and she met Dar's firm handshake with one of her own before she took the proffered seat.
"Thanks, Maria." Dar returned to her chair and dropped into it. "So, Ms. Cruickshank, what is it you'd like to talk about?" She leaned back and steepled her fingers, watching the reporter as she settled herself in her chair and took out a notepad.
Notepad. Dar's eyebrow twitched. The last few times she'd been interviewed, it'd been with at the very least, a tape recorder. It was interesting that the reporter had chosen to stick with the basics in the local headquarters of one of the most highly technical companies in the world.
"What would I like to talk about?" The reporter repeated, in a quietly cordial tone. "Well, Ms. Roberts, as you may know, some of my colleagues are working very hard to make a documentary about Peter Quest's effort to re-establish American cruising." She studied her pad and then looked up at Dar. "Everyone keeps trying to cast you as the bad guy."
Dar smiled cheerfully at her.
"Are you the bad guy?" She asked. "From the research I've done, your image wanders from Cruella deVil to Joan of Arc, depending on the time of day and phase of the moon or who I've talked to." She leaned forward a little. "So what's the real scoop?"
Joan of Arc? Dar's eyes widened a trifle. "I'm not sure there is a scoop," she replied. "I'm just here to do a job. I don't employ any bizarre tactics, just decent business sense, and the time I invest in acquainting myself with the newest technology."
Cruicshank scribbled a note. "Well, let me tell you what I've got here on you, and then you can tell me if you still think you're not a news item." She flipped a page over. "You're a Fl
orida native."
"Mm." Dar gave an agreeable grunt. "That's pretty newsworthy, I guess."
The reporter smiled. "So I hear. You grew up on Navy bases, right?"
Dar nodded.
"You've only worked for one company, that being this one and you joined ILS when you were...fifteen?"
Dar nodded again. "I think that makes me more boring than scoop." She remarked. "I never saw any reason to change companies. I just kept changing jobs within this one."
The reporter made another note. "Do you like your job?" She studied Dar's face. "The one you have now, I mean?"
For a moment Dar almost considered answering honestly, then she reviewed the issue and realized there were some things even she couldn't get away with. "Most of the time, yes." She finally responded. "I can do without publicity seeking monkeys trying to make me look bad every couple of hours, but in general, yeah. I like what I do."
Cruicshank looked intrigued. "Is that what you consider your competitors? Publicity seeking monkeys?"
"Well," Dar met her gaze squarely, "I can tell you I've never asked a news crew to hang off my ass during any of my business deals. I've also never rigged a convention for failure so I could come in and save the day to make press, or tried to bug my rivals."
The reporter straightened up and looked really intrigued. "Some people would say that's just smart competition."
"Some people are morons." Dar replied. "I find it easier just to be very good at what I do, and save the fun and games for the weekends."
They looked at each other for a moment then the reporter grinned. "You know what, Ms. Roberts?"
Dar raised her eyebrows in question.
"You're my kind of bad guy." She told her. "Can I buy you lunch?"
Dar was peculiar about lunch. She liked to either grab something at her desk, or if Kerry was there and not busy, have lunch with her. It was a chance to wind down for a few minutes in either case and de-stress in the middle of the day.
Stormy Waters: Book 10 in The Dar & Kerry Series Page 14
