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Discussions - Chapter 15
By Kudara
Disclaimer: All the characters appearing in Gargoyles are
copyright Buena Vista Television/The Walt Disney Company. No
infringement of these copyrights is intended as this is a not
for profit fan fiction work. All original characters are the
property of the author.
Warning: none
Notes: Dominique Destine’s home, and the character’s Candice and
Gregory are from ‘The Gargoyles Saga’ world and adapted for use
in this story. Song mentioned is “Wonderful Christmas Time” by
Paul McCartney.
Rating: Teen
Feedback: Always welcome, feedback is what encourages me to keep
writing. Please let me know what you like and what you dislike
about the story.
Revision History: 08/27/08
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Monday, December 22th 1997
Early Morning - Nightstone Unlimited HQ, Lower East Side
Manhattan
Dominique glanced approvingly at the younger woman standing
beside her as they waited for the elevator to descend. Sharon
looked every inch the part of her personal assistant this
morning in her new tailored navy suit. The brunette would spend
most of the morning with human resources signing her employment
contract and other assorted paperwork, and then work with
Dominique for a few hours before they needed to return to her
home to prepare for the party tonight. Tomorrow morning Gregory
would drive her to the airport to fly back to Arizona for a few
weeks. During that time, things would hopefully calm down some
and Dominique would feel more comfortable with the idea of her
coming back.
At the end of the small hallway where they were waiting, there
was an embossed decorative metal surface which was polished
enough to mirror the area. Dominique noticed Sharon’s narrow
eyed disapproving stare at the reflective metal surface about
the same time as she noticed the reason for it. Mr. Cline, the
Contracts Manager in the Procurement Department, was examining
certain parts of her anatomy rather closely with a speculative
and interested look on his ruddy face. Her eyes narrowed, she
had suspected after the news coverage that she might have this
issue, but she had hoped that her employees would be both more
professional, and too wary of her, to dare be obvious if they
chose to speculate about her fashion choices or her personal
life. It was unfortunate for Mr. Cline that he had chosen this
morning to be neither professional nor wary.
“Do not react to what I’m about to do,” the redhead whispered
commandingly to the woman beside her. Their eyes met in the
mirrored surface, Sharon’s brown ones a little wide and
surprised before she nodded. “Mr. Cline,” Dominique’s voice was
sharply edged and arctic cold and raised enough to carry over
the entire entryway area. The redhead saw the human male’s
entire body jerk as both the summons and the tone in which it
was said, registered. Those employees nearby him edged subtly
away, leaving the poor unfortunate alone in whatever punishment
he had drawn to himself.
Dominique didn’t bother to turn around and face him. Instead,
she stared into the reflective surface until Mr. Cline finally
realized what she was doing and his brown eyes met the
reflection of her narrowed green ones. The man’s eyes widened as
he finally realized what it was that he was in trouble for and
even with the imperfect reflective surface the redhead was
fairly certain that his normally ruddy complexion paled to a
pasty white. She pivoted neatly on her heels to finally look
directly at the man; he did look rather pale she decided with
satisfaction.
“Mr. Cline,” Dominique said once more this time indicating with
one pointing finger where she expected him to place himself in
front of her. Like a condemned man walking to the gallows, the
tall man slowly made his way over to stand in front of the
redhead, and with every second that he cost her in getting this
over with so that she could get up to her office, Dominique grew
more irritated with the man’s overly melodramatic behavior.
“Ms. Destine,” he stammered nervously once he was finally
standing in front of her, “I apologize…”
She didn’t let him get any further, “An apology will not suffice
for your behavior,” the redhead snapped, “I expect you and Mr.
Parker in my office in thirty minutes, I’ll leave it to you to
explain to him why.” The elevator arrived with a chime and the
doors opened, a few employees got out, giving the scene in front
of them uncertain looks as they hurried by, Dominique gave the
man one last chilly glare before stepping swiftly into the now
empty elevator. Sharon, just a second behind her, managed to
enter just before the doors closed. The redhead pushed the
button for the thirteenth floor and turned to the younger woman
with a smirk. “I wondered if someone would be foolish enough to
do that after the Tattler article,” she commented.
Sharon looked at her with wide-eyed uncertainty, “Are you going
to fire him?”
“No,” Dominique replied, “but by the time he’s done with today
he will certainly never behave in that manner toward me again.
And, as a bonus, since quite a few people saw me reprimanding
him, it should take the news about two hours or so to make it
around the building, therefore I won’t have to concern myself
with doing it again. It was rather efficient of Mr. Cline to
choose that particular time and location to forget how unwise it
would be to do what he did.”
The younger woman stared at her, her expression a strange cross
between admiration and appalled disbelief, “Are you even
actually mad at him?” Dominique raised one eyebrow, her
expression disapproving; at least they were alone in the
elevator. “I’m sorry,” Sharon said, ducking her head slightly.
Dominique sighed, this was proving to be just as difficult to
balance as she had suspected it would be, “I understand that us
starting off with you staying at my house as my friend instead
of as my personal assistant will make things slightly more
difficult for you. And I need to figure out what the boundaries
are as well. I’m not used to anyone questioning my decisions.” A
faint smile curved her lips, “Except perhaps for Kendra, and she
doesn’t question as much as point things out that I may not have
considered.” She looked at the brunette thoughtfully for a
moment, “I think it was more your expression that was
problematic rather than the question itself,” she finally
commented. Sharon nodded solemnly; the redhead looked at the
utterly serious expression on her face and couldn’t help but
smile. “I’m sure we will be able to work through it together if
we try,” she said encouragingly. “As for your question, yes I am
annoyed with him, but it’s tempered with the certainty that if
it had not been him it would have probably been someone else.”
Dominique watched the comprehension dawn on Sharon’s face with
satisfaction.
The brunette frowned, “So what are you going to do to him?” she
asked.
