Flash

platform that would appeal to the widest possible cross-section of voters.
    Todd had been one of the policy developers who had worked with her. They had hit it off immediately.
    Within days after she had kicked off her campaign, Eleanor had become the darling of the media.
    Olivia reminded herself that she should be grateful. After all, Light Fantastic had gotten the contract to produce the huge campaign kickoff event, and now it had one for the big summer fund-raiser.
    Nevertheless, she was still not quite sure how she felt about having a politician in the family, even one as dedicated, sincere, and hardworking as Eleanor Lancaster. She worried that Todd had been swept off his feet, not by true love, but by the potential of seeing his political theories put into action by a dynamic campaigner.
    "This afternoon I went on-line to get some information about Sloan," Todd said.
    "And?"
    "There was surprisingly little. The man keeps a very low profile. But I found enough citations and references in the business news journals to tell me one thing."
    "What's that?"
    "To put it in a nutshell, you're a little outclassed here."
    "Thanks a lot for the vote of confidence," Olivia muttered. "I can handle Jasper Sloan."
    "There's no point even pretending you could protect Glow if he decided to sell or merge the company."
    "He gave me his word that he intends to keep Glow a closely held family firm."
    "Damn it, fifty-one percent of it is now owned by someone who is
not
family."
    Olivia flushed. "You know what I mean. Sloan said he wants to fulfill Uncle Rollie's vision for Glow."
    "You can't rely on a thing he tells you. The man's a venture capitalist. His every instinct is to go for the brass ring, the big payoff. You know as well as I do that the quickest way for him to turn a profit would be to sell or merge Glow."
    "I offered to arrange to buy him out. He refused."
    "Probably because he thinks he can get more if he fattens up the company and then sells it."
    "He can only sell fifty-one percent of it," Olivia reminded him. "Anyone who buys his shares would still have to deal with me." She grinned. "That should be enough to discourage most prospective buyers."
    Todd hesitated. Then the corner of his mouth twitched. He finally smiled reluctantly. "It would certainly make most smart people think twice."
    "Thank you. I think. You know, I honestly don't believe that Sloan wants to sell or merge." Olivia recalled the look of unwavering determination she had seen in Jasper's eyes. He was a man with a goal, and as far as she could tell, that goal was to make Glow work.
    She understood goal-directed behavior. She would not go so far as to say that she therefore understood Jasper Sloan, but she thought she had a handle on him. The two of them had a few things in common, she thought.
    "There's another factor to take into consideration here," she added slowly. "Glow was vitally important to Uncle Rollie. He wouldn't have taken a risk with its future. He would not have done business with a man he did not trust.''
    Todd reflected briefly on that. "You've got a point."
    A good one, Olivia assured herself. Her natural optimism kicked in as she warmed to her own logic. "Uncle Rollie was obsessive about acquiring information before he acted. He would have researched Jasper Sloan very thoroughly before he did a deal with him."
    "I suppose so."
    "If Rollie trusted him, it's probably safe to say that we can trust him."
    She broke off to help herself to a handful of chips from a bowl that sat on a nearby counter. She suddenly realized she was ravenous. She loved good food. Mealtimes however had been hit-and-miss lately. She enjoyed cooking, but she had not been able to spend any time in her own kitchen for days.
    She dunked the chips in the bowl of salsa, and put a large number of them into her mouth. Munching enthusiastically, she glanced through the window into the outer room. The campaign workers, mostly young and practically vibrating with eagerness, were still grouped around Eleanor.
    Outside, the street was still lit with the long light of the late evening summer sun. The sidewalk teemed with a mix that included the young and the restless, the terminally trendy, and others who, like Olivia, lived in the nearby condominiums and apartment buildings.
    Some of those ambling along the street were on their way to the tiny fringe theaters that filled many of the nooks and crannies of Belltown. Others were headed toward the taverns and restaurants that