Flash

  Olivia chuckled, pleased in spite of herself. “Nice to know that the future governor of this state admires me. Speaking of which, how goes the campaign?”

  “Brilliantly, if I do say so myself.” Todd’s gaze lit with fervent enthusiasm. “Eleanor is right on message. She’s got incredible energy. The response at the rally in Spokane yesterday was amazing. Donations poured in this morning. The phones never stopped ringing.”

  “Great.”

  “The Stryker campaign is starting to panic.” Todd broke off, his glance shifting to the outer room. “Here come Eleanor and Dixon. The staff meeting must be over.”

  Olivia looked over her shoulder and watched Eleanor rise to her feet. The volunteers clustered around her for a few last words of encouragement.

  Tall and statuesque, her jet-black hair pulled back in a sleek knot, Eleanor Lancaster was a commanding presence in any room. She had a strong, stunning profile that would have looked good on an ancient gold coin. She also had a way of focusing the attention of those around her. Charisma is the word you’re looking for, Olivia told herself. Eleanor pulsed with it.

  Olivia felt Todd’s eyes on her. “What?”

  “I know what you’re thinking,” Todd said. “You still don’t like the idea that Eleanor and I have a relationship, do you?”

  “What do you want me to do, lie?” She turned her head to look at him. “I just don’t want you to make the same mistake I made. Don’t get yourself into a classic marriage of convenience. You and Eleanor have a lot in common, but don’t mistake your mutual interest in her career for something deeper.”

  Todd’s jaw tightened. “Damn it, Olivia, don’t try to big-sister me. I’m not your little brother any more. I know what I’m doing.”

  He was not her little brother these days, but he would always be her younger brother. She decided not to point out that fine distinction. Instead she summoned up a smile.

  “You’re absolutely right. I’ll do my best to keep my mouth shut.” She paused. “It won’t be easy, you know.”

  Todd relaxed. He grinned briefly. “Yeah, I know.”

  In the outer room, Dixon Haggard left his boss to the gaggle of volunteers and walked toward the inner office. He was in his shirtsleeves.

  Olivia smiled at him through the window. She had met him several times since Todd had gone to work for the campaign. Haggard was a narrow-faced, highstrung man in his mid-thirties. His light brown hair was thinning rapidly. The skull that was in the process of being revealed was as narrow as the rest of him. He carried his tension in his shoulders, and he was always tense.

  He opened the door, nodded at Olivia, and headed straight for the coffee machine in the corner. He consumed coffee the same way she did these days, Olivia noticed. By the gallon.

  “Thought we’d never get finished with that meeting,” Dixon said as he poured himself a cup of the thick, dark brew. “You know how Eleanor is, Todd. Hard to stop when she’s got an agenda.”

  Todd’s eyes glinted with satisfaction. “One of the things that makes her a born winner.”

  “True.” Dixon gulped coffee. “How’s it going, Olivia? I hear you’ve got some problems at Glow.”

  “I don’t know where you got that impression.” Olivia shot Todd a warning glance. “Things are under control. The transition is going very smoothly.”

  She knew Dixon was only displaying friendly interest in her affairs, but her instincts toward Glow, Inc., were rooted in years of lectures from Rollie. Glow was a family business. Its problems were to be discussed only within the family.

  There was one glaring exception to that rule now, she reflected. Jasper Sloan.

  She gave Dixon her best I’m-in-charge-and-everything-is-under-control smile. He seemed to accept it, perhaps because he’d had a lot of experience with being on the receiving end of the same sort of smile from his boss. Eleanor was very good at giving the impression that she was in command. A natural leader.

  Todd had told Olivia that Dixon Haggard had been Eleanor’s campaign manager from the start of her career. Six years ago he had helped orchestrate her first run for the state legislature. He had been with her ever since.

  Dixon was devoted to Eleanor Lancaster. There was something fervent in his voice whenever he said her name. Olivia sometimes wondered just how deep his feelings for her went. Occasionally she thought she caught a glimpse of resentment in his eyes when he looked at Todd.

  She nudged the bowl of chips and salsa toward Dixon. “I just dropped in to say hi to Todd. He tells me that everything’s going well with the campaign.”

  “Nothing can stop her now.” Dixon gulped more coffee. “The money is starting to really roll in. Everyone wants to back a winner.”

  “That doesn’t surprise me.”

  “Patricia Stryker is our only real competition, and in a month she’ll be a distant second. By the way, Olivia, I’ve got a couple of things to discuss with you concerning the fund-raiser. I want to get a better idea of how the lighted flag concept will work.”

  “It’s going to be fabulous,” Olivia assured him.

  In the other room, Eleanor dismissed her volunteers and started toward the small office. Dixon reached for the coffeepot.

  “She’ll want another cup,” he said.

  His proprietary air was not lost on Todd. Olivia saw her brother’s jaw tighten, but he said nothing.

  She glanced back at Eleanor, who had paused to speak to one lingering campaign worker. The young volunteer’s eyes glowed with excitement.

  “People can’t help responding to her,” Todd said softly. “Eleanor represents the future, not only of this state but of the country. They’re going to be talking about her as a candidate for the oval office in a couple of years.”

