new job and new business slowing me down here it's been an insane two weeks in the new year. I am enjoying reading MetaTron85's Village by the sea though. some good reading I make time for. Check it out if you don't already.


Thirty Six


Jade dropped into her seat, glancing at the clock on the wall in some mild embarrassment. She shook her head, then leaned forward and hit the intercom. "Mariela, what the hell's on my schedule today?"

"Uno momento, Jade. I will be right there." Mariela answered promptly.

"Hope it wasn't anything that started at eight." Jade remarked to the empty office. Both she and Tori had fallen asleep together on the couch, and woken abruptly at eight, realizing they'd forgotten any kind of alarm.

Tori's ice pack was a sloshy warmish pack by then, and it had slipped down off her face, revealing a still swollen and tender area underneath. Her eye was mostly closed, and Jade didn't have much trouble in convincing her to stay home and relax once she'd seen her reflection in the mirror.

So here she was at just past nine, trying to collect the scattered threads of her day after it's late start and hoping she hadn't missed anything really critical. Jade folded her hands as Mariela entered, carrying a pad of paper, and gave her assistant a wry grin. "Morning."

"Good morning, Jade." Mariela sat down. "Is Vitoria all right? Mayte said that she would not be here today."

Jade sighed. "We had an accident at kickboxing class last night. Tori got bopped in the head, so I made her stay home. It's not that bad, but she looks like she was beaned in the eye with a baseball."

"Dios Mio!" Mariela exclaimed. "That poor thing!"

"Yeah." Her boss agreed. "Wish I was…" She paused awkwardly. "Anyway, what's on the schedule? Did I miss something already this morning?"

Mariela smiled at her, and looked down at her pad. "Ah, no, no. There is a meeting after lunch today, with the gentleman from AT& T, and a conference call for you at four for the international."

Rats. Jade sighed again. The four o'clock international call tended to last forever, and she… "Okay." She cut off her thoughts abruptly, reminding herself she was actually a corporate officer here. "Thanks, Mariela.. let me get to work in the damn inbox. Tell Mayte to forward any calls for Tori over here to me."

"Yes, I surely will." Mariela stood up. "Would you like some coffee, Jade?"

"Do I look like I need it?" Jade replied with rakish grin. "Yeah, sure."

"I will be right back." The older woman said. "While you are getting your things ready."

Jade watched her leave, then she gave her trackball a spin, bringing up her inbox in the hope it would keep her occupied and not wishing she was at home.

One note caught her eye, and she opened it, scanning the contents quickly. Her fingers drummed lightly on the keys, then she hit reply and answered.

Hoping Tori would forgive her for it.


There were a lot of things Tori knew she could be doing. However, she was curled up in their waterbed with the blinds drawn, listening to an audio book playing softly in the CD player instead. Her eye was still swollen shut, and trying to read anything, much less her laptop screen just wasn't working for her.

So she'd retired to their bedroom instead, keeping her laptop nearby for mail purposes, but simply laying there in the comfortable air conditioning with her other eye closed as well.

It felt good to just chill out. Tori felt a little guilty as well, but not enough for her to get up and do anything about it.

Chino came over and rested her jaw on the edge of the waterbed, snuffling at Tori's slack hand until she reached over to scratch the Labrador's head. She licked Tori's fingers, then hopped up onto the waterbed, making the surface move as she picked a spot and curled up against her owner's body.

Tori sighed contentedly, taking in a breath and catching Jade's scent, still clinging to the pillow her arm was wrapped around. She was a little surprised when the phone rang, but reached over and snagged it, cradling it between her shoulder and ear. "Hello?"

"Hey, Tor!" Andre's voice sounded through the phone. "You there?"

"Um." Tori cleared her throat. "You called my home number, and I answered, didn't I?"

"Ah, heh. Yeah." Her friend said. "So, what's the deal? I heard you got hurt?"

Tori snorted softly into the phone. "Yeah… I was a klutz last night in kickboxing class. The guy I was sparring with slipped and kicked me in the head."

"Oh, Jesus!" Andre blurted. "So it was some guy? Not Jade?"

