Tropical Storm - DK1 Read online

  She closed her eyes and was startled when a flash of her dream from the storm morning came to her. It had felt…yes, a little like this. Just a little.

  They reached the top of the incline, and the car shot forward, starting the ride. It was dark and twisty, and there wasn’t really much to see so she just kept her eyes closed and let gravity war with Dar’s powerful grip.

  Unsurprisingly, Dar won. She kept hold of Kerry as the car rushed in a tight circle and over a last series of hills, the bottom dropping out a few times until they rattled into the end of the ride, and the dark dissolved into a blast of blue light, and it was over.

  It felt a bit too soon, in fact. Kerry exhaled as they shuttled into an ending platform, and Dar released her. “Wow, that was fun.” She got up and hopped out of the car, the taller woman following along behind. “It was so dark, though. Are they all like that?”

  Dar shook her head. “Thunder Mountain isn’t. I’ve never been on the other one, but I don’t think it is. That’s more water than anything.” They exited out into a starlit night, where the faint strains of the parade music were still floating in the air.

  Kerry smiled at her. “Thanks for keeping me safe.”

  “No problem,” Dar replied with a brief grin. “I’d hate to tell you what I’d have to go through in Personnel if I lost you on a business trip. Mariana would have my head if I let you lose yours.”

  They both chuckled, then Dar motioned to the right. “This way. We can sneak around back through Frontierland to get to Big Thunder.”

  “Oh, is that where that Country Bear Jamboree is?” Kerry suddenly asked. “I’ve seen that on TV so many times.”

  Dar gave her an indulgent look. “Okay, I get the hint. C’mon.” She gave her a sideways glance. “I’m surprised you didn’t want to see the Haunted Mansion.”

  176 Melissa Good

  “Ooo.” Kerry made a face. “I forgot about that. Is it around here?”

  Dar just laughed as she changed direction again. “C’mon.”

  THEY WERE ON about the last monorail out and happy to settle in a regular seat as the sleek train pulled out of the park and headed back toward the hotel. Dar leaned against the window and peered out, half shaking her head about how she’d spent the night.

  Good grief. It better not get back to anyone, or I’ll never hear the end of it. She watched the lights of the boats below go by and exhaled, watching her breath condense on the glass. Wasn’t so bad though...and it wasn’t like we really had anything else planned for the evening. I’d already gone over most of the reports before we left Miami, and the other option was just finding some entertainment in the hotel.

  This, s he decided, was just as good, and all the walking certainly was healthy.

  Somehow they’d managed to hit all the major areas in under two hours and had walked down Main Street as the park was closing, watching Mickey Mouse balloons float aimlessly up from the hands of sleeping children.

  She glanced to her left, hiding a grin at the bags tucked under her companion’s arms. From one peeked a stuffed buffalo, its crossed eyes and tiny pink tongue comically protruding. From the other emerged a happy-looking Pluto nestling comfortably against Kerry’s shoulder, his floppy ears showing black against her blonde hair. Dar found herself unexpectedly charmed by the sight. “It’s a dog’s life, huh?” she addressed the stuffed animal. “Aren’t you a lucky puppy.”

  “What?” Kerry turned and looked at her. “Did you say something?”

  “Nope.” Dar sat back and folded her hands together. “Nothing at all.”

  Kerry had, to her bemusement, fallen in love with Buff, the animated, wall-mounted buffalo in the Country Bear Jamboree, and wouldn’t be satisfied until she’d scoured the Frontierland Trading Post and found one to take home with her. She’d tried to convince Dar to get a coonskin cap, but the executive had taken one look at the fuzzy tail hanging over her ear and plopped it up onto the top of a rack, out of Kerry’s reach.

  She’d stuck with just her candy, though a filigreed, hand-blown glass dolphin on a cresting wave in the glassmaker’s shop had tempted her. She’d finally decided the figurine would probably only get broken and so she decided not to buy it. She’d momentarily lost Kerry, only to have her turn up a few minutes later with Pluto, and a satisfied look on her face. The Emporium, shop of last resort for frantic souvenir hunters, was always the last place to close, and they wandered through there on their way out. Dar succumbed to the overwhelming marketing pressure by purchasing a crisp black polo shirt with a silver Mickey embroidered on the breast.

