”I like that one on you.” Dar had snuck up behind Kerry, and slid both arms around her middle, hugging her gently. ”It’s the color of your eyes.”
Kerry’s suit, a shimmering, almost translucent green blue glittered in the low light, accenting her toned body.
Kerry leaned back against her and folded her arms over Dar’s.
”Thanks.” She turned, picking up a small box. ”We almost forgot this from your dad.” She handed it over.
”Oh.” Dar took it, examining it carefully as though she were afraid it would spring open. She slowly unwrapped the plain paper and revealed a closed, clamshell container, which she opened gently.
”Whoa.”
Inside, on the dark gray crushed velvet, nestled two black pearls, opalescence winking at her. They were the size of dried chickpeas, and were a well matched pair.
”Wow,” Kerry breathed, peering at them. ”Those are gorgeous.”
”Yeah,” Dar breathed. ”They sure are.” She gently closed the box and held it, giving her head a little shake. ”His presents were always like that. You never knew when one was coming, but when it did, it was always...” She glanced at the box. ”Always something special.”
”You could have them made into earrings.” Kerry suggested.
”They’d look awesome on you.”
Dar put the box down on the dresser, and tapped it with one long finger. ”Maybe,” she agreed. ”C’mon, let’s go soak for a little while.”
They went outside, taking their glasses with them, and Kerry held them both as Dar eased into the water.
”Ungh.” Dar stretched her arms out, and took the milk. ”This feels
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great.”
She watched as Kerry joined her, nestling up against her immediately. ”I’ll put these down.” Dar advised her, setting them on the coping, then putting an arm around Kerry’s shoulders.
For a few minutes they just sat there, absorbing the sensation of the water, a mist of warm, chlorinated water drifting across their faces. The ocean was at high tide, and beating against the seawall, and off in the distance they could hear the buoy bells ringing.
”It’s beautiful out here,” Kerry murmured, tipping her head back and regarding the starry sky, scattered with the odd, occasionally puffy cloud.
Dar turned her head and regarded the moonlit profile next to her.
”It sure is.”
Kerry caught the glance and smiled a little, blushing slightly. ”So.”
She cleared her throat. ”Now tell me how all this worked out.”
”Mmm.” Dar wiggled her toes contentedly. ”Alastair asked me to reconsider, I told him I had two conditions, he met them, presto. That was it.” She stifled a yawn. ”You were one condition, Steven was the other.”
Kerry mulled that over. ”So, did he know about us, or...” She left the thought hanging.
”He knew.” Dar chuckled softly. ”He said he knew when he saw those first sets of pictures from Orlando, but I guess he decided to ignore it.”
”Isn’t that a problem?” Kerry queried. ”I mean, we’ve been doing this cat and mouse thing for months, because it was this big rule. So?”
Dar shrugged. ”It comes down to what’s more important?
Company rules or profits?” She advised her lover. ”He can make exceptions, and yes, it’s a problem, but it’s not like it’s never happened before, Kerry, and what the rule is for is mostly to protect the junior of the two employees.”
”Protect?” Kerry cocked her head. ”Oh, from harassment, that kind of thing?”
A nod. ”Exactly. It’s so bosses don’t take advantage of their subordinates, and it’s a good rule.” She reached over and brushed a droplet of water off Kerry's cheek. ”But I told him I needed you, and he’s satisfied you’re not being pressured, or coerced in any way, so he’s going to just work around it.”
”Oh.” Kerry thought about that. “That’s going to be strange after all this time.”
“Mm.”
“I guess I can bring you lunch up now though, huh?”
Pale blue eyes shifted her way. ”And I can wander down the back corridor a couple times a day and not feel conspicuous,” Dar replied dryly. ”I mean, it’s just like anything else.
We treat each other
professionally at the office. We just don’t have to worry about people finding out what we do outside of it.”
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”Hmm.” Kerry nodded a little. ”So, can I call the rest of the staff and tell them to come back in tomorrow?” she asked, wistfully.
”Because I don’t think I can handle a few more days like today.”
Dar hesitated. ”I, um, I could call them in the morning,” she ventured.
One sea green eyeball rotated and fixed on her. ”You could if you were going into work.” Kerry blinked at her. ”Are you? I thought Alastair said for you to take a couple days off.”
Dar drummed her fingers on the coping. “I thought about it. But it’d be a lot more relaxing for me to get started on stuff than sit around here and worry about you.” She pushed the damp hair off Kerry’s forehead.
