He filed charges against you for assault and battery and filed a lawsuit for pain and suffering against you.”

”So?” Kerry sputtered. ”Let him! Dar, don’t you tell me you resigned because of that. I’ll...I’ll... How much trouble would I get into for punching him anyway? What are they going to do, sentence me to prison time for that? In Dade County? I don’t think so. You have to kill someone to even be booked in jail here.”

”Kerry, I’m not going to have that on your record, have you go through all that crap with the police and being charged, and taken down there, and go to court. God knows he could probably get a jury to award him who knows what in damages.” She cupped Kerry’s cheek.

”No, I can’t stand by and watch that, knowing it was my fault and I could have stopped it.”

”Dar, you can’t let him win like this.” Kerry argued fiercely. ”I’m not going to let you do it.”

Dar sighed and pushed the folder over to her. ”We don’t have a choice.” She nudged the folder. ”One of us would have had to leave anyway.”

Kerry stared at her, then she opened the folder, her eyes falling on a stack of 8” x 10” pictures. Her and Dar. Walking, shopping, standing on Hurricane Watch

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the boardwalk with their arms around each other. Her feeding Dar crawfish.

One striking photo that had caught her looking at her lover, with an expression even Kerry couldn’t explain away as anything other than adoration. ”Oh.” She closed the folder. ”Well, then, I’ll leave, Dar. Come on now, you’re a lot more important to the company than I am. That’s ridiculous.” She looked up at Dar. ”Can’t you call Alastair? Can’t you do anything?”

Dar studied her interlaced fingertips. ”I’m not sure I want to do anything,” she admitted.

Kerry stared at her. ”So you’re giving up?” She waved a hand.

”After fifteen years, just like that?” She shook her head. ”I don’t believe it.” ”C’mon, Kerry. I don’t regret my time here, but maybe it’s time to move on. It’s getting harder and harder for me to keep the hard edge I need to do this.” Dar pleaded with her for understanding. ”Not without carrying that over into my personal life, and I really don’t want to do that.”Kerry remained silent for a moment. ”What am I supposed to do?”

She asked, finally. ”You don’t think I’m going to stay in this hellhole without you, do you?” She stood and raked a hand through her hair. ”I can’t believe you’re giving up and letting him win,” she repeated softly.

”I...” She shook her head and walked to the inner door, opened it, and passed through without another word.

Dar was quietly stunned. “Well shit,” she muttered. Here she’d been, being rather noble, she’d thought, in putting herself between Kerry and a bad situation. But Kerry didn’t see it that way at all and rather than be grateful, she was disappointed.

Disappointed and angry.

Dar felt very confused, but didn’t have time to consider her options before her door slammed open and Mariana came in, her face upset and angry. ”You coming in here to yell too?” she snapped defensively.

Mariana stopped and looked at her. ”I’m here to try and talk some sense into you, Dar, you can’t just leave.”

”Why not?” Dar propped her chin up on one hand. ”Am I indentured?”

”No, no, Dar, you know what I mean.” Mariana took a seat.

”No, I don’t.” She shook her head. ”This is an at will state. I have no signed contract, the company doesn’t own me, and there is no reason why I can’t just walk out that damn door.” Dar stood, grabbing her crutches and pacing around. ”It’s what he wants, it’s what José wants, it’s what Eleanor wants. Maybe I am standing in their way.”

”What? Of course you are, you—” Mariana spluttered. ”Someone has to stand up to them, Dar, or else they’d wreck the company. You and I both know that.”

”Why me?” Dar whirled, and poked a thumb at her chest. ”That’s 120

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all I am is a target, Mari. No matter what I do, no matter how many fucking rabbits I pull out of my ass, no matter how many accounts I save, or how many points I made the stock rise, it’s always still ‘that damn bitch, Dar Roberts.’ Don't you think I get sick and fucking tired of it sometimes?” Her voice rose to a yell. ”Now I’ve got this buttfuck asshole you hired who does nothing but give me a damn hard time, and I don’t hear you saying a goddamned word to him, now do I?”

Mariana stared at her.

”No no, let’s leave that to that bitch. She’ll just give as good as he does, and shut him up, right?” Dar rounded on her. ”Right? I have to stand by and put up with a blatant, personal attack by another employee, and you’re telling me I can’t walk away? Screw you, Mari!”

