"I'm gonna cross her lines." Kerry got out from between clenched teeth. "Has she really been telling people that?"
"Well, she had me half buying it, and to be honest, that's the real reason I came down here." The reporter admitted. "You can act however you want in the office, but like you said, this is not your office, and it's off the clock." She looked around. "And this ain't no movie set."
Dar scratched her nose and produced a brief smile. "No, it's not."
"Dar, do you think that's where all that crap in the office came from?" Kerry turned and looked at her. "From Shari? Is that possible, that she fed all that BS to someone inside?"
"That would be the obvious choice." Dar sat forward and started pouring herself another cup of coffee. She very gently nudged Kerry's bare foot with her own. "But you never can tell. Could be the other way around."
"Ah. Yeah."
"Problems inside your office?" Pat asked alertly.
"Just more of the usual chatter." Kerry shrugged it off. "We had a good laugh about it."
Dar stirred her coffee around counterclockwise just hearing that characterization of her partner's reaction. "So." She set the spoon down and took a sip. "What are you going to do?" Her eyes lifted and met Pat's. "Now that you've achieved your goal and interviewed us today."
Dar's cell phone chose to ring at that moment. With a faint sigh, she leaned over and picked it up, then answered it. "Yeah?"
"Hey boss." Mark's voice sounded aggravated. "Listen, I traced down the IP we saw, and it was one of the Marketing bullpen machines. Could have been any of ten people using it."
"Okay. Get me full scans on those ten." Dar replied quietly. "And put traces on them."
A pause. "All the way?"
"Yes."
"You got it." Mark said. "Hey, you know what? It's been a lot cooler around here since you put that stuff on the big pipes. I haven't had nearly as many alerts."
Inwardly, Dar smirked. "And you're surprised?"
Mark chuckled. "Nah. I knew you hadn't lost your touch. We've only got one little bastard who keeps trying. I'm keeping an eye on it though."
"Good work. Keep me in the loop." Dar said, and then she hung up. "Well?" She turned her attention back to the avidly listening reporter. "Decided what your angle's going to be or what?" Leaning casually back, she stretched one arm across the back of the couch and sipped her coffee, watching Pat over the rim of the cup.
Kerry decided to settle back herself, ending up by design in the curl of Dar's arm, and with one hand resting lightly on her partner's thigh. She recognized Dar's fencing mode, and figured it would be better all-around for her to stay out of the match until she could get more fully clued in on what was going on.
"Well, not yet, no." Pat said. "It's kind of a tough situation, you know? I mean, if Telegenics wins that bid, it's going to be real hard for me to slant my story any way except for what everyone's expecting. We need to have our viewers happy about who comes out on top."
"Well." Kerry pursed her lips. "Y'know, with two sets of dykes in the mix, you probably need to recruit some heteros or you're going to be upsetting most of your viewers no matter what, if either of us come out on top."
That caused a bit of a silence. Dar prudently stuck her nose in her cup and slurped up some coffee, as the reporter merely goggled at Kerry briefly.
"It's true," she said, with a slight shrug.
"Maybe they should back a dark horse." Dar mused. "Knock those lousy lezzies off their pedestal. That'd make a good story, don'cha think, Ker?"
"Mm. I wouldn't watch it, but sure."
Pat shifted uncomfortably. "Are you making fun of me?" She asked, with a slight hesitation. "We don't practice discrimination in our telecasts." She got up. "So that part of your lifestyle never came into the picture."
Kerry got up also, neatly drawing her attention. "How can't it? She asked. "You've got Shari and Michelle, who are very out, and Dar and I, who are also very out. We're competing for the same prize, and we're in a dog fight with all the dirty tricks stops pulled out." She cocked her head to one side. "How do you intend on portraying that without mentioning our sexual orientation?"
"Well, of course we were going to mention it but..."
"Are you saying you weren't going to focus your storyline on that?" Kerry's voice rose a little in disbelief. "Really?"
"Look. This is the Travel Channel." Pat said. "Not E! or Spice. So yes, that would have been mentioned but no, we weren't going to name it the Gay Boat Show."
"Huh." Kerry grunted and shook her head.
"We could always arrange for a Jell-O wrestling match." Dar launched herself from the couch and prowled over to the back window, watching outside and bracing both hands on the window. "That'd get ratings."
"Wrestling." Kerry looked thoughtful. "I'd go for that."
"Wait a minute. This isn't supposed to be about you all fighting each other. Well, not like that," Pat protested. "I mean, yes. We want the personal angle, but it's got to be about the goal too."
Dar turned. "Either you go the personal route, or you don't." She leaned against the window. "If you take that path, you have to deal with the dirty parts. You want your boss to see how we mix living and working? Then you have to show how Shari and Michelle don't, and that means you have the Dueling Dykes show."
"But..."
"She's right." Kerry picked the ball up effortlessly. "Mention why you were here and you have to go over why Shari talks about Dar the way she does. It's not for business reasons."
Pat looked cornered. "Wait a minute..."
"Tell you what." Dar swiped the ball back. "Invite your boss to dinner with us. Save the drama, and stick with the business line on your program. You'll end up with happier sponsors for it."
Kerry chuckled. "At the least."
Pat looked at them both uncertainly. "But the people angle..."
"Find another people angle." Dar pressed her. "Think about it." She turned and opened the back door, gesturing toward it with one hand. "Your boat's ready. I think the Coasties even left your drivers intact."
Slowly, Pat walked toward the door, watching them both until she was in the doorway with her hand on the sill. She took a breath to say something, then she merely shook her head and walked out, without looking back.
Dar swung the door shut. She and Kerry regarded each other for a brief moment then both sighed at once. "This is gonna be a mess if she doesn't take that advice."
Kerry joined her. "You got that right," she agreed. "But, I think it's a mess anyway." She exhaled. "I think we really did mess this one up, Dar."
Dar put an arm around her shoulders. "I think you may be right, Ker." She admitted. "I think we made some bad choices. But we can't change that now, so let's just make the best of it that we can."
"Break out the mops?"
"Yeap."
Chapter Ten
THE MORNING SUN rose gently over South Pointe Marina, gilding the forest of pristine white fiberglass that graced its many slips. Toward one side of the marina, in an area relatively uncrowded in the summer, a sixty foot Bertram yacht rode peacefully within its dock, rocking back and forth slightly as a tall, broad shouldered figure paced across its stern deck.
Andrew whistled softly under his breath as he worked, laying out a new set of white cotton lines for the big boat in orderly loops. His hands worked the rope with almost unconscious skill, fingers half twisting the lines to release the kinks in their new fabric.
It was Sunday, the weather was fine, he had work to do on his boat, and Ceci had promised him a hamburger for breakfast. Life, he reflected silently, just didn't get any better than this--especially given where his life had been not so long ago. He had no doubt at all this was just a gift from God he had no explanation for.