Kerry sighed. ”I wish you’d stay home.” She ran her fingers along Dar’s scalp, and brushed lightly over the bump. It was, she was forced to admit, almost gone. “But I won’t lie and say I want to go through another day like I did today. My god, Dar. How in the hell do you deal with that place?”
“Practice.”
Kerry sighed again. “Can we leave early?”
A slow smile. ”I promise you dinner at sunset out on the water,”
Dar offered, one eyebrow lifting in invitation. ”You, me, the boat, a few seagulls. How about it?” She leaned over and stole a kiss. ”Hmm?”
Kerry nibbled her way up Dar's neck. ”All right,” she agreed, breathing the words right into Dar’s ear. ”You’re on.”
”Good.” Dar ducked her head again and found Kerry’s wandering lips, and she pulled her over onto her lap, sliding an arm around her waist securely. She felt Kerry’s hands glide down her shoulders, and her eyes closed in reflex as their bodies pressed against each other in knowing familiarity.
They’d deal with all that trouble tomorrow. That was another day.
Right now, all that mattered was the rich, night breeze, and the stars, and each other.
KERRY STIFLED A yawn as she trudged across the kitchen, headed for the coffee machine. She mechanically portioned the Irish crème flavored grounds into the basket, and started the coffee going, blinking a little as she leaned against the counter.
She could hear Dar’s voice as a low murmur coming from her office, and she guessed her lover was making the promised phone calls to their stubbornly missing staff. ”Any luck?” she called in, as she heard the phone disconnect.
”Oh yeah.” Dar moved to the doorway of the office, stretching and catching the edges of the sill with her fingers as she rocked her head back and forth to loosen her neck muscles. ”I got Mark. He cursed me out because he was planning on working over one of his bikes, but he
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said he’d be in, and that he’d call the rest of his staff in so I didn’t have to do it.” The tall, dark haired woman released the door, and walked across to where Kerry was standing. ”Now I have to do the tough one, Maria.”
”Ouch.” Kerry slid a hand up Dar’s belly, feeling the warmth of her skin under the fabric. ”You’re hardly limping,” she commented.
”Mm, yeah, it feels a lot better,” Dar agreed, with a smile. ”I think I’ll use the crutches to get away with dressing down again today, though.”
Kerry snorted. ”Dar, after having the CEO come and beg you to reconsider last night, you think anyone would say a word if you came dressed in shorts and a t-shirt?” she paused. ”Wait a minute, forget I suggested that. They’d say words, all right, and I’d have to slap them all silly.”
Dar laughed. ”Thank you for flattering my ego.” She gently kissed Kerry’s head. ”Excuse me.” She moved into the kitchen, retrieving a bowl and her Frosted Flakes from the cabinet. ”Want some?”
A sigh. ”Dar, do you think you could make me feel better by at least putting a little banana in that?” Kerry asked, mournfully. ”And no thanks, they crunch too loud and hurt my ears this early in the morning.” She bumped Dar out of the way and opened the refrigerator, snagging a fruit and cheese Danish from a neatly packed box. ”I prefer a quieter, gentler breakfast.”
Dar grinned, munching away noisily, and pressed a key on the kitchen console.
”Dar Roberts, 656 new messages, 234 Urgent,” the computer responded promptly.
”Oh, Jesus.” Dar almost inhaled a flake. ”Delete all unmarked,” she told the computer. ”Forget it. They can resend the damn things.”
”Deleted. Dar Roberts. 234 new messages, 234 Urgent.”
”Delete all messages, duplicate subjects,” Dar instructed. ”That also have same sender.” She glanced at Kerry who was chewing her Danish and had padded over to pull out two large mugs. ”That should get rid of half of those.”
”Deleted. Dar Roberts 155 new messages, 155 Urgent.”
Dar sighed. ”Well, that's better than 600 plus, I guess.” She examined the list. ”Let's see, oh, read 143.”
Sookis, Mariana
Sent 7:32am
Dar -
I just got this cryptic note from Alastair, which basically states:
”She's
back,
leave
her
alone.
She’s
got
my
authority
to
take
care
of
whatever
business
needs
taking care of.”
What
is
he
talking
about?
I'm
assuming
he's
referring
to
you,
because
he
left
your
resignation
164
Melissa Good
letter
marked
”Rescinded'”
on
my
desk.
