Perfect Partners (23 page)

“Yes. This is one of the first copies off the press. It just arrived today. I am quite pleased with it.”

“Are there really any applications of Medieval logic to modern computer analysis?”

“Yes, as a matter of fact, there are. Medieval logicians developed some very impressive and sophisticated approaches to analysis.”

“No kidding?”

“Tell me what happened with Dixon today.”

Joel drummed his fingers in a grim tattoo on the arm of the chair. “Dixon took over Letty's office while we were out of town. The bastard started giving me orders the minute I walked in the door. I nearly threw him out the window. But Letty practically begged me not to make a scene. Tells me we'll discuss it later, right? So I left like a good little CEO, and what does she do? She sneaks out on me. I've been looking for her for two hours.”

“I believe Letty is a bit upset by recent events. She said she wasn't accustomed to dealing with brawling males.”

Joel scowled. “She deals just fine with brawling males. Believe me, I've had firsthand experience.”

“Have you, indeed?”

“She's no shrinking violet; she can handle that kind of thing. The problem here is Dixon. He's back, and he's trying to sweep her off her feet. He wants my company, goddamn it. Thinks he can just step in and run Thornquist according to all those stuffy business-school methods he teaches at Vellacott College.”

Morgan laced his fingers across his stomach and studied Joel over the rims of his reading glasses. “I wouldn't be surprised. Professor Dixon has always been somewhat ambitious. He's been searching for some time for the ideal laboratory in which to test his management theories.”

“Thornquist Gear is not a damned laboratory.” Joel scowled. “Although I might be able to dig up some rusty vivisection equipment if he keeps pushing me.”

“He no doubt sees Thornquist as a perfect opportunity to apply his precepts in a way that will generate a considerable income for him.”

“Well, he's not going to get away with it,” Joel muttered. “The only way he can get his hands on Thornquist Gear is by marrying Letty. And I'm not going to let him do it.”

“I see. Does Letty know that?”

“She should by now.” The restlessness that had been gnawing at him all evening was too much. He could not sit still.

Joel got to his feet and paced over to the window. The lights of the city gleamed through the gentle rain. Another spectacular view, he thought. And another beautiful home. The Thornquists were doing all right for themselves.

He glanced at his watch and wondered how soon Letty would walk through the front door. He could not wait to get his hands on her. She had a lot of explaining to do, and he intended to make sure she did it.

Then he would take her to bed and do some explaining of his own. Dixon could go rot somewhere.

“You seem excessively agitated over my daughter's supposed vulnerability to Philip Dixon,” Morgan said.

“Dixon is nothing more than a con man.”

“You're sure of that?”

“Damn sure.” Joel glanced at his watch for the hundredth time.

Morgan gazed into the fire. “My daughter is no fool. I raised her to think clearly and logically. I doubt she'll be taken in by a con job.”

“Letty may be smart, but she's too emotional to think clearly all the time.”

“I beg your pardon?” Morgan was clearly affronted.

“Damn it, she is a highly emotional female. She's also very naive. And too trusting.”

“Nonsense. If Letty decides to marry Philip Dixon it will be for good and sufficient reasons. I taught her to reason her way through highly charged situations. From the time she was five years old, she was required to present a summary of the logic behind any major decision she made. I am convinced she would not make a move as drastic as marriage without first assessing all the facts.”

Joel spun around to stare at Morgan. “Are we talking about the same woman?”

“I assume so.”

“No offense, Morgan, but I don't think you know your daughter as well as you think you do. As I said, Letty is a very emotional creature.”

“Rubbish. She is intelligent, analytical, and rational. I saw to it that she developed those qualities at an early age.”

Joel was incensed. “What the hell are you going to do if she decides to marry Philip Dixon? Are you going to sit back and say she obviously knows what she's doing?”

“Letty is twenty-nine years old. If she hasn't learned to think clearly by now, it's too late for me to worry about it. But as it happens, I believe she will ultimately make the right choice. I doubt that she will marry Philip for the simple reason that she knows she cannot trust him.”

“Because he made an ass out of himself with that grad student? Get real, Morgan. A slick, fast-talking guy like Dixon isn't going to let a little thing like that stand in his way. He wants my company, and that means he's going to try to get his hands on Letty.”

Morgan eyed him thoughtfully. “Have you asked Letty how she feels about that possibility?”

“I told you I haven't had an opportunity to ask Letty a damn thing because she slipped out on me after work.” Joel stopped talking abruptly when he heard the key in the front door lock.

“That will be Stephanie and Letty now, I believe,” Morgan observed.

“About time.”

“Morgan?” Stephanie called from the hall.

“In here, my dear.” Morgan pushed himself up out of the chair to greet his wife. “We have company.”

“Who is it, dear?” Stephanie walked into the room. “Oh, I see. Hello, Joel. How are you this evening?”

“Fine. Where's Letty?”

Stephanie glanced over her shoulder. “Right here. It's Joel, Letty.”

“I heard.” Letty appeared. She was bundled up in her new Thornquist Gear down jacket. Her expression was distinctly wary. “What are you doing here, Joel?”

“Guess.”

Her mouth tightened. “There was no need to bother my father.”

Morgan helped Stephanie with her coat. “It was no bother at all, my dear. We were having a very interesting conversation about Dixon's possible reasons for being here in Seattle.”

“I think we all know exactly what his reason is,” Joel announced.

Stephanie nodded seriously. “Yes, I think it's quite obvious.”

Morgan pursed his lips in thoughtful consideration. “I have to agree that Thornquist Gear would appear to be the clear motivating force in his recent actions.”

