Tropical Convergence (38 page)

There was a card attached to the wicker. Dar opened it, already knowing what she'd find inside.

Hope you're looking at this as you finish up business early and are watching the sun set over Manhattan. But I bet you ain't. Love, Kerry

"Bet you're right," Dar answered in a husky voice. "Wish to hell you were in that basket."

The quiet of the room settled around her as she sat there, her head resting on one hand and a bag of kisses cradled in the other. Finally she sighed and straightened up, opening the net and retrieving one of the candies. "C'mon, Dar. Get a grip. She can use a vacation from you with all this insecurity crap you've been pulling the last week." With a morose look, she popped a kiss into her mouth and chewed it.

Here, alone in her hotel room, she could lean back and be as depressed as she wanted to.

Her eyes shifted to the table.

But it was hard to do that, when she was practically up to her earlobes in thoughtful presents from her beloved partner whose warm smile seemed to reflect off the packaging scattered over the surface in front of her.

Even if it was midnight, and she had a migraine.

Dar pulled the other chair over and put her feet up on it, leaning back as she consumed more of the kisses. Lacking milk, she reached over and snagged the bottle of champagne, untwisting its top and popping the cork in a smooth motion. She poured herself a glass and took a sip, letting her head rest against the back of the chair as she thought about Kerry.

Slowly, the tension eased from her shoulders. She knew Kerry was trying her hardest to be supportive, she only had to unfold the piece of paper in her wallet and reread yesterday's poem to see that. Chocolate chip cookies, her stuff all taken care of...this...Dar exhaled, acknowledging the deep emotion in her guts the thought triggered.

Kerry cared so much about her. It was almost like she could feel her partner's presence, and if she closed her eyes, she could almost sense a pair of ghostly hands on her shoulders and the faint brush of Kerry's lips on the top of her head.

Tears came again, and Dar rested her head on her hand, letting her fingers slide forward to cover her eyes. "God damn it," she cursed at herself softly. "Would you fucking snap out of this already?"

It was ludicrous. It was frustrating. Dar wanted to slap herself for feeling the way she did, for what she considered such a stupid reason.

For no reason, really. So what if she'd had to tangle with Shari? She'd gotten exactly what she wanted from the trade show, and they'd won, damn it! So what the hell was wrong with her?

I need to kick myself in the ass.

Disgusted, she shoved herself to her feet and went to her window, brushing aside the curtains to lean against the glass and stare out at the city. Behind the thick glass, the sounds were muted, and the garish lights and looming buildings seemed alien beyond their usual to her.

She'd never liked New York. The city seemed big, impersonal, nasty and dirty to her, without any of the exciting energy and pulse she'd heard its residents boast of. The streets were narrow, the buildings were overbearing and in some places dirty, and in the heat of the summer, the place stunk to high heaven.

Exciting? Dar had driven past the financial district earlier, as the cabby proudly pointed out Wall Street to her. Peering down the rows of buildings, it had appeared like nothing more than a huge, impersonal canyon about as picturesque as a bunch of shoeboxes set on end.

The change of subject was helping. Dar took several deep breaths, reassured by the order that seemed to be returning to her thoughts.

She spotted a man walking a dog across the street, and focused on that. He was a street person, she realized, wearing ragged clothing and carrying probably all his possessions on his back. Alongside him a mixed breed shepherd dog trotted, his tail wagging proudly. He had a kerchief around his neck that probably cost as much as the owner's shirt, and as Dar watched them move past and studied the man's lifted head and jaunty step, she decided she deserved nothing but a first class butt kicking rather than chocolate baskets and pretty poems.

"Okay, Paladar," she addressed herself, moving back from the window and starting again to unbutton her sleeves. "That's enough. You're over it. Grow the fuck up."

She slid her shirt off and tossed it over the chair with her jacket. She slipped out of her skirt as she walked to her suitcase, it's top neatly opened. She removed a pair of shorts and a T-shirt, changing into them and breathing in the scent of home as the soft folds settled over her.