Now Dar’s temper snapped. ”Why the hell didn’t you bring him up on harassment charges? Or fucking insubordination?” She leaned over her desk. ”Let me tell you something, he’s goddamned lucky it was Kerry that hit him, because if it’d been me, he’d have more than a broken fucking nose for it.”

”Okay, okay, Dar, calm down.” Mariana held her hands out cautiously. ”You have a point there, I know...”

Dar turned and went to the window, leaning against it with one hand. ”I know I do. I’ve been fighting all the battles here for so long, everyone else has forgotten how,” she stated softly. ”Well, you’ll have to find someone else to fight for you.” She let her head rest against the sun warmed glass. ”I’m tired of it.”

Silence. ”So this is just an excuse, isn’t it?” Mariana asked, quietly.

Dar regarded the blue and green waves. ”Maybe.”

A soft exhalation. ”What happened to you, Dar?”

It was almost funny. ”I found out there was more to life than the next email, Mari.” Dar snorted softly. ”Unfortunately for the company.”

She turned. ”I’m not going to stand by while that bastard attacks Kerry, and since you won’t do anything about it, I will.” A pause. ”I have.”

Mariana leaned back in her chair and exhaled. ”I know you think this is all my fault, Dar, and I’m sorry you think that.” She looked up, but Dar wouldn’t meet her eyes. ”Maybe you have a point. I should have jumped on him sooner, stopped some of that stuff when it first started. I just thought you had it under control, and if I interfered, it’d just get worse.” She paused, to give Dar a chance to speak. When the other woman didn’t, she sighed. ”By that gauge, I should have also stepped in and separated you and Kerry when I found out you were seeing each other.”

Still no answer.

”But then, you should have done that yourself,” Mariana continued, ”and if you had, we wouldn’t be sitting here.”

Dar’s face didn’t change expression. ”Go on. Put the blame all on me,” the dark haired woman muttered quietly. “I’m used to it.” She turned her head towards Mari. “It’s my fault I fell in love with someone.


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So it’s my choice to leave.”

“Dar,” Mari exhaled. “For pete’s sake no one holds that against you.”“Everyone holds that against me,” Dar cut her off. “Didn’t you just say you should have stopped it when it happened?” She shoved the pictures across the desk. “That’s what he wanted put in the papers, that’s what Michelle sent to Alastair. Every goddamned person within a hundred miles of here wants a piece of my personal life, so screw it.”

She turned back to the window. “It’s my life. You don’t own me anymore,” Dar exhaled. “So put the damn paperwork through and find someone else who gives a damn.”

“You trying to convince me or yourself that you don’t?” Mari asked, in quiet voice.

She didn’t get a chance to answer because the door opened and José barged in. ”What is this I hear? You are quitting?” José asked, his voice incredulous.

”Yeah,” Dar answered, turning and going back to her desk. ”You can cater the party, José. Congratulations. You won.” She typed a message into her mail program and sent it. ”There, I just told Alastair; that should make it final.” She stood and picked up her briefcase, slid her laptop out and left it on the desk. ”I don’t have many personal items here.” She picked up her dolphins and glanced at her fighting fish. ”I’ll see if Maria wants those.” She dropped her badge on the laptop, and her pager with it.

”Wait, wait.” José held up a hand. ”What do you mean, I won?”

Dar gazed at him. ”Isn’t this what you wanted? You hired a man you knew was an old enemy of mine and gave him explicit instructions to find my weaknesses, and exploit them. He did. I’m gone, you won.”

Her tone was cold and mocking. ”Congratulations and good luck. I hope you screw up the company so badly, they have to recall the entire office.”

”I did not do...”

”You certainly did,” Dar shot back. ”Want to see the email you sent him?”

The phone beeped. ”Dar, Mark on line numero uno,” Maria’s voice floated in.

“Thanks, Maria. Can you call a cab for me, please,” Dar asked, crisply.

”Si,” the secretary sounded puzzled.

”Thanks.” Dar hit the button. ”What is it, Mark.”

”Northeastern backbone’s down,” the MIS chief stated. ”They can’t locate the problem.”

Dar drew in a breath. ”Find someone else to deal with it, Mark. It’s not my problem anymore,” she replied evenly. ”Give ‘em about an hour to choose someone to replace me.”

Silence for almost thirty whole seconds. ”Fuck,” Mark finally 122

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replied, then hung up.

Dar shouldered her briefcase and glanced around. ”Well, I’m going home,” she stated flatly. ”Have fun.” She limped over to the door and opened it, then went through. Maria was standing near her desk, her face rumpled in concern. ”Maria...”