“Makes up for all the times I don’t get sick, Chino. The one time I do…oh boy.”

Chino whined.

Dar reached out a hand and poked her new acquisitions. “Trouble with all this stuff is I gotta put it on the inside and it ain’t staying there long.” Then she noticed a small package. “Hmm.” She lifted the seasickness bands up and eyed them speculatively. “They don’t…can’t hurt.”

She slipped the fabric bands on and settled the beads over the center of her wrists, then pulled her blanket more snugly around her and closed her eyes, hoping sleep would ease the discomfort a little.

“KERRY, A MOMENT please,” Eleanor called to her, as the meeting broke up and Kerry glanced at her watch.

Curses. “Sure.” She tapped her pencil on her notepad and considered her strategy. It was almost lunchtime, right? A glance at her watch again.

Well, eleven o’clock was someone’s lunchtime and surely if you came in at seven, as she had...

“Ah. Thank you.” Eleanor oozed up to her. “I was surprised not to see Dar here…problems?”

Kerry paused, deciding on whether or not to answer truthfully, then shrugged. “She got tied up with something. They’re trying to go beta with the new network next week. You know how it is.”

“Absolutely,” the Marketing VP agreed without hesitation. “And I agree—she should spend all the time she needs to with that. You’re much easier to deal with anyway.” She gave Kerry a smile that wasn’t totally snakelike. They’d come to sort of an understanding over the past few months, and Eleanor had become almost bearable. “How is the project coming?”

Kerry nodded. “Good. The structure’s in place. Now’s just the hard part, integration and testing.”

“It’ll be ready on time, you mean?” The pale gray eyes sharpened.

Kerry looked around carefully and lowered her voice. Ankow was in the corner chatting with José, and she didn’t want this little bit of information traveling. “Shh, don’t tell anyone, Eleanor but I think...”

“Yes?” The VP leaned closer as well.

“I think it’s going to be early,” she whispered. “Dar was asking me for some baseline projects she could ‘borrow’ as early as two weeks from now. I think she’s considering migrating them to check for traffic pat-Eye of the Storm 167

terns.”

“Really?” Eleanor fairly dripped with greedy delight. “I can’t wait to sell it. You have no idea how many people have been sniffing around, saying they’d heard we were putting up a new net and wanting the specs on it.”

Kerry smiled and wiggled an eyebrow at her. “Wish we could get that guy to buy into the project.” She nodded towards Ankow. “He just doesn’t get it.”

Eleanor regarded the tall, good looking man, then tapped one long, impeccably manicured nail against her lip. “I’m sure if he saw it from a sales perspective…” She gave Kerry a smile. “Me and José’ll take him to lunch. See what we can do.” She picked up her leather appointment book and slapped Kerry lightly on the side with it. Then she sauntered around the table and eased herself skillfully in to the conversation near the wall.

“You go, girl,” Kerry murmured under her breath, then picked her notepad up and lifted the conference room phone. After a moment, María answered. “Hi.”

“Dar has not called in yet, Kerrisita.”

Kerry pursed her lips. “I could have been asking for status on the relay outage in Newark.”

“Sí, you could,” the secretary agreed, amiably.

“Thanks. Maybe I’ll give her a buzz.” Kerry disconnected, then tapped the receiver against her chin. She watched Eleanor and José maneuver Ankow out of the conference room, then returned the pleasant smiles of the junior marketing people left to clean up.

They liked her. Kerry smiled back at them. Everyone pretty much did, she’d realized, after they’d gotten used to her, and used to the idea of someone else working in Dar’s territory, who, while being completely and unshakably loyal to her supervisor, could be approached in a far different way. And since she and Dar kept their relationship strictly out of the office, even those people uneasy at that aspect had grown comfortable in dealing with her.

“Hey, Kerry,” one of the regional assistants said. “See you at the gym tonight?”

“Not tonight,” she responded regretfully. “I’ve got an offsite meeting this afternoon, then something I’ve got to take care of later.”

“Bummer. We’ll miss you. Can’t wait for the next defense class to start.” The woman picked up her portfolio and tucked it under her arm.

“Thanks for a great meeting. See ya.”

Kerry went out with them and headed for her office, glad of the peace and quiet as she circled her desk and sat down. “Let’s see.” She checked her mail. “No more exclamation points. I like that.” She riffled through her mostly depleted inbox. “Looking good.” She checked the logon report and saw Dar’s name conspicuous by its absence and made her decision. She keyed the intercom. “Mayte.”