  Olivia thought that he watched Eleanor with an expression that was closer to heroine worship than love. But what did she know? she asked herself silently. She had never been very good at love.

  Eleanor eventually made her way into the small office. It was Dixon who pulled out her chair.

  “Hello, Olivia. Nice to see you again.”

  Olivia smiled. “Hello, Eleanor.” Wow. She was on a first-name basis with the woman who would very likely be the next governor of the state, she thought. A first-name basis with the woman who might well become president. “I was just about to leave. I know you folks are busy. I only stopped by to talk to Todd for a few minutes.”

  Eleanor smiled her easy, charming smile as she took her seat. “Todd tells me your new business partner finally arrived in town this afternoon. I understand he’s very big-time and low-profile. That’s usually a dangerous combination. What’s the verdict?”

  Olivia mentally crossed her fingers behind her back. “No sweat. I can handle him.”

  7

  “What the hell do you think you’re doing, Jasper Sloan?” Olivia slammed the door of Glow’s executive suite and whirled to face him. “How dare you fire Melwood Gill? He’s run the Glow accounting department for longer than I can remember.”

  Slowly, deliberately, Jasper put down the marketing report he had been examining. He set it aside. It was the only document on his otherwise pristine desk.

  It had been three days since he had met Olivia at the Light Fantastic studio. Nothing had changed, he decided. If anything, the impact she made on his long-dormant libido this time around was stronger than it had been the last time.

  Maybe it was the temper, he thought, trying to be analytical. It did things to her hazel-green eyes, made them even more vivid. It affected her cheeks, too. They were flushed. She glowed brighter than the new generation of experimental electroluminescent devices he had examined that morning in the new R&D lab.

  The overhead lights danced on the red in her auburn hair. She wore another pair of flowing menswear trousers, gleaming oxfords with chunky stacked heels, and a rakish pinstripe jacket. She looked as though she had just stepped out of a 1930s gangster film. Fortunately he could tell from the fit of her jacket that she was not wearing a con
cealed shoulder holster.

  Energy crackled in the air. He wondered again if Olivia was oblivious, or if she was just very good at concealing her reactions.

  “I did not fire Gill,” Jasper said. “I transferred him to a different position within the department.”

  “But he’s always been the head of accounting and the chief financial officer. Transferring him to a lower-level position is the same as firing him.”

  “No, it’s not the same thing. He’ll know he’s fired if he finds himself on the street looking for another job.”

  She gave him a fulminating glare. “He’d never find one at his age. You know how much discrimination there is against older workers.”

  “Relax. I’m not letting him go. Not yet, at any rate. But I want someone else running that department.”

  She came to a halt in front of the desk and crossed her arms beneath her high breasts. “Why? What’s wrong with Melwood?”

  “Sit down, Olivia.”

  She made no move to take the chair he indicated. “Rollie used to say that no one knew Glow the way Melwood did.”

  “That may have been true at one time. But things change.” Jasper opened a drawer and removed one of the financial printouts he had ordered from the accounting department. “From the looks of these, I’d say they started changing around here about three or four months ago.”

  She tapped her fingers on her arms and shot a wary glance at the printout. “What do you mean?”

  “I’m referring to the fact that these reports from accounting are out of date and somewhat less than accurate.”

  Her eyes widened. “Are you accusing Melwood Gill of incompetence?”

  “I’m not accusing him of anything.” Jasper decided not to mention the suspicions that were beginning to take shape in his mind. “I’m saying I need someone in charge down there in accounting who can give me more accurate information.”

  “Did you talk to Melwood?”

  Jasper dropped the report onto the desk. “Of course I did.”

  “Well? What did he have to say for himself?”

  “He says that the switch to the new accounting software a few months ago created a lot of problems for his staff. He says they’re only now starting to recover.”

  “So he had a good explanation.” Triumph sharpened Olivia’s eyes. “Perfectly reasonable. There’s always a certain amount of confusion after a major software change, especially in an accounting department.”

  “Is there?”

  “Sure. Everyone knows that.” She unfolded her arms and leaned forward to flatten her palms on his desk. Her voice softened to a confidential tone. “Look, between you and me, poor Melwood had a brush with cancer a few months back. It really shook him. Aunt Rose says he hasn’t been himself since.”

  “Aunt Rose?”

  Olivia angled her chin toward the closed door that led to the outer office. “Your secretary.”

  “Is she the one who called to tell you about Gill’s transfer?”

  “Yes.”

  “I see.” He propped his elbows on the desk and steepled his fingers. “Out of curiosity, how many other Glow employees report to you instead of to me?”

  The high color in her face intensified. “Aunt Rose is not one of my spies, if that’s what you mean.”

  “Who are your spies?” he asked with great interest.

  She took her hands off his desk, straightened abruptly, and glared at him. “We’re a little off the topic here.”

  “Yes.” He exhaled slowly. “We are. Look, it isn’t just the reports from that department that worry me. There are some basic management problems.”

  “What kind?”

  “The kind you get when the person in charge is not paying attention. Were you aware that both of the senior accountants handed in their resignations two months ago?”

