Dawn in Eclipse Bay

A man named Campbell Witley stopped me on the street. He used to date one of my clients. You know what? Mr. Witley was really, really mad at me because I’d helped his girlfriend find someone else to date.”
    “What does this Witley have to do with your decision to shut down your business?”
    “He pointed out in no uncertain terms that I had no right to use my computer program to meddle in other people’s lives.”
    “That’s ridiculous.”
    “As it happens, I tend to agree with him.”
    Anderson stared at her, clearly appalled.
    “What do you mean?” he asked sharply. “Why do you say that?”
    She eyed the closed laptop and wondered how to explain things to him. He probably wouldn’t believe her if she told him that the program only worked in conjunction with her intuition and a dose of common sense. She hadn’t wanted to believe it, herself.
    She needed a more technical-sounding excuse with which to fob him off.
    “The program is flawed,” she said finally. In a way, that wasn’t really far from the truth, she thought.
    “ Flawed . Are you certain?”
    “Yes.”
    “I don’t understand. You’ve been so successful. You’ve attracted so many high-end clients.”
    “Dumb luck, I’m afraid.” She shrugged. “Keep in mind that I don’t have any long-term statistics yet because I haven’t been in business long enough to obtain them. It’s possible that over time my matches won’t prove any more successful than the ones people make on their own in the usual ways.”
    Anderson gave her a long, considering look. “I think I see the problem here.”
    “The problem,” she said very deliberately, “is that Campbell Witley has a point. I don’t have the right to fiddle with other people’s lives. Besides, it’s too stressful.”
    “Stressful?”
    “Lately I’ve begun to wonder—what would happen if I screw up badly someday and put the wrong people together? Oh, sure, I do a comprehensive background check on all of my clients to make certain they don’t have a criminal record or any history of serious mental disorders. But what if I miss something? Don’t you see? There’s a very real potential for disaster.”
    Anderson nodded soberly. “I agree.”
    “You do?”
    “Yes.” He shoved his hands into his pockets and rocked a little in his tasseled loafers. “To be perfectly frank, I had been meaning to broach the subject, myself.”
    “You were?”
    “Yes. But I wanted to get to know you a little better before I raised such a delicate question. After all, Private Arrangements is your business.”
    There was something distinctly patronizing about his smile, she decided.
    “What delicate question?” she asked carefully.
    He looked at the laptop. “As you know, I have been deeply intrigued by your program for some time now, but I must admit that the fact that you have been using it without professional guidance has worried me more than somewhat.”
    She waited a beat. “Professional guidance?”
    “Let’s be honest here, Lillian. You don’t have a background in psychology. You have no training or experience in clinical therapy or counseling techniques. It says a great deal for your program that you’ve been as successful as you have thus far. But I agree that in using it for real-life matchmaking, you assumed an enormous responsibility and a degree of risk. Obviously such a sophisticated program should be used only by a professional.”
    “I see. A professional. Like you.”
    “Actually, yes. If you’re serious about getting out of the business, I would like to make you an offer for the program and the related files that you’ve developed in the course of your work.”
    That stopped her momentarily. She hadn’t bargained on this. The last thing she wanted to do was sell the program to Anderson. If he used it, he would soon discover that it didn’t work very well on its own. No telling how many mistakes he might make before he realized that it was not magic.
    “No,” she said. “I told you, it’s flawed.”
    “You mean there are bugs in the program?”
    “Not technical bugs,” she said, trying to keep things vague. “It just doesn’t work very well.”
    He chuckled. “I’m sure that I have the professional background necessary to fix any small problems that might come up. I’ll make you a fair offer. We can work out mutually satisfactory terms. Perhaps a licensing agreement?”
    “The Private Arrangements program is not for sale.”
    “Lillian, be