Tropical Convergence (60 page)

Dar and Kerry looked at each other. "Like...what?" Kerry ventured.

"I gave them something into their hands to take and make them stop what they were saying," Maria said, almost audibly squaring her shoulders. "I took the plates of the dinner they had, and put them in their faces!"

"Oh, Jesus," Kerry whispered.

Dar stared at the cell phone, momentarily speechless herself. "Ah."

"And it was so hot, the things there, that Mayte was so courteous and kind to them she put the glasses of beer over their heads to cool them off."

Dar wandered off toward the window, shaking her head as she covered her eyes with one hand. "Anyone get pictures?"

"Jefa?" Maria queried.

"Dar was just wondering if anyone got...ah...hurt, Maria. Are you okay? Is Mayte all right?" Kerry asked.

"Oh, si." Maria sounded a little less stressed. "We are fine, si. My husband, he was very shocked to hear about what his senora and senorita did, but we went very fast home after that, Kerrisita. Yes, we are fine."

"Well, good. Good." Kerry pondered what to say next. "Now, ah...it's not that we don't appreciate what you did, ah...but you know..."

"Kerrisita, we could not stay there and listen to those women. They were being so nasty about you, especially," Maria said. "They were saying such horrible things about you! Terrible! I could not stand to listen to them."

"Well, I know, but..."

"Hey, Maria." Dar swooped in from the right and very gently clapped her hand over Kerry's mouth. "You remember Elena?"

"Dar!" Kerry nipped at her partner's palm.

A moment's silence. "Si! Si, yes I do, Dar. Yes," Maria said. "Another very nasty person."

"Did Kerry ever tell you about us meeting her at dinner once?" Dar asked.

"Noo...I do not think so."

Dar released Kerry, who folded her arms over her chest and smirked, ducking her head in acknowledgement. "Remind her to tell you about that when she gets back, huh?" She slid one arm around Kerry's waist and tugged her closer. "Anyway, don't worry about it. I'll take care of Mariana, and tell her to get legal to get this whole pile of bullshit thrown out."

"Si, Dar. Thank you." Maria's voice warmed several notches. "We did not mean to cause you trouble."

"You didn't," Dar stated firmly. "Especially if they were talking trash about Kerry. They're goddamn lucky it was you and not me that was there, because if I'd been there, they'd have gotten a lot more than...what did they have, anyway?"

"The chili, jefa."

Kerry slowly dissolved into silent giggles, sagging against Dar's body and hiding her face in Dar's shoulder.

Dar cleared her throat. "Yeah, well...waste of beans in my view," she drawled. "Anyway, Maria, thanks. Don't worry about the charges. It's all crap."

"Si. That is what the man who came to speak with us this morning also said," Maria agreed. "It is just so aggravating, no?"

"Yeah," Dar said. "Sorry you had to get involved."

"I am not," her assistant said surprisingly. "Dar, I have been watching you put your head out for other people for so many years now, and it is good to be standing up for you if I can do that."

Dar stared at the phone in silence for several heartbeats.

"Me, too," Mayte's voice chimed in.

Kerry wiped the tears of laughter from her eyes and let her hand come to rest on Dar's belly. "Guys," she said. "I know exactly what you mean."

"Then you are not mad at us?" Mayte asked.

Kerry looked up at Dar's still profile, just the hint of trembling moisture on the lids of her eyes betraying her feelings. "No, we're not mad," she answered for them both. "But listen, you guys keep out of trouble while we're away, okay? We'll take care of that whole situation when we get back."

"All right," Maria agreed. "We will be good."

"Okay, we'll talk to you later," Kerry said. "Bye." She folded the phone shut, then let her head rest again on Dar's shoulder. "Holy sheep dip, Batman."

Dar cleared her throat. "Definitely unexpected," she agreed. "Damn, I wish I'd been there. I'd have paid a month's salary to see that chili go flying."

Kerry snickered. "Me too," she confessed. "I mean...it's not really funny, Dar. You know how ratty that's going to make that next bid meeting for us?" She sighed. "Not that I'm much better than they are. I'm the one who blew them off."

"Ah." Dar shrugged. "They can kiss my ass. Let's worry about it when it happens."

