Hidden Talents

business ideas off the ground, don't you?”
    “I thought I did.” Serenity narrowed her eyes. “Now, I'm not so sure.”
    “Believe me,” Caleb said, “you need me. Left to your own devices, you're going to lose every dime you sink into Witt's End by Mail.”
    Enough was enough. “I'm not stupid. Inexperienced, maybe, but definitely not stupid.”
    Caleb looked at her, mildly amazed. “I agree. But you do lack experience in the mail order business. You've got a lot to learn, lady.”
    “And you're going to teach me?”
    “Looks like it.”
    “Whether or not I want to take the course, is that it?”
    Caleb stretched his legs out in front of him, leaned back in his chair and regarded her from beneath half-lowered lids. “Like I said a few minutes ago, I've got a reputation for maintaining certain standards. I don't intend to let you ruin my track record.”
    A flicker of deep uncertainty went through Serenity. She suddenly had a strong hunch that Caleb was not telling her the truth about his motives. But she could not imagine any other explanation for his presence here in Witt's End.
    “Something's missing in this equation,” she finally said. “It occurs to me that I'm ignoring the financial aspect.”
    “What financial aspect?”
    “Maybe you're willing to overlook my notorious past in favor of the future profits you expect to make as a silent partner in Witt's End by Mail. Is that it?”
    Caleb's mouth tightened. “What do you think?”
    “I think that with motives like that, you've got a lot of nerve looking down on me simply because I once posed nude. Definitely a case of the pot calling the kettle black.”
    “You're welcome to think what you like about my motives,” Caleb said in a voice that dripped shards of ice. “But for your information, the profits I expect to make off your mail order business aren't going to amount to enough to make my accountants even blink.”
    “Hah. I'll bet some sneaky start-up consultant once said that to L.L. Bean.”
    “Why don't we just agree to disagree on that point,” Caleb suggested. “Let's try coming at this relationship from a fresh angle.”
    “We don't have a relationship,” Serenity said quickly.
    “No?”
    “No.” Serenity flushed at the memory of the kiss in Caleb's office. She knew by the look in his eyes that he was recalling it, too. “I'll admit that at one point I thought we might be able to have one, but I realize now that I was mistaken. You and I, well, we aren't—”
    “You misunderstood me,” Caleb said smoothly. “I wasn't talking about a personal relationship. I was referring to our business relationship.”
    “Oh.” Serenity's cheeks burned.
    “I suggest you stop thinking about this arrangement in personal terms and start thinking in business terms.”
    “Is this lesson one?”
    “It is.”
    He was lying, Serenity realized. She sensed that for all his talk about keeping matters on a businesslike basis, Caleb was here for some very personal reasons. Perhaps his reputation really was that important to him, although it was hard for her to understand how losing one small client in Witt's End, Washington, could harm him professionally.
    On the other hand, she thought, Caleb was imbued with a glacial pride. He was the kind of man for whom standards and a reputation were no doubt extremely personal things. He probably didn't give a damn about what others might think, but she sensed that he cared passionately about not violating his own code.
    “Let me see if I've got this right,” Serenity said. “The bottom line here is that you're willing to put serious pressure on me to accept you as my consultant just so that you can tell yourself that you haven't lowered your professional standards. Is that it?”
    Caleb hesitated. “Let's just say that's a practical way of looking at the situation.”
    Serenity shrugged. “Okay, you win. Go out and build me a mail order empire.”
    Caleb didn't move from the chair. “It won't be easy, you know.”
    “Nonsense. For a man of your abilities, I'm sure it will be a piece of cake. You'll probably have everything up and running by next Tuesday. Call me when you've finished.”
    “It's a cooperative venture, Serenity.”
    “You'll have to excuse me, I'm not feeling terribly cooperative at the moment. And I've got a lot of other things on my mind. It isn't every day that I stumble across a neighbor's dead body.”
    “A neighbor who took pictures that were later used to blackmail