She ached to feel it again. And that…that was scaring her. Physical attraction she could deal with. This was something else entirely. She just wished she knew what it was.


Chapter Sixteen

“I’M SURPRISED A meeting like this doesn’t specify armor as a requirement,” Kerry mentioned, fiddling with her cuff. “The way you made it sound.”

Dar was still in her pajamas, her head propped up on one hand, studying her laptop screen. “Okay, I think I’ve got enough dirt.” She scanned the items into her memory and nodded, then pushed away from the table and stood up, lifting her arms overhead and cracking her back audibly.

Kerry winced. “Ow.”

The executive chuckled wryly. “That’s what I get from years over a keyboard.” She went to the valet bag and removed her suit, tossing it gently on the bed and glancing at her watch. “At least we had time for a decent breakfast. That French toast is pretty good, eh?”

“Pretty good?” Kerry laughed “I could eat that every morning.”

“Ah hah, and you tease me about Frosted Flakes.” Dar shook a shoe at her and grinned.

Kerry grinned back, then shook her head as she ducked back inside her room to finish dressing. She looked at herself in the mirror as she slipped on her jacket and adjusted the collar, smoothing down the maroon fabric with faintly nervous fingers. It matched her slim, knee-length skirt and the comfortable shoes and contrasted with the pale gray shirt. She dusted on a little makeup, not too much, as she took her cue from Dar’s usual appearance.

Just a touch of lip gloss, a little color on her cheeks, and a tiny bit of eye shadow. “All right,” she told the reflection, who was looking expectantly back at her. “Are we ready for war?”

She poked her lower lip out and had to restrain a giggle. “You know, I’m just not the warrior type, I don’t think.” She turned her head at a slight cough and saw Dar in the doorway, dressed in a gunmetal-gray blazer and skirt, with her black Mickey shirt underneath. Her boss looked sleek and, well, dangerous in her monochrome, especially since it matched her dark hair. Only the pale, incredibly blue eyes added even a touch of color to her. “Oh, hi. You look…nice.”

“No, I don’t,” Dar replied cheerfully. “I look like a corporate shark.

Which is what I am. Shall we?”

It was a short drive to the admin offices, though they had to wait five minutes for the guard to clear them at the gate. They parked and got out, both of them shouldering their briefcases. “Okay, this could get tough,” Dar cautioned, just before they entered the building. “Stay cool. When in doubt, if Tropical Storm 183

someone asks you something you think is dangerous, or antagonistic, just tell them. ‘I’m sorry, I don’t understand the question. Could you explain what you’re asking?’ ”

Kerry thought about that as she followed her boss inside. “That’s pretty smart. You make them lay it out.”

Dar winked at her. “I knew I picked a sharp one.” She nodded to a short, stocky man near the elevator and took a deep breath. “Okay, here we go.

Morning, John.”

He held out a hand. “Hello, Dar. Good to see you.” A brief introduction to the rest of his team followed. They all looked at Dar with a cross between fear and fascination, and Kerry almost had to bite her lip to keep from laughing.

It was a short trip up the elevator, and it opened on a floor that seemed mostly made of windows. The walls of glass allowed one to see into all the offices, and there were spears of light coming in everywhere.

Kerry found it distracting, but she put that aside as they turned a corner and entered a large, glass-enclosed room with a huge conference table. There were several people, most of them men, seated around it, and two of them were staring at Dar as though she were the manifestation of Satan here on Earth.

At the head of the table sat a short, slim woman with fiery red hair cut into a short, almost severe cut. She was dressed in an expensive-looking beige suit and emerald-colored shirt. Watching with intense interest, her eyes flicked everywhere, then fell on Dar.

Not involved in the initial greetings, Kerry got to see the reaction as, for a split second, the woman looked her boss up and down, then allowed a fleeting, very satisfied smile to cross her face. Then it was gone. Interesting.

“Hello, Jerry. Long time no see,” Dar purred as she put her briefcase down and pulled out a chair, but didn’t sit. Her smile oozed charm. “Care to introduce your friends?”

The man to whom she spoke looked like he was going to burst a blood vessel, Kerry decided. His neck was as red as a turkey’s, and she could see the veins stark and blue under his skin. But somehow, he kept his cool and introduced his colleagues, who stared at Dar uncertainly. Dar reciprocated, then turned and looked the lady at the end of the table right in the eye. “And you must be Ms. Graver. Glad to be finally meeting you.”