I
tried
calling you last night, but there wasn't any answer.
I'd like to talk to you. I know we've got some issues to discuss.”
Mari
”He’s such a pain in my ass sometimes.” Dar rolled her eyes, and picked up the phone, dialing a number. She waited. ”Good morning, Mari,” she remarked into the receiver, keeping her voice more or less neutral.
A pause. ”Oh, Dar. God, yes, good morning,” the Personnel VP
answered, somewhat hesitantly. ”I just sent you that email, I didn’t know if you were picking up or...”
”I didn’t until this morning,” Dar replied. ”Alastair was here last night.”
Longer pause. ”Oh.” Mariana thought about that. ”So, you’re back with us, I take it?” she asked hopefully. ”I kind of assumed from his note.”
”Looks like it,” Dar responded. ”I had a few conditions, and he met them, so...” She shrugged, then smiled at Kerry as she handed her a cup.
”I just called Mark. He’s calling his staff, and I’ll see if I can get the rest of operations back in.” She sipped her coffee contentedly. ”I’m going to have them put their time in as worked.”
Mari hesitated. ”Okay,” she murmured. ”What about the whole situation with Fabricini. I inferred from Alastair that you’re handling it?” she asked, cautiously.
”Yep,” Dar informed her. “I told him I’d take care of it.”
”Okay,” Mariana said again. ”So, you’re coming in? I thought Kerry told me the doctor sent you home to rest?” she gingerly asked. ”I mean, Dar, this can wait a day or two. I really don’t want to see you hurt yourself.”
Dar smiled wryly. ”It’s okay. I promised Kerry I’d make it a half day, and take her out sailing for dinner,” she told her. ”And I don’t break promises like that.” She ran a hand through Kerry’s disheveled hair and scratched the back of her neck gently, causing the smaller woman to close her eyes and hum blissfully.
A soft sigh. ”All right. I guess I’ll see you in a little while...and, Dar?””Mm?” Dar took a swallow of coffee.
”I’m sorry.”
”For what?” Dar asked quietly.
”You were right. We did all stand back and let you get hit,” Mari replied, just as quietly. ”I don’t feel very good about that.”
Dar let her eyes flick to Kerry’s face, as Kerry regarded her, the sun coming in the window dusting her face with golden light. ”It’s all right,” she finally answered, lifting her hand to gently stroke the soft skin. ”It wouldn’t have mattered before. I wouldn’t have cared, but I
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think I’ve been just a little off balance lately, and you had no way of knowing that,” she told Mariana. ”You assumed I’d just react like I always did before.”
”Mm,” Mari murmured. ”Well, it’s not going to happen again,” she vowed. ”I’ve set up meetings with both José and Eleanor today, and we’re going to have some straight talk here.”
Kerry turned her head, and kissed the palm brushing her cheek.
”I’m going to go take a shower,” she mouthed, rubbing Dar’s belly.
Dar smiled and nodded. ”All right, let me finish making my calls, Mari, and I’ll see you in a little while.” She paused. ”How’s Duks?”
”Grumpy,” Mari chucked ruefully. ”I woke him up and told him you were coming back, and now he has to get out of his bathing suit and actually come to work.” She paused. ”That was quite a tribute to you, by the way,” she added. ”It’s the first day he called in sick in five years.” She sighed. ”All right. Let’s get this place back to normal. Drive safely, my friend.”
”I’m not driving, but I’ll pass that on,” Dar told her dryly. ”See you, Mari. Listen, we’ll have dinner, talk things out, all right?”
”All right.” Mariana sounded relieved. ”See you, Dar.”
Dar put the phone down and wandered over to the sliding glass door, pushing it back and moving out onto the stone balcony, letting the early morning sun warm her skin after the cool of the air conditioning inside. The sea was at low tide and very green to her eyes, and she leaned on the railing, gazing out as the breeze blew her hair back.
She had, she realized, mixed feelings about going back to work.
Part of her was glad, needing the excitement and the challenge. There was another part, though, a guilty, hidden part that had been secretly hoping the resignation would stick, hoping that she and Kerry could then take a few weeks off and just...
Dar’s eyes found the horizon. She’d found herself wanting very much to take time out of life and spend it getting to know her lover better, taking her places Dar liked, maybe even out skiing, down to Key West, all the things they didn’t have time to do now.