Six

Mariela put her cup down, and sighed contentedly, enjoying the peace and quiet of the early morning. It was Monday, and she knew it would stop being peaceful very soon, but for right now, just after sunrise, she could sit and listen to the lack of voices, and the phone not ringing, and think clearly.

Having Jade be gone for two days had thrown a wrench into quite a few things, and Mariela had set aside items her boss needed to go into immediately in a bright red folder, now set exactly in the center of Jade's almost painfully clean desktop. They'd all expected Jade back on Friday, but her sudden detour had been immediately stated as both dire, and necessary by Robert Shapiro, whose status email on the Peak Media account had gotten more and more drastic as the day went on.

So it was good that Jade had gone there.

Of course, Mariela knew perfectly well that Peak Media had nothing to do with why Jade was in Vermont, but that was all right as well. Tori had been starting to sound very stressed in the last few days of her first long trip, and it was a good thing that Jade wanted to make sure the visit was a success. Tori had been doing a fantastic job in the last few months, getting compliments from even the sour Elle, and a few, very grudging, from Jose as she worked their problems with her own, gentler style. But it paid to make sure of things, and that was reason enough for Jade to have gone.

She would be glad to have them both back, though. Things were piling up, and she'd started sorting them in colors. Blue for Jade, Green for Tori, with little red tabs on the items that were most urgent. Truthfully, Tori was at a level where she could easily justify having her own admin, but Mariela felt just a little protective of her bosses partner, and had decided the extra work was well worth the peace of mind it gave her. At least until she could find someone Vitoria could trust.

Who would understand, and not judge.

Coincidentally, her eldest daughter, Mayte was just graduating junior college, and looking for a nice, respectable job. Mariela snapped a rubber band around a package of Jade's mail. Family was always the best to trust, no? She had spoken to Cat already, and the personnel VP had promised to earmark the position for her, dryly thanking Mariela for solving what could become the personnel nightmare of her life for her.

It was good, yes. Mayte was a smart girl, very good with the computers, and this would get her out of the house most of the day, and away from her brother's friends, who had little to do, and lots of trouble to get into. Also, Mariela smiled. It would give her eldest daughter a chance to be exposed to a new kind of person, since Vitoria was also very smart, and very strong, and not afraid of saying what she thought. She would be a good influence on her shy daughter.

Besides, did Mayte not think she, Mariela, who had a lifetime of experience, knew that the J Balvin concert she and a few, a few of her friends were supposed to have gone to the other week was actually to a Tegan and Sarah one? Foolish girl. If she was thinking that she was not sure of what she wanted, better she be exposed to people like Vitoria, and her boss Jade, then what she would find in dark corners.

Not that she was hoping Mayte would choose the same. Mariela was human enough to want a home, and a family, and a husband for all her daughters, and she felt the family tradition was strong, and very important. No... she was not hoping for that. But life, ay, life tended to give to you what it wanted, and not what you did, so it was best to be prepared, and do the best things you could for those you loved.

Ah. The elevator.

Mariela heard the doors open, then two sets of footsteps approaching, accompanying familiar voices. She could hear Tori's low laugh, and she smiled as the door opened, and the two of them came into the office. "Good morning, Jade... welcome back, Vitoria."

"Morning Mariela." Jade picked up her blue folder and leafed through it. "How was your weekend?"

"Very nice, thank you." Mariela answered. "Vitoria, is that a new outfit? It is very nice.. how was your trip?"

"Ugh." Tori collected her own folder. "I didn't have time to get anything cleaned…so I ended up at the mall yesterday." She plucked at the neat cotton shirt, which was tucked into pressed, pleated pants. She removed the long, legal sized envelope tucked into her folder. "This the papers?"

"Sim." Mariela gave her a sympathetic look. "Is not nice…but the policeman was very sweet, who brought them. "

Tori sighed, and put the envelope back. "Other than the last few days, the trip was great… I don't know what we're going to do with Peak though.. did the security team make it out there?"

"Yes.. Brady called in one half hour ago, and said he had things taken care of." Mariela responded. "I passed him through to Sinjin."

"Great.. I'll check on that, Jade... and let you know what the deal is. Are you going to that meeting a ten?"