It was impossible not to react to Dar. She crackled with energy and confidence, and Kerry noticed that the woman, though very self-confident herself, didn’t miss that.

“You can’t be anyone other than Dar Roberts, then.” Michelle Graver stood and held out a hand. “It is a pleasure. I had no idea you were joining the bid team on this account.”

Dar gripped the offered hand, returning the powerful squeeze with one of her own, then she smiled and put her fingertips on her briefcase. “All right, shall we get rolling? It’s a beautiful day out; pity we’re all stuck in here.”

Kerry was, by turns, amazed and impressed. Dar had simply walked in and just taken over, and was acting as if there wasn’t anything anyone could do about it. She passed the bid John had given them over to Dar and watched 184 Melissa Good her drop it casually in front of Michelle, who was still standing.

Dar sat down, giving the Disney executive the advantage. “You had some concerns about performance?” Her eyes flicked to those of her rival and a faint grin touched her lips. “I think I can address those.”

Graver flipped through the document, then down at her. “I imagine you probably can.” She walked back over to her place and put the bid down, then picked up a sheet of paper and slid it across the table top. “Here.”

Dar took the paper and glanced at it, then let out a little chuckle. “You want me to start at the top or the bottom? And Jesus, Jerry, is this all you could come up with after ten thousand negotiated contracts?” Ignoring the glaring looks she was getting from across the table, she scanned the list. “Oh, I remember this one.” She smiled. “Non-performance with Aamco. I was the one who told their CEO we’d pay off the entire contract just so I wouldn’t have to hear his voice on my phone ever again.” “Really?” Michelle Graver leaned back and twirled her pencil. “Why?”

Dar exhaled. “They contracted for a manufacturing overhaul, including a new IS system that would link all their shops with computerized inventory.

Halfway through, they hired a new OPS VP who was convinced if he could just recycle the 1982 Unix systems with dumb terminals they were using and hire someone to write a custom database in CPM, they’d be fine.”

“And you told them?” Michelle asked.

“Bite me,” Dar replied frankly. “I’m not in the business of putting together fourth-rate technology with Band-Aids.” She glanced across the table. “I hear you bid on that one, Jerry. They ended up with OS/2 and Mod 30s they had to scrap after Microchannel bit the dust, didn’t they?”

The man’s nostrils flared. “They had some choice things to say about you, that’s for sure,” he replied. “Like the lawsuit said.”

Dar chuckled. “Jerry, everyone has choice things to say about me…and we won the lawsuit.” She went on down the list. “Oh, now that, that was a true disaster. Heads rolled for that one.” She shook her head. “Government accounting office, the implementation of automatic deposit for Social Security checks. That was just totally mishandled.”

“So you admit that, huh?” Jerry leaned back with a nasty smile.

“Oh sure.” Dar blinked at him. “I fired the entire account team personally, in fact.” She smiled back. “Day before Christmas, if I recall.”

Kerry darted a look at her, seeing the relaxed grin, and the slight, almost seductive narrowing of her eyes. Would she do that? She saw the wondering echoed on faces all around the table from them.

“Lord, yes, I remember that.” John sighed, shaking his head. “Poor Mariana, she was at her twentieth high school reunion and they paged her to come in and cut the paperwork.” He glanced over at the faintly shocked-looking Michelle. “Mariana’s our VP of Personnel. We were in the same class.

I was standing talking to her when her pager went off.” He looked to one side.

“You were not her favorite person that night, that’s for sure.”

Dar lifted both hands and let them fall. “Someone screws with our reputation that badly, they can expect that from me.” Then she went back to her list. “Useless jerks. Damn right, I fired them. Should have dumped them in the Atlantic while I was at it. Let’s see what else we’ve got here.”


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Michelle forestalled her. “I think that’s enough. Jerry, do you have something for me?”

Reluctantly, he handed over a sheaf of papers. The Disney exec picked them up, then stood. “Excuse me, I need to review these. I’ll be back in a few moments.” She caught Dar’s eye and favored her with a tiny smile before she left, trailing two aides behind her like a brace of sight hounds.