The redhead smirked, “Make his day miserable, I’m sure he will
be calling me all sorts of unflattering names by the time four
o’clock arrives.” Their usual closing time was five, but she was
closing Nightstone an hour early today to give everyone a chance
to get home and prepare for the dinner cruise.
The elevator doors opened and the two of them stepped out on the
top floor. As they neared her secretary’s desk, Dominique paused
and said to the dark skinned woman sitting at it, “Excellent
catering choice Candice, dinner last night was superb.”
“Thank you Ms. Destine,” the woman replied, obviously startled.
A hesitant, yet determined look crossed Candice’s face as she
mustered up the courage to ask, “Your holiday party went well
then?”
A brief smile warmed the redhead’s face, “Yes it did,” she
confirmed. Dominique turned to the short haired brunette beside
her, “Candice this is Sharon McDonald my new personal assistant,
Sharon this is Candice Greene my secretary.”
“Pleased to meet you,” Sharon said politely as she held out a
hand to shake.
Dominique waited until they were finished before telling
Candice, “Mr. Parker and Mr. Cline should be here in
approximately twenty-five minutes, let me know when they arrive.
Also, please inform Mr. Burns that I’ll be sending Ms. McDonald
down to Human Resources in about an hour.”
“Yes, Ms. Destine,” the woman replied.
“My office is there,” Dominique indicated the door with its
plate announcing that it was the CEO’s office. “And this is your
office,” Dominique said as she opened the first door on the left
back towards the elevators from the reception area, and motioned
for the brunette to enter first. It wasn’t a very large office,
but because of its placement, it did have a window.
“Oh, this is nice,” Sharon commented as she looked around the
area. She walked over to the desk and trailed a hand along it on
her way to look out of the window.
The redhead watched her for a few minutes as she explored the
room before commenting, “I need to go to my office and decide
what reports Mr. Cline needs to finish before close of business
today.” She stared at Sharon for a few seconds, wondering if it
were best that the younger woman be present for the meeting or
not present. “Do you think you can maintain a neutral expression
during my meeting with Mr. Parker and Mr. Cline?” Before the
brunette could reply Dominique warned, “He’ll be looking at you
hoping for a clue as to what my intentions are, I don’t want
that to happen.”
“It won’t,” Sharon vowed, “I’d like to be there.”
Approximately twenty minutes later the intercom line in
Dominique’s office lit up. “Ms. Destine, Mr. Parker and Mr.
Cline are here to see you,” Candice said when she picked up the
line.
The redhead looked up at the younger woman who was standing
beside her, she had been giving Sharon a quick overview of the
company before Candice called. The brunette looked nervous.
Dominique remembered Sharon talking to Kendra about playing
poker with her brothers, and about how she had to develop a good
poker face before she could win against her older siblings.
“Poker face,” Dominique lowered the phone and murmured to her,
the younger woman’s face instantly smoothed out into a
noncommittal mask, and the redhead smirked. “Show them in,” she
said into the phone before hanging it up.
She turned back to her computer and pulled up a few reports,
ignoring the sound of her office door opening and then the two
men entering. She continued to ignore them for several seconds
as she looked over the information on her monitor. “Mr. Cline,”
she said as she finally turned her attention to the two men
standing stiffly in front of her desk, “Mr. Parker.”
“Ms. Destine,” they replied almost in unison.
The two men looked appropriately nervous, and Dominique could
see both men’s eyes darting between herself and Sharon,
doubtless wondering who the younger woman was and why she was
there. Even though she couldn’t see the brunette because she was
slightly behind her, the redhead knew that Sharon must be
maintaining her neutral expression because neither man’s
expression changed appreciably. The redhead gave her Procurement
Division manager a chilly look, “Mr. Parker I trust that Mr.
Cline has informed you of why you’re both standing in front of
me this morning?”
The blonde haired man stiffened, “He was staring at you in an
inappropriate manner,” he turned his head slightly and glared at
the taller man beside him.
“I trust that it will not happen again,” Dominique finally
addressed Mr. Cline.
“It will not Ms. Destine,” the tall thin man promised her
emphatically, relief entering his eyes as he realized that she
was not going to fire him.
She stared at him, her green eyes hard and still unforgiving,
until his gaze dropped from her own uncertainly. She continued
staring at him for a few seconds longer before turning to Mr.
Parker, “Since Mr. Cline has the time on his hands to spend in
such a manner, I would rather it be spent more productively
since I am paying him for it.” She leaned back in her chair, “I
see that the annual contract review hasn’t been completed yet, I
would like to see substantial progress made on that today.”
He grimaced briefly before responding, “Yes, Ms. Destine I’ll
make sure of it.”
“Please do, “she shifted her gaze to the brown haired man
standing beside him, “I suggest you work quickly Mr. Cline since
I expect to see you and your wife this evening at the Christmas
party,” she said with cool disapproval.
His adam’s apple actually bobbed up and down as he swallowed
nervously, “Yes, Ms. Destine,” he responded weakly.
Her eyes flicked away from him dismissively, “By the way this is
my new personal assistant Ms. Sharon McDonald,” she said
indicating the younger woman standing behind and off to the side
of her, “Ms McDonald, Mr. Parker the Procurement Division
manager and Mr. Cline the lead Contracts Officer in that
Division.”
Sharon returned the two men’s greetings and when the door closed
behind them, she turned to Dominique, a respectful look in her
hazel eyes. “I don’t think he’ll do that again,” she noted
“That was the point of that exercise,” the redhead said with
satisfaction.
Morning - Nightstone Unlimited HQ, Lower East Side Manhattan
“Mr. Robinson,” Dominique greeted the gravelly-voiced human who
answered the phone, “I have some information I’d like you to
track down for me.” This certainly wasn’t the first time she had
spoken to this man, only in the past her requests had been for
much less benign reasons and she hadn’t cared what he did to get
the information she wanted. What had counted to her, and what
still counted to her now, was the fact that he was thorough; she
knew if the information was out there he would find it. “I’d
prefer that you use legal methods when possible, I may need to
use the information you gather in legal proceedings.”
