"No." Dar answered back, just as calmly. "It's in her best interests to just be left alone right now."
The reporter locked eyes with Dar. They stared each other down for a few minutes. The woman was about Dar's height, and roughly her size and Dar wondered for a minute if she was going to make a rush past her toward her quarry.
Several ILS security guards edged up around them, apparently having the same thoughts. Dar relaxed a bit, reassured that the reporter would surely not be stupid enough to risk that major of a scene no matter how juicy the story she was following was.
"Ms. Roberts, you really do want your side of the story presented here." Rodriguez finally said. "I appreciate that there's a lot going on, and you've got no reason to either want or trust the press at this point but we're not part of Mr. Quest's circus. We're local, and you're the local team. Get my drift?"
Dar paused, hearing a thread of sincerity in the statement. The woman was also being neither overbearing, nor craven, instead she was just being very straightforward and suddenly Dar remembered where she knew the reporter's name from. "That was a nice story you did on the behind the scenes of the sports industry down here," she said. "I liked it."
Caught a little off guard, the woman smiled and her body posture altered a bit. "Thanks. You have no idea how much my company hated me for it though. We lost comp tickets to almost every game in town."
Hmm. "All right." Dar paused to think. "If you can rest your laurels a few minutes, I'll see if Kerry's willing to chat with you." She pointed toward the catering table. "Help yourselves."
The reporter didn't really react, but the three men she had with her, including the camera man, lit up like Christmas trees at the sight of free food. Rodriguez regarded them with a tolerant look, then nodded at Dar. "Fair enough, and at least it's air conditioned in here. Take your time while I feed my starving wolves."
Dar gave them all a brief, last regard, then she turned and retreated back toward the shadows.
"Nice." The cameraman complimented his colleague. "Didn't think we were going to get anything there for a minute."
"Me either." Rodriguez sighed, as she led the way past the watchful guards. "But I've done this long enough to know when you're dealing with someone that smart, just drop all the bullshit and let them make the choice."
"Way different than those other guys." The man agreed.
"Way different." Rodriguez agreed. "This is going to be a good one."
DAR CROUCHED NEXT to Kerry's chair, positioning her body so she was blocking the view of anyone watching them. She put a hand on Kerry's knee and squeezed it gently. "Hey."
"Hey." Kerry responded readily.
"You doing okay?"
"My brain hurts."
Dar chuckled wanly. "My foot hurts. We're even."
Kerry reached up to ruffle her partner's hair. "So."
"So."
"You let the vandals in at the gates, I see."
Dar nodded. "It's a reporter from the Herald." She confirmed. "She wants to talk to you."
"Ah." Kerry sniffed reflectively. "Interview with a rebel biker chick on tap, I guess?"
Was it? Dar suddenly gave in to the discomfort of leaning on her injured foot and sat down instead, pulling her legs up crosswise under her. "I'm not sure." She countered. "Sounded like it was a tie in with this whole deal, but I've seen some of the stuff this one's written and it's pretty even handed."
"Hmm."
"Yeah, I thought the other reporter was all right too, I know." Dar admitted. "But I've actually read her articles. She does business angles, and she managed to take sides with Janet Reno and hasn't been ridden out on rails yet."
"Ah." Kerry leaned on her elbows again, her head resting against Dar's, not caring who was looking or not. "I feel really unbalanced right now. I'm not sure talking to a reporter is a good idea."
"Okay." Dar accepted that readily. "I just told her I would ask you." She wrapped her hand around Kerry's leg, stroking her calf gently. She could feel tension there, a rapid flexing and releasing that paid testament to her partner's rattled state. "Want something to drink?"
Kerry twirled a bit of Dar's hair around one finger, remaining silent. She tuned out the rest of the room, and just concentrated on the touch of Dar's hand around her leg, and the scent of hickory smoke that lightly clung to her from where they'd had dinner.
It was hard for her to say, really, why she was so shook up. After all, she'd acted on her conscience, and she'd turned out to be dead on right, even in Dar's eyes. So, what was her problem? "Dar?"
