It was just as quiet inside. Dar dropped her briefcase in her office and trudged into her bedroom, the cool blue of the walls blissfully soothing to her tired eyes. She put her jacket back onto its hanger and kicked off her shoes, then unzipped her skirt and stepped out of the garment. As she unbuttoned and removed her shirt, she could feel the tension of the day between her shoulder blades, and she took a moment to lean against the wall and let the cool surface leech some of the residual warmth from her skin.

Hell of a day. Dar pushed away from the wall and went into the bathroom, reaching in to start the water running in the large, circular glass shower. The scent of the chlorinated water was comfortingly familiar, and she slipped out of her underwear and under the warm spray with a heartfelt sigh.

A kaleidoscope of images flickered through her mind’s eye as she stood under the shower, turning up the heat a little as the stiff muscles in her neck grudgingly began to relax under the pounding. She could taste the faint hint of tea on the back of her tongue, and a remembered scent of apricot tickled her senses as she thought about her long night and the unexpected challenges of the day.

After her shower, she was exhausted but not sleepy, so she threw on a pair of old cotton shorts and a T-shirt, and trudged into the kitchen. Its counters were bare, but she ignored them and retrieved a large mug from the cabinet, filling it with milk and adding a spoonful of honey before she put it in the microwave to heat. The machine hummed, and she sat down on the stool nearby to wait, hooking her feet into the rungs and propping her head up on her hand as she leaned against the counter.

The air conditioning cycled on, loud in the otherwise silent condo. Then a soft chime sounded. Dar gave the computer on the counter a glance, and her brow furrowed as she saw the blinking box in the corner. “Thought I cleaned my inbox out before I left the office. Mail?”

“Mail, Dar Roberts, one,” the terminal answered, connected via its ISDN

link directly to the office.

“Read.” Dar crossed her arms and leaned against the counter, waiting for the microwave bell to ring.

Sent by: Kerry Stuart, Time: 1:20 AM

“Well, well.” Dar muttered softly to herself. “What do you know?” She saw the length. “Don’t read.”

The bell went off, but Dar remained near the screen, reading the long, detailed message with interest. It started off with “I need some details 22 Melissa Good clarified.” And ended with “Please forward this information as soon as possible due to the deadline you imposed.”

“Well, I’ll be damned.” Instead of being upset, Dar smiled. The questions were literate, and though a touch on the naïve side, intelligent and thoughtful.

Just like that kid is, I guess. She pulled her stool up next to the computer, retrieving her warm milk and sipping on it as she composed a detailed reply.

“That’ll have to do her…at least for now,” the tall woman commented, as she paused with her mouse over the Send button. She studied the message, then added a single line to the bottom, and her initials. A click, and it was gone. She took her milk and wandered into the living room, dropping down onto the soft leather couch that faced the floor-to-ceiling glass windows. Her view was of the Atlantic at night, black waters bisected by a silver lance of moonlight, and the tiny, colored lights of the sea buoys. On the horizon, a cruise ship was gliding silently past, a patch of sparkle against the darkness, and briefly, Dar wished she was on it.

KERRY STIFLED A yawn as she checked her front door lock, a habit before going to bed. Her apartment looked like a paper mill had attacked her.

Stacks of white sheets lay everywhere, but she was moderately satisfied with her first night’s work. Not that she’d gotten anywhere, but at least she knew what questions to start asking. To prove it, she’d shot off a list of ten of them to Cruella, her pet name for the overbearing and obnoxious Dar Roberts.

“Nice surprise for her in the morning, huh?” she commented to the panda, who was sitting with his arms outstretched on the second of two stuffed chairs in the small living room. The rest of the space was taken up by a cloth couch, a small table that seated four people, two large bookcases overflowing with books, and a small desk that held her computer. The room was bright and cheerful. Pastel fabrics and Indian-style throw rugs brought in a touch of color, and the walls were hung with scenes of her subtropical surroundings. Her favorite, a sunset over Key West, was above the TV stand, and was flanked by two small embroideries: a dolphin her aunt had made her and a teddy bear from an old friend of her mother’s.

“Oh…heck.” She sighed, remembering she’d forgotten to send mail to the staff regarding the visits by procedures people the next day. She walked over and flipped on her PC again, flopping down in her desk chair and pulling one leg up under her as she waited for it to boot. After her desktop was presented, she went into mail, composed a quick note to the staff, telling them to cooperate nicely with the people coming in, and told the system to send the mail.

It dialed up and connected to their office mail server, and she watched as the message transferred, then blinked in surprise as the system indicated it was downloading a message. “What idiot is up at this time of the morning, sending mail?” she wondered. The message finished downloading, and popped into her inbox.

Sent by: Dar Roberts

Subject: re: Your Questions

Time: 2:55 AM


Tropical Storm 23

“Oh. That idiot,” she muttered, hesitating before she clicked on the message, surprised at the nervousness she felt. “Well, that explains things. It’s obvious she’s an alien who never sleeps, and who has a port in her head she plugs things into,” she decided, then took a breath and opened the mail. She read through the sections, noting that the executive hadn’t bothered responding to the admittedly snarky comments in her note. “Well, okay. I think she’s wrong there, but…” She found another item. “Oh! I hadn’t thought of that.”

