Kerry exhaled, wondering really what her options were. If they lost the advantage their discount gave them, could she make it up somewhere else? The project was so important, could she risk it?
What would Dar do?
Kerry turned her head and focused her vision on the picture just to one side of the television, the one where Dar was looking right at the camera, and seemingly right into her eyes.
Hmm.
"Mark?"
"Still here, boss." Mark spoke through the ever present rattling of keys. "You got any great ideas? I was even surfing around our inventory to see if we can pull from stock, but we just don't have enough units for the full order."
"Call that jerk back up, and tell him that I said if he doesn't shake that order loose, we're going with another vendor's gear."
Silence. "Um...okay." Mark hesitated.
"Company wide."
Longer silence. "You're kidding, right?"
"Nope," Kerry said. "They want to lose a top tier partner? Fine. I'll get two other infrastructure companies in here giving me bids by the weekend, and believe me my friend, they'll be more than happy not only to give us better prices, but tell the press all about it as loud as they can."
More silence.
"You want me to call him?" Kerry asked.
"No, I'll do it." Mark recovered hastily. "No problem, matter of fact, I'd enjoy the heck out of it. Lemme call you back after I talk to him, okay?"
"Okay."
Kerry folded the phone up and laid it on her stomach letting out a long breath before she glanced over at Ceci. "Sometimes, you just have to be a bitch."
Ceci leaned on the arm of the love seat, her gray eyes wryly twinkling. "Kerry, don't take this the wrong way, but you'd have to channel the Wicked Witch of the West with terminal PMS to come off as a really good bitch. You're just too cute."
Her guts still churning in side, Kerry nevertheless managed a wry grin. "Yeah. I know. Dar says the same thing." She admitted. "Even my getting a tattoo really doesn't up the intimidation factor."
"You?" Ceci sat up. "Got a tattoo?"
"I sure did." Kerry got up off the couch and walked over, crouching next to her mother-in-law and pulling her t-shirt down off one shoulder. "See?" She watched the puzzled, then charmed expression cross Ceci's face and smiled as their eyes met again.
"What did Dar say when she saw that?" Ceci asked. "It's absolutely gorgeous, by the way. You found a great artist."
"Mm." Kerry relived the warmth of the moment. "She didn't say much. But she liked it." She got up and plopped back down onto the couch.
"I bet she did," Ceci said. "What made you decide to get that done? I never figured you for the pain loving type." She settled back in the love seat and tucked her bare feet up under her, leaning on the arm as she watched Kerry squirm around on the couch.
"Well," Kerry stretched out, resting her head on the thickly padded arm, "I'm not. I hate needles almost as much as Dar does."
"That's saying something." Ceci commented wryly. "I always timed her checkups for when Andy was home, because he was the only one who could hold her down long enough for them to inoculate her."
Kerry spared a moment to imagine that. Her partner had a considerable amount of strength, and she could easily imagine her terrorizing the nurses. "Well, considering what happened to her in the hospital that one time, I can't say I really blame her. I know I was an adult when I had my one horror show and how it affected me, so..." She glanced up at Ceci, who now had a pensive look on her face. "Anyway, it was when Dar was in New York. I finished boxing class, and I guess that, plus talking with the guys, plus the smell of a new Harley...I don't know. I think I just went nuts for the night."
"Ah." The older woman nodded.
They were both quiet for a brief time. Then Kerry sighed. "It was just something I wanted to do," she said. "And you know I was worried about what Dar would say."
"About that?" Ceci's eyebrows popped up like a surprised meerkat.
"About me doing it." Kerry turned and grabbed her cell phone again as it rang. "Yes?" She answered it, pushing her disordered hair out of the way. "Hey Mark. What's up? Did you get through to that guy?"
Mark sounded as though he was out of the office for a change, traffic sounding behind him instead of the usual humming bustle of the MIS center. "I did, boss. He's gonna call me back." He told her. "He was not a happy guy."
"I'm not a happy gal," Kerry retorted, "so we're even. Did he really think he'd just get away with that game that easily?"
"I dunno." Mark sighed. "I'm just grabbing something for lunch. I passed DR heading to the sushi place with that reporter. Glad she wasn't there when this hit the fan."
Mm. Sushi. Kerry stifled a grin, recalling the little place she'd found that had been there for years and escaped Dar's notice somehow. It was small, but the service was good and they had a table in the back where the little waitresses always recognized them. "That reporter's connected with the ship bid." She told Mark. "Guess they didn't antagonize Dar too badly, if she's eating with them."
"Yeah." Mark agreed. "She looked nice enough, not like that scruffy guy who came in here last time." A siren blared. "Well, soon as I hear back on our order, I'll give you a buzz, okay? I'm almost to the pizza place."
"Right." Kerry agreed. "Have a good pizza, Mark." She hung up, and felt her nostrils twitch just a trifle as she acknowledged a brief pang thinking about Dar having lunch with another woman. It was extremely unclassy, and stupid, and pointless, so she just waited it out and after a second it passed, and she could mentally roll her eyes at herself.
If there was one thing she knew she could trust completely, it was Dar in that regards. Heck, Dar had turned away offers even before they were barely friends, much less involved with each other. She was steadfast and honest, and it bothered Kerry to even have the littlest of reactions to the thought of anything otherwise.
Ah well. She released a long sigh, and dismissed the thought. "So anyway, that's how I ended up with a tattoo."
Ceci had been quietly watching her. "Did Dar mind you doing it? I don't really think she'd object. I know she really wanted one when she was younger, but her father and her own dislike of the apparatus dissuaded her."
"No." Kerry shook her head. "I don't think she minded at all. She thinks it's kind of...um..." She blushed slightly. "Well..."
"Well, it's her name on your chest." The gray eyes twinkled. "So I'm sure it's quite sexy."
"Yeah." Kerry's blush deepened and she scrubbed one hand over her cheek. "But it's not just that, I think? I think it means something else, too."
Ceci pursed her lips. "I think it means for her the kind of permanence she was always looking for." Dar's mother spoke up unexpectedly. "I didn't understand that for such a long time."
Kerry nodded, a lump rising in her throat. "That's what I wanted it to mean." She could hear the husky note in her voice, and she stopped speaking to let it clear.
Ceci fiddled with her cup as the silence lengthened. "Want more?" She offered. "I'd offer to bake cookies, but we both know how that's going to turn out."
Kerry smiled. "Sure. How about you get some tea, and I'll bake the cookies? I've got a black eye, not a broken leg." She got up from the couch, suddenly wanting something to do. "Besides, I know they won't go to waste later on if we have extra."
"Eh." Ceci amiably joined her. "That's for sure."
"Hey, any chance of Dad stopping by after work?"
"With cookies in the offing? Absolutely."
Kerry chuckled, putting aside her worries for now. There would be time enough to worry about them later.
Chapter Six
"OKAY. SO NOW I have some questions." Pat Cruicshank said, as the waitress set down two tiny cups of tea. "You ready?"