Perfect Partners

steep. If you ask me, Dr. Humphries has a nice racket going. I could have shown you how to do that for fifty.”
    Stephanie stared, tight-lipped, at the street ahead. “You don’t understand.”
    “There are a lot of things lately that I don’t seem to understand.”
    Life was definitely simpler back in Indiana, Letty thought.

    Joel leaned on Morgan Thornquist’s doorbell until Morgan finally responded. He took his thumb off the bell when the door opened.
    “Is Letty here?”
    Morgan removed his reading glasses and studied his uninvited guest. “She’s out with Stephanie. They’re attending a class on infant nutrition. They should be back in a few minutes. Want to come in and wait?”
    “Damn right. If I don’t, she’ll probably try to sneak past me again. Slippery as an eel.”
    Morgan raised his bushy brows as he led the way into the living room. “My daughter?”
    “Yeah. She knew damn well I wanted to talk to her this afternoon, but she ducked out of the office.” Joel dropped into an easy chair near the hearth and held his hands out to the pleasant blaze. “She tell you that dipshit ex-fiancé of hers is in town?”
    “Drawn by the lure of Thornquist Gear, or so my wife believes.”
    Morgan settled himself into the chair across from Joel’s. He set aside a book he had apparently been reading. Joel glanced automatically at the title:
Applications of Medieval Logic to Computer Analysis
by Morgan Thornquist.
    “Did you write that?” Joel asked, momentarily sidetracked.
    “Yes. This is one of the first copies off the press. It just arrived today. I am quite pleased with it.”
    “Are there really any applications of Medieval logic to modern computer analysis?”
    “Yes, as a matter of fact, there are. Medieval logicians developed some very impressive and sophisticated approaches to analysis.”
    “No kidding?”
    “Tell me what happened with Dixon today.”
    Joel drummed his fingers in a grim tattoo on the arm of the chair. “Dixon took over Letty’s office while we were out of town. The bastard started giving me orders the minute I walked in the door. I nearly threw him out the window. But Letty practically begged me not to make a scene. Tells me we’ll discuss it later, right? So I left like a good little CEO , and what does she do? She sneaks out on me. I’ve been looking for her for two hours.”
    “I believe Letty is a bit upset by recent events. She said she wasn’t accustomed to dealing with brawling males.”
    Joel scowled. “She deals just fine with brawling males. Believe me, I’ve had firsthand experience.”
    “Have you, indeed?”
    “She’s no shrinking violet; she can handle that kind of thing. The problem here is Dixon. He’s back, and he’s trying to sweep her off her feet. He wants my company, goddamn it. Thinks he can just step in and run Thornquist according to all those stuffy business-school methods he teaches at Vellacott College.”
    Morgan laced his fingers across his stomach and studied Joel over the rims of his reading glasses. “I wouldn’t be surprised. Professor Dixon has always been somewhat ambitious. He’s been searching for some time for the ideal laboratory in which to test his management theories.”
    “Thornquist Gear is not a damned laboratory.” Joel scowled. “Although I might be able to dig up some rusty vivisection equipment if he keeps pushing me.”
    “He no doubt sees Thornquist as a perfect opportunity to apply his precepts in a way that will generate a considerable income for him.”
    “Well, he’s not going to get away with it,” Joel muttered. “The only way he can get his hands on Thornquist Gear is by marrying Letty. And I’m not going to let him do it.”
    “I see. Does Letty know that?”
    “She should by now.” The restlessness that had been gnawing at him all evening was too much. He could not sit still.
    Joel got to his feet and paced over to the window. The lights of the city gleamed through the gentle rain. Another spectacular view, he thought. And another beautiful home. The Thornquists were doing all right for themselves.
    He glanced at his watch and wondered how soon Letty would walk through the front door. He could not wait to get his hands on her. She had a lot of explaining to do, and he intended to make sure she did it.
    Then he would take her to bed and do some explaining of his own. Dixon could go rot somewhere.
    “You seem excessively agitated over my daughter’s supposed vulnerability to Philip