"Jade?" Tori chuckled. "Of course not. She's got more control than the damn instructor." She paused. "Why?"

"Well, that makes more sense." Andre replied. "No, it was just how I heard it – for some reason it sounded like it was Jade who'd been involved.. boy, she must have been pissed."

"To put it mildly." Tori felt her brow crinkle as she reviewed her friend's words. "She took me to the doctor, had my head x-rayed, cursed the dumbass who clocked me, and then rocked me to sleep on the couch last night… I can only imagine what she'd have done if it'd been her."

"Aw." Andre's smile could clearly be heard through the phone. "She's such a sweetie."

Tori relaxed. "Yeah." She sighed. "So, anyway, I've got this black eye and I can't hardly read a screen. Jade made me stay home with it."

"Jaden right." Andre stated. "You need anything? I've got to go pick up my car so I'm leaving early… I could stop by."

"Nah, I'm fine." Tori reassured her. "Listen, do me a favor? Make sure whoever's talking about what happened gets the story straight… if Jade hears people thinking it's her, she's going to have a heart attack."

"No problem, girl." Her friend said. "You leave it to me."

Tori sighed. "God damn it."

"What?"

Her temper flared. "Why in the hell would anyone think she'd done it? That really pisses me off."

The phone crackled a little, as though Andre had shifted or moved. "Hey, hey, relax." She said, in a lower tone. "Listen, I don't think anyone though it was on purpose, Tori. Just an accident, you know?"

"Bullshit." Tori rolled over and scowled at the ceiling.

"Tori." Andre replied. "Would you take it easy? Honest, no one was mean. It was just.. I don't know, I guess people thought it was kind of funny that.."

"FUNNY?" Tori growled. "There is nothing funny at all about it. Even if it had been Jade, it wouldn't have been funny. People getting hurt is funny? Me getting hurt is funny? Wow. Nice."

There was no answer for a few seconds, then Andre sighed. "That's not what I meant."

Tori plucked at the soft down comforter draped over the bed. "Yeah, I know. It's not your fault." She admitted. "I just really hate when people talk bull, especially about her."

Andre cleared her throat, then chuckled. "Well, I do know that, Tori. That's how I knew you were falling for her way back when. You nearly took me head off when I dared to call her a rude name."

Had she? Tori studied the plaster ceiling, a faint smile tugging at her lips. Yeah, she had. Even at the very beginning, after she and Jade had bumped heads just once or twice, she'd started defending her. Many of her co-workers had thought, and probably still did, that she was just sucking up.

Maybe even she thought that, back then, or maybe it was just survival. But the instinct to protect Jade had kicked in very, very early. "Yeah." She said. "Sorry, Dre. It's just a button of mine." She continued. "And it really hurts, especially after how sweet Jade was last night.. I felt like I was being swaddled in silk. Don't even get me started on this morning."

"No problem, girl." Andre sounded happier. "Listen, let me go finish up a report I've got due.. I'll give you a buzz later, okay?"

"Sure." Tori agreed. "Thanks for calling, Dre." She hung up the phone, her relaxed mood gone despite her reassuring words to her friend. "Man, that does really piss me off." She reached over to scratch Chino's ears. "Why do people do that, Chi? Why can't they just be nice?"

"Growf." Chino licked her fingers and snuggled closer again.

Tori regarded the ceiling for a few moments more, then she reached over and hit the speakerphone, dialing Jade's private office number without looking. It was answered after two rings. "Hey."

"Hey." Jade's voice sounded reasonably chipper. "How are you feeling?"

"Like a grumpy warthog." Tori said. "What's going on there?"

A soft creaking came through the phone, surely Jade taking a seat in her leather chair and leaning back. "I'm going to be interviewed in about a half hour." She said. "Sinjin's still trying to track that damn device down, we've been hit by a dozen more attacks, and we're out of milk in the cafeteria." She paused. "So, how's your day been so far?"

Poised on the verge of spilling her concerns, Tori hesitated, hearing the stress in her partner's voice. "Boring." She said instead. "I can't really use my laptop, so me and Chi are just lying in bed, listening to Modern Trends in Network Design."

