Perfect Partners (26 page)

She sat back. “Joel, stop raging and tell me the truth about something here.”

“What?”

“Are you hell-bent on destroying Echo Cove or would it be enough for you if you could just bring down Victor Copeland?”

He stared at her. “What are you talking about?”

“Just answer me. I know you're not particularly fond of your hometown, but does your need for revenge demand that you destroy it?”

Joel was taken off guard by the question. He realized he had never bothered to separate his dislike for Echo Cove in general from his hatred of Victor Copeland in particular.

“I don't see that it makes much difference,” he muttered. He started pacing the floor, the restlessness building rapidly in his gut.

“Look at it this way,” Letty said, suddenly gentle. “If Victor Copeland had not owned Copeland Marine, would you have gone to all this trouble to bring down the company?”

That stopped him for a second. “No. But it's a moot point. Copeland Marine is his. It always has been. And those three jerks who were just in here don't deserve any pity, believe me.”

“I believe you. But there are other people to consider.”

“Such as?” he demanded.

“What about Angie Taylor?”

Joel stared at her. “The librarian? What about her?”

“You don't hate her, do you?”

“Of course not. Mrs. Taylor was”—he shrugged—“nice to me.” More than nice, Joel realized. She had, without fuss or comment, provided a refuge for him during those dark days after his mother's death. For the first time in a long while Joel remembered the hours he had spent buried in the Echo Cove Public Library.

“A lot of innocent Angie Taylors are going to get hurt if you go through with your plans, Joel.”

“Don't get sentimental, Letty. This is business.” But Joel was beginning to feel uneasy. He had always liked Angie Taylor. And maybe one or two other people in town.

“If Copeland Marine were not the main industry of Echo Cove, would you have gone after the commercial fishing operation that is located there instead?”

“Hell, no.”

“Then it's safe to say that your target is Victor Copeland, not the whole town.”

“Damn it. What is this? An inquisition? I've already agreed with that. It's no secret. But I'm going to bring Copeland down and that's final.”

Letty studied him for a long moment. “Joel, there may be a way to do that without sacrificing the whole town.”

Joel stopped pacing and walked over to the desk. He planted his hands on the surface and loomed over her. “You can keep your klutzy secretary, and you can rewrite all the instruction manuals you want. Hell, I'll even let you plan the office Christmas party. But don't even think about getting between me and Copeland. I'm going to break him, Letty. I'll do whatever it takes. If you get in the way, you'll get hurt. Understand?”

“Yes, Joel. I understand.”

He glowered at her, aware that something had gone out of her voice; it sounded flat and distant all of a sudden. He realized her lower lip was quivering slightly. He felt like a brute.

“For Christ's sake, Letty.” He straightened away from the desk and paced to the window. “I've told you how it is between me and Copeland.”

“I know.” Letty got to her feet. She picked up a file from her desk. “You've made it clear that revenge is more important than any other minor considerations in your life.”

He gritted his teeth, knowing full well she was lumping herself in with the other minor considerations. “You're too emotional, Letty.”

“I'm too emotional?” She gave a choked laugh. “That's a joke, coming from you. You're one of the most emotional people I've ever known.”

That accusation infuriated him. “The hell I am.”

“Joel, please, no more scenes. I've had enough for today. I want you to take Keith Escott's file and read it. See what you think. If you can get past your highly emotional reaction to his proposal, take a close look at the numbers. Tell me honestly if he's right about being able to save Copeland Marine.”

“How many times do I have to tell you that I won't walk across the goddamn street to save Copeland Marine?” Joel roared.

Letty flinched, but she held her ground. She shoved her glasses up onto her nose. “Stop ranting and raving for one damn minute and
think
. Saving Copeland Marine does not necessarily mean saving Victor Copeland.”

“Copeland
is
Copeland Marine.”

“Only in your mind. It doesn't have to be that way, you moose-brained idiot.
Keith Escott could be Copeland Marine
.”

Joel stared at her dumbfounded. “What the hell…”

“It's true. Just read that report and think about it, Joel. We own controlling interest in Copeland Marine, right?”

“Damn right.”

“Then we can kick out the old management and install a whole new bunch of managers. Starting at the top.”

Joel's brain seemed to have turned to mush. He struggled to grapple with the concept at hand. “Fire Victor Copeland?”

