Hurricane Watch - DK2

by Melissa Good

  ”What’d you do to your leg?” He called after her, ignoring the jibe.

  ”Popped the joint out when we fell into that damn sinkhole,” Dar replied, coming back with the portable phone and dialing it. ”You owe me big time for that little trip, Alastair.”

  He laughed. ”I heard about you and the snake, after I had Beatrice call up the president of that half assed company and threw the words negligent and lawsuit around.”

  Dar chuckled as she put the phone to her ear, listening to it ring.

  ”Hey,” she called softly, as it was answered. ”Where are you?”

  Kerry’s voice sounded relieved. ”Down by Southpoint, just about to get out and go walking on the beach, why?” she asked. ”I just got here. I figured you guys would be a while.”

  ”Nope,” Dar informed her. ”We’re waiting on you for dinner, so c’mon back over here.”

  ”Really?” Kerry asked.

  ”Really,” Dar assured her.

  A faint pause. ”You going back?”

  ”Yep.”

  ”You still my boss?”

  ”Yep.”

  ”Awesome.” Kerry’s voice lightened immensely. ”You are just awesome, Dar. You have no idea how glad I am to hear that.” Sounds of scuffing. ”I was sitting here in my car trying to think of who I wanted to apply to, see if I could get any decent offers from around here.”

  ”Well, they can’t have you.” Dar half turned and lowered her voice.

  ”You’re mine.”

  ”Oo.” Kerry laughed in utter delight. ”You just gave me chills.”

  Dar smiled, feeling her upset world start to settle back down around her. ”Besides, I hear you turned down a good offer.” She watched Alastair as he got up and roamed around the living room, stopping to examine the pictures on the shelves.

  ”What of... oh,” Kerry snorted. ”That. Yeah right. As if.” She cleared her throat a little, changing the subject. ”Your father is such a sweetheart. He gave me a present for you. Said he was too embarrassed to give it to you directly.”

  ”A present? For what?” Dar queried curiously.

  ”Um, your birthday?” Kerry reminded her. ”You remember that party we had?”

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  ”Oh,” Dar muttered, ”that.” She paused, glancing at Alastair.

  ”What is it?”

  Kerry giggled softly. ”A box.” She teased.

  ”Kerrryyyyy,” Dar growled softly.

  ”Well, it is!” Her lover retorted. ”I don’t have x-ray vision, you know.”

  Dar sighed, ”Just hurry up and get back here.”

  ”Jesus, Dar. I’m getting to the ferry. You want me to get out and paddle?” Kerry protested. ”I will, but the deckhands are going to have a fit. You know how they get.” She paused, hearing the gentle sound of Dar’s breathing against the receiver. ”I love you,” she murmured. ”You don’t have to answer that, I know Alastair is right there,” she added.

  ”I love you too,” Dar replied, not missing a beat. ”See you in a few minutes.” She put the phone on the hook and set it on the table, then she sat back down on the couch. “So.”

  “So.” Alastair repeated. “Aside from all that, Mrs. Lincoln how was the play?” He watched Dar’s face. “Long day?”

  “Long week,” Dar admitted. “Crappy weekend.” She propped her head up on her fist, leaning her elbow against the couch arm.

  Her boss grunted. “Want to take a few days off?” he asked, eyeing her shrewdly. “Might be a good idea—give everyone a chance to cool down.”

  Dar nibbled the inside of her lip, then she shook her head with true regret. “I’d love to, but I can’t do that to Kerry,” she said. “Those idiots are driving her crazy.”

  Alastair snorted. “Are you kidding me? She told every damn one of them where to get off the bus right in front of me. That’s no hothouse flower you picked there, lady,” he said. “Didn’t Bea tell me she hauled off and slugged Fabracini? That’s what caused the whole damn thing to come to a head?”

  “She did,” Dar admitted. “She’s got guts.”

  “She took you on. She has to have.” Her boss chuckled wryly. “But y’know, I thought you weren’t going to go down that road again, Dar.

  Tough situation, the last time.”

  Dar felt another blush warm her skin, even though she knew Alastair had known about Elana. “I wasn’t,” she muttered. “Road came to me.”