"Ah. Light reading." Jade chuckled softly under her breath. "You could go watch Animal Planet… how's your headache?"

"Better." Tori felt slightly foolish at bothering her busy partner. "Listen, sorry to interrupt.. I was just.. um… " She paused. "Anyway, why are you being interviewed?"

"Ah." Jade grunted, a wry disgust very evident in her tone. "Fallout from that god damn Telegenics glory hunting with Discovery Channel or whoever the hell that is. Now this woman from the Washington Post wants to talk to me."

"Oo. Make sure she takes a pretty picture for the front page." Tori teased. "Given what they usually have to put up, getting their hands on you will be a definitely pleasant change.

"Pfft." Jade made a rude noise.

"Same to you." Tori replied. "Hey, let me let you get back to work. I'm going to laze around here for a while, then maybe catch some sun outside on the porch." She stretched a little. "Talk to you later?"

"Absolutely." Jade answered warmly. "And you weren't bothering me. I'm glad you called."

Tori smiled as she hung up the line, but the smile faded after a moment and she rolled up out of bed and sat on the edge of it, leaning her elbows on her knees. After she stared at the floor a minute with her good eye, she pushed herself to her feet and trudged into the bathroom.

She didn't really want to look in the mirror, but she did anyway, watching her face twist into a grimace as she examined her reflection. Around her eye, almost in a perfect circle, was a dark, mottled bruise that would have almost been comical if it hadn't hurt as much as it did.

Her eye was puffy and half closed, but that at least was an improvement over what it had been last night. With a sigh, Tori used the restroom, then she wandered into the living room as Chino jumped off the couch and joined her.

Now that she was stirred up, the thought of lying in bed was almost intolerable. Instead, Tori went into the kitchen and put up some herbal tea, stifling a yawn as she opened the refrigerator to find herself something to nibble on.

Removing a bottle of juice, she poured herself a glass and replaced it, turning in surprise when she heard a soft knock at the door. "Now, who the heck could that be?" She asked, following Chino into the living room as the Labrador bounded ahead to guard the door for her. "Oh, Shit. Must have forgotten to tell Clemente not to come in today."

She went to the door and opened it, not bothering to check the peep hole first. "Oh." She blinked in surprised, finding not the stocky hospitality manager but Ceci outside. "Hi."

"Hi." Ceci had her hands behind her back, and was looking quite diffident. "Can I come in?"

"Sure." Tori backed up and let her past. "Sorry, I wasn't expecting anyone… but you're always welcome."

"Mmhm." The diminutive woman strolled past. "Remember that after you find out why I'm here."

"Uh oh." Tori half chuckled. "Want some tea?"

Jade's mother nodded. "Love some. Nice shiner you have there." She came closer and examined Tori's face. "Don't' suppose I can talk you two into croquet or something equally benign instead, huh?"

"Ah. So you know all about what happened, huh?"

"Mmhm."

"Jade send you here?" Tori hazarded.

"Mmhm." Ceci nodded. "Me being the only mother she knows in the area, yes. She asked me to come over here and practice my non-existent maternal skills on you." She gave Tori a wry grin. "So why not let me get the tea, and you rest your head so I can say I tried. Hm?"

Tori walked over to the couch and sat down, extended her legs along the it's length. "Sure." She agreed amiably. 'I'll get her back later."

Ceci gave her a big thumbs up, then disappeared into the kitchen.

"You little stinker." Tori addressed the ceiling. "I will get you later. Just wait." She reached for the remote control and flipped on the television, picking a channel at random and settling back to watch.

Ah well. It could be worse. Tori eyed the door to the kitchen. It could be my mother. She shivered imagining the ghost of her obstinate mother berating her about the types of exercise she participated in.


The reporter entered behind Mariela, and followed her over to Jade's desk. She was a tall, poised black woman with striking good looks, and she met Jade's firm handshake with one of her own before she took the proffered seat. Jade took a moment to appreciate the other woman. She was attractive, that was for sure. Jade wasn't dead. But she wasn't Tori and that made all the difference in the world.

