Tropical Convergence (63 page)

The touch reassured her. Kerry nodded agreement, indicating the door with one pointing finger. They walked outside, into the moist heat and started off down the sidewalk together.

"I think I embarrassed your girlfriend," Hans told Dar, in a bemused tone, after they'd walked about a half a block in relative peace.

Dar glanced at him. "She's not my girlfriend."

Hans colored visibly, a somewhat startling sight against his pale skin. "Then I have embarrassed myself and I must apologize," he said. "I assumed..."

"She's my wife." Dar draped an arm over Kerry's shoulders. "You're not embarrassed by that, right?" she asked Kerry in English.

Kerry shifted the strap on her briefcase, having suspected she was being discussed. "By what?"

"Being married to me?" Dar repeated the question in German.

She almost stopped walking. "Did you get some hallucinogenic in that last cup of coffee? Of course not," Kerry replied. "What made you ask
that
, you goofball?" She hooked a finger inside Dar's belt loop and tugged it, to take any sting from her words. "Just because I don't have my 'I'm with her' shirt on today?"

Dar chuckled. "Hans thought he embarrassed you back there," she explained. "He assumed you were my girlfriend."

"Oh."

"So I corrected him."

"Eh." Kerry gave her a sheepish look. "Yeah, I was being a little obvious upstairs. Sorry about that. I wonder if those other guys noticed it too...maybe that's why Meyer was being so obnoxious."

Dar cocked her head in a puzzled attitude. "Huh?"

"Oh wait, there's my T-shirt." Kerry pointed. "That one, right there."

Dar peered at the window. "My girlfriend can beat up your girlfriend?" she asked, with a snort of laughter. "Jesus, Kerry."

"Pick one. I'd rather be Kerry," her partner replied. "Jesus was a sweet guy, but I don't have a thing for suffering and splinters."

"Hang on." Dar slowed down. "What did you mean about you upstairs?" She lowered her voice a little.

Dar hadn't noticed? Kerry wondered, then conceded she hadn't either. A bus roared past, spitting the scent of diesel. "Never mind. We'll talk about it later." Kerry bumped her partner with her hip. "Where are we going?"

They stopped at a corner and waited for the crossing light to change. Hans stuck his hands in his pockets and looked around, then turned inquiringly toward Dar. "Hotel bar is good for you?"

Dar had wandered toward a street cart, sniffing the air. "Yeah, that's fine," she called back over her shoulder. "Ker, want some nuts?" She walked over to the stand and examined its contents, pointing at the cinnamon covered pecans as she dug a few bills from her front jeans pocket.

Having had nothing since breakfast save several cups of coffee, Kerry found the nuts sounding pretty darn good. "Sure." She joined her partner at the cart. As they paid for their purchases, a familiar voice trickled through the surrounding bustle and Kerry turned to see Jason Meyer standing at a pay phone nearby arguing into it. She gave Dar a poke and jerked her head toward him.

Dar turned, putting a nut between her teeth as she looked inquiringly in the direction Kerry indicated. "Ah." She grunted. "Jerk doesn't even believe in cell phones? Now there's a technologist."

It was curious, Kerry knew. Cell phones had become so woven into society it seemed very odd to see a man who had any number of them, and an entire corporate PBX at his disposal using a street side pay phone in the middle of a Friday afternoon crowd in Manhattan.

Why?

"Look! I don't care what you do! Just do it!" Meyer yelled, and then slammed down the phone. With a disgusted look he stalked off, hauling up as he came very close to crashing headlong into Hans. "Excuse me."

He brushed past and kept going, apparently not recognizing the programmer. Hans stared after him, then looked at Dar and Kerry. He shrugged both shoulders and held his hands out in a universal message, which they returned in equal measure.

They rejoined Hans at the corner, and watched Meyer head back toward the entrance to his company's building. He shoved rudely ahead of a woman carrying two boxes, and nearly knocked her down, but didn't even look back as he let the door close behind him.

"What in the heck flew up his butt?" Kerry wondered. "You know, I talked to him a few months ago, Dar. He seemed fine then. Wonder what happened?"

