Flash

Quincy glanced past her down the hall toward the executive suite. His brows bounced above the frames of his glasses. "So, are the rumors true? Is Sloan really going to fire good old Melwood?"
    "No," Olivia said.
    Percy cast a quick look around and then leaned in close. "What's all this stuff about a merger?"
    "Nothing to it." Olivia stabbed futilely at the stubborn elevator button. "Wish I could hang around and chat, but I'm really busy today."
    "Yeah, sure." Quincy stuffed half a candy bar into his mouth. "Me and Percy have to get back to the lab. Sloan's putting the pressure on. He wants all kinds of task updates ready by five o'clock."
    "Guy doesn't cut any slack," Percy said cheerfully. "You oughta see what's on the schedule for tomorrow's staff meeting. He wants all of us there, not just the managers."
    "Word is, he's going to push the new electroluminescent development project hard."
    Olivia took a close look at Percy and Quincy. Neither appeared offended or anxious by the shakeup in the tech labs where they worked. If anything, they seemed to be excited. There was an energetic enthusiasm about them that she had not noticed when Rollie had been in charge.
    "That's great," she said. She punched the elevator button a few more times.
    Percy started past her. "Hey, you hear about cousin Nina and Sean Dane?"
    Olivia tried not to stiffen. "Yes."
    "Somethin' else, huh?" Quincy took a huge bite out of his candy bar. "Who'd have guessed that she and Sean would get together? Mom says she thinks they're going to get engaged soon."
    "That's nice," Olivia said blandly.
    "See ya."
    "Ciao, cuz."
    Mercifully, Percy and Quincy moved off down the hall.
    The elevator doors finally opened a moment later. A short, bald little man with a pinched face stepped out. He was dressed in a neutral suit that blended into the neutral wall and the neutral office carpet.
    "Mr. Gill." Olivia stepped back quickly. She always had the uneasy feeling that she might accidentally step on Melwood Gill. He was the kind of person you barely noticed unless he was right in front of you.
    "Ms. Chantry." Melwood moved hastily out of the way and gave her his shy, apologetic smile. "So sorry. I wasn't paying attention."
    "My fault, Mr. Gill." No one, so far as Olivia knew, not even Uncle Rollie, had ever called him Melwood to his face.
    "No, no, it was my fault." Melwood made an obvious effort to straighten his thin shoulders, but they slumped forward again almost at once. "My mind was elsewhere." He glanced down the corridor to the door of the executive suite and seemed to shrink in on himself. "I expect you've heard the news?"
    Instinctively, Olivia opened her mouth to tell him that she knew about his recent demotion and that she fully intended to defend him that very evening.
    But something made her hesitate. She thought about the printouts on Jasper's desk. What if there really was a problem in the accounting department? Jasper's words slammed through her head.
It's essential that you and I present a united front
…
    Maybe it would be best to pretend for the moment that she knew nothing at all about Melwood's predicament, Olivia thought. There were times when taking the coward's way out was the only way to avoid painting oneself into a corner. In management-speak it was known as finessing the situation.
    "Please excuse me, Mr. Gill." She stepped briskly into the elevator and pushed the button for the first floor. "I'd love to chat, but I've got to rush back to Light Fantastic. We're absolutely swamped this month."
    "I'm so pleased to hear that business is good for you, Ms. Chantry," he whispered dolefully.
    "Couldn't be better." She winced as a flicker of guilt shafted through her. It was unkind to rub poor Melwood's nose in her success on the very day that he had been demoted.
    Fortunately the elevator doors closed quickly. Olivia sagged against the wall as the cab descended six floors to street level. She had not handled that small, uncomfortable scene well at all, she thought. Perhaps she should have talked to Melwood about the situation.
    …
a united front
...
    The memory of Melwood's sad, resigned expression stayed with her as she walked down Western Avenue toward the Light Fantastic studios.
    She told herself that it wasn't acute depression she had seen in Melwood's eyes, just the perfectly normal unhappiness one would expect in a man who had been transferred to a less important position in his company.
    She was still pondering what to do about