”Whoa.”

Inside, on the dark gray crushed velvet, nestled two black pearls, opalescence winking at her. They were the size of dried chickpeas, and were a well matched pair.

”Wow,” Kerry breathed, peering at them. ”Those are gorgeous.”

”Yeah,” Dar breathed. ”They sure are.” She gently closed the box and held it, giving her head a little shake. ”His presents were always like that. You never knew when one was coming, but when it did, it was always...” She glanced at the box. ”Always something special.”

”You could have them made into earrings.” Kerry suggested.

”They’d look awesome on you.”

Dar put the box down on the dresser, and tapped it with one long finger. ”Maybe,” she agreed. ”C’mon, let’s go soak for a little while.”

They went outside, taking their glasses with them, and Kerry held them both as Dar eased into the water.

”Ungh.” Dar stretched her arms out, and took the milk. ”This feels Hurricane Watch

161

great.”

She watched as Kerry joined her, nestling up against her immediately. ”I’ll put these down.” Dar advised her, setting them on the coping, then putting an arm around Kerry’s shoulders.

For a few minutes they just sat there, absorbing the sensation of the water, a mist of warm, chlorinated water drifting across their faces. The ocean was at high tide, and beating against the seawall, and off in the distance they could hear the buoy bells ringing.

”It’s beautiful out here,” Kerry murmured, tipping her head back and regarding the starry sky, scattered with the odd, occasionally puffy cloud.

Dar turned her head and regarded the moonlit profile next to her.

”It sure is.”

Kerry caught the glance and smiled a little, blushing slightly. ”So.”

She cleared her throat. ”Now tell me how all this worked out.”

”Mmm.” Dar wiggled her toes contentedly. ”Alastair asked me to reconsider, I told him I had two conditions, he met them, presto. That was it.” She stifled a yawn. ”You were one condition, Steven was the other.”

Kerry mulled that over. ”So, did he know about us, or...” She left the thought hanging.

”He knew.” Dar chuckled softly. ”He said he knew when he saw those first sets of pictures from Orlando, but I guess he decided to ignore it.”

”Isn’t that a problem?” Kerry queried. ”I mean, we’ve been doing this cat and mouse thing for months, because it was this big rule. So?”

Dar shrugged. ”It comes down to what’s more important?

Company rules or profits?” She advised her lover. ”He can make exceptions, and yes, it’s a problem, but it’s not like it’s never happened before, Kerry, and what the rule is for is mostly to protect the junior of the two employees.”

”Protect?” Kerry cocked her head. ”Oh, from harassment, that kind of thing?”

A nod. ”Exactly. It’s so bosses don’t take advantage of their subordinates, and it’s a good rule.” She reached over and brushed a droplet of water off Kerry's cheek. ”But I told him I needed you, and he’s satisfied you’re not being pressured, or coerced in any way, so he’s going to just work around it.”

”Oh.” Kerry thought about that. “That’s going to be strange after all this time.”

“Mm.”

“I guess I can bring you lunch up now though, huh?”

Pale blue eyes shifted her way. ”And I can wander down the back corridor a couple times a day and not feel conspicuous,” Dar replied dryly. ”I mean, it’s just like anything else.

We treat each other

professionally at the office. We just don’t have to worry about people finding out what we do outside of it.”


162

Melissa Good

”Hmm.” Kerry nodded a little. ”So, can I call the rest of the staff and tell them to come back in tomorrow?” she asked, wistfully.

”Because I don’t think I can handle a few more days like today.”

Dar hesitated. ”I, um, I could call them in the morning,” she ventured.

One sea green eyeball rotated and fixed on her. ”You could if you were going into work.” Kerry blinked at her. ”Are you? I thought Alastair said for you to take a couple days off.”

Dar drummed her fingers on the coping. “I thought about it. But it’d be a lot more relaxing for me to get started on stuff than sit around here and worry about you.” She pushed the damp hair off Kerry’s forehead.

Kerry sighed. ”I wish you’d stay home.” She ran her fingers along Dar’s scalp, and brushed lightly over the bump. It was, she was forced to admit, almost gone. “But I won’t lie and say I want to go through another day like I did today. My god, Dar. How in the hell do you deal with that place?”

“Practice.”

Kerry sighed again. “Can we leave early?”