"Hmm?" Dar seemed quite willing to sit there as long as she was required, completely ignoring the room at her back.
""Why am I so freaked out?"
"I don't know, Ker." Dar replied honestly. "You did the right thing."
"I know I did," she whispered.
Dar leaned her chin against Kerry's knee. "Were you freaked out by my father wanting to ditch the stuff?"
Kerry was thoughtfully silent.
"He's not much into playing by the rules," Dar said, after a slight hesitation. "I mean...I guess I mean he's willing to go to any length for what he thinks is the greater good."
"Yeah." Kerry nodded. "Maybe that's it. I knew he wanted to do that for us. But it was just...it was..."
"Wrong." Dar supplied.
"Yeah."
Dar shrugged a little. "Shari and Michelle would have agreed with him in a heartbeat."
Kerry lifted her head and gazed into Dar's eyes, visibly more collected. "Oh, I know," she said. "Hey, listen." She hesitated.
"Want me to arrange to give them this stuff while you go talk to the reporter?" Dar suggested.
"You're reading my mind again." Kerry lifted her hand and rubbed a smudge of dust from the bridge of Dar's nose. "Do you know half the room is watching us?"
"And?"
"I don't care either." Kerry relaxed at last, leaning back in the chair and extending her legs out past Dar's knee. "Okay. I'll go wrangle with the Herald, and you can smirk and make Michelle feel like an idiot while you turn over these boxes. Here she comes."
Dar patted her leg, and got to her feet, catching her balance against the boxes and straightening up as she spotted Michelle's short figure headed in her direction. "Didn't bring her entourage."
Kerry also got up and headed off, giving Dar a gentle slap on the butt as she went by. "Of course not. No fun in being filmed eating crow."
No, of course not. Dar squared her shoulders and waited as Michelle approached, wrestling a deadpan look on her face. "Evening."
Michelle stopped, glancing past her at Kerry's retreating back. "She drops the bombshell; you get to bask in the stink?"
Dar leaned against the boxes. "The only stink around here is coming from you," she replied bluntly. "Where's your box mover? Or are you planning on dragging them back yourself?"
"Don't hold back, Dar. Tell me how you really feel." Michelle countered. "Don't for a minute think I don't know the timing on that little reveal was exquisitely planned."
Dar merely rolled her eyes, and stepped back, pulling the tarp off the first set of boxes. "You're wasting my time. Here."
Michelle stepped forward and examined the shipping label. She pulled a set of papers out from under her arm and carefully cross checked them, ignoring Dar's lounging presence. Finally, she turned her head and looked up. "Trust me when I tell you there'll be an inquiry on how this shipment ended up in your hands. You better hope your lawyers are up to it."
"Sure." Dar smiled. "They'll be glad to stand up and explain why three false and one true order of yours got dropped off here by a trucker who didn't want to take it down to you because he got called an asshole one too many times. No problem."
Michelle turned around fully. "You know something?"
"Pretty much everything, thanks."
"You're a real asshole."
Dar watched Michelle retreat back toward the door, her entire body seeming to shoot off disgusted anger. "Takes one to know o
ne." She called after the shorter woman. "Better hurry up and get this out of here before I charge you rent!"
At the door, Michelle turned and glared murderously at her.
Dar released a wicked laugh. "You want me to be an asshole? You don't know what you're asking for. Now get those men in here or I'll have the stevedores pack it up and send it back and send you the bill for their time."
The stevedores' boss, who had been sitting on a crate watching the action, gave her a big thumbs up.
Michelle exited and slammed the door behind her. Unfortunately, it was held open by an air compressed automatic closer, and it ended up bouncing back open and smacking her in the rear. She lunged forward, going headlong into two men with a hand cart who had been approaching.
The men leaped back, startled, and made a grab for her, but missed and Michelle fell to her knees between them. They helped her up hurriedly, backing off as soon as she was on her feet and dusting her hands off.
Dar chuckled happily, then sighed. "Damn, where's a camera when you need one?"