"Thanks, Mariela." Jade returned to her chair and dropped into it. "So, Ms. Banks, what is it you'd like to talk about?" She leaned back and steepled her fingers, watching the reporter as she settled herself in her chair and took out a notepad.

Notepad. Jade's eyebrow twitched. The last few times she'd been interviewed, it'd been with at the very least, a tape recorder. It was interesting that the reporter had chosen to stick with the basics in the local headquarters of one of the most highly technical companies in the world.

"What would I like to talk about?" The reporter repeated, in a quietly cordial tone. "Well, Ms. West, as you may know, some of my colleagues are working very hard to make a documentary about Peter Quest's effort to re-establish American cruising." She studied her pad, then looked up at Jade. "Everyone keeps trying to cast you as the bad guy."

Jade gave her a slightly flirty smile. She liked her directness. At the very least Banks didn't annoy her. And that was fairly easy to do these days filled with hormones and parental panic.

"Are you the bad guy?" The woman asked. "From the research I've done, your image wanders from Cruella DeVil, to Joan of Arc, depending on the time of day and phase of the moon or who I've talked to." She leaned forward a little. "So what's the real scoop?"

Joan of Arc? Jade's eyes widened a trifle. "I'm not sure there is a scoop." She replied. "I'm just here to do a job. I don't employ any bizarre tactics, just decent business sense, and the time I invest in acquainting myself with the newest in technology."

Banks scribbled a note. "Well, let me tell you what I've got here on you, and then you can tell me if you still think you're not a news item." She flipped a page over. "You're a Navy brat."

"Mm." Jade gave an agreeable grunt. "That's pretty newsworthy, I guess."

The reporter smiled. "So I hear. You grew up on Navy bases all over the country, right?"

Jade nodded.

"You've founded one company, that being this one, and you started WesTrek when you were… twenty?"

Jade nodded again. "I think that makes me more boring than scoop." She remarked. "I loved growing my business and meeting my next business goals to what it is."

The reporter made another note. "Do you like your job?" She studied Jade's face. "The one you have now, I mean?"

For a moment, Jade almost considered answering honestly, then she reviewed the issue and realized there were some things even she couldn't get away with. "Most of the time, yes." She finally responded. "I can do without publicity seeking monkeys trying to make me look bad every couple of hours, but in general, yeah. I like what I do."

Banks looked intrigued. "Is that what you consider your competitors? Publicity seeking monkeys?"

"Well." Jade met her gaze squarely. "I can tell you I've never asked a news crew to hang off my ass during any of my business deals. I've also never rigged a convention for failure so I could come in and save the day to make press, or tried to bug my rivals."

The reporter straightened up and looked really intrigued. "Some people would say that's just smart competition."

"Some people are morons." Jade replied. "I find it easier just to be very good at what I do, and save the fun and games for the weekends."

They looked at each other for a moment, then the reporter grinned. "You know what, Ms. West?"

Jade raised her eyebrows in question.

"You're my kind of bad guy." The darker woman told her. "Can I buy you lunch?"

Jade was peculiar about lunch. She liked to either grab something at her desk, or, if Tori was there and not busy, have lunch with her. It was a chance to wind down for a few minutes in either case and de-stress in the middle of the day.

However, since Tori wasn't here, and this was at least an opportunity to make an impression other than dark awful on the whole ship project, Jade decided she'd make an exception. Plus the company wasn't bad either."Sure." She agreed. "You'll get out easy. The rest of your bunch has to spend whole days with my competition."

The woman chuckled. "Now, as a professional journalist, I have to keep neutral, Ms. West, so I certainly can't pass along to you any of the comments of my colleagues." She paused, and let the words simply saunter off with their meaning fully intact. "But I'm sure we can find something else to discuss."

Jade checked the time on the computer screen. "Probably, but it needs to be now, because I've got conferences starting in an hour and a half." She got up, pausing only to type a quick message and send it. "What's your poison?"

"Anything." The reporter responded promptly.

Jade looked up, as her sultry smile transformed into a devilish grin. She watched the woman wince.

