Perfect Partners

matter.”
    Joel planted his hands on his desk and leaned forward. “Dixon, I am not in a good mood. The last thing I want to do right now is listen to you pontificate about my business. Get the hell out of here. Now.”
    Something in Joel’s icy tone must have finally penetrated Philip’s pompous arrogance. He drew himself up with an affronted expression. “Well, if you feel that way about it, I’ll come back later.”
    “Don’t bother.”
    Philip did not deign to respond to that. He took himself off and politely closed the door behind him. Joel stood at his desk, breathing slowly and deeply for a couple of minutes before he sat down.
    It was done
. After all these years, it was finally done.
    Joel still could not identify what he was feeling. There should have been a sense of release. A sensation of triumph. Something powerful.
    But all he seemed to be able to think about now was the more practical matter of the safety of the Copeland Marine yard. Victor Copeland had looked dangerous.
    Mrs. Sedgewick buzzed the intercom. “Mr. Escott on line two.”
    Joel grabbed the phone. “Escott?”
    “What’s up? Something wrong?”
    “Copeland was just here. I gave him the news.”
    “How did he take it?” Keith asked tensely.
    “He’s mad as hell, and he’s looking for trouble.”
    “That figures. Any idea what he might do?”
    “My chief concern is that he’ll decide if he can’t have Copeland Marine, nobody else can have it, either,” Joel said. He stared unseeingly out the window, trying to think of all the possibilities and how to cover them.
    “You think he might try to torch the yard or something?” Keith asked.
    “I don’t know. I don’t think so, because in his mind, Copeland Marine is his and it will always be his. He would be destroying his own creation. But I’ve seen Copeland like this once before. He’s unpredictable until he calms down.”
    “I know what you mean. I’ve seen him in a rage once or twice. He went after one of his employees once. Took three of us to pull him off. It takes him a while to come out of it.”
    “I know. All right, Escott, as of right now you are one hundred percent responsible for the Copeland Marine facilities.”
    “I understand,” Keith said coolly. “Guess I’d better get my ass down to Echo Cove and make sure Copeland doesn’t take the place apart.”
    “Yeah, you’d better do that.” Joel rubbed the back of his neck, thinking quickly. “And I think you’d better organize a twenty-four-hour security guard on the yard for a while. No point in taking any chances.”
    There was a pause on the other end of the line. “I’ll take care of it.”
    “I’ll have my secretary give you the name of a security agency here in Seattle. I used them a couple of times when I was having some loading-dock theft problems. Contact them immediately and get as many men as you’ll need to guard the Copeland yard.”
    “Got it. Listen, Blackstone…”
    “Yeah?”
    “I’m leaving Diana here at the hotel,” Keith said quietly. “Her father doesn’t know where she is. I didn’t tell anyone where we’re staying. I don’t want her anywhere near Echo Cove until things have cooled down. And I don’t want her to know all the details of what’s going on right now. She’ll panic.”
    “She’s your wife, Escott. Tell her whatever you want to tell her. Just make sure Copeland doesn’t torch that yard.”
    “I’m on my way.” Beneath the cool, efficient tone, Keith’s voice was filled with exultant determination. “Hey, Blackstone?”
    “Yeah?”
    “Thanks. You won’t regret this.”
    “Make sure I don’t.”
    Joel hung up the phone, aware that in Keith’s mind Copeland Marine already belonged to him.
    Joel drummed his fingers rapidly on the desk. Things could get nasty, as he had warned Letty last night. But he had known that was a possibility from the beginning. Victor Copeland was not going to surrender control of Copeland Marine and all that went with it very easily.
    Joel had taken that reality into account when he was planning to liquidate the firm. But he had always assumed that if Copeland lost control and went for someone’s throat, it would be his.
    Now there were other forces involved. Maybe too many other forces. Too many other people.
    Joel’s restlessness grew. He usually felt this way only in the middle of the night when he was unable to sleep.
    He thought about changing into his sweats and going for a run along the waterfront.