There was a brief hesitation before he answered, “Alright, what
information did you need?”
Dominique gave him the information she had on Robert, his
parents and his aunt and uncle, “I’m specifically looking for
information on the starting amount in his trust fund and the
current amount, as well as where the Social Security payments he
should be receiving are going. Also take a look at the Uncle’s
tax information, I’m fairly certain that he’s using Robert’s
trust fund to pay for Robert’s care and then claiming everything
on his taxes.”
“We talking about the young guy in the wheelchair I saw on TV?”
The redhead frowned, apparently everyone had watched that
broadcast, “Yes,” she answered shortly.
“Nice moves by you and that other woman,” he complemented her.
“As for the info you want, a lot of that will be impossible to
get completely legally even with a PI license. I can find the
beginning trust fund information from when the courts set it up
and where his Social Security payments are going, but current
bank account balances and personal tax records are all
non-public information, so getting access to them will be on the
shady side of legal.”
“Do not take any risks, I do not want Mr. Edward Collins to
realize that I’m looking into this,” Dominique instructed. She
already knew that most of the information she wanted could not
be legally obtained, and in the past she wouldn’t have even
hesitated a second. This time she had, but she decided to
proceed because she needed this information. She was almost
certain that she would eventually need to either threaten
Robert’s uncle with legal action or actually take legal action
against him on Robert’s behalf.
“I never do,” he commented matter-of-factly, “I don’t want to
get caught on the wrong side of the legal line either.”
“Very well,” the redhead replied, “let me know when you have
something. I’m very curious to know how much Robert’s trust fund
held initially.”
“Will do,” he assured her before he hung up.
Five minutes later the intercom line lit up, “What is it
Candice?”
“Ms. Destine,” Dominique frowned, her secretary sounded upset,
something that was rare for Candice. “It’s that Quarryman,
Castaway. He’s accusing Nightstone of making biological weapons
and accusing you of attempting to release one of them last year
in October. He was on the news just a few minutes ago.”
Dominique’s mind froze for a second, remembering the disc Robyn
Canmore had stolen from Nightstone’s vault. Then she realized
that Candice hadn’t mentioned gargoyles or a blue-skinned woman.
“Ridiculous, and doubtless easy provable as such,” she commented
dismissively, while hiding her relief. Obviously, Jon didn’t
have the disc Robyn had stolen, or he would have certainly used
it to support his claim and to renew his accusation that
Dominique Destine turned into a gargoyle at night. She paused
for a few seconds to consider her next course of action.
“Candice please contact Mrs. Alford, Mrs. Sanders and Mr. Weiss
and tell them to meet me in the conference room in thirty
minutes. I’ve had enough of Mr. Castaway’s baseless attacks.”
His announcement that she was actually a gargoyle had been more
amusing than worrying given her recently acquired ability to
remain human at night, but making accusations about her company
was another matter.
Only a few minutes later, as she was scanning through a news
report reading the rambling accusations Castaway had made
against her, the intercom line lit up once again. “Yes,
Candice?” Dominique queried absently, her attention still
focused on what she was reading.
Her secretary responded uncertainly, “Ms. Canmore, Ms. McDonald
and Ms. Jackson are here.”
The redhead glanced away from her monitor toward her office door
with a smile, “Send them in,” she replied. She should have
guessed they would hear the news of Jon’s latest announcement
and want to see her. The door to her office opened and Kendra
entered first, her expression tight, closed, betraying her upset
with the situation and, Dominique suspected, her upset with her
cousin. The other two women followed close behind her.
The black haired woman waited until the door closed before
commenting in an annoyed tone, “I guess this is his response to
your comment to the reporter Friday night,” an apologetic look
followed her words.
Dominique returned it with a reassuring one, “I did suspect he
would do something,” she responded. “I wasn’t, however,
expecting this. It’s a good thing I had Dr. Sanders keep enough
information on the carrier virus to show that it wasn’t capable
of replicating.”
Margaret frowned, “What is D/I-7 anyway? Castaway called it a
deadly chemical agent.”
Kendra snorted, “It’s nothing more than industrial strength
Lysol,” she said dismissively.
“Lysol?” repeated Sharon, sounding confused, “you mean this
stuff is cut with water and then used to mop the floors?”
“It’s an industrial strength cleaner and germicidal agent,”
Dominique expanded some on Kendra’s explanation.
“I don’t understand,” Sharon frowned, her bewilderment clear,
“what could that do when bound to a virus that can’t replicate?
I mean unless you had a lot of it, and its deadly when
ingested?”
Kendra gave the brunette a wry look, “A lot of it might have
been bad, but she had maybe a quart of it and there was a
sorcery spell on it to spread the liquid in the container across
the entire planet.”
Margaret looked over at Dominique, “More of the Weird Sister’s
work?” she asked quietly, her eyes sympathetic. The redhead
nodded.
“I don’t understand” Sharon said looking back and forth between
the redhead and Margaret, “Why would they want Demona to spread
a small amount of cleaner around the globe? It doesn’t seem to
make a lot of sense.”
Dominique sighed, she wished she didn’t need share this, but she
didn’t want Sharon or Margaret to think that the incident with
the carrier virus was something that it wasn’t. “They didn’t.
The Weird Sisters cast an enchantment on me so that I would
drive away any gargoyle I cared about to protect them from the
Canmore hunters. The carrier virus and D/I-7 mix along with the
sorcery I cast on it was to make the clan believe that I meant
to wipe out the human race so that they would hate me. Not that
I knew any of this at the time,” she said bitterly, “I only
realized recently that the mixture would have done nothing even
if it had been released.”