KERRY TOOK A moment to get composed before she entered the lighted area around the food table, and approached the reporters. She ran her fingers through her hair and settled it a bit, and then she walked over to the small group and made eye contact with the woman reporter. "Hi."
The woman got caught in mid swallow. Her eyes widened a little, then she finished her mouthful and set her cup down. "Hi." She extended her hand. "Elecia Rodriguez."
"Kerry Stuart." Kerry grasped her hand and shook it. "You wanted to speak to me?" Her tone was soft and slightly husky and she resisted the urge to clear her throat.
"Ah, yes, I did. Thanks." The reporter collected herself. "Is there someplace we can sit down? Not that I mind the ambiance out here, it sure beats standing outside, but..."
"There are some chairs over there." Kerry pointed to an unused corner of the terminal then paused as she heard Dar's voice rise up and send echoes to the rafters. Conversation abruptly cut off in the room.
The reporters turned and stared then Elecia looked back at Kerry. "You sure have one heck of a situation here, don't you?" They all stood listening, but the yell wasn't repeated, and voices started up again around them.
Kerry led them over to the seats and took one, sitting down and crossing her ankles demurely as she tucked her feet under her chair. It was a ridiculous bit of modesty given that she was in faded jeans and scuffed sneakers, but old habits really did die hard sometimes. "What can I do for you, Ms. Rodriguez?"
The reporter sat down and composed herself, removing a pad from her back pocket and a pen from behind her ear. "Okay." She eyed Kerry thoughtfully. "Where do I start with you, Ms. Stuart?"
One of Kerry's blond brows rose. "Excuse me?"
The reporter studied her pad. "There are about ten thousand questions I'd like to ask you, starting with what was it like growing up in Roger Stuart's house, to what is it like getting a tattoo, but I guess I'd have to settle with starting somewhere, and where I'll start is, what exactly are you trying to accomplish with this business here?"
Of all the questions she could have been faced with, at least this one was relatively easy to answer. "We're trying to install and configure a computer network for this ship outside of here, to demonstrate our ability to provide those services across Mr. Quest's fleet and give him the most competitive bid so he'll choose us to do that."
Rodriguez nodded. "Okay." She scribbled a note. "So let me ask you this. Do you do this sort of thing a lot?"
Puzzled, Kerry frowned a little. "Sure." She said. "It's what we do. It's what I do for ILS. Integrate and assist in acquiring new business, among other things."
The reporter scribbled another note. "Fair enough," she said. "So, Ms. Stuart, is this process always like a three ring circus? You must have a very entertaining job."
Kerry sighed. "No, it's not," she said. "Most of the time it's a pretty dry, refined process. Someone contacts me, or our sales department gets a lead, and we do an analysis, then present possible solutions and a price tag. There's some bargaining, then either we get a contract, or we don't."
"Uh huh." The woman mused. "That's pretty much what I thought," she said. "So, tell me about this feud between yourselves, and the folks at Telegenics. Where did that come from? I understand business rivalries, but this seems to go beyond that. True?"
"Well..."
"Here." The reporter removed a folder, and opened it. "I've had my ear chewed off by the people on the other side of that pier all afternoon. They want to bury you in the worst way." She showed Kerry not one, but three pictures.
One was the biker chick, which she expected. The other two were of her and Dar, one at a restaurant down by the beach, the other... in the pool at Disney, kissing.
Kerry inspected the photos. "And?" She gave the reporter an inquiring look. "You want me to rate them, or pick the one for you to use in your story?" She asked. "What exactly does any of this have to do with the business we're doing here?"
"Now, that's exactly what I wanted to know, Ms. Stuart," the reporter said. "It doesn't have anything to do with anything here, and that's why I wanted to talk to you. See, your company has been a part of our community for a long time now, and it's done its share of good works--some crappy works too--but it's done its part in employing a lot of folks in these parts."
"That's true," Kerry agreed quietly. "We try to be good corporate citizens."
"So, then what's behind it all?" Rodriguez asked, shifting a little closer. "You're not unknown to us, Ms. Stuart. My paper's been aware of who you are since you joined ILS."
Kerry merely watched her face, aware at the periphery of her senses that Dar was nearby, and also watching.
