Hurricane Watch - DK2 Read online

  ”Uh oh.” Kerry winced.

  ”Yeah, well, me being a moral and upright bastard in the old days, I had to go running to the department head with it. Steven was tossed out of school.” Dar sighed. ”Our last meeting wasn't very pleasant. He told me he’d get back at me someday, and now, here he is trying.”

  ”Jesus, he should get a life. What was that, ten years ago? What a waste of time.” Kerry folded her arms across her chest. ”He gives me the creeps.”

  ”Mm,” Dar agreed. ”Well, we have to deal with him. If he keeps pushing you, you can tell him you’re not interested, or that you’re involved with someone.”

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  ”Both of which are completely true,” Kerry agreed.” Your sandwich is getting cold.” She gave her boss a not so subtle nudge.

  Dar smiled, and opened the bag, tugging out the sandwich and munching on a fry. ”Mm…bet Maria made a face at you for this.” She bit into the gooey sandwich happily. ”She usually brings me chicken salad on pita.”

  “You like pita?”

  “No.” Dar wiped her lips with the napkin from the bag. “But if I’m hungry enough I’ll eat pretty much anything and she knows it.”

  “Hmm.”

  “Don’t get any ideas.”

  Kerry watched her indulgently for a minute, then stood up. ”Yes, she did give me a hard time, but not nearly as bad a look as when old Stevie snake was flirting with me.” She touched Dar’s shoulder. ”I think she has a protective streak, too.”

  ”Mm hmm,” Dar nodded, with her mouth full. ”She thinks you’re a manifestation of the Blessed Virgin for getting me to eat trail mix instead of malted milk balls.”

  Kerry snorted softly. ”That didn’t take much effort at all. C’mon, anyone could have done it.”

  Dar studied her sandwich for a moment, before taking a bite of it.

  ”No one else ever tried,” she remarked casually as she chewed the mouthful, enjoying the gentle tang of the raisins in the bread. ”Even my mother gave up on me.”

  ”Well.” Kerry reached over and gently pushed an errant, dark lock out of Dar’s eyes. ”I’m pretty stubborn.” She smiled. ”Not to mention a little on the possessive side myself,” she confessed. ”Was your mother into greens?”

  ”Vegetarian,” Dar replied, wiping her mouth. ”She tried, but my father told me even as a baby I used to chuck up the strained peas, and go after his hamburger. Must have driven her nuts.” She finished off her fries and neatly disposed of the bag. ”Thank you. Now I have just enough time to review this damn status report before the executive committee meeting, and I’m stuck with a new client briefing at four. I won’t get out of here before seven.”

  Kerry nodded. ”I’m meeting a few folks over at the gym for a climbing session at six. Will you be over for our class?”

  ”Oh yeah,” Dar responded positively. ”I’ll be ready for that. It’s been a long, aggravating day, and it’s only lunchtime.”

  ”Yikes.” Kerry’s hands had found their way across her boss’s neck, feeling the tension in her shoulders. She stood up and went behind the chair, reaching over and giving her a gentle massage, enjoying the warm feel of Dar’s skin under the cool silk of her blouse. ”You’re all wound up, huh?”

  ”Mm.” Dar closed her eyes and dropped her head forward, submitting

  to

  her

  companion’s

  touch

  gratefully.

  ”Yeah.

  Hurricane Watch

  15

  Ow…oh…damn, that feels good.” She finally leaned back, as Kerry finished, and looked up at her. ”Thanks.”

  Kerry smiled back. ”You’re welcome. I’d better get going. Did you actually have stuff to give me, or was that just a reason for me not to leave?”

  A soft chuckle. ”I’m not that bad. Here,” Dar handed her the three folders. ”Three new ones, and in case I didn’t say it before, the two you structured last week were very well done.” She patted Kerry on the leg.

  ”I got a note from Eleanor regarding the New England Power meeting.

  She was very impressed with how you handled it.”

  Kerry positively beamed. A big, sunny grin covered her face, and her eyes sparkled, as she drank in the words. ”Wow, thanks.”

  Compliments from Dar, business ones anyway, were coveted treats all the more so because they were usually unexpected. Her reaction made Dar smile, which made her feel even better. “Boss, you rock.”

