Family Man

said.
    “What's that supposed to mean?” Katy switched off the machine and ladled the entire batch into Zeke's bowl. She glanced up anxiously. “You didn't do anything rash, did you?”
    “No.” Luke's mouth curved faintly as he watched his dog go to work on the pesto. “Is there any more soda, Matt?”
    “Sure.” Matt waved the can in his hand in the general direction of the refrigerator. “Help yourself.”
    Katy put the food processor bowl in the sink. “Luke, was Fraser telling me the truth? Did you fire him the other day because you suspected he was behind a scheme to sabotage Gilchrist Gourmet?”
    “Uh-huh.” Luke opened the refrigerator and selected a can of cola. His movements were those of a prowling jungle cat, fully controlled but radiating a potential for instant violence.
    “Why didn't you tell me the truth?” Katy was outraged all over again. “Why did you try to make me believe he was leaving for another job?”
    Luke opened the can of soda. His eyes were implacable as he met her annoyed gaze. “Because I didn't want to get into a major argument with you over it. I knew you would defend the guy.”
    Katy chewed reflectively on her lower lip. “There must have been mitigating circumstances. I can't believe Fraser would do that sort of thing without a very good reason.”
    “He had a good reason,” Luke said succinctly. “He stood to make a lot of money.”
    “Maybe there was more to it than that. Maybe he was coerced into it or something.”
    Luke muttered something under his breath. “Stanfield is an opportunist. When Justine started to withdraw from daily supervision of the company a power vacuum developed. When she asked Stanfield to take on more responsibility he saw his chance and took it.”
    Katy sighed. “I just can't believe it. You should have told me the truth when you fired him, Luke.”
    Luke shrugged. “Maybe I should have. At the time it seemed simpler not to get you involved.”
    “But I was involved. Fraser was my friend. Or at least I thought he was. I depended on him during the past few months. He was so helpful.”
    “He used the power you and Justine gave him to weaken Gilchrist Gourmet,” Luke said bluntly. “He was going to turn it over to a consortium of investors for a fraction of its real worth and collect his reward. It was a neat scheme.”
    Katy frowned slightly. “Perhaps he did it because he knew there was no hope of rising any higher within Gilchrist, Inc. He may have felt that because it was a family-owned firm he would never have an opportunity to go to the top.”
    “Damn it, Katy, this is exactly why I didn't tell you what was going on the day I fired the son of a bitch. I didn't want to have to listen to you make excuses for him.”
    “I'm not making excuses. I'm just trying to understand why he did what he did.”
    “Bull.”
    Katy was keenly aware of Matt listening to the argument while he drank his soda. Zeke had finished his pesto and was sitting beside his dish. The dog's gaze moved from Katy's face to Luke's and back again.
    “You are making excuses,” Luke stated, “and I don't intend to listen to them. There's a time and a place for playing guardian angel. This isn't it.”
    “I suppose you have a point. He was trying to hurt the company, after all.” Katy slanted him a sidelong glance. “He came to see me today because he wanted me to help him finish his scheme.”
    “I know.” Luke took a swallow of soda.
    “He told you?”
    “Yeah.”
    “Oh.” Katy pushed her hair behind her ears. “He said if I didn't help him he would send information to Justine that would make it appear I had been the one sabotaging Gilchrist Gourmet all along.”
    “Uh-huh.”
    Katy stared at him. “He told you that, too?”
    “Yeah. It was just a meaningless threat, Katy.”
    She looked out the window. “He might have done it.”
    “It wouldn't have mattered,” Luke said gently. “Even if he had sent the information to Justine and even if she had believed him, it wouldn't have mattered. Justine doesn't run things around here anymore, remember? I do.”
    Katy smiled tremulously. “Yes. And you wouldn't have believed him?”
    “Christ, no.” Luke's teeth flashed in a brief grin. “You're the Gilchrist guardian angel. You're the last person on earth who would deliberately hurt the family firm.”
    “I wish you'd stop calling me an angel,” she muttered. But she felt herself warming under the impact of his obvious faith in her