Melissa Good - Tropical Storm

“Dar, it is wonderful how you understand that man. I cannot see a word he says,” Maria confessed, shaking her head at the phone.

Her boss grinned briefly. “I don’t either,” she admitted. “I’ll look at my work list later and see what I promised him.” She looked up as the line buzzed again and waved at Maria to stop as she picked it up herself. “Dar Roberts.”

“Well, well. Hello, Dar.” Alastair’s voice was extremely cheerful, which usually meant nothing but trouble. “How’s the weather down there?”

“Partly cloudy, chance of afternoon showers. Why?” Dar responded.

“Can’t I just be asking?” the chairman inquired. “No, of course not. I just thought you’d like a little change of scenery.”

The executive rolled her eyes. “How little?”

“Orlando,” Alastair responded. “We’re bidding Disney.”

Dar’s eyes widened in honest surprise. “They’re taking bids? I thought they were so goddamn proud of doing their own stuff, they’d rather have Mickey admit to cheating on Minnie before they’d outsource.”

A rich chuckle. “Not since they had that management changeover. They finally figured out it’s better to farm the stuff out. All the majors are in there, but I want it.” Alastair cleared his throat. “We’ve got a good team bidding, but it needs… Well, John Byers, the account lead, is getting beat up pretty bad by IBM. He needs us to show some weight behind him, and you know the IBM

rep, Jerry Andrews.”

“Ah. Jerry.” Dar let out an unpleasant laugh. “He won’t be glad to see my face, let me tell you that, Alastair. Last time I saw him he threw a desk chair at me.”

“Exactly,” Alastair agreed jovially. “Just what John needs to throw off Jerry’s focus.” He shuffled some papers. “The meetings are tomorrow and Thursday, but I’d like you to get up there tonight.”

Dar considered. “I can take a puddle jumper up. All right, I’ll take care of it, Alastair.”

“Great.” The CEO sighed. “You’re in a good mood today. What’s up?”

“Nothing much. Just had a good morning, that’s all,” Dar replied dismissively. “Let me get started on pulling up the files for Disney, Alastair.

Talk to you later.”

“Give ’em hell, Dar. Bye.” Alastair hung up.

162 Melissa Good Maria sighed. “Travel again? My goodness.”

Dar worked seriously at her keyboard for a moment, then looked up. “I’ll need a flight out tonight, Maria. Book me for tonight and tomorrow night at someplace relatively close to the admin center up there, and get me the usual…” She paused, considering. Alastair wanted to put on a show, okay, and she wanted to break in her new assistant, maybe she could knock off two birds… “Actually, I think this is a good opportunity for Kerry to get a look at what an account battle looks like. Book two seats, and two rooms, and clear both of our schedules until Friday,” she decided crisply, then dialed the phone. “Kerry?”

“Right here,” Kerry answered softly, over a flutter of keystrokes. “Just working on some e-mail.”

“We need to go up to Orlando for a few days; we’re bidding an account up there. Is that a problem?” Dar was busy calling up records.

“Uh, um…sure. No, no problem. I can do that. How long?” Kerry’s voice sounded surprised.

“Two days. We’ll fly up tonight and come back on Thursday night, probably,” Dar replied. “I’d like you to see the process first-hand.”

“Sure, no problem. I’ll get going on these projects and try to get them out the door before tonight.”

“Good.” Dar hung up. “Okay, let me just print these. Maria, I’m going to have to run home and pick up a bag since I didn’t drive today. Schedule the flight for seven or so, the last one out.” She felt her energy picking up as the challenge pricked at her competitive nature. If I could bring home Disney, ooo…

Her nostrils flared in anticipation.

“Si, I will.” Maria was making rapid notes on her pad. “You want two rooms together?”

“Yeah, sure.” Dar nodded absently, absorbing the information. “That’s fine,” she muttered to herself as Maria left, sending sheet after sheet to the printer.

“Ay, Dios mío.” Maria sat down and pulled out her contact book, checking for a number and then starting to dial. She paused, however, when the outer door opened and Kerry slipped in. “Oye, chiquita, you go on your first trip, hmm? Not so far.”

Kerry perched on the corner of her desk. “Am I reading this right? Are we going to Disney World?”

Maria smiled. “Si, is business, though. No Mickey Mouse at the meetings.”

A twinkle of mischief showed in the sea green eyes. “Hmm. So, where are we staying?”

Maria pulled up a trip planner and reviewed her choices. “The Village area is close, it has access to the administrative offices. Is nice…the Hyatt, I think.”

Kerry drummed her fingers on the desk. “I kinda thought it would be something like that. What if it’s full?”

“Ay, well, there are seven, eight hotels in that area. Is not holiday season yet,” Maria stated, giving her a curious look.

“Well, what if it…what if they were all full?” the blond woman persisted.

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“What if…” She pulled the monitor over and scrolled down the choices.

“What if we had to stay…here?”

Maria studied the screen. “Chiquita, that’s right inside the park.”

“I know,” Kerry assured her.

“What little plans are going through your mind?” the secretary demanded. “Dar will go crazy if I book her in there.” She checked the profile nonetheless. The Floridian was one of the nicest hotels on the Disney property, and the picture showed a huge, filigreed white Victorian structure.

“Is nice.”

“Mmm.” Kerry agreed. “Listen, her doctor keeps bugging her to take a vacation, and I know this is a business trip, but those meetings can’t last all day. Maybe I can get her to just cut loose, and relax for a while, you know?”

“Ahhh…” Maria smiled and patted her hand. “Chiquita, you are so sweet…and very tricky. That is a good thing.” She picked up the phone. “I will do it. If she gets mad, she gets mad.”

