“Relax.” Dar’s voice was inches from her ear. “It’ll be over in a few minutes. I’m not that bad, am I?”
Bad? Kerry fought to slow her breathing down as the angle got a little steeper and she felt Dar take a snugger hold of her. Like it was a completely normal thing to do. Kerry felt a little ashamed of herself and she forced her body to relax, pushing aside the nervous feeling until she could set aside the circumstances and look around her again . It’s okay, her conscience reassured her . It’s no big deal, nothing unusual, it’s…nice. Like we were old friends. She smiled and relaxed a little more, watching the fake stars overhead as they inched to the top of the incline. She could feel Dar breathing, a slow, steady motion, and stopped resisting both the tug of gravity and Dar’s grasp, letting her head drop back against the dark-haired woman’s collarbone, a line crossed so easily and almost without her notice.
She closed her eyes and was startled when a flash of her dream from the storm morning came to her. It had felt…yes, a little like this. Just a little.
They reached the top of the incline, and the car shot forward, starting the ride. It was dark and twisty, and there wasn’t really much to see so she just kept her eyes closed and let gravity war with Dar’s powerful grip.
Unsurprisingly, Dar won. She kept hold of Kerry as the car rushed in a tight circle and over a last series of hills, the bottom dropping out a few times until they rattled into the end of the ride, and the dark dissolved into a blast of blue light, and it was over.
It felt a bit too soon, in fact. Kerry exhaled as they shuttled into an ending platform, and Dar released her. “Wow, that was fun.” She got up and hopped out of the car, the taller woman following along behind. “It was so dark, though. Are they all like that?”
Dar shook her head. “Thunder Mountain isn’t. I’ve never been on the other one, but I don’t think it is. That’s more water than anything.” They exited out into a starlit night, where the faint strains of the parade music were still floating in the air.
Kerry smiled at her. “Thanks for keeping me safe.”
“No problem,” Dar replied with a brief grin. “I’d hate to tell you what I’d have to go through in Personnel if I lost you on a business trip. Mariana would have my head if I let you lose yours.”
They both chuckled, then Dar motioned to the right. “This way. We can sneak around back through Frontierland to get to Big Thunder.”
“Oh, is that where that Country Bear Jamboree is?” Kerry suddenly asked. “I’ve seen that on TV so many times.”
Dar gave her an indulgent look. “Okay, I get the hint. C’mon.” She gave her a sideways glance. “I’m surprised you didn’t want to see the Haunted Mansion.”
176 Melissa Good
“Ooo.” Kerry made a face. “I forgot about that. Is it around here?”
Dar just laughed as she changed direction again. “C’mon.”
THEY WERE ON about the last monorail out and happy to settle in a regular seat as the sleek train pulled out of the park and headed back toward the hotel. Dar leaned against the window and peered out, half shaking her head about how she’d spent the night.
Good grief. It better not get back to anyone, or I’ll never hear the end of it. She watched the lights of the boats below go by and exhaled, watching her breath condense on the glass. Wasn’t so bad though...and it wasn’t like we really had anything else planned for the evening. I’d already gone over most of the reports before we left Miami, and the other option was just finding some entertainment in the hotel.
This, s he decided, was just as good, and all the walking certainly was healthy.
Somehow they’d managed to hit all the major areas in under two hours and had walked down Main Street as the park was closing, watching Mickey Mouse balloons float aimlessly up from the hands of sleeping children.
She glanced to her left, hiding a grin at the bags tucked under her companion’s arms. From one peeked a stuffed buffalo, its crossed eyes and tiny pink tongue comically protruding. From the other emerged a happy-looking Pluto nestling comfortably against Kerry’s shoulder, his floppy ears showing black against her blonde hair. Dar found herself unexpectedly charmed by the sight. “It’s a dog’s life, huh?” she addressed the stuffed animal. “Aren’t you a lucky puppy.”
“What?” Kerry turned and looked at her. “Did you say something?”
“Nope.” Dar sat back and folded her hands together. “Nothing at all.”
Kerry had, to her bemusement, fallen in love with Buff, the animated, wall-mounted buffalo in the Country Bear Jamboree, and wouldn’t be satisfied until she’d scoured the Frontierland Trading Post and found one to take home with her. She’d tried to convince Dar to get a coonskin cap, but the executive had taken one look at the fuzzy tail hanging over her ear and plopped it up onto the top of a rack, out of Kerry’s reach.
