Perfect Partners (31 page)

Joel scowled at the brief memo from Marketing that he found on his desk the next morning.

Joel swore softly. It irritated him to have to admit it, but Letty did have a point. She had hit on what was wrong with the entire campaign. The problem was that time was running out. The new line of camping gear would be in the stores in a few weeks. Decisions had to be made.

“The hell with it,” Joel muttered. Letty's instincts on some things seemed to be better than his. He had been unsure of the beefcake campaign right from the start. He picked up a pen and scrawled a message to Manford telling him to go ahead and reshoot the photos using plenty of kids and moms.

Letty was achieving one victory after another around the offices of Thornquist Gear, Joel reflected as he shoved the approval memo into his out-basket. Arthur Bigley was now one hundred percent loyal to her. The ad campaign was virtually under Letty's guidance. The manuals for the new tents were being rewritten. Copeland Marine was not going to be liquidated.

It was enough to make a man shiver in his boots. One of these days, if he was not extremely careful, Joel told himself ruefully, he was going to wake up and discover that Letty was actually running things around here.

Half an hour later Mrs. Sedgewick's voice droned on the intercom. “Ms. Thornquist to see you, sir.”

Joel started to tell her to send Letty in, but before he could say anything, the door flew open and Letty burst into the room. Her eyes were very bright and she was laughing with delight. She waved a copy of the memo he had signed off on half an hour earlier.

“Thank you, Mr. Blackstone. I knew you'd approve it. You did the right thing.” She hurriedly closed the door on Mrs. Sedgewick and then she dashed across the room.

She leaned down and kissed Joel full on the mouth. “Do you know what I really like about you, Joel Blackstone?”

“I'm good in bed?”

“That's beside the point.” Her eyes gleamed happily. “What I really like about you is that you listen to me. Even when you're annoyed with me, you pay attention to what I have to say. I can't wait to get started on this new campaign.”

She whirled around and raced back out of the office, shirttail flying.

Joel smiled to himself and went back to work.

At eleven-thirty Mrs. Sedgewick's voice on the intercom again interrupted his thoughts. “A Mr. Victor Copeland to see you, sir.”

Adrenaline pumped into Joel's veins. He had been expecting this. He had known that sooner or later Copeland would approach him directly and try to make a deal. It was the only option left for him.

This was it. After fifteen years, Joel knew he was about to deliver the coup de grace.

“Send him in, Mrs. Sedgewick.”

Victor Copeland strode into the office, looking oddly out of his element. Back in Echo Cove, he was a tin god. Here in Seattle, he was just one more aging fat man in a business suit. The flesh of his short, massive neck rolled over the edge of his too-tight collar. His jowly face was heavily lined with suppressed anger and an element of desperation. His small eyes gleamed malevolently.

“Looks like you've done all right for yourself, Blackstone.” Victor scanned the office furnishings as he lowered himself into a chair. “Never would have thought you could get this far.”

“I know what you thought of me, Copeland,” Joel said. “but that's ancient history, isn't it? Why are you here today?”

Copeland narrowed his eyes. “I'll lay it on the line for you. I'll admit I made a mistake fifteen years ago. Should have let you marry my girl. You've got guts. You could have handled Copeland Marine.”

“It's a little late to come to that conclusion, isn't it?”

“Don't see why,” Victor said smoothly. “No reason we can't all take up right where we left off fifteen years ago.”

Joel eyed him, barely concealing his amazement. “What the hell is that supposed to mean?”

“Just what it sounds like. I'm ready to make a deal, Blackstone. You back off on the takeover of Copeland Marine and I'll let you have Diana.”

“Jesus.” Joel could hardly believe what he was hearing. “You'll let me have her?”

“Sure, why not? You always did want her, ain't that right? Couldn't keep your goddamn hands off of her.”

“That was a long time ago, Copeland. Things have changed. In case you've forgotten, Diana is married to someone else at the moment.”

Copeland snorted. “Escott's no problem. Diana can get a divorce. Fact is, I'll be glad to get rid of Escott. He's always hounding me, trying to get me to try something new, telling me we need to alter the contracts we've been usin' for years and get new suppliers. Damn fool. I made a mistake when I picked him out for Diana. I'll admit that.”

“You've made a lot of mistakes over the years, haven't you, Copeland?” Joel smiled grimly. “But the biggest one you made was firing Dad because of what I'd done.”

Copeland flinched, and then his face began turning purple. “It was your fault, you son of a bitch. If you hadn't touched my Diana, I never would have fired your pa.”

All your fault
. Joel tried to push aside the nightmare image of his father screaming silently through the window of the sinking car.
All your fault
.

He breathed deeply, just as he did when he was running. It was going to be finished very soon, he reminded himself.

“You had a right to go after me.” Joel sat forward, his hands flat on the desk. “But you had no right to punish Dad for what I'd done.”

“Shit, that happened fifteen years ago. I was pissed off. Everyone in Echo Cove knows better than to get me pissed off. Everyone except you.”

Joel shrugged. “I'm sure you'll be pleased to know that the management of Thornquist Gear has decided to give Copeland Marine another eighteen months to pull itself out of the red.”

Relief appeared first in Copeland's eyes. It was followed by an expression of triumph. “I knew it. Knew you'd back off in the end. It was that little Thornquist gal, wasn't it? She wouldn't let you shut Copeland down because she knew what it would do to the town.”

This was it. This was the moment he had been waiting for, Joel thought. He searched himself for some powerful sense of satisfaction, but all he seemed to be experiencing was a cold, distant curiosity. It was as if he were an observer rather than the one taking revenge.