Dar chewed her nut and swallowed it. "Beats me." She nudged Kerry in the direction of their hotel. "Who knows? Maybe I happened. He stepped on my last nerve the second I got there and I went off all over him." She started across the street with Hans at her side, going with the flow of heavy foot traffic. "Maybe he's just a jerk."

"Huh." Kerry followed her, idly nibbling her treat. "Maybe he's related to Shari. Same kind of backwards jackassedness."

Dar stopped short and looked at her. "Been talking to my father again, huh?" she drawled, giving Kerry a very playful grin. "That sounds damn bizarre in a Midwestern accent."

"Heh." Kerry chuckled under her breath. "I'll become Southern yet. You wait and see."

KERRY GLANCED AT herself in the mirror and grinned impishly, adjusting the strapless front of her dress with careful fingers. The one nice thing about New York was, if you wanted fast, stylish shopping, you had it in spades all around you. She and Dar had gotten in and out of the stores in under forty five minutes, and now she was reviewing the results.

"Nice," she complimented herself. The dress she'd found was a deep, forest green silk with a tiny embroidered pattern, classic and plain, reaching just down to her knees. It was sleek, and fit her curves nicely, and even the prospect of sitting through an opera couldn't put a damper on her mood. "Hey, sweetie?"

"Yes?" Dar's voice floated out from the bathroom.

"How about we find us some place to dance after the show?" Kerry asked. "Go out and party. I think we're due it, after your brilliant solving of the problem here."

Dar poked her head out of the bathroom. "You consider dancing with me a party?" she asked in a quizzical tone.

Kerry looked over at her. "You are not a bad dancer," she stated. "So don't give me that. C'mover here."

Obediently, Dar eased around the door jamb and came over to join Kerry in front of the mirror. She was dressed in a snazzy blue number an inch or two longer than Kerry's, but with much the same cut. "But sure, if you want to, I'm game." She picked up Kerry's brush and started brushing her partner's pale hair. "That looks really good on you."

Kerry turned her head and looked up. "Likewise, and thank you." She smiled warmly. "Shall we go the opera, madame?"

Dar tossed the brush onto the dresser and gestured toward the door with a grand flourish. "After you." She picked up the small clasp purse that held her wallet and electronics, and followed Kerry as she half walked, half danced toward the hallway.

"Heh."

Kerry turned as they reached the elevator. "What's so funny?"

Blue eyes blinked innocently. "Nothing."

The doors opened. "Uh huh. Go on." Kerry indicated the opening.

"Oh no. Ladies first," Dar drawled. "Please."

Kerry gave her a suspicious look, but she entered the brass and glass lined car and waited for her partner to join her before she pressed the button for the lobby. They started down, and halfway she found herself having to equalize her ears. "Oh, egh."

"Mm." Dar pressed her thumb behind her right earlobe. "I don't like having to do this without getting wet." She looked up in time to see a very devilish expression on Kerry's face. "What's that look for?"

Kerry closed the distance between them and leaned against Dar as she laid a hand on her cheek and kissed her on the lips. "Mm."

Dar forgot about being in a hotel elevator. She slid a hand around Kerry's side and continued the kiss, allowing the passion to build between them even as the car slowed, and bumped gently to a halt.

They parted just as the doors did, and the echoing buzz of the crowd in the lobby filtered in. Kerry licked her lips and took a step back, taking a steadying breath before she dared look up again.

Dar's face had a definite flush to it, and her eyes held a dark twinkle that came very close to making Kerry simply punch the button for their hotel floor and forget all about the damn opera. "Well. Made me forget all about my damn ears," Dar commented. "Shall we?"

Kerry half reluctantly exited the elevator, giving the small group of people waiting to get on a polite smile. She waited for Dar to catch up to her, then they both continued on toward the door to the street. "Dar? Have you ever been to the opera?"

Dar simply laughed.

"I went a few times," Kerry admitted, as they emerged into the warm night air. "I have to admit I missed the popcorn and Raisinettes."

Dar led the way to the curb, bypassing the hard working door man who was busy getting cabs for people. She fixed her gaze on an oncoming yellow cab and hailed it.

The door man gave her a respectful look and hurried over to open the cab door. "Ma'am?"

"Thank you," Dar responded graciously, ducking inside the cab and scooting over as Kerry joined her. "Radio City Music Hall," she instructed the driver.