"Oh, I should not have said that." Banks mourned. "I just know I'm going to end up regretting it. The one thing everyone agrees on is that you have a very twisted sense of humor."

"Nah." Jade gestured towards the door. "Most people think I don't have one at all." She locked her PC and came around the desk. "There's a sushi place next door that's fast and something less than noisy."

"Phew." The reporter followed her out. "I decided to try a little place near my hotel yesterday and boy did I end up regretting it. I think the grease inside was older than I am."

Jade held the door, then went out after her. "Sounds like a place I'd love." She cheerfully stated, giving Mariela a brief wave. "Lunch."

Mariela waved back, then cleared her throat a bit. "Jade, by any chance did you speak with…"

"Yes, she's fine, she doesn't need anything, she wishes she were here, and I sent my mother over to keep her company." Jade rattled off on her way to the outer door. "But if you want to send her chocolate ice cream, go for it."

Mariela covered her mouth to stifle a laugh, as she watched them leave. She shook her head, then turned to flip through her phone directory until she found the number she was looking for. Just as she was about to dial, the outer door opened again and Mayte slipped inside. "Bueno. I am glad you are here. Please pay attention, so you know the next time what to do, yes?"

Mayte came around the desk and knelt down, watching obediently. "Mama, Tori's parteira Andre just came to the office, and said to tell everyone who is talking that Tori did not get hit by Jade. Did you know that?"

Mariela stopped in mid dial, and clicked the phone off. "Did I know that it was not so? I never once even thought that it was. Was there people saying that?"

"She said that there were, but I did not hear anything like that." Mayte said. "People do not say such things to me, I think, because they are afraid you will hit them."

"Good." Mariela nodded briskly. "I will send a note to Conchita and Rose, and those others so whatever they are saying, they will stop. I have got them good chained."

"Trained, mama." Mayte murmured. "But I am glad it is not true. I would not like to think Tori could get hurt that way."

Mariela leaned on her desk. "I will tell you something. Jade may be many many things and some people may think she is tough, and mean, and would do something like that. But I know in my heart that before she would do any little thing to hurt Tori, she would faster jump off the building."

Mayte nodded. "I think so too." She hesitated. "But mama, I did hear something that really bothered me just before. Some people are saying that they are going to break up, and they have heard Tori talk about leaving. Do you think that's true?"

Mariela turned in her chair and stared at her daughter. "Como?" She said, astonished. "They told you that? Who told you that?"

Mayte shook her head. "No, they did not tell me, mama, I heard. It was in the bathroom. They did not know I was there." She explained. "One was the woman who works over near the little room with all the books here, and the other I did not know."

Mariela was quiet for a brief time, as she pondered what to do. "Mayte, no, I do not think that is true at all." She finally said. "But we must find out who is saying these things, and why they are saying them."

"Okay." Her daughter agreed. "Then we can throw food at them, yes?"

"Tch." Mariela gave her a look. "That was not funny."

"Mama, yes it was." Mayte told her. "Tori said it was very funny. She is so sad there are no pictures." She got to her feet. "But, yes, we should find out who is being so mean, and make them stop it. I know it would hurt Tori very much if she heard someone say that. I think she really is very devoted."

"Sim." Her mother agreed. "First, let me do this thing I want to show you. Have you gone for lunch yet?"

Mayte fidgeted a little. "I was going to meet someone for lunch, Mama."

Mariela looked at her, then made a clucking sound. Mayte blushed, and shrugged. "It is not that person with the pins again, is it?"

Mayte shook her head.

"Meu Deus." Mariela dialed the phone. "Please god, that you find someone nice like Vitoria who I don't have to worry about being a pincushion."

Mayte sighed. "It would be nice if Tori's twin lived here." She admitted mournfully.

Her mother paused, and gave her a look.

"Don't you think so? So she would have family…" Mayte tried to cover up.

"Dios Mio." Mariela glanced at the ceiling, then looked down as the phone was answered. "Hello, Senor Clemente? Sim, this is Mariela. Yes, I have something I need for you to do for me."