by Melissa Good
So that was normal. No problem. She could deal with that, it would disappear in time, and Kerry would never know the difference.
Dar thought about that for a long moment. It was true, she’d be able to dismiss the attraction, but there was something else there going on she wasn’t sure she could set aside so easily, not and keep working like she’d have to with Kerry. Something was pulling them together on a much deeper level. She could feel it, and she suspected Kerry could too. It had nothing to do with carnal desires, and everything to do with the peaceful, contented feeling she’d gotten on that very brief ride, with Kerry’s body snuggled against hers as though it were the most natural thing in the world.
She ached to feel it again. And that…that was scaring her. Physical attraction she could deal with. This was something else entirely. She just wished she knew what it was.
Chapter
Sixteen
“I’M SURPRISED A meeting like this doesn’t specify armor as a requirement,” Kerry mentioned, fiddling with her cuff. “The way you made it sound.”
Dar was still in her pajamas, her head propped up on one hand, studying her laptop screen. “Okay, I think I’ve got enough dirt.” She scanned the items into her memory and nodded, then pushed away from the table and stood up, lifting her arms overhead and cracking her back audibly.
Kerry winced. “Ow.”
The executive chuckled wryly. “That’s what I get from years over a keyboard.” She went to the valet bag and removed her suit, tossing it gently on the bed and glancing at her watch. “At least we had time for a decent breakfast. That French toast is pretty good, eh?”
“Pretty good?” Kerry laughed “I could eat that every morning.”
“Ah hah, and you tease me about Frosted Flakes.” Dar shook a shoe at her and grinned.
Kerry grinned back, then shook her head as she ducked back inside her room to finish dressing. She looked at herself in the mirror as she slipped on her jacket and adjusted the collar, smoothing down the maroon fabric with faintly nervous fingers. It matched her slim, knee-length skirt and the comfortable shoes and contrasted with the pale gray shirt. She dusted on a little makeup, not too much, as she took her cue from Dar’s usual appearance.
Just a touch of lip gloss, a little color on her cheeks, and a tiny bit of eye shadow. “All right,” she told the reflection, who was looking expectantly back at her. “Are we ready for war?”
She poked her lower lip out and had to restrain a giggle. “You know, I’m just not the warrior type, I don’t think.” She turned her head at a slight cough and saw Dar in the doorway, dressed in a gunmetal-gray blazer and skirt, with her black Mickey shirt underneath. Her boss looked sleek and, well, dangerous in her monochrome, especially since it matched her dark hair. Only the pale, incredibly blue eyes added even a touch of color to her. “Oh, hi. You look…nice.”
“No, I don’t,” Dar replied cheerfully. “I look like a corporate shark.
Which is what I am. Shall we?”
It was a short drive to the admin offices, though they had to wait five minutes for the guard to clear them at the gate. They parked and got out, both of them shouldering their briefcases. “Okay, this could get tough,” Dar cautioned, just before they entered the building. “Stay cool. When in doubt, if Tropical Storm 183
someone asks you something you think is dangerous, or antagonistic, just tell them. ‘I’m sorry, I don’t understand the question. Could you explain what you’re asking?’ ”
Kerry thought about that as she followed her boss inside. “That’s pretty smart. You make them lay it out.”
Dar winked at her. “I knew I picked a sharp one.” She nodded to a short, stocky man near the elevator and took a deep breath. “Okay, here we go.
Morning, John.”
He held out a hand. “Hello, Dar. Good to see you.” A brief introduction to the rest of his team followed. They all looked at Dar with a cross between fear and fascination, and Kerry almost had to bite her lip to keep from laughing.
It was a short trip up the elevator, and it opened on a floor that seemed mostly made of windows. The walls of glass allowed one to see into all the offices, and there were spears of light coming in everywhere.
Kerry found it distracting, but she put that aside as they turned a corner and entered a large, glass-enclosed room with a huge conference table. There were several people, most of them men, seated around it, and two of them were staring at Dar as though she were the manifestation of Satan here on Earth.
