by Melissa Good
Halloween party, Dar? What the hell has gotten into you? Wasn’t it you who told Kerry, just today, that you didn’t do company parties?
Kerry, of course, was going because it was her first one, and the kid was still trying to fit in and all. Dar pondered her shoelace, plucking at it with idle fingers.
Wonder what she’s wearing?
**
Kerry took a deep breath of newly cool morning air as she walked across the parking lot at ILS. It was early, just past dawn, and she was one of the few workers now entering the large building.
“Morning, Kerry.” Duks Draefus suddenly appeared next to her, his large frame popping out of nowhere and almost scaring her. “What is that you have there?”
Duks was, she knew, relatively a good guy. He was a close colleague of her bosses, and Kerry also knew Dar considered him a friend. Still, she didn’t know him that well, and he was, after all, Dar’s peer. “Oh, just my Halloween duds, Mr. Draefus.” She told him. “Are you going to the party?”
“Ah.” Duks courteously held the door for her, and followed her inside the building. They both showed their badges to the guard, and were let through, joining a small sprinkling of others heading for the elevators. “I am afraid I have been coerced into participation in this odd celebration of ancient pagan rituals.”
Kerry wasn’t sure what the response should be to that. She prudently just smiled, and joined him in the elevator, waiting for the doors to shut behind them. At the last moment, a hand reached out and held the sliding panels open. A split second later the owner of the hand eased around the corner and into the elevator car, picking a spot on the wall near Kerry to lean against. “Morning.” Kerry greeted her boss, adding a smile that was returned when Dar’s eyes met hers.
“Ah, and a good morning as well, Dar.” Duks rocked up and down on the balls of his feet as the car rose slowly. “You are early today.”
Dar was dressed in her gunmetal gray suit, with a black silk shirt underneath. “Meeting at eight.” She replied tersely. “What’s that?” She indicated Kerry’s suit bag.
“My costume.” Kerry said. “For the party tonight.”
Dar’s brows twitched. “I figured that out on my own. What kind of costume?”
Duks kept quiet, his eyes going from one to the other with interest.
“I think we’re supposed to keep that a secret.” Kerry murmured, as the elevator reached the fourteenth floor. “Aren’t we? Until the party, I mean.”
Dar held the door as they all exited. Duks waved and went the other way towards his offices, while Dar and Kerry moved on towards their own. “Ah, but I’m not going to the party.” Dar reminded her assistant. “Besides, I can keep a secret.”
Kerry surrendered gracefully, slowing as they approached her office door. “It’s… not that much really. I just went out and got some... um... “
Dar leaned against the wall, her arms folded, one eyebrow lifted to her hairline. “How bad can this be?” She asked dryly.
Why was she so damn tongue tied all of a sudden? Kerry frowned inwardly, and gave herself a little shake. It was just Dar, after all. “It’s not bad; it’s kinda fun, really. I put together sort of a revolutionary era outfit.”
Dar cocked her head to one side, intrigued. “Revolutionary? As in George Washington and that stuff?”
Kerry nodded. “Right.”
“Where’s you find the bonnet and apron?”
“Bo…” Kerry felt herself blushing unexpectedly. “Oh, no... Um... it’s not the... it’s the coat, and the frilly shirt, and... .”
“Oooh. The guy’s outfit.” Dar said. “Right, gotcha.” She gave Kerry a grin and a pat on the shoulder. “Good choice.” Then she turned and headed for her own office, leaving a very bemused Kerrison Stuart behind her.
“What on earth did she mean by that?” Kerry wondered aloud.
“Pardonamente, Kerry?” Maria appeared at her elbow. “Did you ask me something?”
“Uh…no.” Kerry cleared her throat. “No, I was just saying I was going to go get some coffee, that’s all.” She smiled at Maria. “Morning!”
“Buenos Dias, Kerry.” Maria smiled back, and went on her way.
Shaking her head, Kerry went into her office, stopping by her small closet to stash her costume on her way to her desk. The sun was pouring in the window, and she spent a moment enjoying the view before she pulled her chair out and sat down. Only then did she notice the three foil covered disks.
Curiously, she picked one up. “Peanut butter cups? How did they get here?” Someone, of course, must have left them, but… “How did someone know I love these things?” They hadn’t been there when she’d left the night before, and she’d been the last person in the wing to leave except…
Dar.
Kerry studied the cup seriously. Then she unwrapped it, sniffed delicately at the creamy chocolate, and popped it into her mouth. “Mm.” Peanut butter cups for breakfast, Kerry. How completely, totally awful is that?
Awful. Cheerfully, she licked her fingers, then got up and retrieved her mug, heading out to get some coffee to wash the treats down.
**
Dar entered her office, glaring dourly at the afternoon sunlight before she yanked her chair out and claimed it, pulling open her desk drawer and retrieving a bottle of aspirin. “Stupid sons of bitches.” She cursed, shaking out several pills and tossing the bottle back in the drawer. “Don’t have the brains god gave a grasshopper, I swear.”
