Nowadays, it was considered a little old-fashioned to be patriotic.
Dar ran her fingers through the grainy sand, plucking out a bit of dried coral and examining it. Her father was, though; once upon a time, she had been, too.
Now? Dar’s lips pressed briefly together. With a slight groan, she pushed herself to her feet and shouldered her briefcase, walking slowly across the sand to the beckoning waves. She kept going until the water covered her feet, the incoming tide washing over her legs up to her rolled up pant legs, bringing with it the clean, tangy scent of the sea.
A bit of seaweed wrapped itself around her ankle, its touch a little prickly. Dar gazed off into the dawn, letting the onshore breeze blow her hair back as the sun lit up the waves.
KERRY SAT AT her desk, cupping her hands around a steaming mug of hot tea as she watched the sun rise through her window. She looked up as a knock sounded on her door, a little surprised. “Come in.” The door opened and Mark stuck his head in. “Morning, Kerry.”
Kerry’s blonde eyebrows lifted. “You’re here early.”
“Yeah,” the MIS manager agreed. “You, too.”
“C’mon in,” Kerry repeated. “Dar’s on a plane up to DC, so I thought I’d get in here and get some stuff done before the phones start ringing.”
Mark entered and crossed the mahogany carpet, settling in the seat across from Kerry’s desk. “Did she get what she needed from that array?”
“I think so,” Kerry said. “Now she’s just got to decide what to do with it. Sticky political situation, you know?”
Mark nodded. “Yeah. Speaking of.” He folded his hands together and rested his chin on them. “You figured out what you want me to do with Brent?” he asked.
“Is he here?”
“Yeah.”
Kerry exhaled. “Okay, send him over. I’ll talk to him,” she replied.
“Maybe we can get some communication going. I...” Another sigh. “It’s really too bad, because he’s a good tech.”
“Yeah,” Mark agreed. “He’s just got some weird hang-ups,” he said. “And talking about that crap—someone else is talking shit around the place.”
Red Sky At Morning 341
Kerry covered her eyes with one hand. “Karnak says ‘Clarice.’” She opened her fingers and peeked at Mark. “Am I close?”
“She’s a bitch,” the MIS manager stated flatly. “I didn’t like her when she was chasing after Dar the last time, and it pisses me off that she’s walking around here spouting crap.”
Kerry leaned back in her seat and sipped her tea. “Don’t hold back, Mark. Tell me how you really feel,” she remarked wryly. “I know. It’s really taken me by surprise, because I always thought she was a good worker; never had a problem with her before.”
Mark looked slightly uncomfortable. “She really had a thing for Dar,” he said. “Everyone knew it. Dar finally called her on it in a big meeting we had. Big time.”
Ahh. Kerry winced. “She didn’t mention that part.”
“You know Dar.” Mark half shrugged. “Clarice finally got over it. I don’t blame Dar, but it was pretty public and I guess now Clarice feels like, well, shit, after all that crap, and now—”
“Now us.” Kerry nodded. “Yeah.” She sighed again. “And that puts me in a really awkward position. But I guess I have to do something about it, huh?”
Mark looked around carefully. “You could just tell Dar,” he said in a low voice. “Let her handle it. After all, she’s, like...in the middle of the whole thing.”
Yes, she could tell Dar and let her handle it. But Kerry’s whole being resisted that, and in her heart she knew she’d lose a lot of respect for herself if she backed down on this one. “She’s offered,” she told Mark.
“But the woman works for me, so it’s my call.”
Mark didn’t look surprised. “Okay,” he said. “I’ll send Brent over.”
He stood up. “Lots of luck.”
“Thanks.” Kerry shook her head as he left. Feeling the tension creep up her back and knot her stomach slightly, she turned her chair and looked out over the water. It was a great view, she reflected, and it fit the spacious office to which her position entitled her, but along with those perks came the responsibility of making the hard choices. She had a much better understanding now of how Dar had come to be the way she was, as a leader.
Leaders had to step back and see the big picture. For the greater good of the company or sometimes just because of hard dollars and cents reasons that fell within their areas, they had to make decisions that hurt individuals. “What would you have done, Kerrison, if you’d had to integrate a half-rate little software development services company with mostly mediocre employees and a pissant ops manager who told you off?” She drummed her fingers on the arm of her chair.
“Damn, I was lucky she liked me.”
Another knock at the door interrupted her musings. Kerry gazed plaintively at the horizon. “Luckier sometimes than others, however.”
She said, “C’mon in.” As the door opened and Brent entered, she turned 342 Melissa Good her chair and put down her cup. “Hello, Brent,” she greeted. “Sit down.
Let’s talk.”
Warily he walked over and took a seat, edging back as far away from her as he could. “If you’re gonna fire me, could you please do it quick?” he said. “I wanna miss traffic.”
Kerry sighed. It was going to be a very long day.
DAR GLANCED AROUND as she walked through the Pentagon, feeling a bit conspicuous even though her civilian dress blended in with that of a good percentage of the workers. She’d called Gerry from the airport and he was expecting her, but she felt a curious sense of reluctance as she walked down the austere hallway.
She recalled the last time she’d been here, picking up the government contracts that had, in the end, allowed her to salvage Kerry’s former company and permanently piss off the regional sales manager she’d upstaged. A smile appeared briefly, and she squared her shoulders as she opened the door to Gerry’s outer office and gave his admin a nod.
The woman smiled at her and pressed a button on her phone.
“General, Ms. Roberts is here.”
“Is she? Great. Send her in.” Gerry’s voice boomed through the intercom.
Dar walked past the woman’s desk and opened the inner door, entering and closing it behind her as Gerry put down the folder he’d been looking at and came around the desk to meet her. “Morning, Gerry.”
“C’mere, girl.” He opened his arms and enfolded her in a hug.
“First things first. How’s it having your daddy back?”
Dar put down her briefcase, forgetting about its contents for a moment. She returned the hug. “Awesome,” she replied simply. “When are you going to come down and visit? They’ve got a boat they’d love to show off to you.”
“Ah, munchkin. You got no clue how glad I am.” Gerry rubbed her back and gave it a pat. Then he pulled back and looked at her, shrewdly reading the expression on her face. “Bad news, eh?”
Dar nodded.
Gerry exhaled, releasing her and stepping back to perch on the edge of his desk. “Well, you tried, Dar. Can’t fault you for it,” he said.
“Did a damn risky thing. I’m glad no worse happened.”
Dar picked up her briefcase and laid it on his desk, releasing the locked latches and opening it. She lifted out a thick sheaf of papers secured with a binder clip and dropped it on the blotter pad. “Don’t thank me yet.”
“Eh?”