Perfect Partners (29 page)

Philip frowned. “That brings up a topic I think we should discuss immediately. My trip to Echo Cove revealed to me a great deal of information about our current CEO. I'm afraid the long and the short of it is that we shall have to dismiss Joel Blackstone.”

Letty blinked. “I can assure you that will be easier said than done.”

“Nonsense. Simply a matter of terminating his employment, just as one would do with any other incompetent manager. We can arrange a nice little bonus for him, if you like.”

“I would hardly call Mr. Blackstone incompetent. He has single-handedly turned Thornquist Gear into a major northwestern corporation.”

Philip made a tut-tutting sound. “Unfortunately, I feel that he is destined to be a victim of his own success. Frankly, he's risen above the level of his own competence. To put it bluntly, Letty, Thornquist Gear needs stronger, more dynamic, more modern leadership.”

“No kidding.”

“Thornquist requires a man of vision at the helm.” Philip gave her a sober man-of-vision look. “It needs someone who can mix and mingle with the major players who occupy the upper strata of today's business world. It needs a man with a solid grounding in the intricacies of modern economics and finance. It needs a leader who knows how to network with other leaders in the industry.”

“And that man is you?” Letty hazarded a guess.

Philip gave her an approving smile. “I knew you would understand that eventually. You're really quite bright in some ways, Letty.”

A loud commotion in the outer office interrupted Letty before she could think of a suitable rejoinder to that comment.

“Where the hell is he?” Joel's voice was a muffled growl.

“Mr. Blackstone, wait, you can't go in there until I announce you.” A heavy object, possibly Arthur's heavily laden in-basket, crashed to the floor. “Just a minute, sir.”

“Out of my way, Bigley.”

“You are not going to barge in there, Mr. Blackstone.”

“The hell I'm not,” Joel roared.

There was another thump, and then Arthur's voice rose to a defiant snarl. “Over my dead body, sir.”

“Your choice, Bigley.”

Letty jumped to her feet and rushed to the door. She flung it open and was confronted by Arthur's back. Her secretary had apparently thrown himself into the breach. He was braced, hands and feet spread out, blocking the doorway. When the door opened behind him, he nearly fell into the inner office.

“Ms. Thornquist,” Arthur managed grimly, “everything's under control.” He was not blinking because he had switched back to his glasses.

Joel bared his teeth at Letty. “Get him out of my way before I do something serious.”

Letty sighed. “Thank you, Arthur. I will see Mr. Blackstone now.”

Arthur scowled at Joel. “Are you sure, Ms. Thornquist? He definitely does not have an appointment.”

“As it happens, I want to talk to him,” Letty said smoothly. “Thank you for handling matters so forcefully, Arthur. You did an excellent job.”

Arthur glowed. “Thank you, Ms. Thornquist.”

Letty smiled politely at Joel. “Won't you come in, Mr. Blackstone?”

“Thank you, Ms. Thornquist.” The sarcasm was as sharp as any blade. Joel threw Arthur a victorious smile. “And thank you for your gracious assistance, Bigley.”

Arthur inclined his head coolly, sat down, and turned his back to him.

Joel walked past Letty and pinned Philip with a grim look. “What the hell did you think you were doing screwing around with Thornquist Gear business in Echo Cove?”

Philip was unruffled by the challenge. “Hello, Blackstone. Letty and I were just discussing your future employment status with this company.”

“You were
what
?” Joel shot a scathing glance at Letty.

“It's okay,” Letty assured him as she closed the door and resumed her seat. “I told him I didn't think we could fire you. Why don't you sit down, Joel?”

He ignored that. “Letty, I've had about enough of visiting professors. And I will not allow this idiot to interfere in what's going on between Thornquist Gear and Copeland Marine.” He turned back to Philip. “Got that, Dixon?”

Philip twitched the crease of his silver-gray trousers with an unperturbed air. “As I was just starting to explain to Letty, I've had a few thoughts on the Copeland Marine maneuver.”

“Spare me,” Joel said. “I don't give a damn about your thoughts on it.”

“Initially, I was displeased to see that you had engineered a venture as sophisticated as the buyout and takeover of Copeland Marine on your own, Joel.”

“Letty, you'd better get him out of here before I throttle him.”

Philip continued as if no one had spoken. “After all, you have no appropriate formal education and no practical experience in corporate management. As far as I have been able to determine, you lack an M.B.A. or any other suitable degree. Nor have you spent time working in management in any corporation other than Thornquist.”

“Letty, I'm warning you…”

Philip nodded, as if to himself. “I am happy to say, however, that on the whole the takeover approach was fundamentally sound. Whether by luck or by instinct, you made all the right moves, Joel.”

Joel sprawled in a chair looking thoroughly disgusted. Letty smiled sympathetically and shrugged to indicate there was no stopping Philip until he wound down.

“I must point out, though, that had I been running Thornquist at the time, I would not have picked Copeland Marine as a target. Doubtless the sell-off and liquidation of the machinery and facilities will yield a reasonable profit. But there really are not enough assets to make the project worthwhile.”

Joel ceased listening. He turned to Letty and began to talk to her as if they were alone in the room. “I called Escott. Told him I want to talk to him.”

Letty smiled happily. “You did?”

Philip frowned vaguely but continued holding forth. “Your choice of a target company appears to have been influenced by some emotional motivation on your part, Blackstone. One does not survive in the business world if one makes too many decisions based on gut-level emotion.”

Joel kept his gaze on Letty. “I told Escott we'd have dinner with him and Diana tonight. I'll lay all my cards on the table then. Can you make it?”

“Yes, yes, of course,” Letty said quickly before he could change his mind. She glanced at her calendar. “I don't have any class to attend with Stephanie tonight.”

“Good. I want you there,” Joel said. “You're better at reading these people than I am.”