  Olivia frowned. “No. Uncle Rollie was still here at that time. No reason he would have told me.”

  “Gill’s obviously in over his head.” That was putting the nicest possible spin on it. The alternative explanation was far more sinister, but Jasper did not mention it. He did not yet have any proof of his darker suspicions. “If Rollie had not gone off on that monthlong photo safari, he would have realized by now that he had a problem in that department.”

  Olivia sighed. “If he had not gone off on that safari, he’d still be here running Glow and none of us would be in this mess.”

  Jasper hesitated. When it came to business, he relied on his innate sense of timing. But with this woman he was wary of trusting his instincts. They were giving him dumb instructions. For example, right now he wanted to sink his fingers into her hair to see if the buried red fire there actually gave off heat. Logic told him it would be an extremely bad move. But everything that was male in him was urging him forward to disaster.

  There was too much going on beneath the surface of his own reactions. Stuff he did not yet understand. A potential firestorm. An accident waiting to happen.

  For a heartbeat, instinct warred with common sense. Instinct won. Which only went to prove that modern man was not nearly as evolutionarily advanced as he liked to think, Jasper decided.

  Still, some small portion of his brain was working well enough to search for safe camouflage.

  “This is not a good place to talk about such a, uh, sensitive matter,” he said.

  She slanted him a faintly derisive look. “Have you got a better place than the offices of Glow, Inc., in which to discuss Glow company business?”

  He held onto his patience with an effort of will. “I’ve got a meeting with the R&D people in ten minutes. I’m sure you have a busy schedule today, too. Why don’t we conduct the rest of this conversation over dinner tonight?”

  She blinked a couple of times, as if he had just suggested that they take the next shuttle to the moon.

  “Huh?”

  Not the most flattering of responses, Jasper admitted. But for some reason it gave him hope. Maybe she was as unsure and cautious about what was going on between them as he was. Maybe she wanted to tread warily.

  Then again, maybe she was totally unaware of the silent thunder and invisible lightning that he saw snapping in the air between them.

  At least it was not an outright rejection, he told himself. He sensed that he had better move quickly.

  “A business dinner. A restaurant won’t work. We need some space. I’ve got a lot of paperwork you’ll want to see. Reports and printouts. That kind of thing. How about my place on Bainbridge?”

  “Your place?”

  He was moving too fast. He could see the deer-caught-in-the-headlights expression in her eyes.

  “No” He tried to appear as if he were mulling over the practical aspects of the situation. “Forget Bainbridge. Your office would probably be best. I’m going to be working a little late this evening.”

  “So am I,” she said very quickly.

  “Fine.” He nodded once. Another executive decision made and executed. “I’ll pick up some take-out and meet you at your studio.”

  “A working dinner?”

  “You said you wanted to be kept in the loop, didn’t you?”

  “Yes, but—”

  “In the meantime, I would appreciate it if you would keep your concerns about Melwood Gill’s transfer to yourself. I’m sure you understand that it’s absolutely essential that you and I present a united front to the employees of Glow, Inc.”

  She blinked again. “A united front.”

  He got to his feet and made a show of glancing at his watch. “Sorry to rush you out of here, but I can’t put off the meeting with the R&D people.” He smiled. “You know how it is.”

  “Oh, sure. Right.” Like an automaton, she turned toward the door.

  “I’ll be at Light Fantastic at seven,” he said again, very softly. “That will give us plenty of time to go over those reports.”

  She glanced at him over her shoulder. He saw immediately that the disoriented look had vanished from her eyes. In its p
lace was a sardonic gleam.

  “I’ll check my calendar when I get back to my office to see if I’m free this evening,” she said coolly. “I’ll give you a call sometime this afternoon and let you know.”

  She sauntered into the outer room and closed the door very quietly but very firmly behind her.

  * * *

  Dinner with Jasper Sloan. Her hand froze on the doorknob for an instant. For some reason she found the basic concept hard to grasp.

  A working dinner.

  Okay, she could handle that. She knew how to do a business dinner with a man. On a good night she could even do a social dinner with a man, although she did not do a great many of those these days.

  She gave herself a small, mental shake. Snap out of it. We’re talking take-out here, not the end of civilization as we know it. She made herself let go of the knob.

  Rose looked up as Olivia went past her desk. “Well? How did it go? Is he really going to fire poor Melwood?”

  Automatically, Olivia gave her aunt a reassuring smile. “Of course not.”

  “Hmm.” Rose narrowed her eyes, not entirely convinced. She slanted a long glance at the closed door of Jasper’s office.

  Olivia had great respect for her aunt’s instincts when it came to this sort of situation. Rose had commanded her desk for nearly a decade. She was fifty-three years old and attractive in the typical Chantry manner, with red-brown hair and smoky-green eyes.

  There was a comfortable, maternal roundness about Rose. Olivia knew it often misled strangers. They tended to overlook her razor-sharp instinct for the rumors, gossip, and other forms of unofficial information that flowed through Glow. Rollie had called her his weathervane. She could have made a fortune working for one of the tabloids, he’d said.

  He had explained to Olivia that he relied on Rose to give him early warning of everything from impending births, divorces, and office romances to low-level grumbling among the staff.