Stormy Waters: Book 10 in The Dar & Kerry Series (19 page)

"Unless it's a mistake." Ceci commented mildly. "Someone hit the fax key too many times."

There was a brief moment of relative silence. "That could be." Dar said slowly. "But given what Kerry said about the vendor's reaction, I'd have to say it's not a mistake. If it was, they'd have just called and corrected it. I'm sure when they got the purchase order six times, someone said something."

"Well..." Kerry rolled her eyes.

"True enough, Dardar," Andy said. "Someone surely did say something, but someone was told to mind their own business."

So Dar felt angry, but more comfortable with this bit of business behind the backstabbing. The cellular transmitter was beyond Shari, but this kind of bullshit certainly wasn't. "Better keep an eye on that shipment." She warned Kerry.

"Ah surely will." Andy replied, with a half grin. "Since them fellers picked me to be in charge of that there part."

"Heh." Kerry picked up Dar's hand and kissed the knuckles, then got up and headed for the kitchen. "A tisket a tasket two bitches in a basket..." She warbled as she disappeared.

Dar chuckled and shook her head. "Damn, this just gets screwier and screwier." She sighed. "You having fun there, Dad?"

Her mother laughed.

Andrew gave a dignified sniff. "Ah do like to think ah am providing a useful service," he said. "And it surely is a good thing to know that general civilians are a damn sight dumber than most of the people I done worked with in blue and white suits."

They all laughed, and Dar relaxed into the couch again, letting the tensions of the day seep from her. Things were looking up she decided. She'd had a good interview, Kerry had handled a sticky problem with panache, and her father was having a kicking good time making trouble for her adversaries.

Life was good.

"Hey, Dar?" Kerry called from the kitchen. "Can I get a hand with all this?"

Life was very good. Dar launched herself off the couch and headed for the scent of baking fish and cookies. Things were working out nicely all around.

She only hoped it kept on going that way.

"MORNING MAYTE!" Kerry felt in a more than usual cheerful mood, and it showed as she sauntered across her outer office. "Did I miss any disasters yesterday?"

Mayte looked up in surprise. "No, not that they told me about," she replied. "Are you feeling better today?"

Kerry stopped at her inner door and looked back at her assistant. "Other than looking like an outclassed prizefighter, I feel great." She indicated her eye, which still sported a distinct bruise. "But Dar says I have to start wearing a helmet in practice from now on."

Mayte laughed. "Like a football one?"

"Exactly." Kerry agreed. "Dar's mom and dad were over last night, and they were goofing around with me, trying to figure out how to build one so I won't just keel right over with it on." She chuckled. "They're so funny. Mom kept trying to convince me to switch to Tai Chi."

"They are very nice people."

"Very." Kerry said. "And it's so funny, because they're a blast to hang out with. I could never imagine ever being that comfortable with any of my family. Drinking beer with my father? Good lord." She gave her head a little shake. "Anyway, so it was quiet here?"

"Si." Mayte nodded.

"Figured it was, if Dar went out for lunch." Kerry turned to enter her office. "Can you schedule me a project meeting for ten? I want to make sure we're all on track."

"Sure."

Kerry turned. "And if anyone wants to meet with me tomorrow, it has to be early. I'm taking off a little early to go down south."

Mayte cocked her head slightly in question.

"I need some time out at the cabin." Kerry grinned. "So nothing past 3 p.m., okay?"

"I will make sure." Mayte scribbled a note on her pad, and turned to her email as Kerry disappeared into her office. After a moment, she looked up, with a wryly impish expression, as she heard a delighted laugh coming from behind the door.

"CLEAR MY SCHEDULE." Dar paused just in front of Maria's desk. "I'm going to be in the closet all day."

Maria paused in mid type and looked up at her boss. "Como?" She peered at Dar with interest. "I did not think you were one to be in a closet Dar."

For a moment, Dar simply stared at her, and then she broke in to a grin, and let out a burst of laughter. "Oh, hell, you got that right Maria." She chuckled. "I never even knew what the term meant until after I left college and picked up a gay magazine in an airport somewhere."

Maria also chuckled. "You have always been right in the front of everything about how you are. It is a nice thing. I do not like people who make themselves different in their face from what is real."