  “Oh, that’s festive,” Kerry had teased.

  Dar chuckled wryly. “Calculated plan of attack. I’ll wear it at the meeting tomorrow, under my jacket.” Her eyes twinkled wickedly. “Good psychology.

  This Disney crowd’s an odd lot. They’re businessmen, but there’s still a strong element in there of the old, family-centered franchise. They’re very loyal to the brand name, and they like to see some enthusiasm for their product.”

  “Hmm, interesting.” Kerry considered that as they’d walked out. “What Tropical Storm 177

  do they consider their product to be?”

  Dar had looked at her. “If you had asked Walt Disney, dreams.”

  NOW, SHE SETTLED back in her seat and stretched out her legs, resting them on the bench facing them. They were almost alone in the car, and the train had several stops to make before it went the entire circuit and ended back up at the Floridian. They passed through the Contemporary, a huge block canyon of a place, and the Hawaiian-style Polynesian, before they slowed to a stop at the stately white Grand Floridian. “This is our stop.” Dar stood and stretched, then ducked out the door and entered the lobby.

  People were still milling around, mostly near the bars, and the elevators were fairly crowded as they made their way up to their rooms. Dar slipped her door open and ambled over to the dresser, depositing her bag of goodies before she turned and noticed the message light blinking on the phone. “What the hell is that?” She pulled her cell phone from her belt and checked it. “No, I thought this was on. Who in the hell would leave me a message here?”

  She shook her head as she sat down and started pulling at her sneakers with one hand while lifting the receiver with the other and dialing the operator for the message. “Yes, this is Dar Roberts, I have a message?” She wrote down the name and number on a scratch pad left by the phone and thanked the operator, then hung up. “Well, John…” She picked up the receiver and dialed again, listening as it rang. It was picked up on the fourth ring. “Hello, John, you said to call when I got the message, so…”

  “Oh. Oh, Dar. Yes. Thanks.” The man’s voice sounded harried. “I was just putting the last bit of a new proposal together. Listen, I’m glad you’re here.”

  That’s new. “What’s up?”

  “They’ve asked us to come in with a bid tomorrow, but they’re bringing us and the team from IBM in at the same time. Kind of like a face-off.”

  “Oh, really.” Dar pulled off her other sneaker and rubbed her toes.

  “That’s different. They expected us to arm-wrestle it out or something?”

  “I don’t know,” John answered with a sigh. “But I’ve been getting my tail kicked by their team leader. I understand you know him?”

  “Oh yeah.” Dar chuckled. “You could say that. He certainly won’t be glad to see me, let’s just put it that way.” She unbuttoned her vest and stood up.

  “Listen, mail the proposal over to me, and I’ll take a look at it. What time’s the meeting tomorrow?”

  “It’s at ten, at the admin center,” he answered with audible relief.

  “Michelle Graver’s in charge of their negotiating group. Dar, she’s vicious.”

  He cleared his throat. “In today’s session, she brought up every major failure we’ve had in the last ten years. Not sure where she got the info from.”

  “Probably from Jerry Andrews,” Dar replied as she pulled off the ves
t, and then unzipped her briefcase. “So it’s that kind of dirty pool, eh? All right.

  I’ll give the office a call and see what reciprocal dirt I can dig up. They’ll be loaded for bear tomorrow.” She paused. “Do they know I’m here?”

  “Not that I know of. Unless they track our corporate bookings in their central res system,” John replied, sounding a good deal more cheerful.

  “Damn, I’m glad you’re here, Dar. Tomorrow it’ll be like walking in with an 178 Melissa Good Uzi under my arm.”

  Dar snorted. “Thanks.” She plugged in the laptop and connected the modem cord to the spare jack on the side of the phone. “Actually, make sure there’s room for two more. I have my new assistant with me as an observer.”

  “Oh? Great!” John replied. “Even better, we’ll outnumber them, then.”

  He hesitated. “And it’ll make a better mix on the team. I’ve only got guys on this one, I think that’s annoying Michelle.”

  “What about them?”