The younger woman stared at her, her hazel eyes revealing her
dismay and sympathy. “If you prove that what Castaway is
claiming is nonsense because the carrier virus can’t replicate
on its own, then the clan will know the truth as well,” she
pointed out.
The redhead was startled, she hadn’t thought about this
situation being an opportunity for her to reveal at least some
of the truth of what had actually been going on the night of the
hunter’s moon. Was she ready for the clan to figure out the
spell the three fey had placed upon her? Every time she
contemplated the clan knowing just how much the Weird Sisters
had controlled her behavior and actions over the past few years,
Dominique felt embarrassed and humiliated. In many ways, it felt
less terrible for the clan to go on thinking of her as evil,
than for them to know the truth. The closest she had come to
admitting it had been in her conversation last night with her
daughter, when she had mentioned that so many things she had
thought she had done for one reason were really for another.
“I’m sure Angela would like to know that you didn’t really
intend to kill off humanity that night,” Kendra commented
softly. Dominique stared at her mate indecisively, she didn’t
doubt that Angela would rather know that the cylinder of fluid
she had tossed in the air for Goliath to catch that night hadn’t
actually been filled with a deadly plague. She just didn’t know
if she were quite ready for her daughter to know just how
completely she had been under the three feys' control.
Forty five minutes later in the conference room, “My primary
concern is that Castaway’s lawyer will use the discovery process
as a cover to go through the company records including those
detailing our current research,” Mr. Weiss said, “Once they’re
discovered they go into the court record and then they’re public
records that anyone can read.”
Dominique frowned at him, “Just how likely do you think it is
that the judge in the case will let them do that?” She didn’t
like the idea of Castaway being able to use being prosecuted for
libel as an excuse to go through her company records. Not that
there was anything he could use to support his accusation in
them, but there were several things that she didn’t want her
competitors to know, such as what the company was currently
researching and the company’s plans for their future
acquisitions.
He grimaced, “Judges have been very lenient in several cases
with letting the defense lawyer go though just about any type of
company record they want, and arguments that they’re revealing
proprietary company information to the public haven’t been very
effective.” He shrugged, “Judges typically side with the
defendant when it comes to giving them access to records to
prove their innocence.”
The redhead scowled, “So prosecuting John Castaway for libel
would likely end up hurting the company more than it would
punish him.”
“Most likely,” the company’s lawyer agreed unhappily.
Dr. Sanders spoke up, “We have the information to prove that
what he’s claiming simply isn’t possible and we can voluntarily
go through a CDC review to prove that we haven’t been developing
any biological weapons.”
The redhead clenched her fists under the table, either way this
information would have to come out. She glanced over at the
woman sitting beside her, Kendra didn’t say anything, but her
sapphire blue eyes held understanding and sympathy. Dominique
turned her attention back to the other’s at the table with a
sigh, “Very well, do what needs to be done to prove that Mr.
Castaway’s accusations are lies. I won’t have Nightstone’s
reputation tarnished in this manner.”
After Sunset - Wyvern Castle atop the Eyrie Building, Upper
Manhattan
The clan had watched Jon Canmore’s accusation and then the press
release by Nightstone’s public relations person explaining why
what Castaway was claiming was impossible because the virus he
was referring to had been specifically designed not to be able
to replicate. Given that the cleaning agent Castaway mentioned
couldn’t replicate either, the combination of the two would at
most be hazardous to someone who came into direct contact with a
significant amount of the material. Now they were watching the
CDC investigator, who had been invited by Nightstone to audit
their company, release his preliminary findings.
“I have reviewed the company records on the carrier virus and
wish to assure everyone that all statements made by Nightstone
in reference to it have been truthful and accurate. Though the
virus was designed to have a wide range of infection vectors, it
was also engineered to not be able to replicate. When combined
with an agent that is itself also unable to replicate such as
the D/I-7 mentioned, it would take several thousand gallons of
the combined substance to present any widespread threat to the
general public. The small amount mentioned would have presented
no significant risk to the public health.” The man on the podium
waited a second for the press people standing in the room to
quiet, “Furthermore all stocks of the carrier virus were
destroyed several weeks ago and any information which would lead
a researcher into replicating how the virus was made has also
been destroyed.”
The CDC investigator had to wait once again for the noise in the
room to die down, “Nightstone has in the past had in its
possession a few hazardous viral agents for research purposes,
however, all of those agents were disposed of at the same time
as the carrier virus. In addition, Nightstone Unlimited has
turned over to the CDC all their research papers detailing their
efforts to design a vaccination for diseases such as Ebola and
Hantavirus that have some very promising leads. I wish to thank
the CEO of Nightstone, Dominique Destine, on behalf of the CDC
for turning this valuable information over to us for further
research.”
As they watched the man exit the room Xanatos muted the
broadcast, “Well that proved to be more interesting than I had
anticipated,” he noted thoughtfully. “I didn’t realize that
Nightstone had been doing any research into infectious agents.”
“I don’t understand,” Broadway commented, puzzled, “Why did
Demona say that she had created a plague when she hadn’t?”
“They’re lying,” Brooklyn responded confidently, “Demona must
have changed the company records to make it look like the
carrier virus couldn’t replicate. She’s still trying to pretend
that she’s changed.” The reddish male would have said something
more, but the frowns on both Goliath and Elisa’s faces stopped
him. He looked around the room, no one looked as if they agreed
with him and Angela was looking at him as if she really disliked
him and was not just angry with him anymore.
Angela turned away from the clan’s second in command
dismissively, “Or she didn’t realize that it wasn’t at the
time,” she commented, looking at her father. Her mother’s
cryptic comments about learning that she had been doing things
for reasons other than what she had thought they were started
making more sense to the young female. She felt a flare of
concern for her mother; she couldn’t imagine how the prideful
gargoyle she knew was dealing with the idea that some of her
actions hadn’t been under her control.