Dar considered that for a minute, and then she nodded. "I don't like those kinds of people either. I think that's one of the things I always appreciated the most about you."

The older woman's eyes lit up.

Dar smiled, and turned to head for her office, opening her door and entering before Maria could really collect herself to answer. She walked over to her desk and set her laptop case down, then sat down in her chair and let her hands rest on her thighs.

She was in a very good mood for once. They'd had a wonderful time last night, and this morning she'd woken early, lying quietly before dawn thinking of her security project while she held Kerry in her arms. Somewhere in all that, whether from the peace or the simple pleasure, she'd suddenly had a breakthrough in the design.

A piece had fallen into place that she'd been missing, and now she had a new direction to go in the intricate programming latticework she was painstakingly putting together.

With a pleased chuckle, she took out her laptop and opened it, spurning her desktop since she knew she had to take the fledgling program down to the closet to test it out. She rubbed her hands together and waited for the machine to boot, and then she tilted back in her chair and set the laptop on her lap.

After another moment, she put her booted feet up on her desk and relaxed, glad beyond measure that she'd found yet another excuse to wear jeans in the office. She flexed her fingers, and started typing, humming slightly under her breath as the lines of code seemed to flow effortlessly.

"I LOVE IT." Kerry circled the new addition to her office, a weighted boxing dummy in the front corner where a big empty spot had been previously. Originally a work group desk had been there, but Kerry had it removed when she decided meetings would be held in meeting rooms and she hadn't really found anything to replace it with.

Hanging around its neck was a pair of boxing gloves that she took off and slid on her hands. The figure had a bland, wide-eyed face and a business suited body. She jabbed at it playfully, socking it in the nose and making it rock back and forth. "God, I just love it."

The door opened and Mayte poked her head in. "Did you say something?"

Kerry turned and held up her gloved fists. "This is spectacular."

She pronounced. "Who did it? I know it wasn't Dar...she can't keep a secret from me for beans anymore."

Her assistant blushed. "It was me." Mayte confessed. "Mama said for you to get chocolate, but I think this will be more useful, no?"

Kerry boxed at her with both hands, jiving a little with her body at the same time. "Mayte, you rock. I absolutely love this." She pointed a fist at the younger woman. "But I'm absolutely positive I'm not going to let you pay for it. I know what these cost."

"You do?" Mayte made a wry face.

"Almost got one for Dar." Kerry winked at her. "So either you cough up the receipt, or I'll just start stuffing bills in your purse until you scream for mercy."

Mayte appeared exquisitely pleased, but she shyly shook her head anyway. "Please, Kerry, you have done so much for me. It is a gift to me to be able to do something for you in return."

Kerry planted her fists on her hips, or at least as nearly as she could wearing boxing gloves. "Mayte..."

"Please?" Mayte begged. "It really was not so much. My uncle is the boxing instructor for our YMCA. He helped me to get it."

"Hmm..." Kerry produced a mock scowl, then relented, and let a chuckle escape instead. "Oh, all right." She moved forward. "C'mere."

Mayte entered the office and shut the door, walking over to Kerry and smiling as she was enveloped in a hug. "It is better than chocolate, right?"

"Well, chocolate is pretty good." Kerry gave her a last hug and stepped back. "But this lasts longer, and it can be just as much fun." She tapped her gloves together. "You want to try it?"

Mayte indicated her chest with her thumb. "Me?"

Kerry slid off the gloves and offered them. "Sure."

"Oh, no, no." Mayte grimaced wryly, holding her hands up in a warding off gesture. "Please, Kerry, if my mother ever knew I even put those on, she would go crazy!"

Kerry looked at the gloves, and then looked down at herself, before returning her gaze to Mayte's face. "Just what exactly does she think boxing turns you into?" She queried. "I'm not a candidate for a freak show...or at least I wasn't the last time I checked."

Her assistant turned a deep shade of coral. "No...no...it is not that,? she said. "It is just not what is considered proper in my culture."

Kerry had to laugh. "Mayte, it's not considered proper where I come from either. I have to admit if my mother ever saw me put these on, she'd just keel right over and we'd have to call 911." She winked at Mayte. "But you know what?"

"You do it anyhow."

