Melissa Good - Tropical Convergence

"Si. That is what the man who came to speak with us this morning also said," Maria agreed. "It is just so aggravating, no?"

"Yeah," Dar said. "Sorry you had to get involved."

"I am not," her assistant said surprisingly. "Dar, I have been watching you put your head out for other people for so many years now, and it is good to be standing up for you if I can do that."

Dar stared at the phone in silence for several heartbeats.

"Me, too," Mayte's voice chimed in.

Kerry wiped the tears of laughter from her eyes and let her hand come to rest on Dar's belly. "Guys," she said. "I know exactly what you mean."

"Then you are not mad at us?" Mayte asked.

Kerry looked up at Dar's still profile, just the hint of trembling moisture on the lids of her eyes betraying her feelings. "No, we're not mad," she answered for them both. "But listen, you guys keep out of trouble while we're away, okay? We'll take care of that whole situation when we get back."

"All right," Maria agreed. "We will be good."

"Okay, we'll talk to you later," Kerry said. "Bye." She folded the phone shut, then let her head rest again on Dar's shoulder. "Holy sheep dip, Batman."

Dar cleared her throat. "Definitely unexpected," she agreed. "Damn, I wish I'd been there. I'd have paid a month's salary to see that chili go flying."

Kerry snickered. "Me too," she confessed. "I mean...it's not really funny, Dar. You know how ratty that's going to make that next bid meeting for us?" She sighed. "Not that I'm much better than they are. I'm the one who blew them off."

"Ah." Dar shrugged. "They can kiss my ass. Let's worry about it when it happens."

With a frown, her partner scanned the rest of her mail, then shrugged as well. "Yeah, I guess that makes damn good sense." She pushed the laptop from her a little and turned back to her partner. "Have I ever told you how good you look in just a towel?"

Dar sat down in the big easy chair and tugged Kerry down with her onto her lap. She wrapped her arms around Kerry's towel covered body and hugged her. "Hey."

"Mm?"

"If it stops raining, want to go down to Central Park later and take a carriage ride with me?"

Kerry willingly allowed herself to be distracted. "The ones with the horses?"

"Uh huh."

It was a charmingly romantic idea, and Kerry liked it very much. "Maybe we could find one of those little cafes and have dinner," she suggested. "I know Manhattan isn't your favorite place, but I bet we could have fun here."

Dar nipped Kerry's side gently through the terrycloth. She tilted her head up a little as Kerry's fingers laced through her damp hair and they kissed. She could taste the last hint of grape toothpaste on Kerry's lips as she explored them, savoring the gentle touch against her cheek as Kerry traced the skin on her face. "Bet we could have fun right in this here hotel room," she murmured.

"No bet." Kerry nuzzled her, then went back to kissing. "Noo...bet."

THE OFFICE BUILDING seemed quiet. Kerry walked along the hallway taking a quick glance right and left into hushed rooms and stilted, almost empty atriums. Everything was white and gray, and she found it profoundly depressing even by their own office's standards. "Least I have burgundy walls."

A woman working at a pristine white desk looked up as she passed, and Kerry got the impression of wide, alarmed blue eyes before the woman ducked her head again and went back to the pad she was writing on.

Another woman, in a severe gray wool suit stopped by the desk, tapping on its surface with her pencil before moving on, brushing past Kerry and giving her jeans a very disapproving look. "Are you here to deliver something?" she asked, pausing briefly.

"No," Kerry replied, with a gentle smile. "I'm working on a computer problem."

The blue-eyed woman at the desk furtively watched the exchange, her fingers fiddling with the pen she'd been writing with.

"Well, you should tell your company to dress their technicians better then. It's a shame." The woman in the gray suit turned and walked away, shaking her head. "Terrible." She turned again. "What company is it?"

"ILS," Kerry supplied helpfully.

"Oh, really?" The woman put her hand on her hip. "Never mind then. One of your big bosses is here, and I'll just tell her that myself." She marched off in the direction of the conference room, her shoulders fairly twitching with indignation.

Silence closed down over them again. Kerry shook her head and started to turn away, but a hesitant motion from the girl at the desk made her pause. She waited, taking in the short, stylish rust colored hair and the tiny cross earrings with idle interest. "Hi."

"Sorry you're going to get in trouble," the girl said, in a soft voice. "She's in everybody's business."

"It's okay. I'm not worried," Kerry reassured her. "Is she your office manager?"

"Yeah. Hannah Meyer." She hesitated briefly. "So you're a computer tech, huh?"

A brief twinkle entered Kerry's green eyes. "No." She dug her business card from one of her back pockets and handed it over. "My name's Kerry."

"Shawna...oh." The girl studied the card, then looked up at Kerry. "You're a vice president? Really?" Her voice sounded a touch incredulous. "Wow. That's pretty wild." She eyed Kerry's stone washed button flies and crimson short sleeved shirt doubtfully. "I mean, like, Hannah's right kind of. You don't look the part at all. You do look more like a tech person."

"Looks can be deceiving," Kerry advised. "What do you do?" She indicated the spotless white shiny surface of the desk, which contained the writing pad, a cup with two pens in it, and not much more.

"Oh, I...um.." Shawna shrugged one shoulder. "I coordinate meetings. You know, like schedule the conference rooms and stuff like that." One fingertip rolled the pencil she'd been using. "I set up lunch, too, and bring in materials. Collate." The words seemed to trouble her briefly. "It's a good job, and it's a great office in here, really smart, you know? My parents really like me working here."

Kerry felt a very brief moment of resonance with this skewed reflection of one of her own life's possibilities. "My folks would have liked it for me too," she told Shawna. "But I'm glad I picked my own path," she added. "See you later."

She felt the eyes on her back all the way down the hall, until she turned the corner and pushed open the door to the break room.

Once inside she paused, as her cell phone rang. Kerry glanced at the caller ID, then took a seat at one of the tables and answered it. "Kerry Stuart."

"M...Kerry, this is Mayte." Her admin sounded a bit flustered. "There are some...I need to speak with you about a few things. Is that all right?"

"Absolutely." Kerry glanced around, glad she was alone. "Go ahead."

"Okay," Mayte said. "In the first thing, the papers from yesterday, the legal department brought them down for me. I have them here."

"Okay," Kerry said. "Just hold them for me."

"But..." Mayte said. "That man, the Mr. Quest? He has called here several times looking for you. He sounded very upset you were not here."

"Well, that's just too bad, I guess, because I'm not." Kerry rubbed her temples. "What did he say?"

"He said there was something you were going to give to him, yes?." Mayte said. "He sounded very angry that you were not here, and la Jefa was not here either."

Kerry stared ahead, her eyes a little unfocused. Was Quest bluffing? Playing yet another game? Or just demanding the response he'd requested the day before. "I see."

"He said that if you did not want to be serious with him, he would take you from the job?" Mayte continued. "He is not a very nice man."

"No," Kerry mused. "He's not."

"I think it is the papers he is waiting for," Mayte suggested. "Do you want me to bring them to him? I know where the place he said was. The Intercontinental Hotel. It is not far from here."