“Why not?” Letty smiled grimly. “Just as he fired your father, Joel. And then we'll hire Keith Escott to run Copeland Marine.”

Joel shook off the cobwebs. “It won't work.”

“You may be right. But you won't know that for certain until you read Keith's five-year plan summary, will you?”

“Give me one good reason why I should read this management plan, Letty.”

“Because I'm asking you to read it.”

He eyed her sharply. “Are you threatening me in your own unsubtle way? Are you telling me you won't sleep with me unless I read it?”

She gave him a brittle smile that did not conceal the hurt in her eyes. “Of course not, Joel. You said yourself just this morning that I would never be able to use our personal relationship to manipulate you when it came to business.”

“Letty, I didn't mean—”

“You also made it quite clear a minute ago that you intend to have your revenge even if it means hurting me. I know exactly where I stand in all this. I have no illusions about being able to influence you just because we're involved in an affair.”

“Damn it, Letty…”

“Try to read Keith's proposal with an open mind.” Letty got to her feet and went to the door. “Now, if you'll excuse me, I'm going down to the third-floor conference room to pitch a tent.”

Arthur looked up as she went past his desk. He blinked several times.

Letty smiled at him. “You know, Arthur, I've been thinking,” she said. “I'm going to look into changing your title from executive secretary to executive assistant.”

“Executive assistant.” Arthur looked stunned. Tears trickled down his cheeks. “Thank you, Ms. Thornquist. You won't regret this, I swear it.”

“It occurs to me,” Letty continued smoothly, “that your glasses would be more suitable to the new image. They gave you a certain sophisticated—one might even say, aggressively corporate—look.”

“I'll start wearing them right away,” Arthur said quickly. “I've been having a lot of trouble adjusting to contacts.”

H
e's a very passionate man, Dad. Very emotional.” Letty lounged in the hearthside easy chair across from her father and gazed into the flames. She was waiting for Stephanie to emerge from the bedroom. They were scheduled to attend a class on infant development tonight.

“I'm surprised to hear that.” Morgan frowned. “Blackstone struck me as the consummate business executive. Very cool and clear-headed.”

“He is, when he's not emotionally involved.”

“I must admit I did question that aspect of his character last night when he showed up at the door looking for you. The odd thing is, he seems to think you're the emotional one.”

Letty shot her father a quick glance through half-lowered lashes. “He said that?”

“Yes, he did. He's concerned about your association with Dixon, you know. Thinks you're in danger of being swept off your feet.”

“Oh, that.” Letty switched her gaze back to the flames. “I know. He's afraid I'll turn Thornquist Gear over to Philip.”

“I assured Joel that you would make the right decision regarding Dixon,” Morgan said calmly. “Speaking of the good professor, where is he these days? I half expected to get a call from him. After all, we were nodding acquaintances when I was at Vellacott.”

Letty frowned. “I've been wondering about that myself. I fully expected him to waltz into my office sometime today and tell me that he's got some brilliant new scheme to expand Thornquist Gear.”

“Not like him to vanish like this after coming all this way to see you.”

“Frankly, I hope he stays vanished.” Letty leaned her head back against the chair cushion. “I've got enough problems on my hands.”

“You'll handle them just fine, my dear.” Morgan sounded calmly certain of that. “Just keep all the elements of the situation in a clear and logical perspective. It might help if you make up a decision matrix before you draw any conclusions.”

Letty arched her brows. “How do you propose I include the fact that I'm having an affair with Joel Blackstone in my decision matrix, Dad? How do I weight the importance of that? Shall I give it a factor of two or five?”

Morgan frowned. “What's this? You're intimately involved with Blackstone?”

“Yes.” Letty was curious to see how her father would react to the news.

“I had not realized that.” Morgan fixed her with a serious expression. “Do you think that's wise, Letty? There are several delicate financial matters at stake here.”

Letty's mouth curved wryly. “Tell me about them.”

“Well,” said Morgan, obviously intent on doing just that, “there is, first and foremost, the question of the ownership of Thornquist Gear. Then there is the issue of the actual control of the company. Ownership and control are not necessarily the same thing, Letty. On top of that, there's Dixon's presence on the scene—”

“Dad, stop. I didn't really want a list of all my problems. I know what's at stake.”

Morgan nodded wisely. “Yes, of course. I should have realized you were well aware of the situation. Nevertheless, it's been my observation that emotional involvement does not mix well with business matters. Especially when the business at stake is as large as Thornquist Gear.”

