by Melissa Good
“Ayup.” He nodded. “Last job was with Tungsten Aerospace. Just finished their web site last week.”
“I work for ILS.”
Now it was his turn to stare. “No. Really?”
“Mmm. They just bought Allison Consulting. That’s what I’m here for.” Kerry felt the shakiness fade as she continued walking and decided Mr. Walters was probably harmless for now.
“Ah.” The tall, burly man chewed his lower lip. “Well, since I put a scare in you, let me try and make amends. You be careful of those people, Ms. Stuart. They’re not nice folks.”
Kerry turned her head. “Really? They seemed all right. What do you mean?”
“I can’t really say.” His jaw firmed and he looked off into the distance. “Just you be careful, all right? Nice talking to you, Ms. Stuart. And sorry about the misunderstanding.” Abruptly, he chose an offshoot of the path and was gone before Kerry could answer, his tall form disappearing into the brush with startling speed.
Kerry put her hands on her hips and stared at the spot for a moment in deep puzzlement. “What in the heck was that?” She shook her head, then resumed her jogging towards the cabin, now wondering what in the world she’d gotten into.
She was still wondering after a hot shower had removed the sweat from her body and she stood in the middle of her room deciding what to wear. “Hmm.” She eyed her possible choices. The staff at Allison had been wearing business dress, so her maroon suit wouldn’t be out of place, however...
Dar had this theory about power trips, and it went something like,
“Find out what they think is important, then turn it around and show them how unimportant you think it is.” So. They thought appearances were important.
Kerry smiled, and tugged her oldest, most comfortable jeans out of her bag and added a brightly colored shirt to it, along with her hiking boots. “Let’s shake ’em up a little.”
Eye of the Storm 15
THE HOUSTON AIRPORT was busy, and Dar had to dodge around a multitude of moving bodies on her way to the car rental desks. She managed to arrive just after a handful of businessmen in suits and took her place in line with a feeling of mild irritation. The single clerk made her wonder if it was early lunchtime, then she noticed two others in a small office in the back, apparently working on a problem.
Dar turned her attention to watching people go by, playing her usual mental game of trying to guess the person’s occupation. She’d picked out three geeks, two accountants, and a TV star before a loud voice drew her eyes back to the desk.
One of the businessmen was at the counter arguing, slapping his hand down on the Formica countertop. The clerk behind the desk simply shrugged and held her hands out and pointed at the clock. The man grabbed his briefcase and stormed off towards an airport limo desk.
“What’s up?” Dar asked her neighbor in line.
“They’re out of cars.” The man grunted. “Figures. They got some damn convention up here going on. And they’re all empty, even the luxury models.”
“Convention?” Dar mused.
“Yeah. Southern Baptists, or something like that.” The man pointed at a group of travelers heading towards a large tour bus.
Dar followed them with her eyes, then considered her options. She could, of course, take a cab to the office, but she hated cabs. Her eyes went to the limo desk. There was that possibility. But she wasn’t sure she wanted to send that kind of message.
Then her eyes drifted back over to a small kiosk near the door, where a young man in denims and a cowboy hat sat, evidently bored.
Fun Rentals. Dar studied the pictures of RV’s, Skidoos, and...
A smile appeared on her face. “Excuse me.” She stepped past the men in line and ambled over to the kiosk. She leaned on the desk and waited for the cowboy to look up. “Hi.”
His eyes widened and he sat up, blinking at her. “Um, sorry, ma’am.
Can I help you?”
Dar pointed. “One of those, please.”
He looked. “Uh, sure.” He scrabbled around his desk for paperwork.
“Um, sorry. Not many...ah, we usually have folks taking out the RV’s first and I...oh, here we go.” He retrieved two forms and slid one across the desk to Dar. “Could you fill that out for me? And I’ll need to see your driver’s license.”
“Uh huh.” Dar pulled her wallet out, removed the license, and handed it over. She took a pen out and started writing. “Here.” She also handed over her credit card.
