“I take it he no longer shows any indication of being willing to turn the management of Copeland Marine over to you?”
Keith smiled ruefully. “I was beginning to think the only way I'd get anywhere at Copeland Marine was if Victor Copeland died. But having the yard get taken over by Thornquist Gear a year ago put a whole new light on things.”
“You want a chance to run the yard?” Letty watched him intently.
Keith shrugged. “I don't mean to sound arrogant, but the fact is, I'm the only one who can save it. With your help and that of Thornquist Gear, of course. And I think it's worth saving. The town's entire economy is dependent on that yard. A lot of good people will be badly hurt if Copeland Marine closes.”
“I'm beginning to realize that.”
Keith looked at her. “I realize Thornquist Gear is not a charitable institution. I don't expect you to keep Copeland Marine going out of sympathy for the people of Echo Cove. But I think I can offer you a plan that will work.”
“A plan that will effectively put you in charge?”
Keith nodded. “Copeland is a bullheaded, stubborn old man who thinks he can continue to run his company and his town the way he has for the past thirty years. He won't change voluntarily, but Thornquist Gear has the power to make him change. You can set up a new management system, Letty. You can restructure things the way I've outlined in this file. You can save the company and this town.”
“Now just why in hell would she want to do that?” Joel asked, his voice deadly and quiet.
Keith spun around in the chair and saw Joel lounging in the doorway between the two rooms. “Hello, Blackstone.”
Letty glowered at Joel. “I didn't hear you open that door, Joel. You should have knocked.”
Joel ignored her. “You didn't answer my question, Escott. Why would Letty want to save Copeland Marine?”
“Because there's a lot more at stake here than your personal vendetta with Victor Copeland.” Keith got to his feet. “I came to see Letty because I had a hunch she'd be a lot more reasonable about this than you are.”
“You came to see Letty because you had a hunch she'd be a soft touch.”
“That's not true. I said reasonable and I meant reasonable,” Keith retorted.
“Don't you think I'm reasonable?” Joel murmured.
“No, frankly, I don't. I think your judgment is skewed by what happened between you and Copeland fifteen years ago.”
“And I think your judgment is warped by the fact that you're Victor Copeland's son-in-law.”
Keith's shoulders bunched. “You want another chance at the job, Blackstone? Is that the real reason you're back in town?”
“If you believe that, you'd believe anything,” Joel muttered. “Including the possibility that Copeland Marine can be saved.”
“Gentlemen.” Letty surged to her feet. “Quiet, both of you. I will not tolerate this kind of bickering. You have both been involved in one disgusting brawl already, and you both look very much the worse for it. I will not permit any further violence. Is that clear?”
Joel and Keith turned to stare at her as if she had just materialized out of thin air.
Joel shoved his hands into his back pockets. “Christ, Letty, you're not back at Vellacott College telling a couple of sophomores to be quiet, you know.”
“Is that right? It's hard to tell the difference.”
Keith had the grace to look embarrassed. “Sorry, Ms. Thornquist. I've been a little on edge lately.”
“So has Joel.” Letty glanced from one to the other. “I understand that this is a highly charged situation, but I nevertheless expect you gentlemen to conduct yourselves in a civilized manner. At least I will insist upon it while you are in my presence. Now, I want you to shake hands.”
“I said this wasn't the reference desk at the Vellacott Library,” Joel growled. “For the record, it's not kindergarten, either. We don't shake hands and make up just because teacher says so.”
Letty swallowed and pushed her glasses more firmly onto her nose. “I insist, Joel.”
“You insist,” Joel repeated softly.
Letty gathered herself and straightened her shoulders, realizing that she had painted herself into a corner. Joel was watching her with gleaming eyes. He was well aware of her dilemma. She had, in her role as president of Thornquist Gear, just issued a direct order to her CEO in front of a member of the enemy camp. But she was powerless to enforce it.
She had a sudden, vivid recollection of Joel's short lecture on the importance of not undermining the corporate chain of authority in front of others. So much for presenting a united front to the staff of Copeland Marine, Letty thought ruefully.
Before she could come up with a graceful way to extricate herself from the awkward situation, Joel moved.
He came away from the doorway, took his right hand out of his back pocket, and extended it to Keith. He even managed a wry smile.
“What the hell,” Joel murmured as he and Keith stiffly shook hands. “She is the president of the company. That's a real beauty of a black eye you've got there, Escott.”
Keith winced. “Damned nose bled for an hour last night. The only good thing I can say about the situation is that you don't look much better than I do today.”
“Letty's right. We're both a little the worse for wear.”
Keith hesitated and then shrugged. “Hell, it was my fault. I thought something went on between you and Diana yesterday morning. You know how rumors fly in this town.”
“Yeah, I know.”
Keith grimaced. “Certain people made sure I heard those rumors yesterday afternoon. Diana and I have been having a few problems lately, so I guess I was more than ready to half believe what I'd heard. I stayed late at the office and then went over to the Anchor and proceeded to get smashed. Then you walked in. I saw red.”
“Forget it,” Joel said. “Bad timing. I can't say I wouldn't have done the same if things had been reversed.
