Flash

you got that impression." Olivia shot Todd a warning glance. "Things are under control. The transition is going very smoothly."
    She knew Dixon was only displaying friendly interest in her affairs, but her instincts toward Glow, Inc., were rooted in years of lectures from Rollie. Glow was a family business. Its problems were to be discussed only within the family.
    There was one glaring exception to that rule now, she reflected. Jasper Sloan.
    She gave Dixon her best I'm-in-charge-and-everything-is-under-control smile. He seemed to accept it, perhaps because he'd had a lot of experience with being on the receiving end of the same sort of smile from his boss. Eleanor was very good at giving the impression that she was in command. A natural leader.
    Todd had told Olivia that Dixon Haggard had been Eleanor's campaign manager from the start of her career. Six years ago he had helped orchestrate her first run for the state legislature. He had been with her ever since.
    Dixon was devoted to Eleanor Lancaster. There was something fervent in his voice whenever he said her name. Olivia sometimes wondered just how deep his feelings for her went. Occasionally she thought she caught a glimpse of resentment in his eyes when he looked at Todd.
    She nudged the bowl of chips and salsa toward Dixon. "I just dropped in to say hi to Todd. He tells me that everything's going well with the campaign."
    "Nothing can stop her now." Dixon gulped more coffee. "The money is starting to really roll in. Everyone wants to back a winner."
    "That doesn't surprise me."
    "Patricia Stryker is our only real competition, and in a month she'll be a distant second. By the way, Olivia, I've got a couple of things to discuss with you concerning the fund-raiser. I want to get a better idea of how the lighted flag concept will work."
    "It's going to be fabulous," Olivia assured him.
    In the other room, Eleanor dismissed her volunteers and started toward the small office. Dixon reached for the coffeepot.
    "She'll want another cup," he said.
    His proprietary air was not lost on Todd. Olivia saw her brother's jaw tighten, but he said nothing.
    She glanced back at Eleanor, who had paused to speak to one lingering campaign worker. The young volunteer's eyes glowed with excitement.
    "People can't help responding to her," Todd said softy. "Eleanor represents the future, not only of this state but of the country. They're going to be talking about her as a candidate for the oval office in a couple of years."
    Olivia thought that he watched Eleanor with an expression that was closer to heroine worship than love. But what did she know? she asked herself silently. She had never been very good at love.
    Eleanor eventually made her way into the small office. It was Dixon who pulled out her chair.
    "Hello, Olivia. Nice to see you again."
    Olivia smiled. "Hello, Eleanor."
Wow
. She was on a first-name basis with the woman who would very likely be the next governor of the state, she thought. A first-name basis with the woman who might well become president, "I was just about to leave. I know you folks are busy. I only stopped by to talk to Todd for a few minutes."
    Eleanor smiled her easy, charming smile as she took her seat. "Todd tells me your new business partner finally arrived in town this afternoon. I understand he's very big-time and low-profile. That's usually a dangerous combination. What's the verdict?"
    Olivia mentally crossed her fingers behind her back. "No sweat I can handle him."

7
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    "W hat the hell do you think you're doing, Jasper Sloan?" Olivia slammed the door of Glow's executive suite and whirled to face him. "How dare you fire Melwood Gill? He's run the Glow accounting department for longer than I can remember."
    Slowly, deliberately, Jasper put down the marketing report he had been examining. He set it aside. It was the only document on his otherwise pristine desk.
    It had been three days since he had met Olivia at the Light Fantastic studio. Nothing had changed, he decided. If anything, the impact she made on his long-dormant libido this time around was stronger than it had been the last time.
    Maybe it was the temper, he thought, trying to be analytical. It did things to her hazel-green eyes, made them even more vivid. It affected her cheeks, too. They were flushed. She glowed brighter than the new generation of experimental electroluminescent devices he had examined that morning in the new R&D lab.
    The overhead lights danced on the red in