"Uh huh." Kerry tied the gloves together and hung them back over the dummy's neck. "So if you ever get the urge--go for it." She headed back for her desk. "I won't tell anyone."

Mayte gazed at the dummy, and then she grinned. "Okay." She sidled back toward the door. "I am glad you like it." She disappeared, closing the door and leaving Kerry in peaceful silence.

"Oh, I really do." Kerry grabbed her mug. "I really, really do." She walked toward the door, punching at the air in the direction of the dummy all the way.

DAR RAISED HER head at the knock on the door. She was a little surprised since she'd given instructions not to be bothered. "Yeah?"

Mark entered and crossed the floor to sit down opposite her. "Hey, DR."

"Hi." Dar cracked her knuckles. "I'm in the middle of spawning an app. Is this important?"

Mark blinked in surprise. "Oh, sorry." He started to get up. "No, it's just about that thing in the conference center...didn't realize you were coding." He paused. "Man, been a long time since I've had to say that, huh?"

Dar's lips twitched, and then curled into a grin. "Yeah." She waved him back down. "But I can take a break."

Mark sat back down. "Good news and bad news." He paused. "Bad news first?"

"Always."

"It's an unreleased beta rig from Taiwan."

Dar scowled. "So no tracing the purchaser, is that what you're saying?"

"Yeah." Mark nodded. "I contacted the place where it was built...they've been going nuts because it's missing, and man, they were crawling all over my ass right through the phone trying to find out how I got it," he said. "If they were Star Trek fans, I'd have had them beaming right onto my desk, hands grabbing for sure."

"Ah."

'They want it back, big time."

"Uh huh. Bad enough to give us an exclusive license on it?"

Mark grinned like the pirate he was. "Man, you are so psychic." He sighed admiringly. "That's the good news. They want to do a deal with us. One of their guys is heading over here."

Dar sighed. "Doesn't help us figure out who it was." She nibbled the inside of her lip. "And if it wasn't who everyone thinks it was, then it could be someone who's on the inside here."

Mark frowned. "An employee?"

Dar nodded. "Yeah."

"That would suck."

Dar drummed her fingertips on her keyboard. "Yeah."

KERRY TUCKED HER notepad under her arm and prepared to leave the conference room. Her team was still milling around, discussing some of the items they had pending, but it had been a good meeting and she was pleased with their progress.

Mark walked over and perched on the edge of the conference table. "Did you hear from the wiring guy?"

"This morning." Kerry nodded. "He's started, but he says it's like trying to wire inside the New York subway system. Tough going."

"I bet." He nodded. "Hey, that shiner doesn't look that bad. The way DR was talking yesterday, I thought your eyeball was hanging out of your face."

Kerry winced at the visual. "The way she was treating me I thought the same thing." She admitted. "She's such a nanny sometimes. You'd never expect it of her." She indicated the door. "C'mon. I've got lunch lined up and it's about that time."

They walked together out of the conference room and down the hall toward the elevators. The tenth floor was somewhat more crowded than the fourteenth, and they had to dodge a stream of bodies, some of whom paused to greet them briefly.

"Hey, Kerry." One of Eleanor's assistants waved. "How's the head?"

Kerry paused and turned, stepping out of the path of traffic for a moment. "Ah, it's not too bad." She indicated her eye. "Just embarrassing, really."

"Yeah." The woman looked sympathetically at her. "Hey, Joyce and I are heading down for lunch...you want to join us?"

Kerry smiled and started to edge away. "Thanks, but I've got a date. Catch me some other time?" She continued toward the elevators, then paused seeing the crush of bodies around them waiting to go downstairs.

"Oh yeah, reclaiming your territory." The woman called after her. "Gotcha. No problem, Kerry."

What? "Heck with that." Kerry turned and pushed open the stairwell door, starting up the steps at a brisk clip. About at the twelfth floor, she heard footsteps coming down the other way, and looked up to find Mariana headed in her direction. "Hey there."

"Morning, Kerry!" Mariana greeted her warmly. "How's the eye?"

Kerry stopped in mid motion and gave her a look. "Was it such a slow news day yesterday that my darn eye had to be the center of everyone's conversation?"

Mark had slowed down behind her and was now standing with a martyred look on his face. "I told you sending that email out was a bad idea," he said to Mariana.