Keith smiled bleakly. “I totally misunderstood the situation. Thought you'd come back to town because you were still carrying a torch for Diana. Copeland encouraged me to think that. But last night after Echler took you away, Letty explained how it was between you and her.”
“Did she?” Joel's brows rose in mockingly polite inquiry.
Keith rubbed the back of his neck. “She told me that the two of you were involved. Told me about the connecting door in this room. Said she'd been in on the meeting between you and Diana and that it was pure business.”
“Ah,” said Joel very softly. His eyes went to Letty. “So she told you we were involved. Interesting.”
“I know I accused you of sleeping with the boss last night,” Keith said. “But I didn't realize you actually were, if you see what I mean.”
“Excuse me,” Letty said in a choked voice.
“What I'm trying to say,” Keith continued, clearly floundering, “is that I didn't realize the two of you were, you know, really involved.”
“I think that's enough,” Letty gasped.
Keith smiled reassuringly. “Don't worry, I won't spread it around.”
Joel nodded seriously. “Yeah, when you're sleeping with the boss, you've got to exercise a little discretion.”
Letty glared at him furiously. “Joel. Must you be so crude?”
“Sorry, boss.”
The taunting amusement in Joel's gaze filled Letty with a strong desire to wrap her fingers around his throat. “I think that is enough on that topic,” she said forcefully. “The only reason I said anything at all to Keith was to reassure him that there was no longer anything of a personal nature between you and Diana. Which there isn't, is there, Joel?”
“Nope. Just business. Hasn't been anything personal between Diana and me for fifteen years. Wasn't all that much at the time, when you get right down to it.”
Letty did not trust the expression in Joel's eyes. “All right. Now that that's settled, I would very much appreciate it if you two gentlemen would get ou
t of my room. I would like to finish packing.”
Keith turned to her with a worried frown. “I know I've overstayed my welcome. But can you at least give me your word you'll look at that five-year plan?”
“I'll look at it,” Letty said. “But you know I can't promise any more than that.”
“It's a start.” Keith relaxed visibly. “Thanks. I appreciate it more than I can say. There's a lot riding on this. More than you know, in fact. Call me if you have any questions when you get back to Seattle.”
Letty followed him to the door. “I will.”
She closed the door behind him and leaned back against it. Mentally she braced herself for the scene with Joel. There was bound to be one, she thought. The man did not have the sense to let it drop.
Joel ambled over to stand directly in front of her. He planted his hands against the door on either side of her head and loomed over her.
“Don't ever,” he said, “do that again.”
She licked her lips. “Do what?”
“Don't ever give me a direct order like that in front of someone, especially someone from Copeland Marine. I told you before, if you have something to say, wait until we're alone.”
“Are you talking about that handshake?” Letty's eyes widened in surprise. She had assumed he was going to challenge her on the issue of making their relationship public.
“Yes, I am talking about that handshake.”
“Damn it, Joel, you do work for me, you know. I realize that's hard for you to remember most of the time, but it doesn't change the facts.”
“This is your final warning, Letty. I let you off easy this time. I shook Escott's hand like a good little boy. But if you ever try a trick like that again in front of someone from our staff or Copeland's staff, I won't be responsible for the consequences. Got it?”
Letty's temper flared. “Let's get something straight here. The only reason I made that request—”
“It was an order, not a request.”
“All right, I gave you that order only because you were behaving in an extremely uncivilized fashion. You were way out of line. Furthermore, you are not to threaten me. I am the president of the company. I do not take orders from you; you take them from me. Has it occurred to you that I might fire you if you push me too far?”
Joel's mouth dropped open in astonishment. “Fire me?”
“I can do it, Joel. We both know it.”
“Bullshit. You're not going to fire me. You need me to run Thornquist Gear. You know that as well as I do. If you don't know it, you're not nearly as bright as I've been assuming you are. Now listen up, Letty. As your devoted mentor, I am going to give you your management tip for the day.”
She lifted her chin defiantly. “And just what would that be?”
“Don't make threats you can't carry out, boss.” He leaned in closer. A slow, wicked grin slashed across his face. “Did you really tell Escott we were sleeping together?”
“No. No, I most definitely did not say that.” Letty ducked under his imprisoning arm. “Not exactly.”
“Not exactly? This gets better and better.”
“I felt sorry for Keith last night.”
“Sorry for him? Are you nuts? He's the one who started that fight.”
Letty began to pace back and forth across the room. “That fight would not have happened if you had not entertained Diana Escott in your room yesterday.”
“I did not entertain her.”
Letty ignored the interruption. “Nor would it have occurred if you had not decided to get real macho and go out drinking to relieve your frustrations last night. I'm not saying the fight was your fault, but you must admit you showed poor judgment.”
“Damn it, what about Escott's judgment?”
“He was hurting because he thought you'd come back to Echo Cove to take Diana away. To make him feel better, I sort of implied that was not likely because you were sort of involved with me.”
“Sort of.” Joel folded his arms across his chest and leaned against the door. His expression was one of complete fascination. “I guess that sort of explains why he thinks we're sleeping together.”
