Flash

little uncertain of his facts and a little slow to put those facts together.
    Oh, shit
. Jasper allowed only the most casual curiosity into his own voice. "What have you heard, Andy?"
    "There's a rumor in certain circles that the Chantrys don't like having an outsider at the helm. Care to comment?"
    "I don't know what you've heard. I can, however, assure you that I have Olivia Chantry's complete trust and cooperation. We've both got the long-term interests of Glow at heart."
    There was a short, heavy pause. "Are you officially denying that you're there to fatten up Glow for a possible sale or merger?"
    "Categorically," Jasper said. "Glow is my company, and it will stay that way."
    He brought the interview to a close five minutes later and immediately hit the Light Fantastic office number on his phone.
    "This is Olivia." She sounded distracted.
    "I just had a call from Andy Andrews of
Hard Currency
, "Jasper said without preamble.
    "Congratulations," she said dryly. There was a short silence during which Jasper heard a small slurping sound. It sounded like Olivia was taking a sip of coffee. "Andy Andrews must think you're interesting. He never pays any attention to us small-time entrepreneurs."
    "That," Jasper said, "is about to change."
    "What do you mean?"
    "Andrews called me because he wanted information about our relationship."
    There was a half-strangled exclamation followed by a gasp, a choking sound, and a couple of small coughs.
    "You okay?" he asked.
    "Uh-huh. Coffee went down the wrong way," she wheezed. "What about our relationship?"
    "Our business relationship."
    "Oh." There was another pause. Another slurp. "Well? What did you tell him?"
    "That the two owners of Glow enjoy a very close working partnership."
    "I see." Her voice was elaborately neutral.
    "That we share an identical vision for Glow's future."
    "Uh-huh."
    "And that you," Jasper said very deliberately, "as the representative of the Chantry family, had absolute confidence in my ability to manage the growth and expansion of Glow, Inc."
    "Absolute confidence?"
    "Yes. Absolute confidence." Jasper carried the phone to his office window and looked down at the street six floors below. "Andrews said he'd heard rumors, Olivia."
    "What sort of rumors?"
    "The kind that could spell trouble." He hesitated. "Someone is either feeding him gossip or else he's just fishing. Either way, we've got to squelch this before it blows up in our faces."
    "How do you suggest we do that?"
    "Andrews will probably call you next to get your side of the story. Remember what I said about presenting a united front."
    "Oh, yeah. Right. A united front."
    "I hope I've got your attention here, Olivia. Rumors of trouble between the two of us could do a lot of damage to Glow. You're a businesswoman. You know what the wrong kind of talk can do to a company."
    "Uh-huh."
    "We don't want suppliers, vendors, and customers getting nervous. Especially not at this stage."
    "Uh-huh." There was another faint slurp.
    Exasperated with her apparent lack of interest in the subject, Jasper tightened his grip on the phone. "Think of this as a marriage of convenience."
    "I tried marriage once." She sounded thoughtful. "It wasn't very convenient."
    "I had a similar experience with the institution. But this time it will be different."
    "You're sure?"
    "I'm sure. This is business." He watched the traffic on First Avenue. He wondered if it was possible to read the future in the movements of cars the way some people read it in tea leaves. "When it comes to business, I'm always sure."
    It was just the personal stuff in life that gave him problems, he thought.
    He heard another sip on the other end of the line.
    "Nice to be sure about things, isn't it?" Olivia asked eventually.
    Something had happened, Jasper realized suddenly. Something serious. This was not the modern-day Juliet who had waved farewell to him from her balcony last night. Olivia was tense. Cautious. Distant.
    Was she feeling guilty because she had arranged for his house to be searched while he was at her place?
    He decided to try a subtle probe.
    "Olivia?"
    "What?"
    "God knows I'm no nutritionist, but do you think maybe you're drinking a little too much coffee?"
    There was a short, startled pause on the other end. "This is only my second cup today. No, wait, I guess it's my third. Or maybe my fourth. Eleanor Lancaster invited me to breakfast. I had some there."
    Jasper frowned. "You had breakfast with Lancaster?"
    "I'm moving in some