Jade had been perusing her folder. "Yeah… and we need a team meeting after lunch, because Sinjin bullied facilities into finishing the two hubsites. We're ahead of schedule." She glanced up. "Mariela, cancel anything I've got late Friday afternoon.. I"ve got to fly up to Connecticut."

"Sim..." Mariela took notes. "Do you want me to book you?"

The tall executive nodded. "A lunch flight going up… " She paused, considering. "See if they can hang out all day I am going to want to return on a late flight coming back that night. Otherwise, early next morning return."

Tori looked up. "Don't you want to maybe stay around there a day or so?"

Blue eyes met hers. "No." Jade closed her folder and headed into her inner office.

Mariela had picked up a pencil to make notes, now she put it down, and inclined her head inquisitively at Tori.

"Mm… Jade's grandmother passed on. " The brunette explained. "She hasn't seen that part of her family in a while.. they don't get on well."

"Ahh… that is too bad." Mariela clucked softly. "A funeral is always so hard."

They both fell introspectively silent, then spoke again at once.

"Mariela, what does my schedule show for Friday?"

"You know, your schedule is clear for that day, Vitoria."

They both chuckled. "Will you be heading up to Conneticut as well?" Mariela asked.

Tori considered. She hadn't realized Jade's family were her mother's constituents. But she took a deep breath and nodded. "Yeah… but book me on a commercial flight, okay? I haven't talked to her about it.. and Mariela.. book those tickets on my credit card this time." She shook a finger at the secretary. "Jade doesn't need any help in that department from you.. she spoils me more than enough on her own."

Mariela smiled, and held up a hand. "Ay, Vitoria, the two of you are just like my children, sometimes. You'd better go check your office. I am thinking that my boss has missed you just a little being gone."

"My office?" Tori queried. "What did she do in my office?"

No answer, just a smile.

"Oh my god.. " Tori exhaled, and headed for the door. "I should have brought that darn trophy in."

Jade was halfway through the red folder, one hand propping up her head as she studied the paper in front of her. She reached over and took a swig of apple juice, then put her bottle down and turned the page. "No." She picked up the sheet and tossed it into her out bin. "No." She tossed the next one after it. "You've got to be kidding." A third went wafting.

She picked up a pen and scribbled her signature over the next, then turned it over. A soft chime made her look up, and she watched her mailbox fill with dark lines. Then she turned her head and went peacefully back to her papers.

A buzz. "Jade.. Mr. Alastair on line número um."

Jade hit the button. "Morning, Alastair."

"Good morning, Jade… hear we had some trouble with the Peak account."

Right to the point. Jade liked that. "Yeah… I've got a team up there, and Rob is has the auditors working on their books. Looks like someone bought off someone at Ernst and Young."

Alastair made a soft clucking noise. "You're kidding?"

"Nope… unless the analysis comes up weird… we managed to retrieve records that show they were buying their contracts… I can't think of how they passed due diligence otherwise." Jade signed a page, then flipped it over. "I fired their comptroller."

"I heard." Alastair murmured. "His uncle's the president of Intercorp."

Jade put her papers down and folded her hands. "And?"

"I got a call from him."

"And?" Jade asked again, her eyes narrowing.

"He's not happy."

"I wasn't happy on Friday… the idiot was stupid enough to keep records of what he was doing in his god damned corporate server, Alastair… if they couldn't find an angle to force the bid, they manufactured one… we're talking major league slimeballs, here."

She could hear the sigh. "He's threatening to pull the French deal."

Jade felt nauseous. "Did you tell him what we found?"

"He doesn't much care." Alastair told her, bluntly. "This kid's a protégé of his, and it's a lot of not nice smelling stuff on his face if he gets tossed on his rear."

A silence lengthened. "Are you suggesting we rehire him?" Jade asked, carefully.

"I'm suggesting you give me a reason not to." Her boss replied. "Something that would make him ineligible to be employed by WesTrek."

"How about filing criminal charges?" Jade snorted. "Jesus, Alastair… I can't believe we're having this conversation…tell you what. Give me this guy's phone number."

"Who?"

"The uncle… I'll call him." Jade pulled a pad and her pencil over. "I don't give a damn if he's got egg on his face.. he should have taught the little bastard better.. or at least made sure he had the sense to cover his ass."

"Um… no...Jade, I don't think that's a good idea." Alastair told her, delicately. "He's got a hot temper."