Joel felt vindicated. At least everyone agreed with him. Dixon was definitely a threat. Surely Letty understood that. He looked at her to see how she was taking the united front of opinion. Letty eyed them all with a mutinous expression and seemed to huddle even deeper into her overstuffed coat.

“Thank you for your considered remarks on the subject,” Letty said coldly. “Nice to know that not one of you believes there is even the remotest possibility that Philip might have come to Seattle because of me.”

Morgan and Stephanie looked at each other and then at Joel. Joel wished he had handled the situation differently, but it was too late now. He stepped forward and caught hold of her arm.

“Come on, Letty,” he said. “I'll take you home. Did you drive here tonight?”

“No. I took the bus.”

“Then we don't have to worry about your car.” He nodded brusquely at Morgan and Stephanie. “Good night.”

“Good night.” Morgan's gaze went to his daughter's arm, which was securely locked in Joel's. “Keep us posted.”

“Sure.” Joel walked Letty toward the front door.

Letty said nothing as they went out into the misty rain and got into the Jeep. Joel slanted her a quick side-long glance as he drove out of the driveway and onto the street.

“Look,” he finally said at the first stoplight, “I'm sorry if your ego got crunched back there because everyone thinks Dixon's here to get his hands on Thornquist Gear rather than on you. Don't take it personally, okay?”

“Don't take it personally?” She stared straight ahead through the windshield. “Joel, I've told you before that you lack sensitivity when it comes to dealing with women. Take some advice. Don't try to lessen the blow. The damage to my ego has already been done. You're only making it worse.”

“You wouldn't want him back, even if he went down on his hands and knees,” Joel argued. “You have too much pride.”

“Do I?”

“Yes, damn it, you do. Now, forget the personal side of this and let's talk about the business angle.”

“I don't feel like talking about business tonight.”

Joel ignored that. “Did you tell Dixon to stay out of Thornquist Gear?”

“It's a little hard to tell Philip anything, Joel. Besides, this is his area of expertise. Philip has had a lot of experience with companies the size of Thornquist. He's annoying at times, but he's very good at what he does. He's quite capable of managing the firm.”

“I don't give a damn how good he is at running companies like Thornquist. I won't have him using his past relationship with you to get a toehold in my business, and that's final.”

“You know something, Joel? I'm a little worried about Stephanie,” Letty said slowly.

“Huh?” He tried to follow the unexpected twist in the conversation. “Stephanie? What's Stephanie got to do with this? We're talking about you taking a strong stand against Dixon. And it's going to have to be a really strong stand, Letty. In fact, you're going to have to hit that pompous ass over the head with something damn heavy in order to convince him you mean business. I'll give you a hand.”

“She's scared, Joel.”

“Who? Stephanie?”

“Yes.”

“Scared of Dixon?” Joel frowned. “I don't think she needs to be scared of him, exactly. This isn't anything you and I can't handle.”

“She's scared of having this baby. Scared to death.”

Joel finally realized Letty was off on another tack entirely. “What's the matter? Are there problems?”

“No. That's just it. As far as I can tell, everything is going along just fine.”

Joel struggled to find something intelligent to say on the subject. “I suppose it's normal to have some apprehension. I mean, they say that labor still hurts like hell, even with all the modern advances. But women don't die in childbirth anymore, do they?”

“The statistical probability is quite low. Stephanie knows that. And I don't think she's afraid of the pain, either.” Letty paused. “She's terribly anxious because she considers this her one shot at having a baby, of course. But I think there's more to it than that.”

“Letty…”

“I sensed real fear in her tonight. I suddenly realized that all this emphasis on getting the best doctor and the best hospital and taking every class from the most noted experts she can find is her way of dealing with the fear.”

“Letty, everybody knows expectant mothers are neurotic to some degree or another.”

“Is that right?” Letty's voice sounded cool.

“Yeah. It's the hormones or something.” He grinned fleetingly. “Heck, I'll bet you've read an article about it somewhere.”

“As a matter of fact, I have. And I still say that Stephanie is not experiencing the normal apprehension and mood swings of pregnancy. She is genuinely terrified. And that doesn't fit with her personality. She's usually very much like my father. She intellectualizes everything. Very rational and calm.”

“I'm sure Stephanie will be okay.”

Letty leaned back against the headrest. “Then again, what do I know? I've never been pregnant. Maybe I'd go bonkers, too.”

The thought of Letty pregnant sent a jolt of sensation through Joel. He pictured her ripe and round with child—his child—and he felt more possessive that ever. He stomped too hard on the brake as he slowed for the next light. The Jeep shuddered to a halt, as if taking offense at the maltreatment.

“Joel? Is something wrong?”

“No.” He sucked in his breath. “Nothing's wrong.”

Letty said nothing more for the remainder of the drive back to her apartment. A thousand jumbled thoughts flooded Joel's brain, but he could not put any of them into words.

The disconcerting feelings finally subsided as Joel parked the Jeep in the underground garage of Letty's apartment building. He began to focus clearly once more.

In the elevator, Letty studied the numbers on the control panel. “I take it you plan to invite yourself in for a nightcap?”

Joel eyed her profile. He could not read the expression on her face. “I intend to invite myself into your bed for the night. We're having an affair, remember?”

“I wasn't quite certain how it was going to work.” She scowled at him in alarm. “You're not going to just move in, or anything like that, are you? I never said anything about us living together. This is just an affair. That means we maintain separate households, doesn't it?”

“Jesus, Letty. There aren't a lot of rules we have to follow. Nobody's going to check to see if we're doing it right.” He took the key out of her hand as they went down the hall. He wondered why he felt oddly hurt. “If you don't want me to stay over tonight, just say so.”