“Hmm,” Goliath rumbled thoughtfully, neither agreeing nor
disagreeing with his daughter. He turned to the human woman
standing beside him, “We need to speak to Kendra Canmore.”
Elisa nodded, “Nightstone is having their corporate Christmas
party tonight. I’ll try tomorrow.” She didn’t know quite what to
believe; just a week ago, she would have sided with Brooklyn
unhesitatingly. Now though, she wasn’t so certain, and in fact,
she suspected that this might be the truth. The dark eyed woman
turned toward Xanatos, “What did you do with that canister?” she
asked curiously.
“We destroyed it after exposing it to ultraviolet light and
radiation to kill the carrier virus,” David responded.
“So no way to find out if she’s telling the truth about it,”
Elisa commented.
He shook his head, “Honestly it never occurred to me that she
wasn’t, so we immediately took every step we could to neutralize
whatever was in the canister and then we incinerated what was
left.”
Brooklyn looked around disbelievingly. After everything that
Demona had done to the clan, he couldn’t understand how everyone
was falling for this scheme of hers. Grimness filled him; he
would remain quiet for now, all he had to do was to wait for
Demona to reveal her true nature as he was certain would
eventually happen.
Night – Chelsea Pier, Lower Manhattan
Nightstone employees making their way towards the ship paused to
stare in curiosity as the limousine carrying Dominique Destine’s
party pulled up to the pier preceded and followed by black
Suburban’s with the Masada Security logo on the front doors.
Security personnel exited from the two SUV’s forming a perimeter
around the limousine, staring with stern looks toward the few
freelance photographers hanging around the area. After a few
seconds of listening to the headset in his ear, the team leader
nodded toward the driver’s window. The photographers started
converging only to pause nervously as the dark suited men and
women from the security company took up aggressive stances and
gave them cold glares, letting them know they wouldn’t be
particularly gentle with them when it came to protecting the
occupants of the limousine.
The limo door opened and Gregory got out with a quick look
around at the area before he walked around the limousine to open
one of the wide passenger doors. Kendra, her glossy black hair
tied back in a ponytail at the nape of her neck and wearing a
black tuxedo with a sapphire blue cummerbund and bowtie that
matched the color of her eyes, exited first. She paused and
looked around the area, ignoring the photographers madly
clicking away after a quick searching glance at their ranks. The
next person to exit the limousine was Macbeth, looking stern and
dignified in his black tuxedo and wine red bowtie and cummerbund
as he took position on the other side of the open limo door from
Kendra.
Together the two of them held out a hand to help the next
occupant from the vehicle. Dominique Destine, her brilliantly
red hair partially swept up into an intricate bun, and the
remainder left cascading down her back, was wearing one of her
trademark red full-length gowns and a cream-colored cashmere
cape. She stood for a moment between Macbeth and Kendra, regally
ignoring the photographers who were taking pictures of her
before stepping forward so that the others could get out of the
limousine. Rachael, wearing a cream-colored gown, was next,
followed by Sharon, in a black tuxedo, and finally Margaret,
dressed in a burgundy gown.
As soon as everyone had exited from the limousine, Kendra
offered her arm to Dominique, causing a fresh wave of bright
flashing lights as the photographers immediately took note of
the action. Behind them, Macbeth did the same for Rachael,
leaving Sharon standing by Margaret, who was almost a foot
taller in her heels than the shorter woman. The brunette grinned
at the taller woman as she offered her arm to her and with an
amused look Margaret accepted the offer.
The security force closed in around them as the group moved
towards the gangplank, keeping back the photographers who were
shouting questions at Dominique about the nature of the
relationship between her and Kendra Canmore. “Well that didn’t
take them long,” Kendra commented quietly to the redhead as they
stepped onto the gangway and were immediately motioned forward
by the ship’s crew. From here, they could hear the Christmas
music playing on the ship.
“I didn’t figure it would,” Dominique responded calmly. Oddly,
now that it was done, she felt better. Her hand tightened around
Kendra’s forearm, this was the one she wanted to be her mate and
she was tired of feeling as if she was hiding that fact, of
acting like it was something that should be hidden. She felt
more than saw Kendra glance over at her, her green eyes met her
lover’s blue-eyed gaze and she gave the black haired woman a
reassuring smile.
Her decision for Kendra to be her escort tonight had instigated
a rather long discussion between them earlier, the black haired
woman more than willing, but questioning the wisdom of doing
this so soon after the Quarrymen’s attack and the resulting
publicity surrounding it. Dominique knew Kendra was right, doing
this tonight meant that the news would generate more interest
than if they had waited even a few weeks. She, however, wasn’t
regretting her action, or at least she hoped that she wouldn’t
regret it. The only person that could make her rue this decision
would be her daughter, and she hoped that Angela was open minded
enough to accept the idea that her mother had chosen a woman for
her mate.
They stepped onto the deck of the ship, through the perfectly
clear windows showing the interior of the ship Dominique could
see waiters finishing setting the first deck dining hall, which
stretched almost the full length of the interior space. “Ms.
Destine, Ms. Canmore” Ms. Ann Wright’s cultured voice drew the
redhead’s attention, the tall, slender blonde was wearing a wine
red dress. Beside her, in a black double-breasted suit, stood a
shorter woman with curly brown hair, brown eyes and a warm,
friendly smile. Ms. Wright’s blue eyes focused on Dominique’s
hand upon Kendra’s forearm and she smiled. “This is my partner
Jennifer Taylor,” she introduced the woman beside her.
