I'm reading the second book now... and I am wondering, do you guys want me to keep going after this book is done? For the sequel? Let me know. Melissa's story is great, I swear my changes ... are structural and updated they are minimal and it is the same story at its core, but Dar and Kerry are super lovable characters on their own. enjoy this nice size chappy. ~S.K.
Fifteen
Tori entered the conference room and gave a smiling nod to the assembled group as she slipped into a chair halfway down the table. It was her first meeting without Jade's comforting presence by her side, and she was a little nervous. She put her phone down on the table and glanced around, folding her hands together.
"Good afternoon."
The meeting was to coordinate a project to replace the current tech they were using in their server network with a more advanced type, and that affected virtually everyone in the company. Jade had meant to attend, but she was in the middle of troubleshooting a huge problem affecting the East Coast servers and told Tori to just go on. Take notes and not to agree to anything.
Easy enough.
She was a little worried about Jade, though. The morning had started out fine, but after she'd taken care of the day's urgent morning emails, she'd stopped by to check on something and found her boss standing by her window, staring out at the water with a grim expression. Her questions had been answered with a dismissive absence, very unlike what she'd grown accustomed to from Jade- even during the worst of her tantrums.
So she sat here instead, worrying about someone she barely knew, and sitting in a meeting that she was barely prepared for. Tori sighed. Good thing it was Friday. She glanced up as a tall bearded man stepped to the head of the table and sat down, rifling through some papers in front of him, then looking at her with an unpleasant frown.
"Do I understand we're not deemed important enough for Ms. West to be here?"
Tori bit her tongue for a minute, then cleared her throat. "Actually... She's cleaning up a mess back in the Eastern region. She asked me to sit in for her."
The younger man sitting next to him chimed in. "Ouch... The Atlantic servers?"
Tori nodded. "She managed to force UniSys to ship some mainframes a week early, and she's pushing some of the folks out there to get a team out for install."
The bearded man didn't look any happier, but he grunted and focused his attention on his papers. "Well, alright, let's get started with this," he said, glancing at his neighbor. "You have a tech presentation?"
Tori settled in, opening her phone and screen-casting a circuit diagram that Jade had told her about that morning.
Jade took a sip of water and focused her attention on the woman sitting in front of her desk. The marketing VP was busy outlining a new scheme and wanted her input on whether or not their current infrastructure would be able to handle it.
Jade took a breath and swallowed, battling the nausea that had added itself to her migraine. It had started with a spell of tunnel vision, the edges of her sight blurring with whirling, sparkling fuzziness. Then the pain had started at the base of her skull and worked upward - the throbbing so bad it was making her stomach upset.
The Marketing VP's voice wasn't helping. Elle had an unfortunate New York accent, and Jade felt herself losing her concentration, wanting nothing more than to curl up in a dark place and tune out the world.
But she couldn't. There was too much to do, so she grimly sucked down more water, calculating whether she could risk taking another four or five ibuprofen because she had forgotten to pick up her prescription the night before. Not that they'd stay down if she did take them.
"We're a gaming and media company, Elle. We're not Amazon."
"But we could be… think of the revenue," Elle insisted.
Jade sighed. "Fine, we can work out the bandwidth, but I'd add the overhead for the additional T-3s into those contracts."
The woman scribbled a note, nodding. "Yes… yeah… we can do that."
The phone rang, and Jade punched the speaker button. "What?"
"Jade, we've got a problem," Sinjin said, irritated. "Our multiplayer game is glitching with the new update, and we've had to shut it down to restructure the bandwidth. I dug around a bit, and some of the server that was holding it was eaten up by some unknown. I can isolate it and clear it, but I don't know how much of a breach that caused."
"Christ… Fine," Jade uttered, resting her head on her hand, putting pressure on her right eye. "And do a sweep to find any other breaches. That server is full of babies."
"Aye aye, captain," he said and hung up. There was a momentary silence as Jade finally looked back up at Elle… "This is why I don't open my servers to other entities. Are we done?" she asked as her headache got worse. Jade was worried she was going to throw up.
The Marketing VP blinked at her. "You alright, Jade?" she inquired. "Not that you usually aren't in a foul mood, but this seems a bit much for you."
Blue eyes pinned her mercilessly. "Are. We. Done?"
The woman stood and shook her head. "Looks like it," she said as she grabbed her things. "I've got better things to do than listen to you bitch," the woman continued under her breath.
"What was that?" Jade asked, ready to fire somebody.
"Have yourself a great day," she said, giving her a fake smile, and walked out of Jade's office, closing the door behind her with unnecessary force. Elle looked at Mariela, irritated. "She's got a real bug up her ass today, doesn't she?" Her eyes fell on Tori, who had just entered the office and was now standing near the secretary's desk. "Oh… sorry, honey… you're still kinda new, aren't you? Haven't gotten sick of her yet? My god… you've lasted six times as long as the others… you must be a very patient person."