  “Are you kidding? At this level bid? All guys, all blue suits, all white shirts, black ties, black shoes, and IBM tie tacks.” The account rep chuckled.

  “At least we’re wearing different colored underwear.”

  “Should be fun.” Dar sighed. “Send it over. I’ll be dialed in.” She waited for him to hang up, then replaced the receiver and instructed her laptop to complete a connection.

  “Problems?” a soft voice asked, and she looked up to see Kerry in the adjoining doorway, dressed in an overlong T-shirt with a large, obnoxious Tweety Bird on it and not much else. “I heard that start to connect.” She pointed at the laptop.

  Dar got over her gut-level response at seeing her assistant in her underwear and shrugged. “Could be. Apparently the IBM team is playing dirty pool. Not that we wouldn’t if we could, of course, but they’ve given the people here some inside info about us, and John’s having a rough time of it.”

  She glanced at the screen, and then waved Kerry inside the room. “Sit down, he’s sending me over his new bid to look at.”

  Kerry willingly did so, curling up on her side on the bed and handing Dar a piece of the fudge she’d been nibbling on. “What kind of inside info?”

  Dar checked the download indicator. “Damn, I must have a meg of mail.

  We’ve only been gone for seven hours, what’s going on down there?” She ate the fudge, then licked her fingers. “Mmm, that’s pretty good.”

  “I don’t know, I left my laptop picking up. I had a bunch too,” Kerry advised her, as she handed over another piece.

  “Hey, that’s yours,” Dar protested, but took the fudge anyway. “The inside info was screw-ups of ours—times when we promised something we couldn’t deliver, or had to void out of a contract due to non-performance, that kind of thing.” She started a terminal session and typed in a request. “C’mon, c’mon. Goddamn analog piece of shit lines.”

  Kerry muffled a grin. Dar had taken off her sneakers and vest and tugged her shirt out, and it was appealingly rumpled-looking. “What are you going to do?”

  “Get some dirt on them,” Dar replied absently, sending a bot out searching the huge database Programming had custom written for them. “Fire with fire, and all that.”

  Golden lashes fluttered. “Why not just put in the best bid?” she inquired.

  “Or is that an incredibly naïve question?”

  Dar’s blue eyes lifted and twinkled. “Well, not naïve, just a little too, um…optimistic.” She placed the laptop on the bed and stood, stripping out of her shirt and reaching for her bag. “In an ideal world, we’d all be judged on our merits. This isn’t an ideal world.” She glanced at Kerry, who was Tropical Storm 179

  studiously looking elsewhere, and managed a wry grin.

  “And?” Kerry seemed to find the bedside clock fascinating.

  “And I know that.” She got into her baseball shirt and pulled off her jeans, folding them neatly and tucking them inside the bag. “So you take any advantage you can find, including knocking down the other guy any way you can.”

  “Hmm.” Kerry gave a small nod. “It sounds very antagonistic.” She finally looked up and pushed a bit of hair behind one ear.

  “It can be,” Dar agreed, relaxing onto her side and extending her legs across the bed, while she checked the progress of the bot. She thought a minute, then started another bot, this time searching for information on Michelle Graver. She’d vaguely heard of the woman in passing. Was it with Merrill Lynch? But they’d never met, and she knew nothing about her. Not a good way to go into a bid meeting. “The IBM lead negotiator almost came over the table at me the last time we met.”

  Kerry’s eyes widened. “Really? God, Dar…that’s terrible.”

  “No.” Her boss looked up with a devilish grin. “It was hilarious. He couldn’t do it because when he stood up, he split his pants, and he had to sit right back down or flash the client with his big white butt.” She chuckled at the memory. “I almost hurt myself laughing.”

  Kerry bit back a laugh. “I would have died. Is he going to be surprised to see you?”

  “Ooo, yes.” Dar chuckled again, not a nice sound. “It also helps the makeup of the team. John thinks Michelle Graver, the lead rep for Disney, is ticked off because both we and IBM brought in all male groups.” She glanced up at Kerry. “She’s been giving John a hard time.”

  “You think she’ll give you a hard time?”