"And I don't?"

"That was my point." Her boss remarked dryly. "Listen.. just get me something on him, so I can go back to the uncle with something other than lame excuses, huh?"

Jade glowered at the phone. "You know what I'd tell him?"

"Yes, in fact, I do… and we need that contract, Jade, so.. be a sport, hmm?"

"Grumph." The executive grunted. "All right.. I'll see what I can do… but I'll tell you, Alastair.. even if we don't get something concrete, I'm not integrating that bastard. " She hung up the line and scowled at the desktop, before dialing another number. "Sinjin?"

"Hmm?" The MIS chief cleared his throat. "Yes, boss? What's up.. welcome home."

"I need you to pull everything you can on that jerk from Peak." Jade told him. "He's got some pull somewhere, and I need to nail him down hard."

"Okay.. I'll see what I can get." Sinjin promised. "Hey.. has Tori seen her office yet?"

Oh shit... "She hasn't come barreling in here, so I guess not." Jade found her annoyance fading. "I'll let you know."

Sinjin laughed. "She's gonna have a fit…. Wish I could record it. Later, boss."

Jade leaned back in her chair and crossed an ankle over her knee, smoothing her hand down the soft cotton of her casual slacks. She took a sip of her juice, and waited, hearing familiar footsteps coming down the back hallway.

Tori ducked into the kitchen before she made it to her office, going to the cabinet and retrieving one of the extra mugs she'd stashed there. As she started a cup of expresso brewing, a familiar voice came in behind her.

"Hey, Tori! Welcome back!" Mary Ann, Rob's assistant bounced in, and grabbed her own cup. "We've missed you at the gym… how'd the trip go?"

"Eh.." Tori leaned back and crossed her arms. "Great, until the last few days.. I think the mess is sitting over in your office." She smiled at the tall, heavyset blond woman. "I've missed you guys too… finding a place to work out on the road is pretty tough."

Mary Ann poured a cup of regular coffee and added cream to it, then she glanced around and lowered her voice. "So.. how'd the meet go Saturday?"

Tori grinned fully, her nose wrinkling up . "It was great… she came in first place, after all that grumping."

"Really?" Mary Ann clapped a hand over her mouth. "Ohmigod.. that's so funny… she really won it?"

"Uh huh..got a trophy almost as tall as me.. " Tori laughed. "It was really something else… I wish you guys had been there."

"You told us not to come!"

"I know.. I know.. " Tori made a shushing motion. "Shh… she was really nervous about it… but I think the next one will be okay… but hey, can we get the class together before Wednesday? It'd be fun to do something to her before class starts."

"Ooo… " Mary Ann's eyes lit. "Yeah… we could get a cake… would she kill us?"

"Not if it was chocolate." Tori replied, wryly. "Chocolate cake, chocolate filling, chocolate frosting. Trust me."

"Gotcha." Mary Ann grinned. "This is going to be fun… it's been such a blast watching her unbend the past few months… no one would believe it if I told them."

Tori took her cup and poured the strong coffee into it, then added the steamed milk she'd been frothing during their conversation. "She'll make faces, but she'll like that." She spoke over her shoulder. "Yikes.. I better get going.. I've got a conference call in ten minutes." She ducked past the taller woman and headed across the hall, pushing her doorhandle down and shoving the door open with one shoulder. She got inside and let the door shut, getting halfway across the room before two things hit her.

What was on her desk, which wasn't her large screen monitor.

The smell of a new computer.

"Oo." Tori stopped and put her cup down, circling her desk and staring avidly. "Ooo..ooo..ooo….ooo…" Her eyes widened as she absorbed the sleek, twenty six inch, slim, liquid crystal display that now smugly sat on the surface. "Wooowww…. " The screen saver was swirling, a brilliant morphing of shapes that dissapeared as she touched the brand new ergonomic trackball nearby. "New crt.. new mouse.. "

Tori dropped to her knees and shoved her chair aside, squirming under her desk to see the new, dark gray box underneat. "Ooo… I'm in geek heaven." She got up and pulled her chair back over, then cracked her knuckles and opened the machine's system information, her eyes scanning it rapidly. "Ohh…. My …. God….. that's more RAM than the Space Shuttle could hold in it's cargo bay." She sat up and did a little dance in her chair, then she got up and patted the display. "Honey, you wait right here, okay? I need to go thank my fairy godmother for you?"

