Full Bloom

starting to wonder if it isn't the rest of us who will need protection."
    Drake smiled. "You may be right. Speaking of protection, I found dealing directly with Morrell an interesting experience. It made me realize what you used to go through for RI on a routine basis whenever we sent you out to tackle someone like him."
    "That's why I let you do it," Jacob said. "I figured you might as well get used to handling the dirty work yourself because I'm not going to be available to handle it for you in the future."
    Catherine eyed him sharply, but her tone was deceptively polite as she asked sharply, "You're not planning to ask for your old job back now that you're married to Emily?"
    "Marrying Emily doesn't change my personal plans. One of the reasons I resigned in the first place was because I didn't want to be in the position of marrying the boss's sister." He raised his glass in a half-mocking salute to Drake. "Or the daughter of the other two members of the board." He nodded at Gifford and Catherine.
    "You mean you knew when you came back to the States two months ago that you were going to marry Emily?" Catherine looked shocked.
    "I knew I was going to do every thing in my power to marry her," Jacob said calmly.
    Drake smiled slightly but said nothing. He looked as if he'd just had a private suspicion confirmed. Gifford shifted in his chair, narrowed his eyes and took a long swallow of his drink.
    "I see," Catherine said tightly. "Just what are you going to be doing in the future, then, Jacob?"
    Jacob glanced at Emily, his eyes unexpectedly warm. "I'm not sure yet, but I have a hunch Emily and I will be moving soon."
    Emily nearly choked on her wine. She opened her mouth to ask him what he meant by that, but before she could get the question out, her mother already had.
    "Moving where?" Catherine demanded.
    "Arizona, I think," Jacob said musingly. "But it's not certain yet. I can open my consulting firm almost anywhere, but we'll need to find a place where Emily can start a new flower shop."
    Gifford Ravenscroft glared at Jacob. "Why is it necessary to move?"
    Jacob grinned. "It isn't absolutely necessary but it occurred to me that a little distance might be beneficial."
    Drake chuckled. "You mean a little distance between us and you and Emily?"
    "I knew you'd understand," Jacob said politely.
    Catherine started to protest. Gifford watched Jacob like a hawk, and Emily decided this might be a very good time to keep her mouth shut. Jacob had said he would handle this little scene, and he certainly seemed intent on doing it his way.
    It was Gifford who made the decisive move. He took command of the situation by simply clearing his throat. Everyone turned to look at him.
    "So you're going to go through with this consulting business idea, Jacob?"
    "It's either that or accept Emily's offer of employment. She's told me she would hire me full-time to deliver flowers. Actually, it's not a bad offer. The work is interesting, you meet some nice people and the tips are good."
    Drake growled his laughter and immediately tried to muffle his amusement with a swallow from his glass of whiskey. His eyes met Emily's over the rim of his glass, and she knew exactly what he was thinking. The image of Jacob delivering flowers was more than a little outrageous.
    "The funny thing is," she said softly, "he's really very good at it."
    "Is that right?" Drake gave Jacob a speculative glance.
    Gifford glared at his new son-in-law. "Forget the jokes about delivering flowers. You'll need a stake to get started in the consulting business."
    "Will I?" Jacob asked politely.
    Emily's complacency faded abruptly. She sensed danger. She had lived with this family too long not to recognize the signs.
    "If you want to be competitive right from the start, you'll need at least a hundred thousand just for first-year expenses. Possibly a hundred and fifty. Office space, staff, traveling expenses—they all add up in a hurry. Getting through the first year is the easy part. The second year is the toughest. You'll probably need an additional source of funds to survive the second eighteen months in business. After that, if you're lucky, you might be running in the black. That's assuming everything clicks, and that you find enough clients to keep you afloat."
    "I've learned a lot watching how Ravenscroft International works," Jacob said calmly.
    "We paid you well, but I doubt we paid you enough to enable you to start up a major consulting firm from scratch,"