“Why, thank you.” Letty was thrilled at the compliment. He was beginning to appreciate her business talents, she thought.

Philip leaned forward in a bid for attention. “Are we by any chance discussing dinner with Mr. and Mrs. Keith Escott?”

“Letty and I were discussing it,” Joel informed him. “You were not involved in the conversation, as far as I can recall.”

Philip looked at Letty with an expression of disapproval. “I'm not so sure it's a good idea to meet with Escott, Letty. Matters are at a rather touchy stage right now. Best leave this sort of thing in my hands.”

Joel stood up. “Speaking of touchy matters, Professor.”

Philip glanced at him. “Yes?”

“I wonder if I might have your expert opinion on something that I have been debating for some time now.”

“Certainly, certainly.”

Letty stared at Joel, immediately alarmed by the smooth, deferential tone. “Uh, Joel…I mean, Mr. Blackstone—”

“This is an executive matter, Letty,” Joel told her in an authoritative tone. “A little over your head.” He smiled thinly at Philip. “What do you say we go down the hall to the elevator, Professor Dixon? I want you to look at an item in our new product line.”

“Be glad to take a look.” Philip got to his feet and picked up his briefcase. “I'll be in touch with you later, my dear.”

“Good-bye, Philip.”

Letty watched with increasing dread as Joel guided Philip out of the office. She waited until she heard them walk out into the hall, and then she scurried after them.

“Ms. Thornquist?” Arthur looked up in concern. “Did you want something?”

“Shush.” Letty waved him to silence and peeked cautiously around the edge of the outer door.

Joel had his finger on the elevator call button, his head bent in respectful consideration of whatever Philip was saying. Letty watched as the elevator arrived and the doors opened.

Philip stepped inside, still pontificating. Joel nodded sagely then reached inside to the control panel and punched a button. He hovered between the elevator doors until the last possible second. Then he stepped back into the hall and let them close on Philip, who was still holding forth.

The elevator descended minus one occupant.

Joel turned to see Letty watching the show. His brows rose with mocking innocence. “He's on his way to the basement. You see? It's simple to get rid of a pompous ass.”

Letty walked down the hall to where he was standing. “I'll keep that trick in mind next time you become annoying.”

Joel leaned one arm against the wall and looked down at her with gleaming eyes. “Mind telling me what you ever saw in him?”

“I don't know,” Letty said thoughtfully. “Maybe it's the way he looks in a suit. Kind of dashing, don't you think?” She surveyed Joel's unbuttoned collar. “I've always been a sucker for a guy with a tie.”

Morgan called at three-thirty, right after his last class of the day. Letty finished making a note regarding the over-developed male model in the tent ad and picked up the phone.

“Hi, Dad. What's up?”

“Normally I wouldn't bother you with this sort of thing, Letty. But I am a bit concerned.”

Letty put down her pen. “About Stephanie?”

“You know?”

“About her earlier miscarriage? Yes, she told me last night. I'm glad she finally talked to you.”

“She says you persuaded her to confide in me. I can't believe she's been holding all that anxiety inside all these months. She should have told me about her fears back at the beginning.”

“She didn't want you to think she was behaving irrationally.”

Morgan paused. “Yes. I hadn't realized. I told her I knew what she was going through and that I understood only too well. Mary was pregnant once before you were born. She had a miscarriage, too.”

“Mother had one? I didn't know that.”

“No reason you should. It happened years ago, but I still remember the shock. And I also recall how nervous Mary was when she first realized she was pregnant again with you. She was afraid of history repeating itself. We sweated out the first months of the second pregnancy together.”

“Did you tell all that to Stephanie?” Letty asked.

“Of course. It seemed to help somewhat. She's still anxious, but at least now she feels free to talk about it.” Morgan hesitated. “I wanted to thank you, Letty.”

Letty smiled into the phone. “For telling her it was okay to tell you the whole story? No problem. I explained that beneath that overeducated exterior, there still beats the heart of a nice midwestern farm boy.”

Morgan chuckled. “You and Mary were always good at that kind of thing, Letty.”

“What kind of thing?”

“Understanding the emotional side of people. Figuring out what made them tick.”

“Mother was terrific at it. I'm not so sure about me. As proof positive that I make major mistakes when it comes to judging people, there's the infamous example of my engagement to Professor Philip Dixon. Earlier today Joel asked me what I ever saw in Philip. It was a good question. I didn't have a good answer.”

Morgan coughed slightly to clear his throat. “That brings up another subject. I've been thinking about your announcement the other evening, Letty.”

“What announcement?”

“The one in which you stated you are, shall we say, involved in a romantic liaison with Joel Blackstone.”

“It's more than a romantic liaison on my part. I'm in love with the man, Dad.”

“I see.” Morgan sighed. “I was afraid of that. How does he feel?”

Letty considered the question. “Right now he's too wrapped up in this Copeland Marine business to stop and analyze his own feelings.”

“Translated, does that mean his feelings for you are not as strong as yours for him?” Morgan asked dryly.

A small chill went down Letty's spine. She scowled at the receiver. “He just needs a little time.”

“Letty, you misjudged Philip Dixon. Don't make a second error in judgment. Have you drawn up that decision matrix yet?”

“No,” Letty admitted.

“Do it, Letty. A woman in your position must think with her head, not her heart. The owner of Thornquist Gear cannot afford to allow herself to be carried away by uncontrolled passion. I don't want to see you hurt.”

Letty said good-bye and hung up the phone. Her father was right about one thing. She had better start facing reality. The bottom line was that she did not really want an affair with Joel Blackstone.

True, it had been exciting at first. And it was still exciting, the most exciting thing she had ever done. She could hardly deny that. But deep down she had a strong feeling that she was not really cut out for an affair.