Dominique felt her jaw drop just slightly in surprise before she
regained control of her expression. “Ms. Taylor, pleased to meet
you,” she managed to respond. Reminded by the clearing of a
masculine throat behind them that they were blocking the other’s
from boarding the ship, she and Kendra moved out of the way so
that the other’s could step onto the deck. Dominique introduced
her Operations Division manager and her partner to the other’s,
hiding her amusement at the surprised look in Ann’s eyes at
seeing Sharon escorting Margaret onto the ship. Really, it was
only fair that she be able to surprise the blonde in return
after being so completely blindsided by the revelation that
there was yet another gay Division manager in her company. She
hoped there was no one else. Kendra, Ann Wright, Jean Pierre,
and Jordan Conrad made up exactly half of her senior management;
no one would ever believe she hadn’t done this on purpose.
“Ms. Destine,” Jean Pierre’s deep, distinctive French accented
voice announced his arrival onto the ship. The redhead smiled as
she took in the handsome, slender man standing next to her
Research and Development Division manager, she could guess who
this was from what Kendra had said about Jean’s partner. “May I
introduce my partner Andre LeClair.”
“Enchanted to meet you Ms. Destine,” Andre had a pleasant tenor
voice Dominique noticed as he introduced himself.
“Mr. LeClair, I’ve heard quite a few things about you from
Kendra,” the redhead commented with a smile, talking in the
tailored expensive looking tuxedo he was wearing. Kendra had
described him as dapper and from what she saw the description
fit Andrew LeClair very well.
Bowing slightly he lifted her hand and kissed the back of it,
“Everything flattering she said about me is entirely true, and
anything less than flattering is an outrageous lie,” he declared
as he released her hand.
Kendra’s laugh rang out at this, “Andre,” she greeted him
warmly, “it’s been too long.”
He smiled at her, “Darling, you are saving me some dances aren’t
you?”
To Dominique’s amusement, Kendra drawled in reply, matching his
cadence and accent almost perfectly, “Of course darling, how
could I possibly do anything else.”
Twenty minutes later as the ship pulled out of port, Macbeth and
Rachael found Dominique and Kendra standing on the upper deck
watching the city skyline. The constant scrutiny and interest in
them had worn on the redhead’s nerves, so they had retreated up
here before she stopped simply glaring at the watchers and
started snapping at them. “Well you two are pretty much the
topic of conversation right now,” he commented, his tone
carefully neutral. Dominique thought, looking at his expression,
that her old king probably thought this hadn’t been the most
prudent idea she had ever had and she had to admit that she
hadn’t expected simply having Kendra escort her would attract
this much attention from everyone. They hadn’t even danced
together yet.
“Except for those discussing the number of Division managers who
are gay,” Rachael added.
The former king inquired, “How did you manage that anyway?” He’d
been rather curious ever since he realized just how many gay
managers in Demona’s company there were, as far as he knew she
had still hated humans when she began the company.
Dominique ignored the quiet snicker from the woman beside her as
she gave him a wry look, “I didn’t. It’s completely accidental.”
Macbeth stared at her disbelievingly, but he could see the truth
in her green eyes.
“I have to admit that I find it hard to believe that it was
completely accidental,” Rachael commented thoughtfully. “Have
you ever had much to do with gays before this?”
The redhead stared at her, nonplused, “Not closely,” she
responded after a moment, glancing around the area to make sure
that no one could overhear the conversation. “And certainly not
well enough to allow me to pick them out from the other’s I was
considering for such a position after only ten or fifteen
minutes of conversation with them.”
Rachael frowned, “There is that.”
“So this is where you got off to,” Margaret’s voice drew all
their attention as she came up the stairs and headed their way.
“It’s almost time for dinner and everyone’s waiting for you,”
she said to Dominique.
“Wonderful,” the redhead muttered under her breath. “Where’s
Sharon,” she asked in a more normal tone as she noticed the
younger woman hadn’t accompanied the Bison’s chosen.
Margaret sniffed self-pityingly and mimed dabbing at her eye,
“She dumped me for another woman.”
Dominique’s eyebrow rose, and her lips curved in a small smile
at the taller woman’s antics. It didn’t take but a second for
her mind to bring up a possible name. “Jordan Conrad?”
“That would have been my guess,” Kendra commented as she started
leading them toward the staircase.
Margaret nodded, “I believe that was the young woman’s name that
lured her away from me.”
“Tisk, tisk,” the black haired woman commented with a grin,
“I’ll have to have words with her about being such a heartless
cad.”
The tall woman laughed, “I knew I could depend on you to defend
my honor, Kendra.”
The redhead heard Macbeth’s amused sounding snort from behind
her as they started down the winding staircase.
Kendra leaned over whispered in her ear, “Whose company is
this?”
Dominique glanced over at her with a frown, “Mine,” she
responded in just as quiet a tone.
“Remember that and you’ll remind them of that fact,” the black
haired woman commented softly.
The redhead’s step slowed for the merest faction of a second as
she thought about Kendra’s statement. Her back straightened and
her chin lifted just slightly as they continued down the
staircase past the second deck and on their way to the dining
room on the first. Nightstone was her company and these were her
employees, it would indeed be wise for them to remember that and
quit gawking at her and Kendra as if they were some type of
carnival sideshow. During dinner, Dominique didn’t care whether
it was her attitude or simply that enough time had passed for
everyone to get over their surprise, she was relieved that she
was able to eat her dinner, a decent if not excellent prime rib,
without feeling as if everyone in the room was watching every
bite she took.
As soon as the waiters cleared away the plates, Mrs. Merrill
stood up and walked to the podium and microphone near the front
of the room. “Good evening everyone. I hope you enjoyed your
dinner, I know I certainly did,” she commented. There was some
appreciative back and forth commentary about the meal before she
waved for them to be quiet once again. “Some of you have heard
rumors of new employee benefits being instituted next year…well
the rumors are true.” This time the murmuring that filled the
room held more of a surprised note. “Without any more ado, I
want to introduce the person who came to me and gave me a list
of new benefits she wanted to provide to her employees, our CEO
Dominique Destine.”