She’d stuck with just her candy, though a filigreed, hand-blown glass dolphin on a cresting wave in the glassmaker’s shop had tempted her. She’d finally decided the figurine would probably only get broken and so she decided not to buy it. She’d momentarily lost Kerry, only to have her turn up a few minutes later with Pluto, and a satisfied look on her face. The Emporium, shop of last resort for frantic souvenir hunters, was always the last place to close, and they wandered through there on their way out. Dar succumbed to the overwhelming marketing pressure by purchasing a crisp black polo shirt with a silver Mickey embroidered on the breast.
“Oh, that’s festive,” Kerry had teased.
Dar chuckled wryly. “Calculated plan of attack. I’ll wear it at the meeting tomorrow, under my jacket.” Her eyes twinkled wickedly. “Good psychology.
This Disney crowd’s an odd lot. They’re businessmen, but there’s still a strong element in there of the old, family-centered franchise. They’re very loyal to the brand name, and they like to see some enthusiasm for their product.”
“Hmm, interesting.” Kerry considered that as they’d walked out. “What Tropical Storm 177
do they consider their product to be?”
Dar had looked at her. “If you had asked Walt Disney, dreams.”
NOW, SHE SETTLED back in her seat and stretched out her legs, resting them on the bench facing them. They were almost alone in the car, and the train had several stops to make before it went the entire circuit and ended back up at the Floridian. They passed through the Contemporary, a huge block canyon of a place, and the Hawaiian-style Polynesian, before they slowed to a stop at the stately white Grand Floridian. “This is our stop.” Dar stood and stretched, then ducked out the door and entered the lobby.
People were still milling around, mostly near the bars, and the elevators were fairly crowded as they made their way up to their rooms. Dar slipped her door open and ambled over to the dresser, depositing her bag of goodies before she turned and noticed the message light blinking on the phone. “What the hell is that?” She pulled her cell phone from her belt and checked it. “No, I thought this was on. Who in the hell would leave me a message here?”
She shook her head as she sat down and started pulling at her sneakers with one hand while lifting the receiver with the other and dialing the operator for the message. “Yes, this is Dar Roberts, I have a message?” She wrote down the name and number on a scratch pad left by the phone and thanked the operator, then hung up. “Well, John…” She picked up the receiver and dialed again, listening as it rang. It was picked up on the fourth ring. “Hello, John, you said to call when I got the message, so…”
“Oh. Oh, Dar. Yes. Thanks.” The man’s voice sounded harried. “I was just putting the last bit of a new proposal together. Listen, I’m glad you’re here.”
That’s new. “What’s up?”
“They’ve asked us to come in with a bid tomorrow, but they’re bringing us and the team from IBM in at the same time. Kind of like a face-off.”
“Oh, really.” Dar pulled off her other sneaker and rubbed her toes.
“That’s different. They expected us to arm-wrestle it out or something?”
“I don’t know,” John answered with a sigh. “But I’ve been getting my tail kicked by their team leader. I understand you know him?”
“Oh yeah.” Dar chuckled. “You could say that. He certainly won’t be glad to see me, let’s just put it that way.” She unbuttoned her vest and stood up.
“Listen, mail the proposal over to me, and I’ll take a look at it. What time’s the meeting tomorrow?”
“It’s at ten, at the admin center,” he answered with audible relief.
“Michelle Graver’s in charge of their negotiating group. Dar, she’s vicious.”
He cleared his throat. “In today’s session, she brought up every major failure we’ve had in the last ten years. Not sure where she got the info from.”
“Probably from Jerry Andrews,” Dar replied as she pulled off the vest, and then unzipped her briefcase. “So it’s that kind of dirty pool, eh? All right.
I’ll give the office a call and see what reciprocal dirt I can dig up. They’ll be loaded for bear tomorrow.” She paused. “Do they know I’m here?”
“Not that I know of. Unless they track our corporate bookings in their central res system,” John replied, sounding a good deal more cheerful.
“Damn, I’m glad you’re here, Dar. Tomorrow it’ll be like walking in with an 178 Melissa Good Uzi under my arm.”
Dar snorted. “Thanks.” She plugged in the laptop and connected the modem cord to the spare jack on the side of the phone. “Actually, make sure there’s room for two more. I have my new assistant with me as an observer.”
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