  “And knocked you on your ass,” Alastair said, bluntly. “Take a few days off, Dar. I won’t order it, but please, just this once take my advice, huh?”

  “I’ll see,” Dar replied stubbornly. “I’ll think about it, okay?”

  Alastair chuckled and shook his head.

  DAR LOOKED AT her watch as they entered the condo. ”Jesus, it’s past midnight,” she commented in surprise. ”Didn’t think it was that late.”

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  ”Uh huh.” Kerry yawned, trudging inside and collapsing on the couch. ”That was a nice dinner, though. He’s sort of an interesting person.” She picked up Chino, who had bolted out of the utility room when Dar opened the door. ”Hey honey, whoa, whoa, don’t chew up mommy’s fingers, okay?”

  Dar limped back in with two tall glasses of chocolate milk, one of which she set down on the table. ”Here.” She eased down on the couch next to her lover, and slid back, extending her legs out and groaning.

  ”Ouch.”

  ”I told you to use those crutches,” Kerry scolded, patting Dar’s leg.

  ”I saw you trying not to limp in front of Alastair.”

  ”It’s not that.” Dar took a swallow of milk. ”It’s the rest of my body trying to compensate for it. My back’s killing me,” she complained.

  ”Ah, I get it.” Kerry slid a hand behind Dar’s back and probed gently. ”Wow, you are all tensed up.” She rested her cheek against Dar’s upper arm. ”How about a few minutes in the hot tub?”

  Blue eyes turned to her and brightened. ”Now that’s a great idea,”

  Dar complimented her. ”It’s a beautiful night out, c’mon.” She allowed Kerry to support her as they wandered into the bedroom, and exchanged jeans for bathing suits.

  ”I like that one on you.” Dar had snuck up behind Kerry, and slid both arms around her middle, hugging her gently. ”It’s the color of your eyes.”

  Kerry’s suit, a shimmering, almost translucent green blue glittered in the low light, accenting her toned body.

  Kerry leaned back against her and folded her arms over Dar’s.

  ”Thanks.” She turned, picking up a small box. ”We almost forgot this from your dad.” She handed it over.

  ”Oh.” Dar took it, examining it carefully as though she were afraid it would spring open. She slowly unwrapped the plain paper and revealed a closed, clamshell container, which she opened gently.

  ”Whoa.”

  Inside, on the dark gray crushed velvet, nestled two black pearls, opalescence winking at her. They were the size of dried chickpeas, and were a well matched pair.

  ”Wow,” Kerry breathed, peering at them. ”Those are gorgeous.”

  ”Yeah,” Dar breathed. ”They sure are.” She gently closed the box and held it, giving her head a little shake. ”His presents were always like that. You never knew when one was coming, but when it did, it was always...” She glanced at the box. ”Always something special.”

  ”You could have them made into earrings.” Kerry suggested.

  ”They’d look awesome on you.”

  Dar put the box down on the dresser, and tapped it with one long finger. ”Maybe,” she agreed. ”C’mon, let’s go soak for a little while.”

  They went outside, taking their glasses with them, and Kerry held them both as Dar eased into the water.

  ”Ungh.” Dar stretched her arms out, and took the milk. ”This feels Hurricane Watch

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  great.”

  She watched as Kerry joined her, nestlin
g up against her immediately. ”I’ll put these down.” Dar advised her, setting them on the coping, then putting an arm around Kerry’s shoulders.

  For a few minutes they just sat there, absorbing the sensation of the water, a mist of warm, chlorinated water drifting across their faces. The ocean was at high tide, and beating against the seawall, and off in the distance they could hear the buoy bells ringing.

  ”It’s beautiful out here,” Kerry murmured, tipping her head back and regarding the starry sky, scattered with the odd, occasionally puffy cloud.

  Dar turned her head and regarded the moonlit profile next to her.

  ”It sure is.”

  Kerry caught the glance and smiled a little, blushing slightly. ”So.”

  She cleared her throat. ”Now tell me how all this worked out.”

  ”Mmm.” Dar wiggled her toes contentedly. ”Alastair asked me to reconsider, I told him I had two conditions, he met them, presto. That was it.” She stifled a yawn. ”You were one condition, Steven was the other.”

