”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”Rescinded'”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
answered, somewhat hesitantly. ”I just sent you that email, I didn’t know if you were picking up or...”
”I didn’t until this morning,” Dar replied. ”Alastair was here last night.”
Longer pause. ”Oh.” Mariana thought about that. ”So, you’re back with us, I take it?” she asked hopefully. ”I kind of assumed from his note.”
”Looks like it,” Dar responded. ”I had a few conditions, and he met them, so...” She shrugged, then smiled at Kerry as she handed her a cup.
”I just called Mark. He’s calling his staff, and I’ll see if I can get the rest of operations back in.” She sipped her coffee contentedly. ”I’m going to have them put their time in as worked.”
Mari hesitated. ”Okay,” she murmured. ”What about the whole situation with Fabricini. I inferred from Alastair that you’re handling it?” she asked, cautiously.
”Yep,” Dar informed her. “I told him I’d take care of it.”
”Okay,” Mariana said again. ”So, you’re coming in? I thought Kerry told me the doctor sent you home to rest?” she gingerly asked. ”I mean, Dar, this can wait a day or two. I really don’t want to see you hurt yourself.”
Dar smiled wryly. ”It’s okay. I promised Kerry I’d make it a half day, and take her out sailing for dinner,” she told her. ”And I don’t break promises like that.” She ran a hand through Kerry’s disheveled hair and scratched the back of her neck gently, causing the smaller woman to close her eyes and hum blissfully.
A soft sigh. ”All right. I guess I’ll see you in a little while...and, Dar?””Mm?” Dar took a swallow of coffee.
”I’m sorry.”
”For what?” Dar asked quietly.
”You were right. We did all stand back and let you get hit,” Mari replied, just as quietly. ”I don’t feel very good about that.”
Dar let her eyes flick to Kerry’s face, as Kerry regarded her, the sun coming in the window dusting her face with golden light. ”It’s all right,” she finally answered, lifting her hand to gently stroke the soft skin. ”It wouldn’t have mattered before. I wouldn’t have cared, but I Hurricane Watch
165
think I’ve been just a little off balance lately, and you had no way of knowing that,” she told Mariana. ”You assumed I’d just react like I always did before.”
”Mm,” Mari murmured. ”Well, it’s not going to happen again,” she vowed. ”I’ve set up meetings with both José and Eleanor today, and we’re going to have some straight talk here.”
Kerry turned her head, and kissed the palm brushing her cheek.
”I’m going to go take a shower,” she mouthed, rubbing Dar’s belly.
Dar smiled and nodded. ”All right, let me finish making my calls, Mari, and I’ll see you in a little while.” She paused. ”How’s Duks?”
”Grumpy,” Mari chucked ruefully. ”I woke him up and told him you were coming back, and now he has to get out of his bathing suit and actually come to work.” She paused. ”That was quite a tribute to you, by the way,” she added. ”It’s the first day he called in sick in five years.” She sighed. ”All right. Let’s get this place back to normal. Drive safely, my friend.”
”I’m not driving, but I’ll pass that on,” Dar told her dryly. ”See you, Mari. Listen, we’ll have dinner, talk things out, all right?”
”All right.” Mariana sounded relieved. ”See you, Dar.”
Dar put the phone down and wandered over to the sliding glass door, pushing it back and moving out onto the stone balcony, letting the early morning sun warm her skin after the cool of the air conditioning inside. The sea was at low tide and very green to her eyes, and she leaned on the railing, gazing out as the breeze blew her hair back.
She had, she realized, mixed feelings about going back to work.
Part of her was glad, needing the excitement and the challenge. There was another part, though, a guilty, hidden part that had been secretly hoping the resignation would stick, hoping that she and Kerry could then take a few weeks off and just...
Dar’s eyes found the horizon. She’d found herself wanting very much to take time out of life and spend it getting to know her lover better, taking her places Dar liked, maybe even out skiing, down to Key West, all the things they didn’t have time to do now.
She sighed, and nibbled her lip. Well, one thing, if Alastair knew about them, and they decided to take off the same week, it would be all right. In fact, she decided, that’s exactly what we’re going to do. She straightened and went back inside. Pick a week, and take off. To hell with the company. She exhaled and headed for her own shower.
Hearing the sound of water running as she entered her bedroom and spotting the naked, patiently waiting figure leaning against the door, arms crossed, darkened green eyes watching her with seductive intent.
Oh yeah. Dar sucked in a breath as a sensual jolt hit her right in the groin. To hell with the company. ”Well, well, what do we have here?”
she inquired, moving closer and sweeping across the lithe body in front of her. Kerry’s appearance had changed quite a bit since she’d met her 166
Melissa Good
three months prior.
Her indoor pallor had deepened into a golden tan, and the painful thinness had disappeared. Dar had always found her attractive, but the changes had also brought Kerry a new self-confidence that seemed to glow inside her, rendering her almost mesmerizing to Dar’s appreciative eyes.
”Gotta make sure you don’t slip and fall in the shower, Dar,” Kerry informed her cheerfully, reaching up and unbuttoning the top button on her shirt. ”I just got my boss back. I don’t want to lose her again.” She unbuttoned the second button. ”Do you mind sharing a shower?”
”Heh.” Dar slid both hands down her sides and traced the now barely visible ribs with gentle thumbs. ”Oh, I think I could suffer through that all right.” She ducked her head and kissed her.