At the head of the table sat a short, slim woman with fiery red hair cut into a short, almost severe cut. She was dressed in an expensive-looking beige suit and emerald-colored shirt. Watching with intense interest, her eyes flicked everywhere, then fell on Dar.
Not involved in the initial greetings, Kerry got to see the reaction as, for a split second, the woman looked her boss up and down, then allowed a fleeting, very satisfied smile to cross her face. Then it was gone. Interesting.
“Hello, Jerry. Long time no see,” Dar purred as she put her briefcase down and pulled out a chair, but didn’t sit. Her smile oozed charm. “Care to introduce your friends?”
The man to whom she spoke looked like he was going to burst a blood vessel, Kerry decided. His neck was as red as a turkey’s, and she could see the veins stark and blue under his skin. But somehow, he kept his cool and introduced his colleagues, who stared at Dar uncertainly. Dar reciprocated, then turned and looked the lady at the end of the table right in the eye. “And you must be Ms. Graver. Glad to be finally meeting you.”
It was impossible not to react to Dar. She crackled with energy and confidence, and Kerry noticed that the woman, though very self-confident herself, didn’t miss that.
“You can’t be anyone other than Dar Roberts, then.” Michelle Graver stood and held out a hand. “It is a pleasure. I had no idea you were joining the bid team on this account.”
Dar gripped the offered hand, returning the powerful squeeze with one of her own, then she smiled and put her fingertips on her briefcase. “All right, shall we get rolling? It’s a beautiful day out; pity we’re all stuck in here.”
Kerry was, by turns, amazed and impressed. Dar had simply walked in and just taken over, and was acting as if there wasn’t anything anyone could do about it. She passed the bid John had given them over to Dar and watched 184 Melissa Good her drop it casually in front of Michelle, who was still standing.
Dar sat down, giving the Disney executive the advantage. “You had some concerns about performance?” Her eyes flicked to those of her rival and a faint grin touched her lips. “I think I can address those.”
Graver flipped through the document, then down at her. “I imagine you probably can.” She walked back over to her place and put the bid down, then picked up a sheet of paper and slid it across the table top. “Here.”
Dar took the paper and glanced at it, then let out a little chuckle. “You want me to start at the top or the bottom? And Jesus, Jerry, is this all you could come up with after ten thousand negotiated contracts?” Ignoring the glaring looks she was getting from across the table, she scanned the list. “Oh, I remember this one.” She smiled. “Non-performance with Aamco. I was the one who told their CEO we’d pay off the entire contract just so I wouldn’t have to hear his voice on my phone ever again.” “Really?” Michelle Graver leaned back and twirled her pencil. “Why?”
Dar exhaled. “They contracted for a manufacturing overhaul, including a new IS system that would link all their shops with computerized inventory.
Halfway through, they hired a new OPS VP who was convinced if he could just recycle the 1982 Unix systems with dumb terminals they were using and hire someone to write a custom database in CPM, they’d be fine.”
“And you told them?” Michelle asked.
“Bite me,” Dar replied frankly. “I’m not in the business of putting together fourth-rate technology with Band-Aids.” She glanced across the table. “I hear you bid on that one, Jerry. They e
nded up with OS/2 and Mod 30s they had to scrap after Microchannel bit the dust, didn’t they?”
The man’s nostrils flared. “They had some choice things to say about you, that’s for sure,” he replied. “Like the lawsuit said.”
Dar chuckled. “Jerry, everyone has choice things to say about me…and we won the lawsuit.” She went on down the list. “Oh, now that, that was a true disaster. Heads rolled for that one.” She shook her head. “Government accounting office, the implementation of automatic deposit for Social Security checks. That was just totally mishandled.”
“So you admit that, huh?” Jerry leaned back with a nasty smile.
“Oh sure.” Dar blinked at him. “I fired the entire account team personally, in fact.” She smiled back. “Day before Christmas, if I recall.”
Kerry darted a look at her, seeing the relaxed grin, and the slight, almost seductive narrowing of her eyes. Would she do that? She saw the wondering echoed on faces all around the table from them.