  Dar’s phone buzzed. ”Dar?” Maria sounded resigned.

  ”Yes?” The executive answered, leaning on an elbow.

  ”Personnel, line numero uno.”

  ”I bet I know what this is.” Dar sighed. ”Thanks.” She hit the button. ”Dar Roberts.”

  ”You are such the troublemaker, you know that?” Mariana’s voice sounded halfway between irritation and wry amusement. ”Are you trying to set some record for complaints against one employee?”

  Dar lifted her hands and let them fall on the desk. ”What did I do?”

  she asked. “Now?”

  ”Oh, let's see…” A rustle of paper. ”Being rude, obstructionist, uncooperative, detrimental to the progress of business…”

  ”She really wasn’t, Mari.” Kerry spoke over her boss’s shoulder. ”I was here. She was really polite, as a matter of fact.”

  Mariana sighed. ”What did he want?”

  ”Me.” Kerry replied. ”He wanted me, and another staff member assigned to him personally for two months, while he, as he put it,

  ‘straightened us out.’”

  A soft curse in a fluid language followed. ”And you told him no, I take it?”

  ”I told him I didn’t have the time or the staff to go on wild goose chases and that if he wanted dog’s bodies to hunt stuff down, to go see you,” Dar replied. ”I’m not assigning one of the cleaning staff much less Kerry to that horse’s ass.”

  ”Mm. I see.” The Personnel VP sighed. ”Well, he kicked a copy of this up to Alastair, along with a bunch of statistics. It looks pretty nasty, Dar. I’ll forward you a copy.”

  Dar drummed her fingers on her desk. ”Did he copy José?”

  A moment’s silence. ”Um, now that you mention it, no,” Mariana replied.

  Dar smiled. ”Okay. Thanks. I’ll handle Alastair if he decides to get 16

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  involved.” She pulled a folder over to her. ”Meet you in the conference room?”

  ”You got it,” Mariana agreed, and hung up.

  ”He sounds like he really means to make a case out of this, Dar,”

  Kerry stated quietly, her brow creasing in concern. ”Would it be easier if we just went along with it? I mean, it’s not like he’s going to actually find anything if he investigates our area.”

  The pale blue eyes thoughtfully roamed the room, settling on Kerry’s face with quiet intentness. ”Yes, it would be easier,” she stated flatly. ”But I’m not gonna do it.” The ferocity in her voice surprised Kerry. ”He wants a fight? He’ll get one.”

  Chapter

  Two

  DAR GLANCED AT her watch as she entered her office. It was a few minutes to seven and she lifted her cell phone, dialing a number without looking. Three rings, then four, then a breathless voice answered. ”Hey.”

  ”Oh.” Kerry paused to breathe. ”Hey, what’s up?”

  ”Where are you?” Dar inquired, hearing the panting.

  ”Halfway up the climbing wall, holding on by one hand,” Kerry replied. ”So as much as I love talking to you, could you kinda—”

  ”Sorry,” Dar apologized. ”I just got back from the briefing. I’ll be over in about ten minutes.”

  ”Right. I’ll let everyone know,” Kerry responded. ”Ooof…oh...wait, okay,” She sighed. ”That’s better. I was sort of upside down, and trying to hold myself up, my arm was giving out.”

  Dar chuckled softly. ”Okay, well, get both hands back on those holds, okay? I’ll see
you in a bit,” She cleared her throat audibly. ”Take care.””Okay, see ya.” Kerry hung up, and managed to clip her cell phone to the back of her workout shorts. ”Glad I got the lightweight model,”

  she commented to the rough wall before her eyes. ”Well, time to go down.”

  She worked her way slowly across the wall, moving from handhold to handhold, and finally let go of the last one, landing lightly on the floor. She straightened up slowly, then leaned against the wall and caught her breath. Her shoulders and thighs ached,

  ”Whoo.” She shook her arms out and flexed her hands, then paced back out of the climbing room and paused, searching the crowded gym.

  ”Ah.” She spotted Ken standing next to his small office, and she headed in his direction.