Her intercom buzzed softly. “Dar?”
“Yeah.” Dar muttered. “What is it, Maria?” She propped her elbows on her desk and rubbed her temples, trying to ease the throbbing ache.
“I have two messages here for you, from Mr. Alastair.”
“I have a cell phone, and he knows how to use it.” Dar growled. “Anything else?”
“Si. Your lunch is still here, on my desk. Do you want me to bring it in for you?”
Dar winced. “No.” She swallowed bile at the thought of the cold meatloaf. “I’ll pass.” She glanced at her watch. “I’ve got the ops meeting in five minutes anyway.” With a sigh, she pushed herself to her feet and trudged over to the small executive refrigerator under the credenza in her office, opening the door and removing a small, brown plastic bottle. She took it, and her project folder, and headed for the door.
The rest of her operations team was already there by the time she reached the conference room. That wasn’t surprising, generally speaking no one was ever late to one of her department meetings because that was one of Dar’s pet peeves and they all knew it.
So, she wasn’t surprised to see the table already full when she pushed the door open and made for her seat, the end one near the window. She was glad this was the last meeting of the day, and she’d already chucked her nascent idea of attending the Halloween party, deciding to just go home and maybe spend some time in the gym instead.
As she sat, she glanced up the table and found her gaze caught and held halfway down by a pair of warm, concerned green eyes. Kerry usually sat in the middle of the group, and now she was leaning on her elbows, watching Dar’s face and waiting for whatever she had to say.
Dar relaxed a little, and took a sip of her chocolate milk. “Other than the fact that I’m gonna have to fistfight Eleanor for our slice of the budget, I’ve got nothing worthwhile to tell you.”
Everyone was silent, digesting that. “Can I sell tickets?” Mark Polenti spoke up, hesitantly. “I figure I can get at least ten bucks a pop, since it’s only gonna last five seconds.”
That got a chuckle from everyone, and even got a smile from Dar.
“Not even.” Cherylee Simons waved a finger at him. “She’ll be screaming “No Mas!’ and running out the building before it even starts.”
“You wouldn’t try to bite her ear off, wouldja, boss?”
Dar acknowledged the banter with a wave of her hand. “All right, all right. That’s enough.” She rested her chin on her fist. “Your turn.”
&nbs
p; One by one they dutifully reported little items and big ones, successes and failures. Dar found herself listening with half an ear, though, her thoughts seeming to wander elsewhere. She made a few notes in her palm pilot, just to keep everyone on their toes, and wished the day was over.
Then her eyes were drawn to a flashing indicator on her palm device, and she glanced at it in puzzlement before she reached out and tapped the square with her stylus.
A tiny pumpkin appeared.
Dar looked up and around the table. Several of her staff carried the palm devices, but only one had theirs out and open.
Kerry folded her hands in front of her Palm and cleared her throat a little. “Not much to report here.” She stated softly. “The three new accounts we just signed should be ready for integration next week, and we have their site surveys all ready for Mark.” Her eyes lifted and met Dar’s. “We cleared the problems we were having in customs in Canada. I think the big order you needed is being rerouted through Newfoundland, and it should get to London tomorrow night.”
Dar grinned at her. “Good work.”
Kerry smiled back, visibly pleased at the praise. “That’s all from my end.” She said. “We’re doing the server migration next week for Australia. I think we’re ready.” Her eyes shifted to Mark. “We are ready, right?”
“You betcha.” Mark agreed. “Three hundred servers, two big pipes, six routers, no waiting. We just need a name for the project.”
“How about Pumpkin.” Dar drawled, keeping her eyes on Kerry’s face. The blond woman flashed a slightly sheepish grin, as her fingers twirled her stylus a touch nervously. “I like that.”
Mark shrugged. “Sure. Right time of year for it.” He scribbled something on his pad. “Pumpkin is it, boss.” He shuffled a paper. “For my stuff, we’re mostly okay, except that we’re outta boxes for the sales department.”
“What?” Dar barked. “They just got a hundred. What the hell are they doing with em, using them as planters?”
“I dunno.”
“FIND OUT.” Dar growled. “That jackass Jose is probably letting his little favorites take the damn things home. I’ll have his cojones on a platter if he is.”
“I’ll see what I can find out.” Kerry interjected mildly. “I’ve got a meeting with them tomorrow morning.” She cleared her throat again. “But I’ll, um... leave his c…cojones where they are unless you really, really want them.”
There was a moment of honest surprise from the group. Kerry had been with them so short a time, she hadn’t ventured into the familiar language with any of the group, let alone Dar. They stared curiously at her, and then everyone looked at Dar for her reaction.
Dar exhaled, pursing her lips as though seriously considering the question. Then she shrugged. “Hell. Even if I petrified them, they’d only be the size of marbles. Why bother?” Her blue eyes twinkled gently at Kerry. “See if you can get the truth out of him. I know he throws incentives to his best people – and I don’t care, but the replacements have to come from his budget.”