“Lord, yes, I remember that.” John sighed, shaking his head. “Poor Mariana, she was at her twentieth high school reunion and they paged her to come in and cut the paperwork.” He glanced over at the faintly shocked-looking Michelle. “Mariana’s our VP of Personnel. We were in the same class.
I was standing talking to her when her pager went off.” He looked to one side.
“You were not her favorite person that night, that’s for sure.”
Dar lifted both hands and let them fall. “Someone screws with our reputation that badly, they can expect that from me.” Then she went back to her list. “Useless jerks. Damn right, I fired them. Should have dumped them in the Atlantic while I was at it. Let’s see what else we’ve got here.”
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Michelle forestalled her. “I think that’s enough. Jerry, do you have something for me?”
Reluctantly, he handed over a sheaf of papers. The Disney exec picked them up, then stood. “Excuse me, I need to review these. I’ll be back in a few moments.” She caught Dar’s eye and favored her with a tiny smile before she left, trailing two aides behind her like a brace of sight hounds.
They were left facing each other, in a glass-walled room. People walking by glanced in curiously at the silent group, but went on their way.
Kerry studied the other team. They were dressed alike, in dark suits and white shirts, and they were all in their mid-thirties to mid-forties, with short haircuts. Their own team was a little different. Aside from herself and Dar, John was dressed in a conventional business suit, but his tie sported cartoon characters. Small, discreet ones, to be sure, but from where she was sitting, Kerry recognized Donald Duck poking his head out from between two buttons. The three other men with John were of varying ages. One was an older man, foxy looking, with a beard and mustache and clever hazel eyes.
Seated next to him was a very tall man with oversized ears and the general look of an engineer about him. His pad was covered with doodles Kerry recognized as circuits. The fourth team member was a young, crew-cutted man with blue eyes and a friendly smile, which he turned on her when he caught her looking.
“Well, we must have scared your team shitless for them to send your ass in here, Roberts,” Jerry finally spat.
Dar folded her hands on the table and shrugged. “Not at all, Jerry. I just wanted the chance to see you again.” A smile totally devoid of humor flashed across the table at him. “I had such a good time the last bidding round we did together.”
He leaned forward. “You don’t have a chance here. This contract is out of your company’s league, and they know it.” He glanced to the right. “Oh, unless you’re going to offer your little friend there up to Graver to sweeten the deal. That might win you a few points.” He looked right at a stunned Kerry.
“Is that what you’re here for, sweetie? Does Daddy know that?”
Green eyes looked into his with disarming friendliness. “Daddy is Senator Stuart of Michigan, and he’d probably find it a very odd thing for you to say. I’ll make sure I mention it the next time we speak, thanks.” She added a charming smile to the end of her response, and almost jumped when a hand squeezed her knee in appreciation. Dar’s expression hadn’t changed, but a tiny sparkle of glee was in her eyes as she glanced toward Kerry.
Even Jerry’s colleagues winced. “I meant no disrespect,” he forced out with a sour grimace.
“Better keep your mouth shut, Jerry.” Dar chuckled. “The room’s full of static electricity. You keep chewing on your shoes like that, you’re gonna zap your fillings and give yourself a perm.”
Kerry muffled a laugh, but the rest of their team didn’t bother.
He just gave them a disgusted look and stared pointedly at John. “How does it feel to have to hide behind a skirt?”
The short account rep folded his hands over his stomach and smiled.
“From where I’m sitting right now? Pretty damn good. Thanks for asking.”
186 Melissa Good The door opened and Michelle came back in, trailed by her hounds. She sat down and placed the two bids on the table and then cleared her throat.
“These bids are very competitive.” She toyed with one of them. “But what’s on paper is not really the important issue for us. Service is the issue. So what I’m going to ask is this—I’m going to hand over a task to each of you, so we can evaluate your response.”
Dar was encouraged. That meant the bid was still alive, and they had a chance. She’d undone some of the damage from the previous days, and now it remained to see what this sharp, intense woman was going to come up with as a test.