Kerry smiled. “If it works, it’ll be worth it.” She got up when she heard movement inside Dar’s office. “Whoops, gotta go. Listen, I’ll bring you back a stuffed Pluto or something.” She slipped out of the office and back down the hall. Maria shook her head. “Pluto. Ay, chica, make sure she doesn’t stuff you.”

MIAMI INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT had started out as a small airport, with one terminal. As Miami grew, so did the airport, adding more terminals and more concourses as more airlines wanted to fly out of it. Now, being the gateway to South America and the Caribbean, it moved an unimaginable number of people twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week. Unfortunately, it wasn’t so much designed as grown, and the concourses were long, endless corridors with no moving sidewalks that seemed to go on forever. The airport was always full of people, with a dozen languages to be heard and overhead announcements in Spanish as well as English.

An overnight bag slung over her shoulder, Dar strode through the crowd while she examined the travel documents Maria had handed her, couriered over by their corporate travel agency. “Where in—Jesus! She booked us inside the damn park.”

“Really?” Kerry was working to keep up, and she peered over her boss’s elbow curiously. “Oh, wow! That’s supposed to be a nice place, I’ve seen pictures.”

Dar gave her a look. “We won’t get much of a chance to see it,” she warned, then hesitated, seeing the veiled look of disappointment in those interesting green eyes. “Well, maybe a little,” she relented. “We can have breakfast with Mickey, anyway.”

Kerry smiled. “I’ve never been to Disney World. I always wanted to go, and we were planning a trip sometime at Associated, just a bunch of us going up one weekend, but we never got the details ironed out.” She dodged a hurrying skycap as they arrived at the security checkpoint. They both put their laptop cases on the moving belt, and Dar dropped her cell phone and pager into the small bowl the agent held out. Then they passed through and picked up their things at the end of the X-ray belt. “You know, I have less trouble getting through security here in Miami than when I board a plane in just about any other place,” Dar commented as they started the long walk down the concourse. “I had my entire case searched in Iowa. They even made me turn the laptop on and dial a number on the cell phone.”

Kerry chuckled as she pushed herself to keep up, making a little skip now and then to compensate for Dar’s much longer stride. “Guess they’ve got more time on their hands than these guys.” She was glad they’d gotten to change and were flying in casual clothes, since they’d have until tomorrow before meeting the prospective clients. She felt a lot better in her baby-soft green flannel shirt tucked into stone-washed denims and her short-topped hiking Tropical Storm 165

boots. She eyed her companion; Dar looked casually elegant as usual in a crisply pressed beige shirt and embroidered black vest over button-fly jeans and comfortable-looking sneakers.

Just roll your suit up and put it in the overnight bag, Dar had told her wryly. Even if you carry it in a garment bag, it’ll still need pressing, so you might as well save yourself the trouble of carrying the damn thing.

That works, Kerry had agreed, and also packed her bathing suit and some shorts, just in case.

Just in case. She grinned to herself. I bet I can get her to go to MGM, at least…

By the time they got to the gate, the flight was boarding. They handed the gate agent their boarding passes, then walked down the carpeted boarding ramp and into the 727. They took their places in first class, put their bags overhead and settled down in the wide, comfortable seats. “Well,” Kerry said, as she buckled her seat belt, “this is traveling in style.”

Dar settled back and extended her long legs, crossing them at the ankles.

They were in the front set of seats, with extra legroom before them.

“Intercompany courtesy.” She gave a little shrug. “We do all of their hardware and software support, so we get pass riding privileges, and if there’s space, we go up front.” She gave the steward a smile as he sidled over.

“Hello, welcome aboard. Can I get you something to drink before we start?” His crisply efficient manner was reserved, but friendly.

Dar exhaled. “Do you have any chocolate milk?” she asked innocently.

Kerry gave Dar a little nudge and rolled her eyes. “You’re awful.” She looked up at the waiting steward. “Orange juice for me, please.” He nodded and moved off to fill their requests.

One dark brow lifted, and Dar pointed at her own chest. “Me? Milk is very healthy for ya, Kerry.” She flexed an arm, the muscles moving smoothly under the soft cotton fabric of the casual khaki shirt she was wearing. “Makes you nice and strong.”

“It’s squeezed out of a cow,” Kerry reminded her.

“And that’s so different than squeezing something out of an orange? At least the cow survives the process,” Dar retorted. She glanced up as the steward returned with crystal glasses filled with the requested beverages then turned back to Kerry. “Citrus killer.”

Kerry studied her glass for a moment. “God, I hope this doesn’t have pulp in it.” Dar snickered.

Kerry put her glass down and crossed her ankles. “You really like milk?”

“I swear by the stuff,” Dar insisted, taking a swallow. “Mmm…” She licked her lips. “Mmmmiillllk.”

Kerry caught the playfulness in her voice and went along with it. “You must own a cow, then. Where do you keep her?”

Dar laughed and raised her glass, clinking it against Kerry’s. They both took a sip and their eyes met for a moment before Dar’s dropped to the travel documents she’d left lying on her thigh. “The Floridian, eh? Well, it’ll be a drive in the morning, but at least I know we’ll have hot water.” She reconciled herself to her fate. “And they have great banana-stuffed French toast for breakfast.”

166 Melissa Good Kerry leaned on her armrest and lifted a brow. “Banana-stuffed French toast?”

“Mmm-hmm.” Dar nodded, with a quirky grin.

“I love bananas.” Kerry covered her eyes. “I’m in trouble.”

Dar chuckled, and leaned back, sighing as she relaxed into the leather of the seat. Maybe it won’t be so bad. There‘s a little water park near the hotel. Maybe we can take an hour off between meetings and take a quick splash, it might be fun.