“Okay. Um, I have to call in your license. Do you have any outstanding tickets, ma’am?”
“No.” Dar continued writing. She ignored his low voice as he called in the license, then straightened as he hung up. “Got what you need?”
“Yes, ma’am.” The boy scribbled something on her form, then pulled 16 Melissa Good a set of keys from a small board near his left hip. “Would you come with me, please?”
Dar followed him out the door into a blast of bright sunlight. She pulled her sunglasses out of her jacket pocket and shoved them into place, then stood back as the boy opened a door to one side of the parking area.
“Gotcha a nice one. Have you ever driven one of these, ma’am?” The boy looked up, tipping his hat back a little. “They can be a little tricky.”
“I’ve ridden one.” Dar took the helmet off the handlebars and removed the keys from the attendant’s hand. “Thanks.” She checked the motorcycle over, biting off a grin. “Harley, eh? Nice.”
“Yeah.” The boy backed off, then waved. “Have a great day.”
“Oh, I will.” Dar seated herself, and started the motorcycle up, adjusted the throttle and slid the helmet over her head. “I definitely will.”
KERRY WAS AWARE of the eyes fastened on her as she entered Allison’s offices and she returned the looks with pleasant smiles as she made her way to the conference room. She walked by the startled occupants and put her briefcase down, then unzipped it and pulled out a thick manila envelope. “All right. This is what the plan is.”
She took out several packets and passed them around. “We have certain criteria your systems need to meet before we permit the connection up to the Intranet. I’ll need your server specifications before the end of today.”
“That’s a lot of machines,” Ann objected coolly. “We’d have to pull resources for that.” She ran her pencil over her lips in thought. “Our clients are already calling, asking what the impact of the merger is going to be on their services.”
“Well,” Kerry leaned on the table, meeting her eyes, “once their traffic’s on our backbone, it’ll double their throughput. I bet they can’t wait.”
She smiled. “Isn’t it nice to have great news for them?”
An awkward silence fell. “Ann, that’s a minor detail, just put some people on it,” Sam drawled. “What else?”
Kerry lifted a sheet of paper. “It’s mostly procedural at this point.
Our personnel people will be in contact with you to transition staff. But I want you to know in advance everyone will be subject to background checks and screening.”
A low murmur rose. Ann leaned close to Sam, as she watched the slim blonde woman review her papers. “That could be an issue.”
The comptroller grunted.
“Is that really necessary? We’ve had most of these people on board for years,” Charlie objected. “I’d hate to have them think we think they’re criminals or something.”
The cool green eyes fastened on him. “Nothing personal,” Kerry replied, smiling for no apparent reason. “It really isn’t. Everyone has to go through it because of all of our government contracts and the fact that Eye of the Storm 17
you all will have access to our Intranet.” She paused. “Is there a problem with that? Sometimes it’s easier if we know in advance.”
They exchanged glances. “Oh. No, no. No problem.” Charlie waved a hand at her. “I was just asking. Seemed like a waste of money to me, and we all know how important that is.”
“Mmm
.” Kerry put her paper down and slid her hands into her jeans pockets. “Well, we’ve found that in the long run it’s worth it. One security breach can cost us a lot.” Her fingers touched a small, unfamiliar object and her brow creased, but she merely closed her hand around it inside her pocket. “Okay. I’ll need a current print of your payables and receivables, preferably in soft copy, then we can get started.”
Sam stood up and stretched. “All right. I’ll get that going. Charlie?
Want to coordinate these things with me? We don’t want to keep Ms. Stuart waiting.” The two men left, closing the conference room door behind them.
Ann leaned back in her chair and slid her pencil between her fingers.
“Anything else I can do?” she asked, politely.
Kerry picked up her paper. “My boss had some questions.”
The petite woman smiled. “Would that be the infamous Dar Roberts?” she inquired. “I’ve heard some very impressive things about her. In fact, it’s one of the things I was most intrigued about after I heard we were being bought out.”