  Kerry mulled that over. ”So, did he know about us, or...” She left the thought hanging.

  ”He knew.” Dar chuckled softly. ”He said he knew when he saw those first sets of pictures from Orlando, but I guess he decided to ignore it.”

  ”Isn’t that a problem?” Kerry queried. ”I mean, we’ve been doing this cat and mouse thing for months, because it was this big rule. So?”

  Dar shrugged. ”It comes down to what’s more important?

  Company rules or profits?” She advised her lover. ”He can make exceptions, and yes, it’s a problem, but it’s not like it’s never happened before, Kerry, and what the rule is for is mostly to protect the junior of the two employees.”

  ”Protect?” Kerry cocked her head. ”Oh, from harassment, that kind of thing?”

  A nod. ”Exactly. It’s so bosses don’t take advantage of their subordinates, and it’s a good rule.” She reached over and brushed a droplet of water off Kerry's cheek. ”But I told him I needed you, and he’s satisfied you’re not being pressured, or coerced in any way, so he’s going to just work around it.”

  ”Oh.” Kerry thought about that. “That’s going to be strange after all this time.”

  “Mm.”

  “I guess I can bring you lunch up now though, huh?”

  Pale blue eyes shifted her way. ”And I can wander down the back corridor a couple times a day and not feel conspicuous,” Dar replied dryly. ”I mean, it’s just like anything else.

  We treat each other

  professionally at the office. We just don’t have to worry about people finding out what we do outside of it.”

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  ”Hmm.” Kerry nodded a little. ”So, can I call the rest of the staff and tell them to come back in tomorrow?” she asked, wistfully.

  ”Because I don’t think I can handle a few more days like today.”

  Dar hesitated. ”I, um, I could call them in the morning,” she ventured.

  One sea green eyeball rotated and fixed on her. ”You could if you were going into work.” Kerry blinked at her. ”Are you? I thought Alastair said for you to take a couple days off.”

  Dar drummed her fingers on the coping. “I thought about it. But it’d be a lot more relaxing for me to get started on stuff than sit around here and worry about you.” She pushed the damp hair off Kerry’s forehead.

  Kerry sighed. ”I wish you’d stay home.” She ran her fingers along Dar’s scalp, and brushed lightly over the bump. It was, she was forced to admit, almost gone. “But I won’t lie and say I want to go through another day like I did today. My god, Dar. How in the hell do you deal with that place?”

  “Practice.”

  Kerry sighed again. “Can we leave early?”

  A slow smile. ”I promise you dinner at sunset out on the water,”

  Dar offered, one eyebrow lifting in invitation. ”You, me, the boat, a few seagulls. How about it?” She leaned over and stole a kiss. ”Hmm?”

  Kerry nibbled her way up Dar's neck. ”All right,” she agreed, breathing the words right into Dar’s ear. ”You’re on.”

  ”Good.” Dar ducked her head again and found Kerry’s wandering lips, and she pulled her over onto her lap, sliding an arm around her waist securely. She felt Kerry’s hands glide down her shoulders, and her eyes closed in reflex as their bodies pressed against each other in knowing familiarity.

  They’d deal with all that trouble tomorrow. That was another day.

  Right now, all that mattered was the rich, night breeze, and the stars, and each other.

  KERRY STIFLED A yawn as she trudged across the kitchen, headed for the coffee machine. She mechanically portioned the Irish crème flavored grounds into the basket, and started the coffee going, blinking a little as she leaned against the counter.

  She could hear Dar’s voice as a low murmur coming from her office, and she guessed her lover was making the promised phone calls to their stubbornly missing staff. ”Any luck?” she called in, as she heard the phone disconnect.

  ”Oh yeah.” Dar moved to the doorway of the office, stretching and catching the edges of the sill with her fingers as she rocked her head back and forth to loosen her neck muscles. ”I got Mark. He cursed me out because he was planning on working over one of his bikes, but he Hurricane Watch

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  said he’d be in, and that he’d call the rest of his staff in so I didn’t have to do it.” The tall, dark haired woman released the door, and walked across to where Kerry was standing. ”Now I have to do the tough one, Maria.”

