Melissa Good - Tropical Storm

Kerry slid her eyes up the long, firm neck, and over the bump of Dar’s jaw, up until she was meeting those pretty blue eyes. “Mmm. How about a birthday party?”

Trapped. Augh. “Bu…” Dar nibbled a lip. “Ke…” The green orbs gentled and pleaded with her. “Oh, okay.” She sighed, defeated.

Kerry smiled and patted her chest. “Nothing on earth would make me miss that.” She hugged Dar close. “To hell with Thanksgiving.”

Dar grinned fiercely to herself. Now that was worth having a birthday for.

“DAR?”

MARIA’s VOICE penetrated her thoughts, and she looked up, a little startled. “Yes?” She stopped turning the pencil over in her hands and exhaled.

“Here are your tickets for tomorrow.” The secretary bustled across the carpet and put the folder down near her hand. “Did Kerry go all right?”

“Yeah, I dropped her off before I came in,” Dar replied. “Her flight was at eight AM.” She checked her watch. “She should be there in a little while.”

“So nice.” Maria smiled, then her expression changed a little. “No?”

Dar looked up from where her attention had been drawn to her new fish.

“Oh, yes, I’m sure it’s fine. I was just thinking of something else, sorry about that.” Her body was, actually busy remembering the fierce hug Kerry had given her before she’d gone off to her gate, and the quiet, whispered “I’ll miss you.”

With a sigh, she pushed the thought aside and smiled at Maria. “So, how do you like Bert and Ernie here?” She’d just brought them in that morning, having given the two fractious fish a few days to settle in at Kerry’s apartment before she introduced them into the office.

Maria studied the fish. “They are very pretty,” she admitted. “I was thinking to get a goldfish for me, but I’m always to dropping things around my desk. I would be spending too much time in fishing them out.” She knelt to examine the tank. “This is nice.”

Dar propped her chin up on one hand. “I thought so,” she agreed.

“Um…I’ve got an executive committee meeting after lunch today, is there anything pending I need to look at before then?”

“Si.” Maria handed her the other folder she had been carrying. “The new building plans,” she told her. “You have first meeting next week.”

Dar flipped open the folder and studied the cover sheet. “Right, the lease is up on this building next year, and José thinks he found us a new location.

Hmm.” She studied the document. “Well, I don’t…ah.” Her lips twisted sardonically. “Now I see the picture, his brother-in-law owns it.”

Maria rolled her eyes. “Dios mío, does it always have to be games?”

The executive sighed and shook her head. “And I hate the location. Looks like another battle royale in the making.” She glanced at the fish wryly.

“Maybe I should have called them Dar and José. What do you think?”

“Si.” Maria smiled. “I am going out to the bank during lunch, Dar. You want I should bring you something back? It is turkey in the cafeteria, I think you will have enough of that this weekend.”

376 Melissa Good The dark-haired woman leaned back and made a face. “No, thanks. My stomach is kind of upset today. Something I had last night maybe,” she advised her secretary. The truth was she hadn’t been able to swallow so much as a cup of coffee since the morning, and even thinking about it made her stomach churn. She swallowed hard against the sensation and sighed.

It had been a tough week, all the more so because she hadn’t seen much of Kerry, who had been busy packing for her trip. Monday night she’d been tied up in meetings until past eleven, and last night she’d had to force herself to be present at a business dinner to work on a new client of José’s.

So she’d shown up a little early that morning to pick Kerry up. Well, okay, a lot early, and had been treated to the sight of sleepy green eyes that brightened perceptibly when they recognized her. Kerry had dragged her back into the bedroom and they’d spent an hour snuggling before the rising sun nudged them awake again in time to go to the airport.

Dar sighed, then glanced up at Maria. “Maybe I’ll take a walk downstairs and get some club soda or something.” She stood and stretched, then settled her jacket over her shoulders and headed for the door. At the elevator she bumped into Duks, who was also headed down. “Morning,” she commented, leaning back against the elevator wall. “Ready for the meeting this afternoon?”

“Don’t ask me that.” Duks rubbed his eyes. “I’ve been going over financials for the last two days. I have such a headache, I can’t tell you,” he complained grumpily. “What about you? They’re going to hit you with those facilities additions, you know.” He studied Dar’s face, noticing that the tense lines and faint shadows that used to characterize it had faded, replaced by a noticeably more relaxed expression. “Let me guess, you have all the answers already.”