As everyone turned their attention her way, Dominique rose and
made her way to the podium, trying to ignore the unexpected
nervousness she felt at seeing the dumbfounded surprise in most
of her employee’s eyes. Apparently, most had either not heard or
dismissed the rumors that she was the one who had initiated this
and not someone else. Of course before Canada and before the
Ancient One had asked her to be his chosen, she would have never
done such a thing, so she guessed she couldn’t really blame them
for not expecting this from her. That thought reminded her of
why she was here, and that tonight was the beginning of her
fulfillment of one of the tasks the Irish Elk spirit had set
her. Her nerves calmed, and she took Mrs. Merrill’s place in
front of the podium with renewed confidence.
She had debated for hours about what to say tonight, whether to
refer even obliquely to what had happened in Canada and the
influence it had on her. “I suspect it comes as no surprise to
any of you that I expect each of you to give me your best effort
while you are at work,” she began, looking around and seeing the
expected puzzled look on several nearby faces. “I expect that
because I’ve been giving Nightstone my own best effort over the
past two years as we’ve grown from a small startup company to
the third largest in Manhattan.”
Dominique paused a second to draw in a breath, what she was
about to say was as personal as she felt comfortable with
admitting tonight. “Recent events have given me time to reflect
both on Nightstone Unlimited’s past and where I want to see the
company go during the next five to ten years. To get to that
future that I’m envisioning however, I needed to make some
changes in how I see the company. Nightstone Unlimited is more
than just a building and financial reports of how well the
company is performing. None of what I’ve accomplished at
Nightstone in the past few years would be possible without your
efforts,” she said sincerely looking around the room and meeting
the gaze of several different people. Ms. Wright, Mr. Pierre,
Mrs. Merrill, Mr. Tanaka, Mr. Parker and Mr. Burns, who had
replaced Mr. Cleveland, and Ms. Conrad. Dominique looked around
some more searching out the last person she was looking for and
nodded to Candice, who was sitting with her husband near the
back of the room. She had to smile just a little at the
dumfounded and pleased expression on her secretary’s face as she
singled the woman out for acknowledgement.
“In recognition of everyone’s efforts and Nightstone’s resulting
success, starting in two months the company will be instituting
flexible working hours and opportunities for telecommuting. In
June, during our regular benefits open season, Nightstone will
be adding elder and child care pre-tax savings accounts to our
regular benefit offerings. Also at that time, the medical
benefits currently offered to legal spouses will be extended to
the domestic partners of our gay and bi-sexual employees.” She
let the noise that followed her announcement die down before
continuing, “Nightstone Unlimited will do more than just
guarantee an equal employment opportunity, it will treat all of
its employees equally in every respect and from now on that will
include the benefits extended to the significant other’s of all
Nightstone’s employees. If you come across a company benefit
that is offered to legal spouses and not domestic partners
please bring it to the attention of Mrs. Merrill and she will
bring it to my attention and I will see what I can do about
extending the scope of that benefit.”
This time when she paused there was almost no noise at all, she
smirked briefly in amusement and then grew serious once again.
“These will not be the last of the changes at Nightstone
Unlimited, as we move forward into the new year I will be asking
for suggestions on how to make all company processes more
environmentally friendly, from the basic such as how to reduce
the amount of paper we use each day to our manufacturing
processes and waste disposal systems. In addition, I’ll be
asking Mrs. Merrill to head up an employee committee to choose a
maximum of six worthy causes for the company to officially
sponsor.” She glanced over at the woman who had an obviously
astonished look on her face, “I’ve noticed that you seem to do
this unofficially so I hope you don’t mind adding this to your
regular duties?”
The woman gathered herself together and shook her head, “I don’t
mind it at all.”
“Good,” Dominique replied. She turned her attention back to
everyone else, “In addition to officially sponsoring these
charities, Nightstone Unlimited will match all employee
donations.” She glanced over once again at the chestnut haired
woman, “I believe the current unofficial one is a donation to
the local food bank?” Mrs. Merrill nodded, staring at her
wide-eyed. “We’ll start tonight then and match whatever
donations you’ve collected for them.”
“Ms. Destine,” Jean Pierre stood up. She gave him a curious look
before nodding for him to speak. “Some of us haven’t yet made
our donations to Mrs. Merrill for that,” he gave her a winning
smile.
Dominique could feel her eyebrow rise, she shook her head
slightly, “Indeed,” she commented dryly. She wasn’t quite
certain how she felt about this turn of events, but then she had
expected that her employees would want to donate more if they
knew she was doing this, it was just starting earlier than she
had anticipated. She gave the ebony skinned man one last
considering look before turning back to Mrs. Merrill, “Very
well, I’ll wait for your final amount until the ship docks.”
“Thank you Ms. Destine,” the chestnut haired woman’s stunned
expression faded, replaced by a pleased smile at this news.
The redhead turned back to the rest of her employees, more than
ready to finish this speech, “I know I don’t express it very
often,” her voice softened slightly, “but I do appreciate and
value the efforts each of you have and will continue to make
towards making Nightstone Unlimited one of the most successful
companies in New York City. With that I’ll turn the podium back
over to Mrs. Merrill,” she breathed out a silent sigh of relief
as she stepped away. The sound of clapping surprised her and she
turned around to stare in surprise, her employees were standing
and clapping for her. Dominique didn’t know quite what to do,
she hadn’t expected this reaction, and she found the reality of
humans applauding her actions extremely odd to say the least.
“I’m sure the food bank will appreciate Nightstone’s donation
Ms. Destine,” Mrs. Merrill assured her as soon as everyone took
their seats once again. Dominique nodded in acknowledgement and
then as dignified as possible, retreated back to the safety of
her table.