“Yes, Ms. Kerry?”

“I’m…um…”


168 Melissa Good

“Going home?” her admin supplied helpfully.

“Yeah. Guess your mom told you, huh?”

“She gave me what to say to people, yes,” Mayte agreed. “I have your pager and your cell. I will call you if there is anything.” A soft buzz was heard. “Hold on one moment.”

Kerry waited, until Mayte’s voice returned. “Ms. Kerry. It is my mother. She is looking to see if you are here. She has a call. She is not sure who it is.”

“All right. Put her through.” Kerry frowned. “María?”

“Sí. Kerrisita. There is someone calling here for Dar. I think it is her father.”

“Oh!” Kerry blurted. “Sure. God, put him on.” A click, then she leaned forward. “Hello?”

“Morning there, kumquat.”

Kerry smiled hugely and bounced in her chair, making it squeak in protest. He sounded so much better. “Hi, Dad. How’s it going?”

“Not bad. Where’s mah kid?”

“Ah. Well, she’s not doing so great, actually. She’s kinda sick,” Kerry explained. “She stayed home today. Was up most of the night throwing up and stuff.”

“Damn. Sorry to hear that,” Andrew responded. “Well, I was just callin’ to let you two know everything’s all right here. That’s ’bout all.”

“I’m so glad to hear that and I know Dar will be too.” Kerry started shutting her PC down. “Did you have everything you needed?” An impish grin formed on her face as she waited for the answer.

“Huh. Yeap. But you and I need to have a chit chat ’bout boy’s unmentionables when ah get back there.”

“Did I get the wrong size?” Kerry asked innocently.

“No, you did not.”

She could almost see the scowl. “They aren’t comfortable?”

“That is not the point, young lady.”

Kerry could hear a soft, muffled laugh in the background, and she realized, with a strange sense of wonder, that it was Cecilia. Forgot there’s two halves of this. “You didn’t like the color?”

“Kerrison.” Dar’s father’s voice dropped low, almost exactly like his daughter’s.

“Sorry, Dad. I only buy the very best for people I love,” she told him, softening her tone.

There was a period of silence on the other end, where she could hear a soft, mechanical sound she identified as an air conditioner cycling on and off. “You fight damn dirty, y’know that, young lady?” Andrew finally sighed. “All right. But you better be watching your back now, y’hear? I don’t go by the rules much neither.”

“Warning taken.” Kerry smiled. “Well, I’ve got to go. I’ve got a sick friend to take care of.” She paused. “Hey. How about I call you from the house? I bet Dar would love to say hi.”

There was a muffled sound. “All right,” Andrew agreed. “We were Eye of the Storm 169

just scrabblin’ up some breakfast.”

“Breakfast, hmm?” The green eyes twinkled.

“Not one word, young lady,” he rasped back. “Talk at you later.”

Kerry hung up and gathered her things, then slipped out the door.


Chapter

Nineteen

KERRY PUSHED THE door open cautiously, peeking inside before entering. She spotted her lover curled up on the couch and tiptoed into the room, after closing the door quietly behind her. Even Chino was asleep, sprawled next to Dar and twitching in some kind of bizarre Labrador dream. She put her briefcase down on the loveseat and then knelt at Dar’s side and studying the sick woman’s face.

Dark lashes fluttered and Dar looked up, a little disoriented.

“Hey.” Kerry put a hand on her forehead. “Mmm. You’re warm.”

“Ungh.” Dar pursed her lips and swallowed painfully. “Time?”

“Just past noon.” Kerry reviewed the open boxes on the table. “Tried everything, hmm?”

A groan answered her.

“That sounds bad.” She pushed a bit of dark hair out of Dar’s face. “I have some good news for you.”

Dar caught her hand and pulled it closer as if in comfort. “Mmm?

Did you run over Ankow in the parking lot? Good girl,” she mumbled.

“I’ll tell ’em you were here all day.”

“No.” Kerry chuckled, using her other hand to rub Dar’s neck. “Your father called. Looks like things are working out fine up there.”

Both of Dar’s eyes opened and she lifted her head. “Yeah?” She forgot about being sick for a minute and pulled herself up, running a hand through her hair and blinking at Kerry. “What’d he say?”

“Just that things were good.” Kerry picked up a cup of water Dar had been sucking at and offered it to her. “Here. Take a sip. You don’t want to get dehydrated.” She stood up. “Let me get this stuff off and we can give them a call. Okay?”