  Dar studied the results of the second bot. “Hmm. She might.” Her brows rose. “She’s pretty formidable on paper. She’s got a doctorate in psychology in addition to a masters in business. She’s been with them for ten years and is viewed as one of their top talents.” She turned her laptop around for Kerry to view. “Here, take a look.” She watched Kerry read, her eyes flicking back and forth rapidly. “See anything interesting?” A little test, one she suspected her intelligent young friend would pass.

  “She’s a skydiver,” Kerry murmured, touching the screen with a fingertip. “That shows a certain kind of personality, doesn’t it? Someone who looks for adrenaline highs?” She said, “A risk taker.”

  “Mmm-hmm.” Dar gave her an approving smile. “Good catch.”

  “So, that means she probably thrives on conflict, which is why she’s staging the meeting like that tomorrow, right?” She glanced up. “It gives her a thrill to watch you guys go at each other.”

  “Could be,” her boss admitted.

  “So, your best bet is to stay cool, right?”

  Dar chuckled. “Exactly. She’s depending on one or the other of us to lose it and give in to our tempers. And that, my friend, is not going to be me.”

  My friend. Kerry liked the sound of that. “I just sit quiet and take notes, I assume?”

  “If you’ve got something to say, Kerry, you say it,” Dar answered 180 Melissa Good seriously. “But think of these people as sharks. They’re looking for tidbits.

  And bear in mind, no matter how civilized they seem, that there are no friends in there.”

  She smiled. “Except us.”

  Dar looked up from her screen and smiled back. “Yeah.”

  Kerry glanced down to the bedspread, then back up. “Thanks for doing the park with me tonight, Dar. I know this is a business trip, but I had a great time.”

  Dar let her head rest on her hand. “I had a good time too. Tell you what, if these damn meetings let out at a decent time tomorrow, we’ll do Epcot, and I’ll treat you to dinner in Mongolia or someplace. How about it?”

  A quiet smile edged her lips. “You don’t have to do that, I can always come up here another time.”

  Dar drew a pattern on the fabric, then looked up at her through dark eyelashes. “I know you can, but I also know that I won’t, so let me have my little self-delusional excuse for a quasi-vacation, okay?” she replied wryly.

  “Oh, oh, sorry. Okay, I get it.” Kerry gave her a sweet smile. “Don’t worry. I promise I’ll never tell anyone you actually have fun sometimes.”

&n
bsp; “Thanks.” Dar chuckled. “And, um, listen, thanks for going with me this morning. I really appreciated having a friendly face there.”

  “No problem, I’m just glad everything turned out okay,” Kerry replied honestly.

  “Me too.” Dar rolled over onto her back, but kept her head turned towards Kerry. “Feels good not to have to worry about that. I’ve always been half scared that valve would blow out on me underwater or something.”

  Kerry squirmed a bit closer. “Why didn’t you have it checked out before, then?”

  Dar shrugged. “Didn’t want to know, I guess.” She laid a hand on her stomach, tapping idly with the edge of her thumb. “Stupid.”

  “Human,” Kerry disagreed. “No one likes to hear bad news.” She paused, then sighed. “Well, if tomorrow’s going to be a big battle, I’d better get some sleep.” She stood up and raised a hand. “ ’Night, Dar.”

  Thoughtful blue eyes regarded her. “ ’Night.”

  After Kerry left, a silence settled over the room and Dar was conscious of the soft hum of her disk drive as it accepted the downloads, and the gentle clicking as the air conditioning cycled on and off. Her brow creased in mild confusion. The room seemed so empty now with the kid gone. She found herself wanting Kerry back near her, even if it were only to be studying the files quietly in the corner, or standing around just talking, or… Or just being close by.

  She thought hard about that. Okay. She took a deep breath and released it.

  I’m attracted to Kerry. That wasn’t any big deal. It happened often enough, and Kerry was as safe as a baby in a crib from any hint of impropriety from her or anything like that. Company rules were company rules and that was one line Dar Roberts never, ever crossed. She’d had relationships inside the building, sure, most of them embarrassing failures, but none in her own space. No way.

  No way, not with Kerry. Dar found herself looking at the door between their rooms.

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  And, after all, her new assistant was good looking, smart, had a great sense of humor, nice eyes, and nice body…who wouldn’t be attracted to her?