“I agree with you, Dad. But I seem to be stuck in the situation.”

“I refuse to believe that you cannot control your emotions better than that, Letty. I've trained you to think clearly and logically, regardless of your personal feelings.”

Letty wrinkled her nose. “That gets boring, Dad.”

“Letty, this is not a joking matter.”

“I know,” Letty murmured. “I'm sorry. I guess I'm asking for advice.”

“My advice is to do what I have trained you to do,” Morgan said firmly. “Step back from the situation emotionally and make a logical decision matrix.”

“I'll try that, Dad.” Letty slumped in her chair, glumly aware that she was in too deep to make a rational, unemotional, logical decision about anything that involved Joel Blackstone.

“I'm ready,” Stephanie said as she came down the hall. “Shall we go, Letty? It should be a very interesting class tonight. Dr. Marklethorpe is a renowned expert on infant and early childhood development. He's done some important research on psychological and motor function in the first six weeks of life.”

“His own life or someone else's?” Letty asked blandly. When she saw the grimness in Stephanie's eyes, she regretted the words. As usual. “Sorry. A poor joke.” She got up. “Let's go or we'll be late.”

“Drive carefully,” Morgan called after the pair. “Oh, and Letty?”

“Yes, Dad?”

“Don't forget to make that matrix. When you do, I think you'll discover that an emotional entanglement with Joel Blackstone is probably not the wisest move at this particular point.”

“Yes, Dad.” Letty stifled a sigh as she followed Stephanie out the door.
Easy for you to say
, she thought.

Outside in the car Stephanie glanced at her. “You're involved with Joel Blackstone?”

“Sort of. Yes.”

“Do you think that's wise, Letty?”

“No.”

“Then why are you doing it?”

“It just sort of happened,” Letty said.

“Nonsense. I know your father. You've been raised with better self-control than that.”

“Okay,” Letty said, feeling goaded. “I wanted it to happen.”

Stephanie switched on the Porsche's ignition. “Is this a physical thing?”

“Oh, very.”

“I meant is it entirely physical or is the bond intellectual as well as emotional?”

“I don't think you could say there's a lot of intelligence involved,” Letty admitted.

“Then it would probably be best to end the affair immediately,” Stephanie advised. She eased the Porsche out of the drive.

Letty gazed out at the streetlights and wished she had never mentioned her affair to her father. So much for asking for paternal advice.

She had known ahead of time exactly what Morgan would say. It was the same thing he had been saying since she was a child: “Make a decision matrix, Letty. Weigh all the crucial factors and enter them on a grid. The appropriate conclusion will be obvious.”

An hour later, midway through a set of slides showing infants in various stages of rest and activity, Letty realized Stephanie was getting increasingly tense. She leaned over and spoke softly.

“Are you all right, Steph?”

“Yes.” Stephanie stared straight ahead at a slide of a six-week-old infant stretching its arms and legs.

Dr. Marklethorpe's voice droned in the darkened classroom. “As you will see, the infant is capable of communicating a great deal of information even at the age of six weeks. When accompanied by yawning, this stretching activity signals the infant is sleepy.”

“Gosh, I would never have guessed,” Letty murmured in an aside to Stephanie.

“Quiet,” Stephanie whispered.

“Sorry.” So much for trying to lighten the mood. Letty concentrated on the screen.

“You will notice in this slide,” Marklethorpe said, “that the infant is alert and tracking with her eyes. This means she is in a data assimilation mode. This is an excellent time to introduce a new element into her environment. Think of this as learning time.”

“Brilliant observation,” Letty mumbled.

“Now, then, compare the development at six weeks with the development of the infant at birth. Here we have a slide showing a newborn with a very high APGAR rating. The APGAR system rates the strength of the baby's cry and its general physical condition at birth. It's an excellent indicator of…”

Letty saw Stephanie lean forward and clutch her stomach. “
Stephanie
. What is it?”

“Nothing.” Stephanie's voice was a painful, strangled whisper.

“Stop saying that. Something
is
wrong. Come on, let's get out of here.”

Much to Letty's surprise, Stephanie did not resist. Letty led her along the back row of seats and out into the hall. Stephanie's face was pale in the harsh glare of the fluorescent lights.

