It took several breaths, to force the nausea down, and shove aside the familiar sensation of sickening dread she’d felt for those long, dark months. ”You’re the one without a life, morals, or integrity, ”she told him finally. ”So which one of us is the loser?”
“Listen, you—”
Kerry cut him off, ”I hope someday you start taking responsibility for what happens to you, and not just blame everyone else. Maybe you’ll end up a happier person.” She opened the door and got through it, closing it behind her and moving away from it as quickly as she could, blindly finding her way towards the break room. She ducked inside, and leaned against the counter, looking up as a hand touched her arm. ”Wh— oh, hi Duks.”
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The gentle brown eyes regarded her. ”Hello there, Kerry. Are you doing all right?”
Kerry sucked in a breath and released it. ”Yeah, yeah. ” She put a hand over her stomach. ”I think that meat pastalito I had didn’t agree with me.” She forced herself to settle down. ”Hey, you got a sunburn.”
Duk’s face creased into a wry smile. ”Yes, yes, I put on my bathing suit and went down to the pool for the first time since I moved into that damned place,” he told her, releasing her arm and walking over to the coffee pot. He poured a cup, then glanced over his shoulder. ”And how are you after all the excitement of yesterday?”
Kerry regarded the floor for a moment. ”Doing a lot better today,”
she admitted. ”I’ve, got to get back to work.” She gave Duks a brief smile. ”See you later.”
The hall seemed wider than normal, and she was glad to get inside her office with the door shut. She stood for a long moment, leaning back against the cool wood, then she shoved away from it and crossed to her desk, settling into the cool leather of her chair and folding her hands on the wooden surface. A soft knock came on the inner door, and she sighed. ”Come on in.”
Dar entered, her blue eyes holding a touch of concern. ”Hey.”
Kerry gathered herself together and half turned to gaze up at the taller woman. ”Hey.” She pursed her lips. ”How goes it?”
”Mmph.” Dar slid a hand over hers. ”You’re cold, you feeling okay?” she asked hesitantly, seeing the pallor under her lover’s normally golden skin tone. ”Ker?” she added softly, when Kerry didn’t answer.
”Yeah, I’m fine. I—” Kerry suddenly had to resist the almost overwhelming urge to simply put her head down on Dar’s thigh and let Dar pet her like a cat. “Last couple of days catching up to me, I think.”
She gave her lover a wry look. “And I just bumped into our friend out on the balcony.”
Dar’s brows lifted and she tilted her head a trifle. “And?”
“Turns out we had a mutual acquaintance and he...” Kerry hesitated. “Anyway, he was just being a jerk.”
“A jerk how?” Dar persisted.
Kerry’s phone rang and both of their pagers went off simultaneously. ”We can talk later.” Kerry gave her a wry grimace.
”This is going to hell in a handbasket.” She reached for the phone.
”Operations, Stuart.”
A harried voice answered her. ”Kerry, this is John Collins. I've got the New York office breathing down my neck, and I can’t get hold of Dar. You gotta give me something to tell them.”
”John?” Dar interrupted smoothly. ”Hold on a minute.” She put the call on hold, then faced her assistant, placing two fingers on her chin and lifting it up so their eyes met. ”We can talk now, if you need to,”
she said. “What did the stupid bastard say to you?”
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A peaceful silence settled over them, as they merely sat and looked at one another. Kerry’s lashes finally fluttered closed, and a faint smile twitched the corners of her mouth. ”When I first joined Associated, I had a supervisor named Richard McMasters,” she stated. ”And he didn’t quite subscribe to EEOC.”
”Ah.” Dar's brows contracted, and a gray tone entered her eyes.
”Did he mouth off to you?”
Kerry exhaled. ”Oh yes, and he took every opportunity to touch me, and to comment on my appearance, until I couldn’t look at him without my hands shaking, wondering what was coming out of his mouth next.” She stopped momentarily. ”And then one night he bumped into me at the library, and told me he wanted to...get to know me better, and if I didn’t cooperate, he’d fire me.”
The hum of the computer was very loud in the silence, a soft blooping noise coming from the screen saver which had sprung into life. ”Did...” Dar hesitated. ”I...I mean, did he...” She was honestly shocked, and a little hurt that Kerry hadn’t confided in her before.
”He cornered me in the back room two days later, and I told him if he didn’t leave me alone, I’d have my father sic the IRS on him. ”
Kerry’s face tensed into a grim smile. ”In a way, that made it worse. He kept after me in other ways, slamming my work, spreading rumors, until one day, some nice person over at Arthur Anderson hired him away.”
She paused. ”He said it was a boss’s prerogative to get the most out of his employees.” Her eyes searched Dar’s face. ”I think you can see why I never mentioned it,” she concluded, a little wistfully. “Figures he and Steven are friends. Same mind set.”
”B...” Dar could hardly articulate the emotions. ”I’d...nev...”
Kerry curled her hand around the suddenly nerveless fingers still resting against her face. ”I know that,” she replied warmly. ”Believe me, I know that, Dar. It’s just, I felt strange talking about it with you.” She let out a breath, some of the tension dissipating. ”I mean, you are my boss, after all.”
Dar was dismayed. She’d never thought to ask Kerry if staying in her current position was what she wanted to do. She’d only thought of herself, and how she felt about it. But when she opened her mouth to do just that, nothing came out.
She cleared her throat and tried again. ”Are you... Kerry, if you’re not comfortable with this, we could, I mean, there are plenty of places in the company. I just...I...”
Kerry felt the tension build under her casually draped arm resting against Dar’s thigh. ”You said you needed me where I was,” she stated softly.
”I did. I do, Kerry, I...I mean, of course I do, but if it’s going to make you upset, I...” Dar felt herself stuttering, which hadn’t happened Hurricane Watch
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to her since the fourth grade. She clamped her jaw shut, and swallowed a few times. ”We can make arrangements if you’re not comfortable with this.” There, she managed in a calmer, more even tone. ”I survived without an assistant for years. I can manage on my own again.”
”At what price?” Kerry stood and laid a hand alongside her neck, feeling the rapidly beating pulse under her fingertips. ”You said yourself the pressure was getting to you,” she reminded her lover, whose eyes dropped to the desk. ”I’m fine. I love this job. I love working for you, and I don’t want to go anywhere, okay?” She leaned forward and touched her forehead to Dar’s. ”I just had some nasty flashbacks, that’s all. He’s a jerk, and maybe he reminds me of Dick, the way he gets on my nerves all the time.”
Jesus, when did I get this insecure? Dar wondered, as she felt her heartbeat start to calm. What the hell is wrong with me lately, anyway.
It’s like I’m a kid again, going back to being a damn teenager. ”Okay.”
She managed a smile. ”You can tell me more about it later if it bothers you, all right?”
Kerry smiled back. ”All right.” She spared a glance for the phone, still flashing. ”Now, what in blazes do I tell him, Dar?”