Perfect Partners

across the room to the churning tent. He reached down, took hold of the lightweight fabric and several loose poles, and hauled it all upward.
    Glasses askew on her nose, topknot in complete disarray, Letty crawled out of the tent door on her hands and knees.
    Wispy tendrils of hair hung in her face. The skirt of her conservative gray business suit was more than normally rumpled. It was hiked up well above her knees and twisted back to front. Her peach silk blouse had been tugged free of the skirt’s waistband.
    Joel caught a tantalizing glimpse of bare skin at the base of her spine and was immediately intrigued. He noticed there was an elegant dip at the small of her back that promised a full, plump derriere.
    All indications were that Letty Thornquist had a very nice ass.
    Joel had just been surprised to discover that he could be aroused by the shape of Letty’s foot. But the interest he took in the design of her rear came as no surprise at all. He had always found the unique curves of the lower portion of the female anatomy aesthetically appealing. Letty, he saw, was designed very lushly indeed in that area.
    For a few seconds he almost forgot how annoyed he was with his new boss. He reached down to grasp her arm and assist her to her feet. “You okay?”
    “Yes, of course. Thanks, Joel. I mean, Mr. Blackstone.”
    “There’s no one around to hear if you slip up and call me by my first name.”
    “Mustn’t get into the habit while we’re in the office.” Letty pushed her glasses more firmly onto her nose. She yanked at her skirt and shoved the hem of the blouse back inside the waistband. “That manual is a disaster. Totally incomprehensible to the novice.”
    “This is the simplest tent in the entire line.”
    “There is nothing simple about pitching that tent. I can’t even imagine trying to do it in a high wind or a driving rain. It would be a totally frustrating experience.”
    Joel took a grip on his own frustration and on his temper. “Why don’t we go back to your office and I’ll explain the instructions to you?”
    “Don’t you understand? This new line of camping gear is supposed to be designed for beginners, right?”
    “Right.”
    “I’m a beginner and I’m intelligent and I’m highly motivated. Yet I could not get it up on my own. That says it all.”
    “It does?” He quirked a brow.
    “Certainly. That stupid manual needs to be rewritten. Either that, or the basic design of the tent is bad.”
    Joel sucked in his breath. “Letty, we’ve taken delivery on the first shipment of five hundred of those damn tents. They’re in the warehouse. They’ll be on the sales floor in another two months when we start the new ad campaign.
There is nothing wrong with the design of that product
.”
    She frowned and took a step back. “There is no need to raise your voice.”
    “I am not raising my voice.”
    She gave him a placating smile, which only annoyed Joel further. “Tell you what. Let’s go to my office and go over the manual together. I’ll show you where I had problems. If the tent design is all right, then the difficulty must lie in the way the instructions are written.”
    “Christ,” Joel muttered under his breath. He forced himself to calm down. This was a juggling act, he reminded himself. He had to keep all the firecrackers in the air while he maintained his balance on the tightrope. The last thing he could afford to do was lose his self-control.
    “Joel? I mean, Mr. Blackstone?” Letty’s sea green eyes were widening with concern. “Is something wrong?”
    “No. Nothing is wrong. Let’s go back to your office and discuss the manual.”
    “It’s loose-leaf,” she said brightly. “It wouldn’t be all that difficult to fix. We only have to correct the pages that are badly written and reprint them.”
    “Thank you. I’ll keep that in mind.” He took her arm and started toward the door.
    “Wait. My shoes. And my jacket.” Letty tugged free of Joel’s grip and darted across the room to grab her jacket and slide her feet into her shoes. She picked up her clipboard and started toward him again with another cheery smile. “Okay. I’m ready.”
    Joel took hold of her again and steered her through the door and down the hall. “You know, Letty, this manual was written by experts.”
    “That was probably the problem. But don’t worry, Joel. This is an area where I can really be of assistance. I used to be a librarian, remember?”
    “Only too well. I think