Dar shrugged. “I have some of them…and enough evasions to get by with on the others.” She held the door open as they reached the bottom floor. “You headed for the cafeteria?” she inquired. “I’ll buy you a cup of coffee, how’s that?”

“I never turn down that kind of offer.” Duks laughed as he followed her through the line, glancing at her choice. “None for you?”

Dar waved him off. “Must have picked up a bug or something, my stomach’s bothering me.” She set the bottle of club soda down, then nodded at Duk’s steaming cup and handed the cashier a bill. They took their drinks and went to a corner table, away from the early lunch crowd. Dar noted the eyes following her and saw the veiled interest. Idly she wondered what list of rumors was currently making the rounds. “So.” She leaned on her elbows, and twisted the top off the bottle, taking a small sip and grimacing as it hit her empty stomach. “What do you think José will try?”

Duks took a swallow of coffee and pondered the question. “He’s been quiet, too quiet,” he mused. “You’d better watch your back, my friend. I think whatever he’s up to, it’s got you in the center of it.”

“Probably,” she agreed.

“You don’t look worried,” her friend remarked. “My assistant overheard Eleanor’s two poodle girls talking about Kerry. Seems Eleanor is convinced she can turn her.”

Tropical Storm 377

“Well.” Dar had to smile. “She’s welcome to try, but, um…” She waggled her hand. “I think I’ve got a pretty good handle on her loyalties.”

Duks smiled back. “Feels good, doesn’t it?”

The dark head tilted in question. “What, having one up on Eleanor?”

Steady eyes regarded her, as a slight grin quirked Duk’s lips.

“Oh.” Dar felt a faint blush creeping up her neck, and she studied her bottle, turning it over and over in her hands. Finally she looked up. “Yes. Yes it does.”

He leaned forward, dropping his voice. “Dar, please believe me when I say that I am so, so, happy for you.” He watched her eyes flick around the room in obvious discomfort. “I really like her. I think you picked a good one, this time.” Pale blue orbs fastened on him intently. “A blue chip.” He winked.

Dar covered her embarrassment by taking a long swallow of fizzy liquid.

She appreciated the sentiment, and Lou had been a good friend for many years, but still. She cleared her throat. “Glad you approve.” She managed to keep her tone droll, but she knew her lips were twitching into a helpless grin and she felt awkwardly exposed. Her cell phone’s beeping was a welcome interruption. “Excuse me.” She pulled the instrument out and flipped it open.

“Yeah?”

“Hi.” There was a world of tension in the voice.

“Hey,” Dar responded, instinctively gentling her own. “Flight okay?”

“Right up until it pulled up to the gate,” Kerry replied with a sigh. “I’ll call you later.”

“Okay, take it easy,” Dar replied quietly.

“I’ll try,” came the answer, then a momentary pause. “I love you.”

Dar closed her eyes, and consciously blocked out her surroundings. “I love you too.” She spoke the words clearly and intently. “If you need anything, you call me, okay?”

She could hear the smile right through the phone. “I will. Bye.”

Dar folded the phone closed, and opened her eyes. She was grateful that Duks had found something desperately interesting in his coffee cup, and he gave her a moment to compose herself before he looked up. They looked at each other in awkward silence for a moment, then the financial officer smiled reflectively. “You know, Dar, times like this, times when I see something in us so beyond the animal, are when I come closest to giving in and believing in the grace of something higher than myself.” And he stood, putting a hand on her shoulder for a gentle squeeze before walking off into a rising hum of lunchtime chatter.

“IS THAT ONE yours, Kerry?” Her mother’s voice echoed in her ears, and she turned.

“Yes, I’ve got it.” Kerry reached over and grabbed the handle, hoisting it clear of the belt and setting it down next to her feet. “That’s it, just this and the carry-on.” She attached the strap to the rings on the duffle bag and slung it over her shoulder. It seemed curiously lighter than it usually did, but she put that down to her own nervousness. “Let’s go.”

“Do you have that? Let me get a sky cap, dear.” Her mother eyed her.

378 Melissa Good

“Goodness, you’ve put on weight, haven’t you?”

Kerry let the memory of Dar’s voice wrap around her like a comfortable jacket. “Yes I have, thanks, I feel great,” she replied. “Are we ready?”