  He looked up as she approached, and a smile creased his friendly face. ”Hey there.”

  ”Hey Ken,” Kerry wiped her brow with the towel she had tucked in her waistband. ”Dar’s on her way over. She had a late meeting.”

  Ken rubbed his neck. ”I’m still sore from last night,” he complained wryly. ”Maybe we can just have coffee tonight, huh?”

  Kerry laughed gently. ”I think she’s really enjoying your sessions, but I’m sure she’d take it easy on you if you asked her.” She looked up 18

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  as Colleen approached, already in her workout gear. ”Hey, Col, it’ll be a few minutes. Dar’s on her way over.”

  The redhead grinned. ”Good. I thought I was going to be late. I had two tellers come up short today, and we spent an extra hour trying to figure out what happened.” She tugged on Kerry’s shorts. ”Let’s get a drink while we’re waiting.”

  ”Okay. I’ve got to put my stuff on,,” Kerry agreed. ”You want anything, Ken?”

  ”No.” The gym manager shook his head. ”You two go on. I’ve got to give a few tours.” He indicated a small group of uncertain looking women. ”New members.”

  Kerry nodded then followed Colleen towards the juice bar. ”Order me a strawberry banana, would you? I’m going to go change.” She angled her steps towards the locker room, waving at three sweating women who passed by. ”Hey guys.”

  ”Hi Kerry,” the closest one, a programming specialist who worked in Mark’s department, answered. ”The boss around?”

  ”On her way,” Kerry smiled, as she continued into the tile lined locker room, which echoed with the sounds of the showers, and the clank of locks against the metal doors.

  Kerry went to her assigned space and unlocked it, pulling out her light cotton pants and top, and the white belt that went with them. She stripped off her shorts and the t-shirt she wore when climbing, along with the knee protectors that kept her kneecaps from being smashed against the rough concrete.

  Idly she glanced to the right, and caught sight of herself in the mirror, and paused to evaluate the reflection. Turned sideways as she was, she could see the smooth curve of her thigh muscles. They had become a good deal more pronounced. She slid a hand up along her waistline, where she was just beginning to see a little definition.

  She’d put on twenty five pounds since she’d hooked up with Dar, more than half of it muscle. Her entire body shape had changed beyond anything she’d expected, hiding her bones and giving her face a rounder and, to her surprise, younger appearance.

  ”Hmm.” She raised an eyebrow at the sight, watching the rounded shoulder muscles shift as she moved her arm. It had taken her a while to get used to it. She’d been so accustomed to thinking about herself in a certain way, that this sudden change had made her a little uncomfortable at first.

  Okay, she sighed, as she slipped into the cotton pants. A lot uncomfortable, as her mind fought against a lifetime of being subjected to her mother’s views on what a woman should, or should not look like.

  Women were not supposed to look like wrestlers. Slim...yes.

  Poised...yes. Buff? No.

  A lot of people here at the gym fit into her mother’s views, keeping strictly to the light aerobics, and the sweat rooms producing bodies like Hurricane Watch

  19

  whippets, all slim bone and taut skin, avoiding the weight rooms and machines like the plague.

  Dar had gone a long way towards providing her with an example of a different way of thinking. The taller woman regarded strength training as an important part of her fitness regimen. She was completely unapologetic over the amount of smooth muscles that covered her body.

  Dar explained to Kerry, a touch sheepishly, that she preferred it that way, since the muscles burned up a lot of the excess she tended to indulge in.

  That made a lot of sense to Kerry, and she decided if she was going to share a life with Dar, she’d better make an effort to ensure sharing Dar’s eating habits wasn’t going to be totally self-destructive.

  It had come as something of a surprise to her, however, that she liked the activities, and was becoming reasonably competent at them.

  She’d never really enjoyed sports in her younger years.

  Comfortable with the thought that the hour of climbing she’d just enjoyed would also make the pound of strawberries and crock of thick, dark chocolate waiting at home equally and guiltlessly enjoyable, she finished fastening her gear and met her eyes again in the mirror. “Ready to kick some booty?”

  As if on cue, her stomach started growling, and she rolled her eyes.

  She locked her locker and headed for the door as she tied her belt.