“I'm going to call your doctor,” Letty said. “I'll tell her we're on our way to the emergency room and we'll meet her there.”

“No. Wait.” Stephanie grabbed at her arm as Letty made to move toward a pay phone down the hall. “I'm all right. I swear it. Nothing's wrong.”

“Stephanie, something is very wrong. You look as if you've seen a ghost.”

Stephanie burst into tears. “Oh, God, I think I did.”

Letty was stunned by the flood of emotion from the normally calm, cool, and intellectual Stephanie. Instinctively she put her arms around her stepmother and held her as great sobs racked her body.

“Steph, what is it? Tell me. I can't help you if you don't tell me.”

“I lost him, Letty.”

“Lost who?”

“My baby. I lost him at three months. Ten years ago this month. He was dead inside me. All that time I was preparing for him, buying baby clothes, choosing names, all that time, and he was dead.”

Letty closed her eyes and tightened her grip on Stephanie. “I'm so sorry.”

“I'm so afraid I'm going to lose Matthew Christopher, too. I get more afraid every day. I'm going crazy with the fear.”

Letty hugged her gently. “You won't lose him. He's alive and well and kicking like mad. He'll be safe in your arms in another few weeks. You've got one of the best doctors in the state. You've got the best hospital in the city.”

“I know, but so many things could go wrong.”

“He's strong and healthy. He's got my father's terrific genes, remember?”

“But he's got some of mine, too. And I lost my first baby. What if there's something wrong with me? What if I lose Matthew Christopher because there's a basic genetic flaw in me?”

“There is nothing wrong with you. It's going to be all right, Steph.” Letty kept talking, saying the same, soothing things over and over again. “When the time comes, you'll have the most advanced medical technology available to you. Your doctor will be with you, watching over every detail.”

Gradually Stephanie's sobs subsided.

When she finally lifted her head from Letty's shoulder, her face was blotched and red from crying. She groped for a tissue in her purse. “I'm sorry you had to witness that. I've made a fool of myself. I'm sorry. I'm not behaving very rationally these days, am I? I've got to get myself back under control.”

“Stephanie, you're pregnant.” Letty smiled. “Everything I've read says that being irrational is allowed.”

“I don't want Morgan to see me like this.”

“Like what, for heaven's sake?”

“Like this. In such an abnormal state.” Stephanie blotted her eyes and blew into the tissue. “He wouldn't understand. I'm not myself.”

“Have you told him about the miscarriage?”

“No, I haven't.” Stephanie shoved the tissue back into her purse. “It all happened a long time ago. During the first year of my first marriage. I was never able to get pregnant again. I'd given up all hope until Morgan and I became involved. I was so thrilled when I found out. And Morgan seemed pleased.”

“He is. He's looking forward to molding another generation of Thornquist brains. I think he figures he made a few mistakes with me, and he's anxious to get it right this time.”

“Letty, I've been frightened all along. Right from the start. And it's been getting worse.”

“You should have talked about it before now,” Letty said. “I think you ought to tell Dad everything.”

“He'd be appalled at my irrational behavior.”

“Nonsense. My father grew up on a farm. He was a regular human being before he got that Ph.D., and he still is, once you get past that intellectual veneer he's acquired. He's really very compassionate and understanding. How the heck do you think Mom and I tolerated him?”

Stephanie shook her head. “He thinks I'm just like him. That's why he married me. And I
am
very much like him. Usually. It's only since I started worrying about losing this baby that I've gone off the deep end.”

“You haven't gone off the deep end. You're just tense and worried. And I'll tell you something else. I've known my father for twenty-nine years, and he's not always cool and cerebral. I still remember how he went bonkers when I fell off my bike and had to be rushed to the emergency room with a broken wrist. You'd have thought I was at death's door. Mom spent more time calming him down than she did patting me on the head.”

“Oh, Letty…”

Letty smiled sadly. “And when Mom died, I thought for a while I was going to lose Dad, too. My father is no iceberg, Steph.”

“Well, I know he's not an iceberg. We
are
having a baby, you know.” Stephanie actually turned slightly pink. “I understand that Morgan does have a passionate side to his nature.”

“Just keep in mind that passion isn't the only emotion he's capable of,” Letty said dryly. She took Stephanie's arm and started walking down the hall. “What you have to remember, Steph, is that this time your pregnancy is sailing along smoothly. In fact, you're in the safety zone.”