With a frown, her partner scanned the rest of her mail, then shrugged as well. "Yeah, I guess that makes damn good sense." She pushed the laptop from her a little and turned back to her partner. "Have I ever told you how good you look in just a towel?"

Dar sat down in the big easy chair and tugged Kerry down with her onto her lap. She wrapped her arms around Kerry's towel covered body and hugged her. "Hey."

"Mm?"

"If it stops raining, want to go down to Central Park later and take a carriage ride with me?"

Kerry willingly allowed herself to be distracted. "The ones with the horses?"

"Uh huh."

It was a charmingly romantic idea, and Kerry liked it very much. "Maybe we could find one of those little cafes and have dinner," she suggested. "I know Manhattan isn't your favorite place, but I bet we could have fun here."

Dar nipped Kerry's side gently through the terrycloth. She tilted her head up a little as Kerry's fingers laced through her damp hair and they kissed. She could taste the last hint of grape toothpaste on Kerry's lips as she explored them, savoring the gentle touch against her cheek as Kerry traced the skin on her face. "Bet we could have fun right in this here hotel room," she murmured.

"No bet." Kerry nuzzled her, then went back to kissing. "Noo...bet."

THE OFFICE BUILDING seemed quiet. Kerry walked along the hallway taking a quick glance right and left into hushed rooms and stilted, almost empty atriums. Everything was white and gray, and she found it profoundly depressing even by their own office's standards. "Least I have burgundy walls."

A woman working at a pristine white desk looked up as she passed, and Kerry got the impression of wide, alarmed blue eyes before the woman ducked her head again and went back to the pad she was writing on.

Another woman, in a severe gray wool suit stopped by the desk, tapping on its surface with her pencil before moving on, brushing past Kerry and giving her jeans a very disapproving look. "Are you here to deliver something?" she asked, pausing briefly.

"No," Kerry replied, with a gentle smile. "I'm working on a computer problem."

The blue-eyed woman at the desk furtively watched the exchange, her fingers fiddling with the pen she'd been writing with.

"Well, you should tell your company to dress their technicians better then. It's a shame." The woman in the gray suit turned and walked away, shaking her head. "Terrible." She turned again. "What company is it?"

"ILS," Kerry supplied helpfully.

"Oh, really?" The woman put her hand on her hip. "Never mind then. One of your big bosses is here, and I'll just tell her that myself." She marched off in the direction of the conference room, her shoulders fairly twitching with indignation.

Silence closed down over them again. Kerry shook her head and started to turn away, but a hesitant motion from the girl at the desk made her pause. She waited, taking in the short, stylish rust colored hair and the tiny cross earrings with idle interest. "Hi."

"Sorry you're going to get in trouble," the girl said, in a soft voice. "She's in everybody's business."

"It's okay. I'm not worried," Kerry reassured her. "Is she your office manager?"

"Yeah. Hannah Meyer." She hesitated briefly. "So you're a computer tech, huh?"

A brief twinkle entered Kerry's green eyes. "No." She dug her business card from one of her back pockets and handed it over. "My name's Kerry."

"Shawna...oh." The girl studied the card, then looked up at Kerry. "You're a vice president? Really?" Her voice sounded a touch incredulous. "Wow. That's pretty wild." She eyed Kerry's stone washed button flies and crimson short sleeved shirt doubtfully. "I mean, like, Hannah's right kind of. You don't look the part at all. You do look more like a tech person."

"Looks can be deceiving," Kerry advised. "What do you do?" She indicated the spotless white shiny surface of the desk, which contained the writing pad, a cup with two pens in it, and not much more.

"Oh, I...um.." Shawna shrugged one shoulder. "I coordinate meetings. You know, like schedule the conference rooms and stuff like that." One fingertip rolled the pencil she'd been using. "I set up lunch, too, and bring in materials. Collate." The words seemed to trouble her briefly. "It's a good job, and it's a great office in here, really smart, you know? My parents really like me working here."

Kerry felt a very brief moment of resonance with this skewed reflection of one of her own life's possibilities. "My folks would have liked it for me too," she told Shawna. "But I'm glad I picked my own path," she added. "See you later."

She felt the eyes on her back all the way down the hall, until she turned the corner and pushed open the door to the break room.

Once inside she paused, as her cell phone rang. Kerry glanced at the caller ID, then took a seat at one of the tables and answered it. "Kerry Stuart."