Jade pinned a serious look on her face as she watched the inner door open, and Tori appeared.

It lasted all of a second, before she clapped a hand over her mouth to stifle a laugh, since the brunette woman was doing a little dance in the middle of her carpet.

"You know what this is, Jade?" Tori asked her, doing her best Snoopy imitation. "This is a happy nerd dance."

Jade fell out of her chair, and hit the floor, laughing helplessly.

Tori paused, delighted at the reaction. "Wow… that was almost as good as seeing that new puter." She put her hands on her hips and smiled, then walked over and extended a hand down to her boss. "Here… "

Jade gripped the hand and allowed herself to be hauled upright, then dusted herself off. "Whew… didn't expect that reaction." She chuckled wryly. "Glad you liked the new box… I told Sinjin to hold off on changing mine out till you saw yours."

"It's awesome." Tori enthused. "That screen is so much clearer…my eyes thank you."

"Mm." Jade nodded. "Yeah… that was one of it's selling points for me, too.. " She walked over to her system and rolled the trackball, then selected a screen. "Couple weeks of reading these convinced me."

Tori squinted at the complicated CAD drawing, recognizing the network symbols. "Yow… I see what you mean!" She looked up at Jade. "Were you getting those headaches again?"

The other woman nodded mutely.

"Definitely worth it, in that case." Tori decided, giving Jade's nearby leg a pat. "Thanks, boss."

Jade grinned, and dialed. "Hey Sinjin."

"Uh?? Oh.. hi boss… what's up?"

"You missed a dancing nerd up here a minute ago."

"A wh… oh, man.. I thought you meant the candy for minute.. I was gonna say.." Sinjin laughed. "Hey, Tori.. like the new box?"

"Oooooo." Tori responded. "Very much. Thanks, Sinjin…."

"Bring mine up." Jade chuckled. "When you get a chance."

"I love working for the head geek.." Sinjin sighed. "Okay.. Brent'll be up in a minute…"

Jade hung up the line and perched on the edge of her desk, folding her arms over her chest with a satisfied expression. "So. You like it, huh?" She was pleased with her surprise, having hand picked the systems in question.

"Very much." The Tori smiled. "Now, let me get back to my new toy, and try to get some work done… hope those reports are in."

Jade lost her good humor. "Ah. Me too… apparently our slimy friend has relations in sticky places. Alastair's getting pressured to rehire him." She watched Tori's jaw drop. "I know.. I know… I've got Sinjin checking. But you keep your eye out for solid stuff too."

"That sucks." Tori replied forthrightly. "He's bigtime trouble, Jade… I tell you what, I'm going to contact that woman from the account they just got… she was really upset about whatever they had over her.. maybe I can get her to talk now."

"Good." The executive looked up as the door swung open, and an audio visual cart entered, pushed by a short, stocky man in his early twenties, with a pugnacious buzz cut. "Thanks, Brent."

"No problem, ma'am." The tech stated briskly, visibly holding back from a salute. "I'll get this hooked right up."

Tori peeked at him from around Jade's desk. "Hi, Brent."

The man visibly blushed. "Morning, ma'am."

"Did you set up my new system too?" The brunette woman inquired, a tiny, playful smile crossing her lips. "If you did, thanks."

Furtively, he looked at her. "Yeah, that was me… no problem." He messed around with some cables, then peeked up again. "If you want the cords tied back a different way, or anything.. let me know, okay?"

"I sure will." Tori caught his eye and smiled, making him almost drop the keyboard he'd picked up. Brent had a well known crush on her, and she wasn't above tweaking him just a little because of it. Besides, he was cute, and almost painfully shy, and Tori liked him for his accuracy and good attitude.

"Can't plug a mouse in there, Brent." Jade's voice rumbled dryly from across the desk. "Try the round hole."

Tori decided to leave before she caused the poor man any more trouble. "I'll get those reports to you." She waved her fingers at Jade and slipped through the back hallway door, closing it behind her.

Jade took pity on the tech, strolling away from her desk and ending up at the window, gazing out over the water with an air of serene patience she'd rented from somewhere, and kept in her drawer for special occasions. She thought of her dancing nerd, and the glass reflected back a cheerful grin as she waited for Brent to finish.