storm surge | Page 9

She went back to her clipboard. “As I was saying. Thank you for being here on time, I really appreciate it. One of the first things I want to tell you is that we’re all here to have fun, okay? This isn’t major league baseball.”

The crowd chuckled a little.

“Kerry Stuart has volunteered to be our captain.” Mari smiled, looking over at Kerry as applause broke out. “So I’m sure we’ll end up having a great time, and doing good things for a good cause.”

“Mariana, how many other teams are in this league?” One of the accountants spoke up.

“About twenty.” The HR VP was glad to turn her attention from her hecklers. “The games are played in a round robin tournament style, and where the charity comes in is that the company will contribute a certain amount to the charity fund for every employee who participates.”

“So it doesn’t matter if we win or not?” The man said, with a frown.

A little buzz went up at that.

“Well.” Mariana lifted her hands a little. “It's about the charity, really….”

“It matters to us if we do.” Dar spoke up again from her corner. “But the charity gets the bucks no matter what, is that how it is, Mari?”’

“Exactly.” Mari nodded. “There are many things to strive for in the contest, there are trophies and awards and so on, and also several things donated by the various corporations that will be given to those who complete the tournament.”

“What did we give?” Kerry whispered. “Please don’t tell me a lifetime supply of Cat 5e cabling”

“Cool!” Mark spoke up. “So we can get some swag, huh?”

“Nerd gift certificate, I think.” Dar whispered back. “For one of the big online places.” She added. “Enough for a nice system.”

“Hm.” Kerry grunted approvingly. “Nice.”

“So.” Mari got everyone’s attention back. “Here’s the rules. Games will be on Friday nights, here at the park. All the other companies are more or less in the area around Miami, so there is no home, and no away or anything like that. Each team has to have enough players to play the game, or they forfeit.”

“That means everyone shows up or she posts it on the company bulletin board on Monday.” Dar announced. “If you’re gonna do this, do it, or stay the hell home.”

Everyone swiveled to look at their CIO, who raised one eyebrow and gave them all a stern glare. Silence fell briefly, until Mark cleared his throat.

“Yes, boss.” He said, in a mild tone.

“Ahem!” Mari put her hands on her hips. “Do you want to run this?”

“Do you want me to run this?” Dar returned the volley neatly. “Bet the other teams end up regretting it like everyone else here who just realized they’re going to be sharing space with me and a baseball bat.”

After a second’s pause, everyone laughed, even Dar. Kerry reached over and tweaked her nose, giving her a look of loving exasperation.

“Hats? Anyone want hats?” Mari chuckled herself. “How about pizza?”

That got everyone’s attention, and all heads turned as though the crowd were a collection of spaniels at dinnertime.

“I thought that might work.” The HR VP lifted her hands. “Okay, everyone to Santorini’s after this, on me. But as for the team — for every game you show up for, your name gets entered into the drawings for the donated prizes.” She said. “So, the more games you attend, the better your chance to win some pretty nice stuff. “

“Like what?” Someone asked.

“Ah, altruism.” Dar chuckled softly under her breath.

“At least it’s not some thousand buck a plate dinner just so you can put your mug in front of some politician.” Kerry reminded her. “It’s a good incentive.”

“Mm.”

“Well, we have a three night stay in Cozumel…” Mari was drowned out by oohs and aaahs. “A cruise to Bermuda, shopping spree at Macy’s… some crazy tech company threw in a certificate for a new computer…”

“Did we ever decide if we really wanted to do a cruise?” Kerry asked. “Or did we finally decide we wanted to sail on one of those things about as much as we wanted a root canal?”

Dar glanced at the cloudy sky, and breathed in a lungful of air deeply tinged with ions. “We dropped the question.” She said. “Hey Mari.”

“And that.. what?” Mari put her hands on her hips and gave Dar a look.

Dar pointed up at the sky, then held her hand out as she felt the first droplets of rain, bringing a cool down that was worth the dampness. “Take it up at the pizza shack?” She suggested, as the rest of the crowd started to scramble down from the benches.

“Sure.” Mari raced by her, shielding her head with her clipboard, as the rain started to come down in earnest. “You can grab the damn hats!” She pointed behind her. “Ahhhhh!!!!”

Kerry hopped