A slow smile. ”I promise you dinner at sunset out on the water,”

Dar offered, one eyebrow lifting in invitation. ”You, me, the boat, a few seagulls. How about it?” She leaned over and stole a kiss. ”Hmm?”

Kerry nibbled her way up Dar's neck. ”All right,” she agreed, breathing the words right into Dar’s ear. ”You’re on.”

”Good.” Dar ducked her head again and found Kerry’s wandering lips, and she pulled her over onto her lap, sliding an arm around her waist securely. She felt Kerry’s hands glide down her shoulders, and her eyes closed in reflex as their bodies pressed against each other in knowing familiarity.

They’d deal with all that trouble tomorrow. That was another day.

Right now, all that mattered was the rich, night breeze, and the stars, and each other.

KERRY STIFLED A yawn as she trudged across the kitchen, headed for the coffee machine. She mechanically portioned the Irish crème flavored grounds into the basket, and started the coffee going, blinking a little as she leaned against the counter.

She could hear Dar’s voice as a low murmur coming from her office, and she guessed her lover was making the promised phone calls to their stubbornly missing staff. ”Any luck?” she called in, as she heard the phone disconnect.

”Oh yeah.” Dar moved to the doorway of the office, stretching and catching the edges of the sill with her fingers as she rocked her head back and forth to loosen her neck muscles. ”I got Mark. He cursed me out because he was planning on working over one of his bikes, but he Hurricane Watch

163

said he’d be in, and that he’d call the rest of his staff in so I didn’t have to do it.” The tall, dark haired woman released the door, and walked across to where Kerry was standing. ”Now I have to do the tough one, Maria.”

”Ouch.” Kerry slid a hand up Dar’s belly, feeling the warmth of her skin under the fabric. ”You’re hardly limping,” she commented.

”Mm, yeah, it feels a lot better,” Dar agreed, with a smile. ”I think I’ll use the crutches to get away with dressing down again today, though.”

Kerry snorted. ”Dar, after having the CEO come and beg you to reconsider last night, you think anyone would say a word if you came dressed in shorts and a t-shirt?” she paused. ”Wait a minute, forget I suggested that. They’d say words, all right, and I’d have to slap them all silly.”

Dar laughed. ”Thank you for flattering my ego.” She gently kissed Kerry’s head. ”Excuse me.” She moved into the kitchen, retrieving a bowl and her Frosted Flakes from the cabinet. ”Want some?”

A sigh. ”Dar, do you think you could make me feel better by at least putting a little banana in that?” Kerry asked, mournfully. ”And no thanks, they crunch too loud and hurt my ears this early in the morning.” She bumped Dar out of the way and opened the refrigerator, snagging a fruit and cheese Danish from a neatly packed box. ”I prefer a quieter, gentler breakfast.”

Dar grinned, munching away noisily, and pressed a key on the kitchen console.

”Dar Roberts, 656 new messages, 234 Urgent,” the computer responded promptly.

”Oh, Jesus.” Dar almost inhaled a flake. ”Delete all unmarked,” she told the computer. ”Forget it. They can resend the damn things.”

”Deleted. Dar Roberts. 234 new messages, 234 Urgent.”

”Delete all messages, duplicate subjects,” Dar instructed. ”That also have same sender.” She glanced at Kerry who was chewing her Danish and had padded over to pull out two large mugs. ”That should get rid of half of those.”

”Deleted. Dar Roberts 155 new messages, 155 Urgent.”

Dar sighed. ”Well, that's better than 600 plus, I guess.” She examined the list. ”Let's see, oh, read 143.”

Sookis, Mariana

Sent 7:32am

Dar -

I just got this cryptic note from Alastair, which basically states:

”She's

back,

leave

her

alone.

She’s

got

my

authority

to

take

care

of

whatever

business

needs

taking care of.”

What

is

he

talking

about?

I'm

assuming

he's

referring

to

you,

because

he

left

your

resignation


164

Melissa Good

letter

marked

”Rescinded'”

on

my

desk.

I

tried

calling you last night, but there wasn't any answer.

I'd like to talk to you. I know we've got some issues to discuss.”

Mari

”He’s such a pain in my ass sometimes.” Dar rolled her eyes, and picked up the phone, dialing a number. She waited. ”Good morning, Mari,” she remarked into the receiver, keeping her voice more or less neutral.

A pause. ”Oh, Dar. God, yes, good morning,” the Personnel VP