Dar’s writing was strong and to the point; she could almost hear the words coming from the older woman, and surprisingly, they were lacking the condescension she’d half expected. Her final point answered, she let her eyes drop to the sign-off and blinked. “What?” She read it again.

Corporate policy states that all personnel achieve a reasonable amount of sleep in every twenty-four hour period. Please adhere to the regulations from now on.

DR

“What’s that supposed to mean? What is she, some kind of lunatic? She gives me a crazy deadline of one stupid week to do something in, then says to make sure I sleep?” Kerry let out a vexed sigh, then set up a reply and cut most of the message out, except the header and the last line. “Okay, Ms. Wise Guy Alien from Mars, take that.” She highlighted the time on Dar’s header and made it boldface, then dropped down below the executive’s last line and typed in a comment. “I’ll keep that in mind.”

With a smirk, she sent the message, then turned off her monitor and trudged over to the lamp, shutting it off and heading into her bedroom. It featured a neatly made double-sized bed covered with a striped comforter in southwestern colors against one wall under the small window, a five-drawer dresser against one wall, and a long, three-drawer dresser with a half-height mirror, all in white wood. The carpet was a pale blue pile, and she wriggled her toes into its softness with a contented sigh as she crossed the floor, then climbed into bed and got under the covers.

She could see the stars from there, and she watched them twinkle, trying to dispel the awful feeling of doom that had sat on her chest since Dar’s visit.

For her people, sure, she felt horrible, and hoped she could help them. But for herself… She glanced around the neat bedroom and swallowed, remembering how good she’d felt when she finally got things just how she wanted them, and how proud she was of how nice everything looked. She liked it here. Her neighbors were nice and the complex was friendly; there was a mall close by for shopping; and she even had a little grill on the porch for when a few friends came over and barbecued.

It was so nice to be out on her own. No one questioned if she stayed up late or stayed out. No one questioned how she dressed, or who she talked to.

She was…very happy here.

Now this.

Part of her hated the corporation. Part of her also wanted to hate Dar Roberts, who applied the corporation’s polices with such obvious relish. They felt large, impersonal, and scornful of anything she might try to do. And yet…


24 Melissa Good Kerry sighed. It was obvious Dar was smart; she had an air about her that made Kerry believe she didn’t get crossed much, and when she did, the results were unpredictable. But on the tour, she’d asked some very sharp questions, and those incredible blue eyes hadn’t missed much.

Whoa. Incredible? What am I thinking here? Kerry firmly closed her own eyes, and pulled the blanket up around her chin. The only thing incredible about Dar Roberts is her incredible arrogance. So there.


Chapter Two

“MORNING.” DAR NODDED at her companions on the elevator as the doors slid shut and it started on its way up. She got polite murmurs back from the mostly junior staff who came in at this time of the morning. Eight AM was the start time for most of the data entry clerks and the administrative staff, and they all were somewhat in awe of her and not inclined to chatter in her presence.

She left them at lower levels and proceeded up to the fourteenth floor in solitude, waiting for the doors to open, then stepping out onto the executive level. Her office was on one corner, the windows wrapping around to give her a view of both the ocean and the skyline, and she pushed her way through the door to the outer office with a sigh. “Morning, Maria.”

Her secretary turned and smiled. “Good morning, Dar. It is much nicer in here today, let me tell you. I don’t know what miracle from Our Lady happened last night, but it is good.” She finished sprinkling a little water on the plant near her desk, then went to the small counter nearby. “I’ll get you some coffee. I’m glad you weren’t here yesterday.”

Dar smiled quietly and went into her inner office, setting her briefcase down and powering up her desk system. After three hours of sleep, coffee is definitely a good idea, she decided, sitting down with a sigh and running her fingers through her hair. The machine beeped, then requested her logon, which she provided impatiently, pressing the keys with a smooth motion. Her mail came up, and she scrolled through the morning’s messages, stopping when she saw a response from a name that was almost familiar by now.

She read it, then smiled. “Short but sweet.” And the kid has a sense of humor too, she noted, seeing the boldface. She was still smiling when Maria walked in, carrying a small tray and putting it down on Dar’s desk. “Ooo…what do we have here?” She arched an eyebrow at the secretary.

Maria looked at her with a severe frown. “Carisita is telling me Gerardo in the cleaning staff is getting these for you special, because you stay here all last night to fix everything. Is that true, Dar?”

Dar deftly snagged one of the brown, layered pastries on the tray and bit into it. “Mmm.” She loved pastelitos, the Cuban specialties that could contain almost anything, but usually featured flaky layers stuffed with cheese, or meat, or minced ham. These were the latter, but Dar had also spotted some guava and cheese, which were her second favorites.

“Dar?” Maria tapped her neatly manicured and painted a startling shade of red fingernails on the desktop.


26 Melissa Good

“Someone had to, Maria.” The executive shrugged, finishing one treat and selecting another. “Besides, these made it worth it. Where does he get them? They’re great.”

The Spanish woman sighed. “You are too much, I think.” She pushed the tray over. “Here, I have to type up those letters about the service changes.”

She bustled towards the door, closing it behind her and leaving her boss in private with her treats.

Dar read the rest of her mail while finishing the pastries and draining the large coffee Maria had brought with them. She muttered as she answered most of it, sending back terse replies, and one instance of just a single word,