"That's better." She took her sundry kit from the overnight bag and went into the bathroom, setting it onto the sink and removing her toothbrush and paste from it. She glanced at the paste and half chuckled, recognizing the flavor. "Grape." She held the paste up. "Thanks, Ker."

Her headache was easing a little, and to further that end, she swallowed a few Advil after she finished brushing her teeth.

Wandering back into the main room she sat down on the bed, flipping the television on more to provide some background noise than anything else. She found CNN and stretched out on the bed, lying down flat and watching the picture sideways.

Some of the CNN anchors, she'd discovered, looked better that way. The news, however, always seemed to be the same thing. Trouble in the Middle East, typhoons in Tokyo, political wrangling in the U.S. Never changed.

Dar checked her watch, hesitantly wondering if it was too late to call home. The thought was only barely articulated when her cell phone, resting on the nightstand, went off with a low, rumbling buzz.

She rolled over a few times to get to the head of the bed, and grabbed the phone, glancing at the caller id as she flipped it open. "Hi."

"Hey, sweetie."

Dar realized as she listened that there was something about Kerry's voice that did something to her when she heard it. It was a visceral reaction--she felt her body relax onto the bed, and the tension across her shoulders eased almost like magic. "Ahhh...Kerrison. Now that's a sound for sore ears."

Kerry laughed. "Did I wake you up?" she said. "I'm sorry if I did. I just got home and I wanted to make sure you got there okay and everything was going fine."

Dar's eyebrows lifted. "You just got home?" she queried.

"Yeah." Kerry sounded a trifle abashed. "We went to the pub after class and talked trash for a few hours. Tom got his new bike." She cleared her throat. "And...I...um...did something I think you're going to kill me for."

Dar blinked, her eyes searching the arched ceiling. "You did?"

"Yeeahhh...but I'd rather tell you about it in person."

"Yeah?"

"Yeah."

Dar's brow furrowed. Kerry didn't sound really worried about it, but... "You know I hate surprises."

A soft, wry chuckle. "Honey, I know that. But humor me. Please?"

The tone reassured her a little. "Okay." Dar sighed. "It's been a bitch of a day. I'm torked," she complained. "I hate New York."

"Wish I was there," Kerry admitted. "Rather than going to that damn meeting tomorrow. At least I have picking you up to look forward to."

It made her smile. "Hey. Thanks for the basket," Dar said. "It was nice to come in to after a lousy night."

"Aww." Kerry chuckled softly. "Glad to hear that. How's the sizing going? Did you straighten out what they need?"

Dar sighed. "No. They weren't ready for me today. I'm going to have to really push tomorrow to get out of here on time. Maybe I should take the morning flight out and forget about it.

"Dar." Kerry cleared her throat gently. "These guys are pretty big. We should take care of them."

"Yeah, I know."

"After that pullout Eleanor told me about, we could use some good news," Kerry said. "That was a big contract."

Dar sighed. "That deal was screwed from the start. I told you those people were never going to sign," she said. "They can say it was pricing but that's BS."

"Well, if they tell everyone we're too pricy does it make a difference?"

Dar sighed again.

"Listen, just do what you can, and then get on the plane. It'll work out," Kerry said. "At least they put you up in a nice place."

Dar glanced around. "Yeah." She shrugged. "It's okay, but it's lacking an amenity."

"Yeah? What's that?"

"You."

A low chuckle came through the phone. "See you tomorrow night, sweetheart. Try to take it easy, huh?"

"You too." Dar smiled. "Night. Love you."

"Love you too. G'night."

Dar folded the phone shut and put it on her chest. Now what, she wondered, could Kerry have done?

That Dar would kill her for?

Dar sighed.

It was going to be a long twenty-four hours.

THE MID-MORNING sun was pouring with liquid fervor across the carpet, it's edge creeping closer and closer to the desk set slightly offset, and at an angle to the door.

Its occupant looked up and studied it, as a puff of dust mingled with the molten light and reflected a dull glitter as the particles drifted toward the floor. "Memo. Get the cleaning crew in here with the vacuum twice a week." Kerry shook her head and scribbled a note. "No wonder I've been sneezing."

A buzz. "Hey, Kerry, I need a favor."