  ”Ouch.” Kerry slid a hand up Dar’s belly, feeling the warmth of her skin under the fabric. ”You’re hardly limping,” she commented.

  ”Mm, yeah, it feels a lot better,” Dar agreed, with a smile. ”I think I’ll use the crutches to get away with dressing down again today, though.”

  Kerry snorted. ”Dar, after having the CEO come and beg you to reconsider last night, you think anyone would say a word if you came dressed in shorts and a t-shirt?” she paused. ”Wait a minute, forget I suggested that. They’d say words, all right, and I’d have to slap them all silly.”

  Dar laughed. ”Thank you for flattering my ego.” She gently kissed Kerry’s head. ”Excuse me.” She moved into the kitchen, retrieving a bowl and her Frosted Flakes from the cabinet. ”Want some?”

  A sigh. ”Dar, do you think you could make me feel better by at least putting a little banana in that?” Kerry asked, mournfully. ”And no thanks, they crunch too loud and hurt my ears this early in the morning.” She bumped Dar out of the way and opened the refrigerator, snagging a fruit and cheese Danish from a neatly packed box. ”I prefer a quieter, gentler breakfast.”

  Dar grinned, munching away noisily, and pressed a key on the kitchen console.

  ”Dar Roberts, 656 new messages, 234 Urgent,” the computer responded promptly.

  ”Oh, Jesus.” Dar almost inhaled a flake. ”Delete all unmarked,” she told the computer. ”Forget it. They can resend the damn things.”

  ”Deleted. Dar Roberts. 234 new messages, 234 Urgent.”

  ”Delete all messages, duplicate subjects,” Dar instructed. ”That also have same sender.” She glanced at Kerry who was chewing her Danish and had padded over to pull out two large mugs. ”That should get rid of half of those.”

  ”Deleted. Dar Roberts 155 new messages, 155 Urgent.”

  Dar sighed. ”Well, that's better than 600 plus, I guess.” She examined the list. ”Let's see, oh, read 143.”

  Sookis, Mariana

  Sent 7:32am

  Dar -

  I just got this cryptic note from Alastair, which basically states:

  ”She's

  back,

  leave

  her

  alone.

  She’s

  got

  my

  authority

  to

  take

  care

  of

  whatever
>
  business

  needs

  taking care of.”

  What

  is

  he

  talking

  about?

  I'm

  assuming

  he's

  referring

  to

  you,

  because

  he

  left

  your

  resignation

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  Melissa Good

  letter

  marked

  ”Rescinded'”

  on

  my

  desk.

  I

  tried

  calling you last night, but there wasn't any answer.

  I'd like to talk to you. I know we've got some issues to discuss.”

  Mari

  ”He’s such a pain in my ass sometimes.” Dar rolled her eyes, and picked up the phone, dialing a number. She waited. ”Good morning, Mari,” she remarked into the receiver, keeping her voice more or less neutral.

  A pause. ”Oh, Dar. God, yes, good morning,” the Personnel VP

  answered, somewhat hesitantly. ”I just sent you that email, I didn’t know if you were picking up or...”

  ”I didn’t until this morning,” Dar replied. ”Alastair was here last night.”

  Longer pause. ”Oh.” Mariana thought about that. ”So, you’re back with us, I take it?” she asked hopefully. ”I kind of assumed from his note.”

  ”Looks like it,” Dar responded. ”I had a few conditions, and he met them, so...” She shrugged, then smiled at Kerry as she handed her a cup.

  ”I just called Mark. He’s calling his staff, and I’ll see if I can get the rest of operations back in.” She sipped her coffee contentedly. ”I’m going to have them put their time in as worked.”

  Mari hesitated. ”Okay,” she murmured. ”What about the whole situation with Fabricini. I inferred from Alastair that you’re handling it?” she asked, cautiously.

  ”Yep,” Dar informed her. “I told him I’d take care of it.”

  ”Okay,” Mariana said again. ”So, you’re coming in? I thought Kerry told me the doctor sent you home to rest?” she gingerly asked. ”I mean, Dar, this can wait a day or two. I really don’t want to see you hurt yourself.”