"M...Kerry, this is Mayte." Her admin sounded a bit flustered. "There are some...I need to speak with you about a few things. Is that all right?"

"Absolutely." Kerry glanced around, glad she was alone. "Go ahead."

"Okay," Mayte said. "In the first thing, the papers from yesterday, the legal department brought them down for me. I have them here."

"Okay," Kerry said. "Just hold them for me."

"But..." Mayte said. "That man, the Mr. Quest? He has called here several times looking for you. He sounded very upset you were not here."

"Well, that's just too bad, I guess, because I'm not." Kerry rubbed her temples. "What did he say?"

"He said there was something you were going to give to him, yes?." Mayte said. "He sounded very angry that you were not here, and la Jefa was not here either."

Kerry stared ahead, her eyes a little unfocused. Was Quest bluffing? Playing yet another game? Or just demanding the response he'd requested the day before. "I see."

"He said that if you did not want to be serious with him, he would take you from the job?" Mayte continued. "He is not a very nice man."

"No," Kerry mused. "He's not."

"I think it is the papers he is waiting for," Mayte suggested. "Do you want me to bring them to him? I know where the place he said was. The Intercontinental Hotel. It is not far from here."

Give in? Kerry was uncertain which move to make in the odd chess game she'd been playing. So far, she'd worked to keep Quest and his bid at arm's length, not wanting to seem too eager.

Play his game? Kerry briefly considered going to ask Dar, then she shook her head. "Suck it up, Stuart."

"Kerry? Did you say something?" Mayte asked.

"I said, that's really great of you to offer, Mayte," Kerry responded. "I would really appreciate it if you could drop the paperwork off, but would you do me a favor?"

"Of course." Mayte sounded happy. "Anything."

"Grab Mark, or one of the guys to go with you. Just in case you bump into those ladies you and your mom ran into last night." Kerry smiled as she heard her assistant make a sound. "Okay?"

"Okay," Mayte said. "I will maybe put on my brother's football helmet. That should be okay, no?"

Kerry chuckled. "Sounds great. Thanks Mayte." She set that decision aside. "Was there something else?"

Mayte shuffled some papers. "The reporter from yesterday? He called here," Mayte said. "But he did not want to leave a message. I told him you were out of town."

"Okay."

"Also, there was some security reports. Mark said you would want to see them. I have them on our share, is that okay?"

"More than okay, Mayte. Thanks. You're doing a great job there. I really appreciate you following up on all that for me," Kerry said sincerely.

"You are very welcome," Mayte said. "I hope you are having a good time in New York. La Jefa was happy to see you I am sure."

Kerry chuckled. "Hard to say which one of us was happier," she admitted. "Okay, let me go see what Dar's up to. If there's anything else, just give me a call."

"I will. Have a good day, Kerry."

Kerry closed the phone. Then she got up and went to the window, gazing out at the rain.

DAR STRETCHED, ARCHING her back as she wandered down the wall of windows, peering out of them as the rain continued to roll down. She was alone in the conference room. Hans was in a smaller private office talking to his programmers and Kerry was off finding some coffee.

A surge of well being flooded her, and taking a quick look around, Dar took a bouncing step then inverted into a handstand, balancing her weight on her palms as she edged around in a small circle. "Heh heh heh," she chortled softly. "Haven't done this in a while."

Behind her, she heard the door suddenly open, and knew from the clicking of heels that it wasn't either Kerry or Hans. Caught in the act, so to speak, she decided to pretend walking on one's hands was a normal act and turned, spotting a short, somewhat squat figure in gray staring at her. "Yes?" she asked briskly. "You need something?"

Without a word, the figure retreated and slammed the door. Dar hastily let her body drop backwards and flipped up, landing a bit precariously on her heels, but rocking forward to catch her balance before she could fall back and smack herself silly.

With a soft, wry chuckle, she walked back over to the conference table, settling back into her chair and spinning around slowly.

KERRY GAVE THE two men entering the break room a cordial smile as she made her way to the coffee machine. "Afternoon."

"Ah, Ms. Stuart, right?" The older of the two came over to her. "Nice to see you again, but I wasn't aware you were coming out here. Is the problem that complex?"

"Called in the reserves, looks like it to me," his companion said. "Too much for them, I think."