  ”Took you long enough.” Colleen gently pushed Kerry’s drink over to her. ”So, how’s the week been?” she asked. “ Since I never see you anymore to ask you down in Kendall.”

  Kerry looked mildly abashed. “Yeah, that only visit on the weekends thing didn’t last long, did it?”

  Colleen chuckled. “Did you really think it would?” she asked.

  “C’mon, Ker.”

  Kerry sucked her drink down. “I was trying to give Dar space,” she said. “Turned out she wanted me around as much as I wanted to be there.”

  “Could have told you that before,” Colleen tsked. “So anyway, how’s work?”

  Kerry sighed. ”Personally, great. Professionally, great, except that new guy I told you about. He’s been driving us crazy this week.” She took a long gulp of the frothy fruit drink, enjoying the tangy sweet taste. ”He’s got it out for Dar.”

  Colleen sipped her own drink, and fiddled with a napkin. ”Well, you be careful, there, m’dear. Don’t get caught in the crossfire,” she warned. ”Dar’s fully capable of taking care of herself.”

  ”I’m already in the middle of it.” Kerry sighed. ”It’s a mess, but we’ll handle it.” Her eyes went to the door just in time to see it open and a familiar form ease inside. Dar was still in her business suit, but had her gym bag hitched over one shoulder. She pushed it back as her eyes swept the interior of the gym.

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  Melissa Good

  Kerry counted. It took less than five seconds. It was a game they played sometimes, to see how fast they could find each other. On the count of one thousand four, the blue eyes zeroed in on hers, and Dar’s lips twitched into a grin. She made her way over to where they were seated, gracefully sidestepping a pair of power walkers who were strutting their way across the machine area.

  ”Hey.” Kerry offered her a sip of her drink. ”How’d it go?” She felt safe in this moderate display of affection, since the crowd was busy and most of the people there who knew them weren’t gossipmongers.

  A shrug. ”Same as always.” Dar accepted the glass, and took a swallow of the fruit smoothie. ”Hello, Colleen.”

  The redhead smiled. ”Hi Dar. Any chance of going over those punches today?”

  ”Sure,” Dar replied, handing Kerry back her cup. ”I’m going to go change. Meet you guys over by the mats.” She headed into the locker room, crossing to her locker right next to Kerry’s, and unlocking it. She put her bag inside, and changed quickly, glad to get out of her skirt, hose and pumps, and into a comfortable pair of cotton pants and
soft boots.

  She hung up her work clothes, and shrugged into the mid length shirt, pulling the long, black belt from her bag and glancing at it before she wrapped it twice around her waist and tied it off.

  Putting this on had felt very strange, she remembered. She usually worked out with the trainer on the island in a pair of sweat pants and a t-shirt, but when she actually started teaching class, Ken said it would make the students feel less awkward with their own new garb if she wore hers as well.

  So she’d rooted around in the three trunks tucked into the condo’s closet that represented her personal possessions, and dug the old thing out. She was a little surprised it still fit. She’d had her doubts about wearing it, but then Kerry had told her she liked it. She’d told Dar she thought she looked really cute in it, and since then Dar hadn’t minded wearing it.

  ”A little egotistical?” she asked herself wryly. ”Oh. Just a little.”

  She locked the locker and headed out towards the class area, chuckling a bit under her breath.

  They were all waiting, a group of ten including Kerry and Colleen.

  Dar took them through a series of warm up routines, using the time to stretch out her own muscles. She then went over several concepts she’d taught the week before, and linked that into the day’s lesson. As always, Kerry watched her with that little look of utter concentration, her brow furrowed, the tip of her tongue poking out a bit, as she repeated the exercise, uncertain at first, then with more confidence.

  ”Nice,” Dar complimented her. ”Okay, now you and Colleen go at each other.” The rest of the class watched as the blonde and the redhead squared off, and Kerry edged forward, getting the hold on Colleen’s Hurricane Watch

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  arm, and correctly dumping her on her butt. ”Right.”

  ”Ugh.” Colleen squinted up at her friend. ”I’ll be needing a pillow on my butt, much more of this.”

  Kerry grinned, and offered her a hand up.