Family Man

aren't they, Stanfield?”
    “You can't blame those contracts on me.”
    “I can and I will. And then there's the little problem Gilchrist Gourmet is having with the bank. Another example of really bad judgment.”
    “Cash flow problems,” Stanfield said quickly.
    “Caused by overextension and poor planning,” Luke said. “I could go on, but I'm sure you know the rest. Sure, I suppose we could call it six months of bad judgment on your part. That's probably what Katy would call it. Me, I'm calling it deliberate sabotage, and I'm handing you your walking papers.”
    Stanfield took a step back from the desk. “You won't get away with this.”
    “Who's going to stop me?”
    Stanfield smiled coldly. “Katy will.”
    “No, Stanfield. That's not the way it's going to be this time. Katy works for me. She does what I say.”
    “Well, I'll be damned.” Stanfield's gaze filled with speculation. “The gossip is true, isn't it? You're sleeping with her.”
    “Shut up, Stanfield. And clear out your desk. You've got twenty-five minutes left. I'm not leaving here until I walk you out the door.” Luke leaned one shoulder against the wall and waited.
    Stanfield shrugged and opened a drawer. “You're the boss. But before you congratulate yourself on having gotten rid of me, you'd better think about who helped me make all those bad judgment calls.”
    “Are you telling me you weren't working alone?”
    “Yeah, that's what I'm telling you, all right.”
    “I'm not buying that. There's no indication there was anyone else involved.”
    “That's because my partner was a little smarter than I was about covering up her tracks.” Stanfield jerked files out of the desk drawers and stuffed them into his briefcase. “Hell, she was smarter than I gave her credit for, that's for damn sure. Got to hand it to her. She set me up to take the fall on this one.”
    Luke smiled faintly. “You did it all on your own, Stanfield. We both know that.”
    “If you want to believe that, it's your funeral. But don't blame me when six months from now you realize you've still got trouble. I wonder how long it will take you to figure out that you're sleeping with the one person in the company who will stop at nothing to see the whole Gilchrist empire brought down.”
    Fury roared through Luke. “Katy? Why, you son of a bitch.”
    He propelled himself away from the wall in a swift movement, glided around the desk, and grabbed a handful of Stanfield's shirtfront.
    “Take your hands off me, Gilchrist.”
    Luke slammed Stanfield down into the chair and leaned over him. “I've had enough of you, Stanfield. I've changed my mind. You don't have any time left. I'm taking you out of here right now. One of the secretaries can pack up your desk.”
    “Use your head, Gilchrist,” Stanfield said urgently. “I'm telling you the goddamned truth. Katy hates all Gilchrists.”
    “Why would she hate us?” Luke demanded.
    “She figures you all owe her. The sabotage was her way of getting even before she quit her job.”
    “You're lying.”
    “Am I? Think about it. What do you think it's been like for her all these years? How do you think she's felt knowing that by rights she should have had a chunk of Gilchrist, Inc.?”
    “What are you talking about?”
    “Don't you know?” Stanfield smiled grimly. “Justine made a deal with Katy's grandfather, Richard Quinnell, to merge her company with his.”
    “What's that old merger deal got to do with this?”
    “She and Quinnell agreed to join the two restaurant chains on the day your father married Katy's mother.”
    “Hell, everyone knows that.”
    “There was no marriage,” Stanfield said, “so there was no merger.”
    “What are you trying to say?”
    “All these years that Katy's been forced to work for Justine she's been stewing over the fact that Justine didn't keep her part of the bargain thirty-seven years ago.”
    “Stanfield, you're crazy.”
    Stanfield grinned without any real humor. “Am I? The Quinnells kept their part. They were all at the church. If Justine had honored her end of the deal, Katy and her brother would now own a chunk of Gilchrist. They would be heirs to a fortune.”
    “You think I'm going to believe Katy's been plotting revenge all these years? You're out of your mind.”
    “Hell, a Gilchrist, of all people, should be able to understand revenge. Your family wrote the book on holding grudges. How would you feel if you were in Katy's place?”
    Luke turned cold