Kerry put her cup down and regarded her phone warily. "Sure, Mark. What is it?" she asked, shifting a little and wincing in mild discomfort. "You're set to come with me to the meeting, right?"

"I sure am, but um..." Mark cleared his throat. "Listen, I had to take one of my bikes into the shop last week and it's ready. Can I catch a ride with you to the meeting, and you drop me off to pick it up after we're done? If I wait till after we get back, they'll be closed."

"Oh, sure," Kerry agreed readily. "No problem. You about ready to leave?"

"Yep," Mark said. "Just putting my gear in the backpack. I've got the scanners and the drawing pad with me, but I gotta tell you, boss, I ain't big D when it comes to this stuff."

"Is anyone?" Kerry smiled, tilting her head and glancing at the picture on her desk.

"Well, you sure you don't want one of the engineers to tag along?"

"Not for this session," Kerry said. "For one thing, it's just an intro. For another, I want someone with me who saw the whole circus in Orlando, and for a third thing, you know the political side of this. An engineer won't."

"Ppphhh...okay," Mark responded. "Meet you downstairs?"

"Ten minutes," Kerry agreed, releasing the line. She went back to her mail, clicking on the next in a succession of minor catastrophes. She sipped her herbal tea while she reviewed the note, shifting her gaze to one side briefly as she tried to recall the location of a resource which had probably been ancient when Dar had joined the company.

"Oh, hell." She picked up her PDA and tapped the screen, typing in a short message. She hit send and waited, twirling the stylus in her fingers until she saw the light of an incoming reply flash. A smile creased her face, and she put the PDA down so she could type something into her pc's message reply, then sent it on its way before she picked her pad back up.

Thanks...what are you doing?

Having a damn boring breakfast. What are you doing?

Kerry grinned.
Getting ready to go to my meeting. I'm taking Mark.

Good choice. Orange juice sucks here.

"Oh, sure. Drink it there, but not for me, huh?" Kerry scolded.

Are you having grits?

Grits in Manhattan? You want me not to come back?

Oh, never. Kerry's thumb stroked the screen lightly.
Wish you were here right now.

The reply took a little longer than before.
Me, too.

Kerry exhaled. "Boy, what is it with us the past few days?" she murmured, sensing the emotion both in herself and in the responses she was getting.
Well, I'll be waiting at the airport tonight, so you better not be late coming back from that crazy apple.

Ugh. I'll be there, Ker, but if these jackasses don't get their act together, I might have to stay over another night.

"Ugh is right." Kerry frowned.
Ew.

(frown)

Kerry tapped her stylus against the screen thoughtfully. "Damn."
Let me know, okay? I hope you don't have to stay.

You'll be the first to know. I am going to dump this bad omelette and go terrorize people. Good luck with the meeting.

Yeah. You too. Talk to you later, Dixiecup.

(grin) Later, Yankee.

The exchange made her feel pleasantly warm and fuzzy inside, though the lingering worry about Dar's state of mind was still there, lurking in the background.

However. Kerry scribbled a brief paragraph onto the screen, reviewed it, and then hit send, waiting expectantly until she saw the reply.

Saucy little wench. Say that again tonight.

"Heh. I will." Kerry put the PDA down and with a final glance at her own monitor, she set her trackball aside and stood up, carefully shrugging on her metallic bronze colored jacket over the gold silk shirt she'd chosen that morning.

It was a bit flashier than she usually preferred, but Kerry hadn't been brought up in a political rat's nest for nothing. She knew how to dress to make an impact, and at this meeting, when she'd be the principal instead of acting as Dar's trusted right hand, she had a bit of a different image to present.

She finished her tea, then slid the strap of her laptop case over her right shoulder and headed for the door, pausing briefly to check her reflection in the small mirror over the credenza.

It was a relatively sophisticated image that looked back at her. The new haircut framed her face a little differently, lengthening it just a touch, she thought. After a fluff of her bangs, she gave her image a grudging nod, then continued out the door. "Okay, Mayte. I'm outta here."

Her assistant looked up from her work. "Oh, Ms. Kerry. You look so pretty today," she exclaimed. "What a nice jacket!'