“Then, I’d like to schedule another meeting tomorrow here, to go over the results, and we’ll try to announce our decision at that time.” She stood and handed an envelope to each team lead, then nodded. “That’s all for now.” She watched them all stand, then she turned to Dar. “Ms. Roberts, a word with you, please?”
Ah. Dar’s instincts prickled. She excused herself from her little group and stepped around the table, until she was next to the other woman, putting one hand on a chair back and leaning against it to keep from intentionally towering over her. “What can I do for you, Ms. Graver?”
“For starters, please call me Michelle,” the woman said with a smile.
“Only if you call me Dar,” the dark-haired woman replied instantly, with a return smile.
“Nice shirt.”
Was that a twinkle in Michelle’s dark gray eyes? Dar chuckled. “It went with the suit, and there’s nothing I like better than carrying Mickey around on my chest.” She was aware Michelle was sniffing interestedly at her and decided a little reciprocation wouldn’t hurt. “Since our plane got in early, I got to indulge in some rampant tourism last night.”
“Mmm. I wish I’d known you were coming in, I would have arranged for one of our VIP tours—all the behind-the-scenes stuff us geeks love.” She licked a lower lip and let her eyes wander a trifle. “I hear ‘results oriented’
doesn’t begin to describe you. Is that true?”
Definitely flirting. Dar was a little surprised at the aggressiveness, but not that Michelle had taken a moment to request a dossier on her during the break. “It’s true,” she replied quietly. “I make things happen.”
Michelle quirked a grin. “I’d like to hear more about that. Since you’re stuck here another night, I’d like you to be my guest for dinner. We can discuss your bid.” A hound tapped her shoulder, and she ducked away for a moment. “Excuse me, I’ll be right back.” She moved a pace away, and dropped her voice to a whisper as she spoke with the man.
Gotcha. Dar could feel the conquest on her fingertips. Michelle was interested, intrigued, and willing to indulge in a personal interaction that would, in all probability, bias the vote in her favor. She was aggressive, and not unattractive, and god only knew, it wouldn’t be the first time Dar had used her personal magnetism to seal a contract.
Out of the corner of her eye, she caught Kerry’s interested expression, as the youn
g woman watched the buzzing groups and occasionally flicked her gaze to Dar. Their looks met, and Dar felt a smile touch her lips, which was Tropical Storm 187
mirrored from across the room.
What would Kerry think of this? Dar could read the proud look in the kid’s face as she regarded her . No, Kerry is intelligent. She would understand that this is business, and sometimes you have to do things to get what you want. It’s all in the results, like I told Michelle. I make things happen.
She could make this happen; she could feel it. Michelle the thrill-seeker, who actively courted danger, and who sensed in Dar danger of the most exciting, most seductive kind. Oh yes, she could make this happen. Kerry would surely understand. This was a very important deal, and it would be worth… God, Alastair would have an orgasm on the spot if she made it go through.
It was worth it. It would be so easy, she could taste it happening. All it would cost her was a night’s engagement, and what was that, really, given what she’d done in her life so far? It wouldn’t even be unpleasant. Piece of cake. Dar paused, remembering a lightly made promise, suddenly echoing in her ears. Mongolia, huh? She glanced at Kerry again, seeing the gentle trust there as the green eyes met hers, and she slowly turned back to Michelle and waited for her to finish.
Michelle turned around and stepped back, then gazed up at her in question. “I believe we were discussing dinner?”
For a moment, all Dar could hear was her heartbeat, then she released a breath she hadn’t realized she was holding. “Michelle, I’m so very sorry.” Her eyes conveyed true regret, but not for what the woman would have assumed.
“I have an engagement tonight I can’t get out of. But I very much appreciate…” she paused meaningfully, “the offer.”
How in the world something so stupid could feel so good, she had no clue. She read surprise and disappointment on Michelle’s face, but not anger.
“That’s too bad, Dar.” Michelle pursed her lips and sighed. “I was looking forward to talking to you. Maybe if you get stuck another night?”
