Perfect Partners

offices of Thornquist Gear, Joel reflected as he shoved the approval memo into his out-basket. Arthur Bigley was now one hundred percent loyal to her. The ad campaign was virtually under Letty’s guidance. The manuals for the new tents were being rewritten. Copeland Marine was not going to be liquidated.
    It was enough to make a man shiver in his boots. One of these days, if he was not extremely careful, Joel told himself ruefully, he was going to wake up and discover that Letty was actually running things around here.
    Half an hour later Mrs. Sedgewick’s voice droned on the intercom. “Ms. Thornquist to see you, sir.”
    Joel started to tell her to send Letty in, but before he could say anything, the door flew open and Letty burst into the room. Her eyes were very bright and she was laughing with delight. She waved a copy of the memo he had signed off on half an hour earlier.
    “Thank you, Mr. Blackstone. I knew you’d approve it. You did the right thing.” She hurriedly closed the door on Mrs. Sedgewick and then she dashed across the room.
    She leaned down and kissed Joel full on the mouth. “Do you know what I really like about you, Joel Blackstone?”
    “I’m good in bed?”
    “That’s beside the point.” Her eyes gleamed happily. “What I really like about you is that you listen to me. Even when you’re annoyed with me, you pay attention to what I have to say. I can’t wait to get started on this new campaign.”
    She whirled around and raced back out of the office, shirttail flying.
    Joel smiled to himself and went back to work.
    At eleven-thirty Mrs. Sedgewick’s voice on the intercom again interrupted his thoughts. “A Mr. Victor Copeland to see you, sir.”
    Adrenaline pumped into Joel’s veins. He had been expecting this. He had known that sooner or later Copeland would approach him directly and try to make a deal. It was the only option left for him.
    This was it. After fifteen years, Joel knew he was about to deliver the coup de grace.
    “Send him in, Mrs. Sedgewick.”
    Victor Copeland strode into the office, looking oddly out of his element. Back in Echo Cove, he was a tin god. Here in Seattle, he was just one more aging fat man in a business suit. The flesh of his short, massive neck rolled over the edge of his too-tight collar. His jowly face was heavily lined with suppressed anger and an element of desperation. His small eyes gleamed malevolently.
    “Looks like you’ve done all right for yourself, Blackstone.” Victor scanned the office furnishings as he lowered himself into a chair. “Never would have thought you could get this far.”
    “I know what you thought of me, Copeland,” Joel said. “but that’s ancient history, isn’t it? Why are you here today?”
    Copeland narrowed his eyes. “I’ll lay it on the line for you. I’ll admit I made a mistake fifteen years ago. Should have let you marry my girl. You’ve got guts. You could have handled Copeland Marine.”
    “It’s a little late to come to that conclusion, isn’t it?”
    “Don’t see why,” Victor said smoothly. “No reason we can’t all take up right where we left off fifteen years ago.”
    Joel eyed him, barely concealing his amazement. “What the hell is that supposed to mean?”
    “Just what it sounds like. I’m ready to make a deal, Blackstone. You back off on the takeover of Copeland Marine and I’ll let you have Diana.”
    “Jesus.” Joel could hardly believe what he was hearing. “You’ll let me have her?”
    “Sure, why not? You always did want her, ain’t that right? Couldn’t keep your goddamn hands off of her.”
    “That was a long time ago, Copeland. Things have changed. In case you’ve forgotten, Diana is married to someone else at the moment.”
    Copeland snorted. “Escott’s no problem. Diana can get a divorce. Fact is, I’ll be glad to get rid of Escott. He’s always hounding me, trying to get me to try something new, telling me we need to alter the contracts we’ve been usin’ for years and get new suppliers. Damn fool. I made a mistake when I picked him out for Diana. I’ll admit that.”
    “You’ve made a lot of mistakes over the years, haven’t you, Copeland?” Joel smiled grimly. “But the biggest one you made was firing Dad because of what I’d done.”
    Copeland flinched, and then his face began turning purple. “It was your fault, you son of a bitch. If you hadn’t touched my Diana, I never would have fired your pa.”
    All your fault
. Joel tried