"You got it," the man responded cheerfully, pulling away from the curb and into the busy traffic flow with little regard to either oncoming cars or the lives of anyone in his own.

Kerry slid her hand into Dar's and clasped it, settling back happily into her seat to watch the city go by. "Boy, I'm glad you got that problem cleared up. I'd hate to have been spending the night in that office."

"Uhm." Dar removed a small case from her purse and offered Kerry one of its contents. "Even though I took them down in the middle of the day? I saw you squirming over that."

"Well..." Kerry selected a small candy and put it into her mouth, grimacing a moment later. "Flamingos on a shoestring, Dar...you could have told me that was sour."

Dar sucked on her candy contentedly. "Sour tangerine," she agreed. "They had lemon, too."

Kerry resolutely swallowed the offending bit of confection. "It wasn't the choice I'd have made," she admitted. "But you know that. I tend to be...a little more conservative than you are."

"Conservative." Dar reached up and traced around Kerry's tattoo, cheekily visible over the line of her dress. "Uh huh."

"Mm." Kerry grinned a little. "But anyway, you're right. I was squirming. I knew you'd make it come out right, but I really thought you were taking a big risk there."

And she had been. Dar felt the warmth of Kerry's fingers curled in hers, and felt herself at peace with her decision. "I've always been a risk taker," she said. "And to be honest, I didn't really want to spend any more time there myself. So it worked out."

"It definitely worked out," Kerry agreed. "And our friend, the reporter, didn't get his paycheck shot."

Dar chuckled briefly. "That could have gone the wrong way." She sighed. "We got lucky," she added. "Hopefully we can keep it that way. He's going to be sniffing at everything during this damn bid, and we need to win it."

"Because you promised Alastair?"

Dar glanced at her. "No, damn. I didn't tell you," she said. "Slipped my mind, I guess...or maybe I..." She fell momentarily silent. "Anyway, some big shot in the cruise industry called Alastair. He's got almost a hundred ships...wants his tech updated and is going to look at whoever wins this one to do his."

Kerry almost stopped breathing. "That's big bucks, huh?" she finally uttered.

Dar snorted softly. "Alastair thinks it'll save our quarter." She glanced out the window. "Funny how a chance meeting in Orlando turned out."

Kerry stared at the back of the taxi driver's head behind it's Plexiglas protection. "Dar, I almost blew Quest off yesterday and didn't file the bid paperwork."

Dar turned her head completely to one side and looked right at her. "Almost?"

Kerry nodded faintly. "I was pissed off because he kept calling and harassing Mayte. I almost told her to toss the paperwork in the drawer and go home."

"But you didn't?"

"I didn't. She offered to take it over to him and I said to do it." She exhaled. "But it was more important to me to get up and see you. I wasn't interested in Quest." She paused. "Or my job." She turned and met Dar's eyes.

They were twinkling. "Good." Dar leaned forward and kissed her. "Considering I almost blew off a major client and got us both in hot water because I wanted to have dinner with you."

"Is that fair to the company, Dar?" Kerry asked in a quiet voice.

"No. But it's fair to us." Her partner leaned back. "And besides, we won the gamble anyway."

"Mm." Kerry found she wanted very much to accept that answer, and not argue the subject. She often made very different decisions than Dar did as part of their daily work life, and they'd come to understand that their approaches to things were, despite their obvious compatibility, different.

Which was okay. She often learned things from how Dar worked, and she knew sometimes Dar picked up a trick or two from her. Kerry put her head down against Dar's shoulder and fell silent, content to watch the bright lights of the city flash past as the cab driver wound his way through the heavy traffic.

Then they were there. Dar had already handed the driver his fare before Kerry could even so much as grab her wallet, and she reflected that in one area, preplanning, Dar really did have it all over her on a very consistent basis.

They got out and joined a stream of people heading for the doors. The range of dress was amazing, and Kerry found herself almost goggling at the sight of actual mink wrapped around several women's necks despite the summer heat. "Yikes. I'd croak."

Dar spotted a counter nearby. "Want a drink?" she offered.

"My turn." Kerry tapped her on the hip with her purse. "Get us some programs?"

Programs. Dar spotted a woman handing them out, and she headed in that direction. She waited to catch her eye, then accepted two of the handbills. "Thanks."