“Yes, it would be.” Kerry sat down and folded her hands. “She definitely lives up to her reputation. And as a matter of fact, one of her questions was regarding the bidding process. She found it really…interesting that your company always got the bid on the day of last refusal.”
A guarded look slipped over Ann’s face. “Oh, really? Well, that’s a coincidence. I don’t think I ever noticed that.”
Kerry watched her expression and body language, something Dar had been coaching her in. Ms. Ann was nervous all right and hiding something. “Yeah. She was going to give the account reps at those companies a call. Just to check out how the deals went through.” The pencil moved faster, and she could almost sense the other woman’s tension rising.
“Well, I’m sure she’ll find out it was just a coincidence…and some sharp bidding.” Ann stood up abruptly. “Excuse me. I need to use the restroom. Ah…there’s coffee down the hall if you’re interested.” She took her papers and left quickly, her heels making a staccato tattoo on the tile floor.
“Hmmm.” Kerry pulled a mug from her briefcase and retrieved a teabag from a side pocket, then she strolled to the door and slipped through it, her curiosity fully aroused.
Chapter
Three
THE COMPANY HEADQUARTERS complex was, in a word, huge.
Dar was on the perimeter road under a hot sun, but the wind provided by her nice shiny Harley more than compensated. She accelerated, enjoying the feel of the large engine under her and the sensation of being exposed to nature, in a way she never got while driving in Miami.
Maybe she’d get a cycle back home. Dar waggled an eyebrow, glancing aside to watch a herd of buffalo thunder past, raising a cloud of dust and sending the scent of warm wool to her nose. Wonder if Kerry would like this? She imagined her lover behind her, holding on as they raced around, and a grin split her face . I bet she would.
The road curved around towards the entrance, and Dar throttled down the cycle, slowing the machine to a rumbling crawl as she came up to the gates. The guard darted out and another joined him as she pulled to a halt and fished in her jacket pocket for her ID badge.
“Hold on.” The man held up a warning hand. His partner stood off and put a hand on his holstered gun.
Dar almost laughed as she unhooked her helmet and pulled it off, shaking her hair loose. “Here,” she handed him the badge, “I’m not a terrorist.”
The man came forward and took the card, giving her a suspicious look before he glanced down at it. Then his attitude changed so fast it was a wonder, Dar thought, that his tie didn’t spin around his head and choke him. He stiffened up and ducked his head at her. “Ma’am,” a hand waved off his partner urgently, “I think they’re expecting you.”
Dar gave him a whole hearted, sexy grin. “I bet they aren’t.” She took her badge back and waited while the gate opened, then gunned the engine cheerfully and swept on by, thoroughly enjoying herself. She pulled up into a spot near the front door and left the helmet perched on the handlebars.
Four steps up, then a small waterfall filled pool, another six steps, then a weird sculpture, another four steps, and she was at the front doors, massive glass portals so perfectly balanced they opened at a touch of her fingertips. She walked in, her boots sounding loud on the marble tile, and let the door whisper shut behind her. The lobby was very quiet, only a small fountain in the corner breaking the stillness, and Dar spent a Eye of the Storm 19
moment merely standing and absorbing it all.
“Hasn’t changed a bit.” Dar shook her head in mild disgust and headed for the elevators, perched behind an imposing guard desk. “Pretentious piece of...”
“Can I help you, ma’am?” The guard’s voice stopped her. “Are you looking for someone?”
Dar walked over and leaned on the counter. “Yeah.” She pulled off her sunglasses and chewed on an earpiece. “Alastair McLean.”
The cool hazel eyes studied her, before scanning a list behind the desk. “Is he expecting you, ma’am?” His voice was pointed on the title.
“Yep.” Dar flipped her badge onto the counter.
Reluctantly, the man took it and put it on the desk, then started typing in something, glancing at the badge as he did so. His hands stopped, and he leaned closer, then looked up at her in evident shock.
Dar smiled. “Not what you expected?”
He slowly handed her the badge back. “No, ma’am, Ms. Roberts, not exactly.” Now the voice was respectful. “You can go on up. You know the way, I guess.”