Tori gazed at her. "I try to be," she replied mildly as the woman shook her head and walked out. The younger woman turned her attention back to Mariela. "She has been pretty upset all day. Is something up?"
Mariela shrugged. "I tell you… something is wrong, but she won't say," the secretary lowered her voice. "I worry… she got a call from the doctor today- early this morning she's been quiet since." She nudged Tori. "You better go in. She was asking where you were."
"Okay," Tori sighed and picked up her offering of coffee, hopefully this would appease the terror behind the door. She gently tapped on the door, pushing it open as she heard the low response. She entered to find Jade seated behind her desk, her arms resting on its surface. "Hey, you looking for me?" As she moved closer, she noticed the pale tinge to her boss's normally rosy cheeks. And she set the coffee down, peering at the woman in concern.
"Yeah," Jade exhaled, rubbing at the spot just above her right eye. "Um, those contracts-the ones Robbie wanted reviewed-did you take them? I can't seem to…"
"Jade?" Tori said, coming around the desk and kneeling beside her as the woman squeezed her eyes shut. She placed a cool hand on the side of Jade's face, and the ill woman sighed in partial relief. "Hey, are you okay?"
"Yeah… I've just got a lousy headache," she said and swallowed thickly.
"You look terrible," Tori whispered, forging ahead tactlessly, her hand moving to her forehead. "God, you're sweating."
"I don't sweat," Jade gritted through her teeth.
Tori smirked. "I see your sense of humor is intact."
"Just…" The pale woman drew herself up, taking a long breath. "I'm all right… I just need to find those contracts. I told Rob I'd get them back to him this afternoon."
Tori studied her for a moment. "All right… I'll see if I can find them. I was reviewing them, and I thought I brought them back, but let me check my office."
Jade nodded in agreement and let her head rest on her hand. "Good enough," she mumbled.
Tori started to leave, walking toward the small door that led to the back corridor between their offices, then suddenly stopped and turned, taking her courage in both hands and returning to the desk.
"Jade?"
Blue eyes glanced up at her in minor annoyance. "What?"
Tori perched herself on the edge of the polished wood. "Um… why don't you go home?"
Jade rolled her eyes. "Don't be ridiculous, Tori," she said testily. "There's nothing…" She clamped her jaw down tight and closed her eyes as her stomach threatened to rebel. "Damn."
"Jade?" The Latina's voice took on a gentle softness. "Come on… let me take you home, okay? You can lie down. I know you'll feel better."
"There's too much to do," Jade protested weakly. "I can't."
"I'll do it. Come on… I'll drop you off, then I'll come back here and finish up," Tori coaxed. "Hey… It's Friday afternoon. You can take a few hours."
Jade stared at her. Tori was good at persuasion, and she knew it, but since when did she let that work on her? The pretty brown eyes warmed and gentled as the Latina regarded her, and suddenly Jade just wanted to give in. It hurt too much to do anything else.
"All right," Jade said, surrendering and leaning back in her chair, letting her head rest against the cool leather. She kept her eyes closed, listening to Tori shutting down her computer and the faint jingle as she captured Jade's car keys from the top drawer.
"Come on," Tori said in a near whisper as she took Jade's elbow to guide her to her feet.
"Yeah… all right." Jade pushed herself to her feet, shouldering her laptop case, and followed as Tori led the way across the room and opened the door. She gave Mariela a look as the secretary glanced up startled. "Mari, I'm um…"
Tori held up the car keys behind her back and exchanged worried looks with the older woman as she mouthed the word, "Home."
"You're off-site at a meeting," Mariela said quietly. "Emergency calls only. Right?"
Jade nodded. "That'll do."
The walk outside was quiet. Tori was amazed they managed to escape the building without Jade being stopped half a dozen times. But it seemed they picked the right time. Everyone else was either in afternoon meetings or still at lunch. She was a little nervous - unsure of herself in taking such a forceful attitude with Jade, but a look at her boss's pale drawn face quickly overcame any misgivings.
She got the CEO settled in the passenger seat, pulled the plug on the car, then walked around and climbed behind the wheel. "Where do you live, anyway?"
Jade touched the touchscreen and hit the GPS for home. "Belvedere…" she said softly and closed her eyes. Tori watched the forty-minute drive to Jade's house, taking her over the Golden Gate. She liked looking at the bridge, but she had never been on it.
The Latina put the SUV into gear and eased out of the parking lot, turning right and heading toward the 101. "Do you have something you can take for that? I mean… You look like death right now."
"The pharmacy in Tiburon has the script; I just forgot to get them last night," Jade swallowed. "It's definitely a migraine. I've never had one this bad before; I've always been able to work through them."