Dominique settled into her seat with a feeling of relief, she
glanced over when an olive toned hand settled on her own,
Kendra’s fingers intertwining with her paler ones. The black
haired woman’s blue eyes held pride and gentle amusement, “I
didn’t know you were going to do that.”
“It’s something I’ve been considering for the past few days,
most companies have a few charities they donate to,” the redhead
explained quietly. Kendra nodded, and turned her attention back
to the room. Dominique did the same, watching quietly as people
started making their way to the lower deck where the dance floor
and bar were located. After a few minutes, the fingers woven
between her own squeezed lightly and she turned her attention
back to her lover.
“Would you like to go downstairs?” Kendra asked. Dominique
nodded, between the looks they had gotten when Kendra escorted
her to the ship and the glances toward their intertwined hands a
few minutes ago; she suspected very few of her employees would
be that shocked when they danced together. The smile on Kendra’s
face brightened as they descended the staircase side by side, “I
like this song,” the black haired woman commented. Dominique
turned her attention to the music playing, hearing the beat of
the music and then the soft jingling of bells. It wasn’t
anything she immediately recognized.
“The mood is right,” Dominique glanced over as Kendra began
singing along with the male singer, “the spirits up,” the
sapphire blue eyes were warm as they gazed back at her. “We’re
here tonight, and that’s enough.” The redhead smiled as Kendra
continued, “Simply having a wonderful Christmas time, simply
having a wonderful Christmas time.”
“The party’s on
The feeling’s here,
That only comes,
This time of year,”
As Kendra turned to look at her with an astonished and pleased
expression Dominique quietly joined her on the chorus, “Simply
having a wonderful Christmas time, simply having a wonderful
Christmas time.” The redhead elbowed the black haired woman in
the side to get her to quit staring; she hardly wanted anyone
else to notice her doing this. Her reputation had surely been
damaged enough tonight without her employees noticing her
singing a Christmas song.
About an hour later, Dominique and Macbeth were dancing
together, while Kendra was dancing with Rachael. “I don’t know
which shocks your employees more,” he commented quietly and
Dominique glanced up at him curiously wondering what he was
referring to, “Seeing you and Kendra together, or seeing how
happy you are with her.” Dominique’s green eyes widened in
surprise and he smiled gently, “It’s pretty obvious how much you
care for her when you look at her, and it’s just as obvious when
she looks at you.”
She felt her face heat and noticed the smile on Macbeth’s face
grow wider, “I love her,” she admitted, “and I want her to be my
mate.”
He studied her face for a moment before asking, “So what’s
stopping you from asking her?”
Dominique sighed, looking longingly at the beautiful woman
dancing with Rachael, “It’s just been over a month now that I’ve
known her.”
His smile was bittersweet, “I knew from almost the moment I met
Gruoch that I wanted her to be my wife. Sometimes it doesn’t
take long, you just know.” The redhead squeezed his hand holding
hers as they danced even as her eyes sought out the Cree woman.
Rachael and Macbeth had appeared to be getting along very well
this evening. “Ach, don’t turn into a matchmaker at this late
date Dominique,” he grumbled, his gaze following hers.
His words had her glancing up into his eyes, “Why not,” she
challenged him, “Gruoch wouldn’t mind you seeking happiness
again, she wasn’t a selfish person.”
He looked sadly thoughtful as he replied, “I’ve only got twenty
or thirty years left, remember the enchantments on us are
broken.”
Her eyebrow rose, and she snorted at him dismissively, “If you
hadn’t noticed Rachael isn’t a young hatchling either, you two
are about the same age. And what difference does it make whether
it’s five or ten or fifty years? If you two find out that you
can love one another, why shouldn’t you spend that time together
instead of alone?” It did help that she knew full well that
Macbeth wouldn’t die of old age until he was ready to leave this
life, Dominique thought as she finished speaking.
Macbeth gave her an exasperated look, but before he could say
anything else the song was over and the redhead was stepping
away from him. Kendra and Rachael had stopped next to them and
Dominique had eyes only for the woman that she loved as the next
song began and she stepped into Kendra’s waiting arms.
“A drink?” Rachael commented as she took his arm and walked
toward the edge of the dance floor.
Macbeth listened to the words of the song now playing and
flushed slightly, this was definitely a lover’s dance, no wonder
Dominique had wanted to dance this with Kendra. “That would be
nice, I’m a bit parched.” As they made their way through the
crush of people around the bar he commented to the dark haired
woman, “I didn’t realize Dominique was that familiar with much
popular music,” he said thinking about how the redhead had known
what the song was before the first words had even been sung.
“She and Kendra were practicing their dancing earlier today for
tonight; this was one of the song’s they danced to,” Rachael
responded.
“Oh,” Macbeth gave her a surprised look as they finally found an
open space to attract the bartender’s attention. He hadn’t
considered the fact that Demona wouldn’t have known how to dance
until now. “Another Perrier water?” he inquired.
“Please,” the Cree woman nodded.
He turned and looked for the two women as he waited for the
bartender to get the two drinks. Kendra was leading the redhead
through a series of intertwining steps and hand exchanges before
they came together once again. Demona certainly wasn’t looking
like a novice dancer out there, “They look good together,” he
said
“They do don’t they, I don’t think I’ve ever seen two people
fall harder or faster for one another.” Rachael observed
quietly, a pleased expression on her face, “Dominique’s changed
so much from when I first met her, it’s hard to remember the
suspicious closed off person I first met.”
Macbeth paid for the two drinks and handed Rachael’s mineral
water to her before looking at the two women dancing together
once again. There was a calm, confident, serenity to Demona that
he simply didn’t recall ever seeing before in the gargoyle. His
eyes went to the intriguing woman standing beside him sipping
her water. There was something in this woman’s eyes, a wisdom
that called to him, whispering that this was an equal despite
the fact that he was nine centuries older than she. Perhaps
Demona was right and there was something to be said for not
being alone anymore.
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