"What a circus." Eleanor leaned on the pylon next to Kerry. "Next time I'm gonna send my assistant. I'm going on a cruise instead."
"Mm."
"Y'know, it's kind of fun to see the old Dar again, though," the older woman mused. "I'm glad she's pointed that way, not this way."
Kerry exhaled. "I'll be glad when the damn doors close tonight and we can get the hell out of here."
Eleanor looked at her, with a puzzled expression. "You not feeling well, Ker? You've been antsy all day."
Had she been? Kerry frowned, thinking about her actions since the morning. "Yeah, well..." She shrugged one shoulder. "Between the weather and our friends over there, my last nerve got Fedexed to Fargo around lunchtime."
Eleanor clapped her on the shoulder, and then she groaned and headed off to join Jose. Kerry watched a moment more, and then she sat down behind one of the consoles and smiled at a customer brave enough to wander past Dar to look over her shoulder. "Hi."
"Hi." The man sat down next to her and looked at the screen. It was currently displaying their top-level view, the huge backbones that made up the core of their network. "That's really impressive."
"Thanks." Kerry smiled at him. "It's a really good design. There's so much redundancy, even when we try to crash it, we can't."
"Bet it cost a pretty penny," the man grinned back.
"It did, but it's already paid for itself," she replied. "Watch this." Kerry typed in a command, taking down one of the core routing centers and removing it from the network. Other than a little greener pulse, the net barely flickered, rerouting around it in a blink of an eye.
"Wow."
Kerry restored the center before her pager started hitting the roof and watched the routes reestablish themselves. "It's flexible and self healing. A pleasure to manage." She glanced past the man, a little surprised to find Peter Quest there, watching her.
"Well, we'll have to look at our budgets," the man said. "It's a tight economy." He patted the desk and wandered off, clearing the way for Quest to approach.
"Hi," the man repeated, holding his hand out. "We met earlier? My name's Peter Quest." He took Kerry's outstretched fingers and clasped them. "People tell me you're the one to talk to about some new business. That true?"
Kerry's ears perked up a little. "It could be," she allowed. "I'm one of the people. What did you have in mind?"
Quest smiled at her again. "Let me ask you something first," he said, leaning on the counter with an elbow. "Are you up for a challenge? Can you put your name on a dotted line, and go head to head for some business...could turn out to be pretty big."
Kerry folded her hands. "What are you asking me?" she queried. "Can I negotiate a contract for ILS? Of course."
"Even if someone else in your company already said no?"
"Well." Kerry sat back. "Maybe. Why don't you tell me what your pitch is, and then we'll talk about it."
Quest nodded, with a satisfied look. "That's all I'm asking for." He leaned forward. "Here's the deal."
DAR CAME OUT of the bathroom, toweling her hair somewhat dry, dressed only in a second towel that was barely decent on her tall frame. She stopped to lean against the door, eyeing the sprawled form on the bed. "Ker?"
"Ungh." Kerry had her arm thrown over her eyes. "Shh. Kerry isn't here. It's just a prune, masquerading as Kerry."
"Uh huh." Dar sat down on the bed next to her, very nearly pulling her towel loose. "That was some downpour. I'm glad we made it back here." She reached over and used the other towel to dry off Kerry's head. "What a pain in the ass long day."
Kerry rolled over and draped her arm over Dar's thigh. "We have to do that again tomorrow, Dar. Augh!" She drummed her feet against the sheets and squiggled into Dar's lap. "Pig farts!"
Not at all displeased by the development, Dar tossed the towel somewhere in the vicinity of the bathroom and concentrated on her armful of cute blond instead. She was relieved herself that the day was over, and she was very much looking forward to the coming hours alone with her partner.
Accordingly, she slid her hand under Kerry's neck to support it as she leaned over and gave her a leisurely kiss, enjoying the simple passion of it. She could taste the last remnants of the lemon soda Kerry had grabbed on their way out of the trade show, and as their tongues gently played against each other, she let out a chuckle.
"What's so funny?" Kerry asked.
"I had fun in the afternoon session," Dar admitted. "I think I got everything back under control."
Kerry tweaked the towel, tugging it free of its tuck and exposing Dar's torso. "Mmhm." She traced a circle around her partner's navel. "I think you did too. Thanks." She felt the muscles under Dar's skin twitch. "I have a feeling you're going to make the news, though...I saw reporters there. With cameras."
"Eurgh." Dar made a face.
Kerry chuckled. "Not that they needed a scandal to take pictures of you...they do that anyway. You could have been explaining subnet masking and you'd still have gotten a crowd." She let her hand fall to the bed and closed her eyes. "Umph."
"Something wrong?" Dar asked.
"Headache."
"Again?" Dar curled her fingers around the back of Kerry's neck and kneaded it gently. "I see my friend Quest found you.. that what gave you this?"
Kerry remained silent, enjoying the massage. Then she exhaled. "He wasn't that bad," she admitted. "He had some interesting things to say."
Dar kept up the motion of her hands. "Ah," she murmured, surprised. "What did he say? Must have been different than what he told me."
Her cheek was resting against Dar's leg, and Kerry let her fingers stroke the skin there before she answered. "I think it was the same offer."
Dar considered that for a little while. "What did you tell him?" she finally asked. "Did you agree to do it?"
Kerry rolled her head to one side and opened her eyes, looking up at Dar with a faintly rueful expression. "Sweetheart, do you honestly think I would go do something you'd already told me you'd turned down on the company's behalf?" She reached up to tickle Dar's navel again. "I was really, really curious as to why you turned him down flat, though."
"What I don't get is why he asked you," Dar said. "What's his game?"
"Well...if mom says no." Kerry kidded her. "Just go ask...um...you know what I mean." She closed her eyes again as Dar's fingers found a knot at the back of her skull. "He asked me if I had the guts to go over your head."
"And?"
Kerry opened one eye and regarded her. "What do you think?"
A smile twitched at the corners of Dar's mouth. "I think right now I trust your judgment better than mine. To be honest, I can't tell you why the hell I blew him off, Ker. I had no reason for it...no business reason, anyway."
Kerry's eyebrows lifted.
"Then when I reconsidered...it was because Telegenics was also bidding, and I wanted to kick their ass. Not because I'd made a good business choice." Dar exhaled, but looked peaceful. "I think it's time I vacate that office, my friend. I'm just not into it anymore."
"Dar..."
Dar put her fingers across Kerry's lips. "It's the truth, we both know it," she said. "I'm not going to walk out, Kerry, but I'm not doing my job."
Uncertainly, Kerry subsided, confused and disturbed by her partner's admission. Dar didn't seem upset by it, but she was, and it was no use pretending she wasn't. "I'm really not happy to hear that," she sighed. "Especially because I think you're brilliant at what you do, and this last year's proved that over and over again."
Dar traced the furrow in Kerry's brow. "Anyway...we can talk about it when we get home," she said. "So...what did you tell little Peter?"
Kerry rolled onto her back and settled her hands on her stomach. She recognized the change of subject for what it was, and pondered whether to let Dar get away with it. Then the ache in her head made itself felt again, and she decided if Dar didn't want to talk about it right now, that was okay with her.