"Ouch," Tori said as she turned onto the causeway and proceeded east. "I've had those a few times. Did it start off with your vision going weird?" Jade nodded. "Stomach ache?" Another nod. "It's a bad one. Let's get you to a dark place to curl up and sleep it off. Nothing else would do. These could last days. I was laid up for four days once."
It was silent for a bit as Tori concentrated on navigating the traffic. "How'd the meeting go?" Jade finally asked as they turned right onto the bridge.
"Alright, I guess," Tori said, feeling the gusts of wind that buffeted the bridge hit the car as it moved. Her insides trembled a bit, remembering once that during an earthquake the bottom of the bridge was crushed, so she made sure she was on the top. "The guy who chaired it- Michael something- was really nasty. He was mad because you didn't show and felt snubbed. But the presenter of the Tech was good."
"Destrica," Jade said softly. "Man hates my guts." She opened an eye and looked at Tori's stiff movements as she finally reached the end of the Golden Gate.
"How did the deal with the Atlantic servers go?" Tori asked, instantly looking more relaxed.
Jade kept her eyes closed and leaned her head against the door frame, which was cool from the air conditioning. "Done," she murmured. "Except Sinjin found a breach on the network; he isolated it, but he doesn't know what else leaked into the servers."
"That server is full of babies!" Tori stated, surprised.
Jade winced and swallowed hard as her stomach twisted. She was pathetically grateful for Tori's driving her home. The way she felt, she'd probably have ended up in the bay. No, her mind warily objected. She wouldn't have left at all, and that would have been just stupid. "Thanks for making me see reason, by the way," she cracked open an eyeball and regarded Tori. "I probably would have passed out at my desk. Guess it was pretty stupid to try and hang in there."
Brown eyes regarded Jade warmly as she navigated the quiet neighborhood on Belvedere. "You look so miserable," Tori said. "We're almost to your house; can we reroute to the pharmacy?"
"Just keep going down Beach Road; it will take you out to Tiburon," Jade muttered. Tori navigated to the Pharmacy successfully and went in to retrieve the medicine. When she got back to the car, Jade was completely asleep.
She pulled out of the parking lot and drove toward the house. She pulled up to the fence and looked at the sleeping woman. She hated to wake her so that she could open the gate, and she looked around the car and spotted a button on the sun visor. Sure enough, both the gate and garage doors were opening, and Tori drove into the driveway. Her breath caught at how mundane the billionaire's house looked. The house was positively suburban and modest. She parked the car and turned. "We're here."
Jade opened her eyes and looked around as they had entered the garage, so it was dark. She looked at the car to check the charge, and it was fairly full, so she just didn't connect. "We didn't think this out, Tori, but if you give me a chance to swallow some pills and fight this headache, I will take you back for your car."
"Don't be ridiculous; I'll just call an Uber," Tori said and stepped out of the car. "I'll just get you settled and be on my way."
Jade dragged herself upright and got out slowly, leaning against the car as she closed the door and breathed in the fresh ocean breeze with a sense of mild relief. She led the way to her inner door and grabbed the bag of drugs from Tori.
She let them into the great room, and Tori's breath caught at the sheer size of the windows in the room. She looked out at the one that faced the dock and the bay. "Those clouds look angry," Tori muttered.
Jade was avoiding looking out of the window; she could smell the rain, and then saw the massive storm headed their way. "No wonder I'm having a migraine. I heard barometric pressure does it." Jade walked to the kitchen, and Tori followed and gasped.
"Whoa…" she turned in a circle and took in the long open room. "You could fit my car in here," she laughed. "I thought my mom's kitchen was big."
Jade took a glass from the cabinet and opened the fridge. She poured some milk into it from the dispenser, wanting something more substantial than air in her stomach when she took the meds. "If you wait for this stuff to work, I'll give you the nickel tour," she said, getting the meds open and checking the dosage, taking both pills and popping them in her mouth, then followed by a swallow of milk. "Here's to keeping it down," she grimaced, leaning against the counter as a wave of pain tightened around her skull.
Unable to keep her hands to herself any longer, Tori gently took her new friend's elbow. "Come on, which way to your bedroom?" Jade took a steadying breath and straightened up.
"I can make it… thanks." The warm touch on her arm disappeared, and she pulled her jacket off as she made her way into the bedroom. The cool blue tones immediately soothed her, and she managed to get out of her work clothes and into her oversized shirt and boxers without throwing up.
"Hey, Tori?" Jade called out. The Latina poked her head into the room. "Listen… I think I'd better lie down until this stuff kicks in." She sensed Tori moving closer, but the woman didn't touch her again. "There's a terminal in the study just next door if you want to finish up some work. I don't think you'll be getting an Uber up here with that storm."