The dark haired woman smiled, then moved past him to the bank of glass and marble lined elevators, one of which was resting on ground level in all its brassy splendor. Dar entered it and punched the twenty-third floor, then leaned against the wall as the doors slid shut and the car moved upward.
It stopped on fifteen and two men got on, arguing over a Y2K
upgrade on a legacy program Dar remembered writing seven or eight years prior. She listened in amusement as they debated, ignoring the glances they kept giving her.
“If they’d have left that original code in place, Dave, we’d be fine.”
“You tell them that. I tried to tell them that two years ago, but no.
No. They had their heads stuck too far up their butts to go and ask the original coder.” The shorter man shook his head in disgust. “Pansy asses.”
“Well,” the taller man chuckled, as they got out on the twentieth floor, “I don’t know. I’m not sure I’d have the balls to go tell Dar Roberts I’d messed up her code either.”
The doors slid shut and Dar snickered, then eyed her reflection, flicking her dark hair into a semblance of order as the elevator reached its destination and the doors opened.
It was, if anything, even quieter up here than in the lobby. There was soundproofing weave on all the walls and the floors had plush, padded carpeting on them. Dar walked silently through the entryway, lit by sunlight that poured in through the vaulted glass ceilings, and turned down the largest corridor, which had plaques all down its length.
The soft sounds of business could be heard through the wooden doors she passed and she exchanged nods with two other women who passed her. Finally she was at the last set of doors and she grabbed the ornate brass handles and pulled them open.
20 Melissa Good Inside was a large, airy antechamber, roughly circular, with three doors leading off it. In the center was a small fountain and to one side, a huge, laminated wood circular desk presided, with a tall, austere woman seated precisely in the center, her attention focused on a paper.
“Hello, Beatrice.” Dar’s voice broke the quiet.
Startled, the woman glanced up. “Oh I...” Then she turned her head fully. “Well, my God, Paladar Roberts. It’s been forever.” Beatrice laughed and stood up. “Or at least, what…five years?”
“At least,” Dar allowed, walking over and folding her arms over her chest. “You know I hate thi
s place.”
Alastair’s long time assistant cocked her head and smiled, pulling down her half glasses a little. “You show up like that just to tweak him?”
she asked gently. “Bad timing, if it was. Ankow’s really giving it to him in there.”
“I know. That’s why he asked me to show up,” Dar replied. “They still in session?”
“Mmm.” Beatrice nodded her neatly coifed gray head. “He’s trouble, Dar. He wants to get Alastair out.” The older woman folded her hands and sighed. “Have you met him?”
“No.”
“Well, I can’t say I like him much. He’s in his early forties, good looking, sporty type,” Beatrice told her. “Thinks anyone who can remember World War II should be gone and buried. He doesn’t have much patience with what he regards as the old ways.”
“Really.” Dar considered the door to the conference room. “Change for the sake of change gets no one anything but trouble, Beatrice. You know that.”
“Mmm. Well, he’s on a campaign to get the board restructured and remove Alastair. He thinks he has the leverage. You know last quarter’s results weren’t that great.”
“We’re trying to fix that,” Dar replied quietly. “You can’t sell facilities you don’t have.”
“I know that, and you know that. Maybe you should tell Mr. Ankow that.” Beatrice’s dark eyes twinkled. “He took one look at your sixteen year tenure and he wants you out, too.” She gazed at Dar. “You look great for such an old-timer, Paladar.”
A look of wry amusement crossed Dar’s tanned features. “Thanks.”
She walked over and put her hands on the door latches into the conference room. “See ya.”
“Good luck.” Beatrice waved.
Dar paused, hearing the raised voices inside, and took a breath, rousting her more aggressive, darker side up before she worked the handles and pulled the doors open.
KERRY ENTERED THE break room, winding her way around several employees seated at the small tables, most of whom ignored her. She Eye of the Storm 21
went to the hot water dispenser and ran the steaming liquid over her teabag, focusing her ears on the conversations behind her.
