by Melissa Good
“Do not worry, Dar. I have all that I need to know. Goodbye.” José hung up and Dar folded her phone and tucked it into her belt, only to have it go off again. “Jesus.” She flipped it open. “Hello?”
“Hey.”
Dar felt like she’d just had warm marshmallow poured over her. “Hi.
Your flight go okay?”
“Mmm.” Kerry’s voice sounded curious. “Except I picked up a chap-erone, it seems.”
“Huh?”
“Your mother.”
“My mo—” Dar slowly turned and looked at her father, who had his hands tucked behind his back and his most innocent novice swabbie expression on his face. “Oh, I’m beginning to see a conspiracy here. Guess who’s with me.”
“You’re kidding.” Kerry laughed. “Dar, that’s just out of control.”
“Well, I’ve gotta go into my meeting. Glad you got there safely.”
“You too. Good luck.” Kerry’s voice was serious now. “Go with your heart, Dar. Whatever happens, I’m there with you.”
Dar swallowed. “Same to you.” She hung up and folded the phone, then gave Alastair a nod. “Let’s go.”
“You sure you don’t want to turn that phone off?” Alastair gave her a wry look. “Commander, feel free to wait here, or outside.”
“All right.” Andy settled himself in a comfortable leather chair very near the door. “I will tell you something, though, sir. I hear any hollerin’
going on directed at my kid, you are not gonna like the results.” He folded his arms and glared at Alastair.
The CEO held the door to the conference room open. “Ah. Right.
Well, actually, it’s usually Dar doing the yelling.” He escaped and let the door close, then crossed the tiny space before opening the inner door and leading the way into a chill, mostly filled room, whose eyes fastened on Eye of the Storm 293
him. The eyes then slipped past him to stare at the tall, dark haired woman who entered behind him.
Dar brushed by her boss, went to the conference table, set her briefcase down and rested her fingers on it as she leaned and regarded them.
Ankow smiled smugly at her. The rest of them had expressions ranging from wary regard to outright disgust. Dar took a breath in and let it go and took off the gloves. “All right,” her voice pitched low, “you asked me to be here for your idiotic little kangaroo court, so here I am.” She straightened and spread her hands out. “Talk fast.”
THE HUGE COURTROOM was filling, half with regular people, half with press, Kerry realized as she waited her turn to pass through the metal detector. Her stomach was in knots and she felt alternately flushed and chilled as she stood anonymously among the crowd. A quick glance around confirmed no one in the vicinity knew her and she exhaled, holding her hands in front of her, clasping her subpoena.
“Haven’t seen this much press in a while,” Cecilia commented from her position next to Kerry.
“Must be a slow news day,” Kerry joked wanly. “Listen…you know…I mean, it’s really nice of you to offer, but you really don’t have to put yourself through this. I’m sure it’s going to be really boring.”
The cool gray eyes scanned the crowd. “As an artist, I’ve learned even the most mundane situations can be inspiring.” A smile briefly crossed her lips. “Who knows? Maybe I’ll decide to do a series of character study portraits.”
Kerry spotted a very familiar core of obstinacy behind that mild expression and she gave a little nod as she moved forward and handed the court clerk her paper. She waited for him to examine it, then he put a little stamp on the surface and recorded something.
“Inside, to the left.” He passed her through. “Hands away from your body, please.”
Kerry unclipped her pager and cell phone and handed them over, then walked through the metal detector, which remained comfortingly silent. She turned and took back her electronics, then waited while Cecilia walked through the portal, easily clearing both sides with her diminutive stature. Dar’s mother was dressed in casual pale khaki cotton pants and a blue green sweater with its sleeves pushed halfway up her arms. The color contrasted nicely with her silver blonde hair and lent a touch of warmth to her eyes.
Kerry liked it and wished she were dressed as comfortably. She’d decided on one of her suits she wore at work, the burgundy one Dar had picked out for her the last time they’d been shopping. She had a pale gray silk shirt on and kept ruffling her hair in back, getting used to the shorter length she’d had it cut to for summer. “There’re some seats up there.” She pointed, just before her eyes moved right and she spotted her family.
“Ah.”
294 Melissa Good Ceci followed her gaze and studied the crowd, easily recognizing Kerry’s father from his television appearances. He was accompanied by an older woman dressed in a high necked, very plain gray dress, and a young man and woman, whom she deduced were Kerry’s brother and sister. As Ceci watched, the older woman turned her head and met Kerry’s eyes, then very deliberately looked away.
Kerry’s gaze dropped.
Ceci tucked her hand into her companion’s elbow and tugged.
“C’mon.” She guided the very quiet Kerry to a set of empty seats across the big aisle from where her family was gathered. She sat down and watched them from the corner of her eyes, seeing the younger woman and man spot Kerry and lean their heads together, whispering.
The woman, she realized, was very pregnant. Behind her sat a tall, distinguished looking man and a younger man with blond hair and gentler eyes.
Kerry kept her gaze forward, still smarting from the coldness she could feel coming from her mother and the refusal of her siblings to meet her glance.