Tori furrowed her brows and looked out of Jade's window. She gasped; it was almost as dark as midnight outside, and that happened incredibly quickly, which also brought a thick fog coming in and hovering where she could barely see the backyard on the other side.
Tori looked back at the preemptively swaying woman and sighed. She stepped forward and put a steady hand on her arm.
"Come on, don't worry about me," she stated. Jade let herself be led over to the bed and got into it, curling onto her side and clamped her jaw down on another wave of nausea. Just laying here, Jade could feel her entire world spin. The pain tightened again, and she wrapped an arm over her head, finding it hard to breathe; it hurt so much.
"Damn."
"Here, roll over," the voice was quiet and familiar, so she obeyed, feeling hands gently probing at the ache in her neck. She was dimly aware that it was Tori, and that she shouldn't be letting the woman do what she was doing, but her body was past caring and relaxed into the touch with a sense of blissful relief.
"Wow… that's really tight… Hold on," Tori worked at the tensed shoulders, feeling uncertain and very awkward. Jade's skin felt nice and warm through the soft cotton of her shirt, and she was uncomfortably aware of just how inappropriate this all was. She was also uncomfortably aware of how much she was enjoying it.
It took a while before she could feel the knots release under her fingers, and by that time, Jade was edging toward sleep. Tori stopped her work and removed one hand but kept the other there, making gentle circles with just the fingertips. She only stopped when she realized the dark-haired woman was deeply asleep, her breathing steady and even.
She withdrew her touch, then stood and backed out of the room quietly. Not stopping until she was in the center of the living room. "Whew," she ran slightly shaking hand through her hair. "Okay… okay… just settle down, Tor… it's over now… she's alright… just relax," she spoke to her rapidly beating heart. She hadn't had a crush on a girl so bad since she was in high school; this was getting out of hand.
She walked over to the comfortable-looking chair and sat down, putting her hands between her knees and regarding the marbled quartz countertops in the kitchen as her heart beat steadied and her tense muscles stopped trembling.
It took a few minutes, but she eventually felt her body relax, and she sat back against the comfortable leather. Curious now, she looked around, taking in the house with an appreciative eye.
"So, this is where you live, huh?" she got up and wandered around the large room, examining the soft leather of the couch. "Ooh… bet that's comfortable to sit on," she commented softly, stepping up into the dining room and going over the windows, which were covered with slatted blinds. She lifted a blind up to expose the ocean view and sighed. "Man, that's nice."
From there, she wandered into the kitchen, peering at the cobalt blue cabinets, which showed little wear and tear. The center island for prep showed even less. "You didn't spend much time in here, do you, boss?"
She peeked inside the stainless steel refrigerator, staring in disbelief, then shaking her head. "Good grief, Jade. Do you expect me to believe you live on milk, chocolate chip cookies, and…" she opened the freezer, "… frozen pizza?" She slapped her head in disbelief. "I'm not seeing this," she looked again. "Oh… excuse me… and ice cream."
She left the sadly ill-stocked kitchen and made another circuit around the living room and checked the windows. She couldn't even see the dock from there. She sighed. There was a door that led off to the right, and she poked her head in, seeing a large desk complete with a computer. "So… the study."
She glanced up the stairs curiously, then trotted up the carpeted steps, finding three rooms and two bathrooms there. One room Where Jade slept, was meant to be the master bedroom, judging from its size and the wraparound balcony open to the sea.
Tori looked around again and then went downstairs and took in the quiet living room. Hmmm. Her eyes flickered to the entertainment center, then to the living room table, and she realized that other than the large painting above the couch, there was nothing personal in the place.
Tori thought about that as she wandered into the study and sat down at
the large polished desk.
She found a small framed photograph, which she picked up and brought closer. In it was a younger Jade, dressed in a black gi, one hand resting on a tall trophy and the other arm wrapped around an older man. He was grinning proudly at the camera and pointing to her. His bearded face was strongly reminiscent of Jade, and his eyes were the same pale blue. She turned the picture over and read the words penciled on the back. "Two of a kind. 2015."
"Hm," Tori carefully put the photo back down, then considered what to do. She could just leave. Jade was sleeping and there was no longer a need for her to hang around here. The phone was there. She could call a cab.
On the other hand, Jade had sort of said it was okay for her to stay… by telling her where the computer was, and kind of assuming she'd do something with it.
On the third hand, the prescription had said to take one… and Jade had taken two, and wasn't it dangerous to leave someone sleeping like that?
Two hands to one. Tori gave a brisk nod and flipped the computer on.
"I can finish up everything from a at here," she thought. "In fact… "Her eyes found the printer tucked against the side of the desk. "I can just reprint the reports and look them over here before they forward everything to Rob."
Satisfied, she waited for the computer to boot, then typed her own login. The system hesitated for a while, then obediently gave up her personal menu. She signed into a terminal session and got to work.