"We've chosen, or should I say, my managers have chosen not to focus on you, because your company is pretty darn low key. You just do what you do, pay your taxes, and frankly, bring the city a lot more than you take from it." The woman flipped a page. "So, in sum, when some outside folks start gunning for one of our own, we take exception to it, and we want to know why."
"Why." Kerry mused. "You sure you really want to know why?"
Rodriguez's face suddenly shifted into a faint, mischievous grin. "No. I bet I don't, but we got sent this picture, of you on the bike." She held up the picture. "Now that struck everyone as something that was very, very interesting because not many vice presidents of international corporations get their picture taken like that."
"I bet."
"Are you a hell raiser, Ms. Stuart?"
Now it was Kerry's turn to grin, and she did, a smile of genuine amusement that lit up her eyes. "Sometimes."
"Tell me a story, then. What's going on here?" the reporter asked, poising her pen over the page. "Tell me Goliath's side of the story."
Kerry was aware of Dar's watchful eyes, and she knew if she turned her head to the left, she'd see her partner in the shadows standing by if she needed her. "Okay." She agreed. "I'm a little short for Goliath, but I'll do the best I can."
"I'm sure you've got help if you need it." The reporter didn't look at Dar. "I'm not looking to get my butt kicked. Will that happen?"
Kerry smiled. "Depends."
"Thought you'd say that." Rodriguez chuckled. "I'll take my chances."
THEY ENDED UP in the small office, since everyone had migrated outside to have some dinner and relax. Kerry was seated in one of the comfortably innocuous office chairs they'd supplied, leaned all the way back with one sneaker resting on her opposite knee.
The reporter had taken a seat across from her, using one of the desks to lean on in her writing, and they both had cups of coffee courtesy of Dar, who had briefly disappeared after deciding Kerry wasn't in any imminent danger.
"All right, Ms. Stuart."
"Kerry." Kerry interrupted. "I hate being called Ms. Stuart."
The reporter scribbled a note. "Okay, Kerry." She continued agreeably. "So, you were approached in Orlando by Mr. Quest, right?"
"Actually, Dar was sta
lked by Mr. Quest." Kerry clarified. "He hunted her down in the lobby of the hotel and approached her with the idea."
"Stalked is a pretty strong term."
"Well." Kerry took a sip of her coffee. "What would you call it if someone had pictures made of you and then went searching through a hotel to find you?"
"Hmm."
"At any rate, he pitched his idea to Dar, and she turned him down."
"Why?" Rodriguez asked.
Good question, Kerry reflected. "I think, because she was wary of how he approached her. It seemed to be something that was outside the normal way businesses approach each other," she explained. "It almost seemed underhanded."
"Hmm." The reporter tapped her pen against her jaw. "So what made her reconsider?"
Another very good question and one Kerry was fairly sure she couldn't answer honestly. "She thought about it, and we talked, and it seemed like it might be a good opportunity to at least get a foothold into an industry we weren't a part of."
Rodriguez nodded, and scribbled a note. "That makes sense," she said. "So it had nothing to do with the fact that Telegenics was also one of the bidders?"
Truth? Kerry acted on impulse. "Sure it had something to do with it," she answered back. "We wanted an opportunity to go head to head with them, after some of the claims they'd been making, and also, after they approached our staff at the trade show to try and offer them jobs."
"Uh huh." The woman grunted. "Telegenics claims that never happened."
Kerry chuckled. "Sure it did," she replied. "The problem is, they forgot to brief their technical manager and he had no idea who he was recruiting." She went on. "When we got to the trade show late the night of the setup day, we found out there was no setup crew on duty. So Dar and I helped our staff to set up our booth, and we were two of the potential recruits."
The reporter looked at her, a half grin on her face. "You're kidding."
Solemnly, Kerry shook her head. "They were telling us how we should join their company instead of working for a faceless corporation where their bosses were sitting somewhere sipping caviar and lounging in limos. My guys thought it was pretty darn funny."
Stormy Waters: Book 10 in The Dar & Kerry Series Page 34