Did they know? Kerry suspected they did know that she’d been the one who released the information to the press, proving herself a traitor on a level nothing she could ever do or say could relieve her from. At the time, she’d been angry and had felt justified. Maybe she still did, but there was a part of her that wished she hadn’t done it, even though the chances of her reconciling with her parents were slim even then.
It hurt. She studied her hands, folded in her lap, her thumb playing idly with the pretty ring that circled her finger.
“That’s a beautiful piece,” Ceci commented softly. “May I see it?”
With a pensive smile Kerry tugged it off and handed it over, turning her head a little to watch Dar’s mother examine her gift, admiring the intricate, lacy design. “Dar surprised me with it.” Ceci’s eyes widened a little and she turned the ring to one side, peering at the inside band.
Then the gray eyes lifted to meet hers, with a look of intense understanding in them. It was, Ceci sucked in a breath, like coming out of a dark room into the light.
She had wondered for thirty years what drove her daughter, and it had been right in front of her the entire time.
Dar had only wanted what she and Andrew had.
Goddess.
“What’s wrong?” Kerry asked leaning closer. “Mrs. Roberts, are you all right?”
She sighed and handed the ring back. “Oh, yes.” She gave Kerry a wry smile. “Just having a personal revelation.”
“Really?” Kerry slid the ring back on, the cool metal warming to her skin immediately. “Do you have those often?”
“Not nearly often enough,” Cecilia admitted quietly.
Kerry was about to pursue that line of questioning further, when the buzz around her lowered and chairs scraped. Then they all rose as the Eye of the Storm 295
examining council walked in and then they sat down after the six people behind the elevated table got to their places.
“All right.” The man in charge shuffled some papers and put a pair of half glasses on his nose. “Let’s get going.” He looked at the special prosecutor. “Mr. Dileko?”
“Thank you.” The lawyer, a dapper Democratic political appointee stood and studied his legal pad. “I’d like to call Kerrison Stuart to the stand, please.” He glanced up into the crowd expe
ctantly. “The bailiff tells me she’s here?”
Oh boy. Kerry was completely not ready to face the crowd. She gathered her shredded confidence and stood, then looked down as a hand patted hers. “Wish me luck.”
“Hang in there, Kerry.” Cecilia smiled. “Anyone who could tame my daughter shouldn’t have any trouble with this bunch.”
Kerry returned the smile gratefully, then straightened her shoulders, edged out of the row of seats, and went to the front of the room. She clenched her hand and felt her ring bite into her palm, lending her a measure of strength as she passed her family’s seats and sensed their eyes on her.
Then she was on the stand and had to turn and face the room, a myr-iad of expressions looking back at her. She lifted her hand and repeated the words the clerk muttered, then sat down and turned her face towards the lawyer and waited.
And tried to pretend the most hostile of the looks directed at her weren’t related to her by blood.
Chapter
Thirty-two
“WE HAVE SOME serious issues to discuss with you, Ms. Roberts.”
Dick Beresen folded his arms. He was a deep pockets, mostly in the back-room kind of board member, with a deep scar running across half his face and thin, mostly missing gray black hair.
Dar waited, her hands resting lightly on the chair back. One dark eyebrow lifted and invited him to go on.
“We’re about to close the quarter and these reports are frankly not only disappointing, they’re unacceptable.” Dick stood up. “Four accounts were total losses and three others are just barely making their numbers.”
Dar remained silent, lifting the other brow.
“And then there’s Allison Consulting.” A murmur rose. “Care to explain that?”
“Should I have to?” Dar asked mildly. “The operations team report was very extensive.” She folded her arms across her chest and moved away from the table. “Their management falsified information and is facing criminal charges.”
“Why wasn’t it caught before we laid out two million dollars for them?” This was from Alan Evans, a CPA whose family represented twenty percent of the outstanding stock in ILS.
“Ask the auditors,” Dar replied. “I have no explanation for that. I can just tell you what my team reported during the integration.” She shook her head. “They were uncooperative.”
“That’s not what we found.” Evans pulled a folder over and opened it. “According to the interviews I had commissioned, their staff reported that your representative was inexperienced and didn’t understand their systems and they were unfairly dismissed by yourself.”
For an answer, Dar removed her laptop from its case and booted it. It brought up her desktop and she opened a database program, then selected a record. “The last six bids they won were forced through black-mail on the individuals making the decision. According to the police report, two of their senior management had over five hundred thousand dollars of unexplained funds in their bank accounts. Searches of the property of twenty employees turned up company equipment still in boxes piled up in their garages. And one of their clients has turned over tele-Eye of the Storm 297
phone records and tapes of their chief accountant giving instructions on where to leave a cash payoff of over twenty thousand dollars or face embarrassing personal pictures being released to the local press.”
She clicked the box to close it. “The integrator in question was our Operations Director, who had successfully integrated twenty accounts prior to theirs, so that leaves their last statement.” She paused. “Which is half true. I fired them.” She shook her head. “I don’t consider it to be unfairly.”
“How do you explain this then?” Evans tossed a picture towards her, an unpleasant smirk on his face. Dar glanced at it, expecting it to be the doctored one of Kerry in the bar. Instead, she found herself looking at an excellently focused shot of herself and Kerry in bed together—completely naked.