“Don't get too excited, Copeland. Your company has been given an eighteen-month extension, but you haven't.”

“What the hell are you talking about? Nobody can run that company except me and you damn well know it. Copeland Marine is mine.”

“Not anymore. As of today, you are no longer president of Copeland Marine. In fact, as the owner of the controlling interest in the firm, I am ordering you not to set foot on Copeland Marine property unless and until I give approval.”

Copeland's jaw dropped. “What are you tryin' to say, you bastard? You think you can run my company from here?”

“No. I'm putting your son-in-law in charge. Escott assumes the reins officially this afternoon. You're out of the picture as of right now.”

“
Escott
. That gutless pansy? You can't turn it over to him. Copeland Marine is my company! It's always been my company.” Copeland surged to his feet. His hands balled up into massive fists at his sides. “Nobody takes Copeland Marine away from me. You hear me, Blackstone? Nobody.”

“I hear you.” Sensing the violence in Copeland, Joel stood up slowly. He realized he was hoping the man would take a swing.

“
Nobody
.” Copeland swept his arm over the surface of Joel's desk, knocking the wire basket, calendar, lamp, and a sheaf of files onto the carpet. “You can't do this to me.”

Joel smiled savagely. “What are you so upset about, Copeland? I'm only doing to you what you did to my father. I'm firing you. No big deal. You can always go look for another job, can't you?”

“You goddamn bastard.” Copeland reached down and scooped up the fallen lamp. He started to swing it at Joel the same way he had once swung a length of solid teak.

“Just like old times, isn't it, Copeland?” Joel taunted softly. “Come on. Let's see you try it. Give me the excuse I've been looking for to take you apart.”

Copeland raised his huge arm. “
Fucking bastard
.”

The office door opened.

“Excuse me,” Philip Dixon said with astonishing calm. “Am I interrupting anything?” He looked from Joel to Copeland, a slight frown furrowing his elegant brow. “Hello, Copeland. Here to make a last-minute pitch to save Copeland Marine? Afraid there's not much point. Blackstone is quite correct when he says that the only realistic alternative is liquidation. I've consulted on any number of similar situations, and one has to face facts.”

Copeland stared at Philip for an instant. Then he hurled the lamp down onto the carpet in a gesture of frustrated fury.

He stormed out of the office without another word.

Joel watched him go, and then he turned to Philip. “Nice timing, Dixon.”

“Copeland appeared rather upset.”

“Yeah, he did, didn't he?” Joel looked at Mrs. Sedgewick, who was hovering uncertainly in the doorway. “Call Escott at his hotel. Tell him I want to talk to him immediately. And then get someone in here to clean up this mess.”

“Yes, sir.” Mrs. Sedgewick, looking unusually subdued, vanished.

Philip cleared his throat to get attention. “I stopped by to talk to you about the details of the Copeland Marine liquidation. As it happens, I have a few thoughts on the matter.”

Joel planted his hands on his desk and leaned forward. “Dixon, I am not in a good mood. The last thing I want to do right now is listen to you pontificate about my business. Get the hell out of here. Now.”

Something in Joel's icy tone must have finally penetrated Philip's pompous arrogance. He drew himself up with an affronted expression. “Well, if you feel that way about it, I'll come back later.”

“Don't bother.”

Philip did not deign to respond to that. He took himself off and politely closed the door behind him. Joel stood at his desk, breathing slowly and deeply for a couple of minutes before he sat down.

It was done
. After all these years, it was finally done.

Joel still could not identify what he was feeling. There should have been a sense of release. A sensation of triumph. Something powerful.

But all he seemed to be able to think about now was the more practical matter of the safety of the Copeland Marine yard. Victor Copeland had looked dangerous.

Mrs. Sedgewick buzzed the intercom. “Mr. Escott on line two.”

Joel grabbed the phone. “Escott?”

“What's up? Something wrong?”

“Copeland was just here. I gave him the news.”

“How did he take it?” Keith asked tensely.

“He's mad as hell, and he's looking for trouble.”

“That figures. Any idea what he might do?”

“My chief concern is that he'll decide if he can't have Copeland Marine, nobody else can have it, either,” Joel said. He stared unseeingly out the window, trying to think of all the possibilities and how to cover them.

“You think he might try to torch the yard or something?” Keith asked.

“I don't know. I don't think so, because in his mind, Copeland Marine is his and it will always be his. He would be destroying his own creation. But I've seen Copeland like this once before. He's unpredictable until he calms down.”

“I know what you mean. I've seen him in a rage once or twice. He went after one of his employees once. Took three of us to pull him off. It takes him a while to come out of it.”

“I know. All right, Escott, as of right now you are one hundred percent responsible for the Copeland Marine facilities.”

“I understand,” Keith said coolly. “Guess I'd better get my ass down to Echo Cove and make sure Copeland doesn't take the place apart.”

“Yeah, you'd better do that.” Joel rubbed the back of his neck, thinking quickly. “And I think you'd better organize a twenty-four-hour security guard on the yard for a while. No point in taking any chances.”

There was a pause on the other end of the line. “I'll take care of it.”

“I'll have my secretary give you the name of a security agency here in Seattle. I used them a couple of times when I was having some loading-dock theft problems. Contact them immediately and get as many men as you'll need to guard the Copeland yard.”

“Got it. Listen, Blackstone…”

“Yeah?”

“I'm leaving Diana here at the hotel,” Keith said quietly. “Her father doesn't know where she is. I didn't tell anyone where we're staying. I don't want her anywhere near Echo Cove until things have cooled down. And I don't want her to know all the details of what's going on right now. She'll panic.”