“I didn't exactly spell it out. I just allowed him to make certain assumptions.” Letty stomped into the bathroom and scooped up an armful of toiletries. “I mentioned the connecting door between our rooms, and I also told him I was with you while you were having your business meeting with Diana. That's all there was to it.”
Joel moved into the bathroom doorway, trapping her in the small room. “Well, well, well. I guess it sort of doesn't matter how it happened, does it? It's sort of the truth.”
She clutched the toiletries and scowled at him. “What are you talking about?”
“We're sleeping together.” Joel smiled coolly. “We're involved. Wasn't that how Escott put it?”
“Now, Joel…”
“Admit it, Letty. We've started an affair.” Joel took a step into the bathroom. He leaned over Letty's armful of toiletries and kissed her soundly. When he raised his head, his eyes were gleaming. “We're involved. Say it, Letty.”
She stared up at him and licked her lips. “I guess we are. Sort of.”
“Damn, I love it when you use that assertive lady-executive tone.” He grinned. “Come on, Letty, you can do better than that. Say it right out loud: ‘I am having an affair with Joel Blackstone.’”
Letty could hardly breathe. The excitement was rushing through her like a river at high flood. The words came out in a rush, too. She said them before she could give herself a chance to think.
“I am having an affair with Joel Blackstone.” Omigod, omigod, omigod. She'd never actually had an affair before.
Yes, she'd been engaged to Philip, and before Philip she'd thought herself in love once or twice, but in each instance there had been the understanding that the relationship was headed toward marriage. There had been a real sense of commitment. At least until both parties involved had realized there was something wrong with her.
An affair was such an open-ended thing, Letty realized. No promises. No guarantees. No commitments. No future.
“Yeah, an affair. I like the sound of that.” Joel brushed his mouth lightly across hers. He looked extremely satisfied. “Come on, boss. Let's finish packing and get the hell out of Dodge City. We've been here too long already.” He turned on his heel and walked out of the bathroom.
Letty managed to unstick herself from the floor. “Joel. Joel, wait. There's something we have to talk about.”
“What's that?” Joel was in his room, throwing the last of his things into his carryall.
Letty halted in the doorway, her arms still full of cosmetics and her blow dryer. “Well, the thing is, I don't think we should flaunt our personal lives back at the office, if you see what I mean.”
“Flaunt?” He arched a brow as he zipped up the bag.
“You know what I'm talking about.” She scowled anxiously. “We should maintain a businesslike relationship in front of the staff of Thornquist Gear. We will have to maintain a certain decorum, if you see what I mean.”
“Are you trying to tell me you don't want me strolling into your office during coffee break every afternoon and tossing you over your desk?”
Letty flushed. “There is no need to be crude about it. You know perfectly well what I'm trying to say. I want your promise that you will behave yourself at the office. You said yourself that management must have the respect of the staff. We don't want everyone speculating about us and making off-color jokes. Very bad for the image.”
“Ah, yes. The image.” Joel picked up the carryall and walked toward the outside door. “Mustn't forget the corporate image. Lucky I've got you around to remind me of my duty to Thornquist Gear, Letty. Don't know how I've gotten by for the past ten years without you.”
Letty slumped against the door frame as Joel went out of the room. Her whole world had been turned upside down and sent into a spin lately. Everything felt dangerous, precarious, and just slightly out
of control. It was an unsettling sensation.
It was also very exciting.
The sense of being in a tightening spiral of potentially disastrous proportions intensified significantly late that afternoon when Letty walked into her office. Arthur Bigley was blinking at an even faster rate than usual.
“Ms. Thornquist. Thank God you're back.” Arthur leaped to his feet. “I didn't know what to do. He just sort of barged in as if he owned the place. I called Mrs. Sedgewick, and she said Mr. Blackstone was going to be furious. She sounded very happy about that.”
Letty sighed inwardly. “What seems to be the problem, Arthur?”
“That man is in there. The one who kept trying to call you. I tried to stop him, like I said, but he just took over.”
“A man? In my office?”
“He arrived a couple of hours ago.” Arthur's voice dropped to a soft hiss of warning. “Ms. Thornquist, he says he's your fiancé.”
“My fiancé?” Letty felt as if she'd been dropped off a high cliff. “Philip is here? He's inside my office?”
Arthur blinked frantically. “He said his name was Professor Philip Dixon and that he was engaged to you. I didn't know what to do, Ms. Thornquist. I've been so worried. And Mrs. Sedgewick has been no help at all. If you ask me, she's gloating over this whole situation. I think she wants Mr. Blackstone to get annoyed. And if he does, he'll fire me.”
“He will not fire you, Arthur. You work for me.”
“But he'll blame me for letting Professor Dixon get into your office. I know he will.”
“Stop worrying, Arthur,” Letty said firmly. “I will handle Mr. Blackstone. Now, then, let's see what this is all about.” She pushed open the door of her office.
Philip was sitting behind her desk. Letty was stunned by the gall of the man. He was sitting behind her desk just as if he owned the place! She was vaguely surprised to realize how territorial she had become about Thornquist Gear.