“Okay.” Kerry nodded.
“That’s it.” Dar pushed back from the table. “See you tomorrow.” She stood up and headed for the door, not looking back.
The atmosphere in the room relaxed palpably as soon as Dar left. Everyone sat back and stretched, some taking notes and stuffing them into briefcases. “Man, Big D was grumpy today.” Cherylee sighed.
“Like there’s a difference?” One of her assistants remarked, wryly. “I’ve never seen her in a good mood. How can you tell?”
Cherylee chuckled, and rolled her eyes. “True... true… “She looked at Kerry. “You lucked out, though. She likes you.”
“Oh, yeah.”
“Hey, I just do what I need to do.” Kerry held a hand up in negation. “Has nothing to do with luck or like.”
“She’s right.” Mark interjected smoothly. “She knows her shit, and Big D knows it. That’s all it takes, you all know that.”
“You should know.” Cherylee told him. “You’re the favorite boy.”
“I know my shit.” Mark spread his hands out, radiating confidence. “And I never BS her. That’s where you get your ass nailed, Chery.” He said. “She knows every time you try to dump sugar on something.”
“Yeah, yeah.” The woman got up. “Well, I’m going to go get my party hat on.” She glanced at Kerry. “You going?”
Kerry nodded, as she packed up her notes. “Yep, wouldn’t miss it.”
“Oo.. first time in five years we’ll have someone from Ops Exec in there.” Cherylee laughed. “Someone bring a camera.”
**
Kerry decided to relax with a cup of tea before changing into her costume for the party. She kicked her shoes off under her desk and leaned back, cradling her mug between her hands and sipping from it.
It had been a pretty good day. She’d gotten most of her worklist done before lunch, and she realized she was getting accustomed to the much faster pace of business here at ILS. Adapting well, in fact. Kerry found herself really enjoying the challenge most of the time, though there were times when she felt a little overwhelmed.
It wasn’t just her job responsibilities, either. Fitting in with this new, big company had been more stressful than she’d anticipated. Her very visible position put her in the limelight more often than she liked, and she knew herself to be under curious scrutiny even within her own department.
Still. She opened her drawer and removed her last peanut butter cup, saved from the morning. She unwrapped it and bit into the treat, munching contentedly on it as the light started to fade outside her window.
After she finished, she got up and went to her closet, opening it and zipping open the garment bag she’d stashed her costume in. A few minutes later, she’d exchanged her business suit and hose for velvet and silk, the soft fabrics feeling wonderful against her skin. “Mm.” She exhaled in satisfaction. “Much better than a cat costume.”
She buckled the slim leather belt and picked up the case of old jewelry she’d taken from her trunk. Carrying it over to the small credenza under an equally small mirror, she set it down and opened it up. Inside, resting on some old cloth was a family brooch, which she set aside, and an old, time burnished pocket watch.
First, she fastened the fob on the watch to her belt, and then carefully lowered the watch itself into her jacket pocket. The burnished chain winked against the blue fabric, and she smiled, just a little as she fingered the metal links.
One of the very few things she had that truly, honestly tied her to her family. The watch had been passed down for generations from father to firstborn son, until her father had decided, for whatever reason, that he was going to give it to his firstborn period.
So when she’d turned eighteen, he’d taken her into his study, and given her a speech about traditions, and handed her this piece of history that had been through at least four wars and countless hands. She opened the cover and gazed at the engraving. It was simple, just the family surname, and the date the watch had been created.
Tradition. Kerry sighed, and closed the lid, putting the watch back into her pocket. Her parents had called her last night, and then she’d talked to Angie and Mike. As much as she loved her life here, she had to admit she missed her family, missed the closeness and intimacy of her siblings and the familiarity of home.
She had friends here, but it wasn’t the same. They didn’t know her, and she didn’t know them, not really.
A soft knock brought her out of her pensive thoughts. “Yes?”
Her inner door opened, and Dar’s head appeared, the startling blue eyes tracking across the office until they rested on her. “Oh, hi.”
“Hi.” Dar entered and shut the door behind her, a smile edging across her lips as she reviewed Kerry’s costume.
“What do you think?” Kerry always felt more relaxed when she and Dar were alone. Maybe their experiences together during the Consolidated integration made her feel that way, but when they were by themselves, out
from under the ever watchful eyes, she felt more at ease with her often intimidating new boss.
“What do I think?” Dar walked over to her and folded her arms over her chest, her black silk shirt with its rolled sleeves catching the light. She reviewed the slim figure before her in its revolutionary garb, and grinned. “Cute outfit.”
Kerry felt a mixture of confusion and pleasure. “Thanks.” She fiddled with the brooch. “Can I ask a favor?”
Blue eyes regarded her warily. “Sure.”