Fifteen years of troubleshooting came thankfully to her rescue. She gave her breathing several beats to relax, then glanced up at him, with the most amused, deprecating smile she could muster on her face. “Are you asking for an artistic opinion, or would you like a graphic demonstration of my technique?” She tried not to look at Alastair’s shocked face, though, and she knew this was going to be uglier than she’d forecasted.
“Are you admitting that is you in that picture?” Evans leaned forward.
Dar looked at the shot, then plucked her shirt out and glanced down the opening. “Yep, that’s me all right,” she agreed amiably. “A perfect example of what I was talking about with Allison Consulting.”
“Ms. Roberts, is that not your assistant in that picture with you?”
Grab the gonads time. Dar folded her arms. “Yes, it is.”
Evans picked up the shot, then let it fall, and dropped his glasses on the table as well. “That’s enough for me.” He glanced across the table at a smiling David Ankow. “I don’t think that suit’s near enough to cover this.”
“Oh, there’s more.” Ankow stood and stretched, very obviously enjoying himself. “Let me just read it out.” He picked up his pad and walked to the head of the table, opened the leather cover, and set it on the wood surface. “Then if you gentlemen agree, we can proceed accordingly.
I have security already standing by.”
Dar stole a glance at Alastair, who briefly met her eyes, then let his drop, letting her know she was really on her own for this one. She felt a sinking sensation, then she lifted her head and put the regrets behind her, focusing on the here and now and gathering her thoughts and resources, ready for Ankow to start in. “I think security is a very good idea,” she remarked, giving him an unexpected smile. “But you go first.”
She saw the momentary doubt in his eyes and widened her grin.
No, Daddy. You didn’t raise me to be no quitter.
“All right.” Ankow cleared his throat. “What we’re establishing with this suit is a systematic and deliberate use of company property, resources, and funds to further your personal ends and those of your live-in lover, the Operations Director of this company, Kerrison Stuart.”
298 Melissa Good
“Partner.” Dar interrupted him.
“What?”
“Partner. Kerry is my partner.” She cracked her knuckles. “You might as well get the terminology of that right, since I know you won’t get the technical parts anything close to accurate.”
Ankow stared at her. “Point one.” He glanced at his pad. “During the integration of Associated Synergenics, the accused caused a position to be created in the Operations ORGID, which she filled with Ms. Stuart, disregarding all company policy and ignoring over thirty qualified candidates for the job.”
Eyes shifted to Dar.
“Absolutely correct.”
“How could you justify that?” Evans stood and pointed.
“Simply.” Dar gave him a direct look. “She was the best choice.” She paused. “As her subsequent job performance proves.”
Evans pulled out a set of papers and read through them, with several people looking over his shoulder. He put them down and folded his arms, but didn’t make any further comment.
“Next?” Dar cocked her head.
“Do we have to go through with this?” Beresen threw up his hands.
“Frankly, I don’t want to spend an hour listening to this crap.” He stood up and pointed at Dar. “This is what you’re going to do. You’re going to resign and get your ass out of this building and go back to the banana farm.”
Heads nodded.
“You’re going to sign a paper admitting to all this, and we’re going to figure out just how much it’s cost us, and then you’re going to cut the company a check for that and hope we don’t file criminal charges.”
Dar turned her back and went to the window, peering out at the parched landscape and ignoring the rising speech between the men, letting the hateful comments bounce off her back and knowing not even Alastair’s
face would be friendly if she turned around.
She caught her reflection in the glass and stared into her own eyes for a very long moment. It would be easy just to sign the paper and go home.
It really would be. Then she could take off with Kerry and they could go someplace nice and quiet and feed each other lobster in the sunset with nothing but surf and sun and sand to worry about.
Yeah.
She imagined calling the office and telling them.
Having María pack up her office.
Having Mark shut down her access and disable her passwords so no one got any bright ideas.
Telling Kerry.
Facing her father.
A quirk appeared at the corner of her mouth. So much for that.
She turned around. “Hey!” Her shout brought shocked silence. “Sit Eye of the Storm 299
your asses down.” Dar stalked back over and put her hands on the chair back. “Number one, I’m not resigning.”
“Bu—”
“Now, hold on—”
“Shut up!” Dar snarled. “If you want me out of here, you’re gonna have to fire me.”
“No problem,” Ankow yelled.
“And then it’s my turn for a lawsuit,” Dar barked back. “A nice, big fat one for wrongful dismissal.” She leaned forward. “And one for discrimination.”
There was a moment of silence. “Your perversion isn’t covered under the law,” Ankow finally spat. “Thank God we kept that out of the books.”
“No.” Dar smiled darkly. “My sexual orientation isn’t covered under the anti-discrimination laws, though it is covered by the corporate bylaws, but,” she started a circle around the table, “gentlemen,” she emphasized the word, “my sex is.”
“What the hell are you talking about?” Evans blurted.
“Check your shorts.” Dar paced around the corner of the table.
“Largest public IS company in the world. With a ton of US government contracts—and I am the only, single, solitary minority representative in the entire board.”
“None of this has anything to do with the facts.” Ankow pointed at her.
