Perfect Partners

several times.
    Letty smiled at him. “You know, Arthur, I’ve been thinking,” she said. “I’m going to look into changing your title from executive secretary to executive assistant.”
    “Executive assistant.” Arthur looked stunned. Tears trickled down his cheeks. “Thank you, Ms. Thornquist. You won’t regret this, I swear it.”
    “It occurs to me,” Letty continued smoothly, “that your glasses would be more suitable to the new image. They gave you a certain sophisticated—one might even say, aggressively corporate—look.”
    “I’ll start wearing them right away,” Arthur said quickly. “I’ve been having a lot of trouble adjusting to contacts.”

14

    H e’s a very passionate man, Dad. Very emotional.” Letty lounged in the hearthside easy chair across from her father and gazed into the flames. She was waiting for Stephanie to emerge from the bedroom. They were scheduled to attend a class on infant development tonight.
    “I’m surprised to hear that.” Morgan frowned. “Blackstone struck me as the consummate business executive. Very cool and clear-headed.”
    “He is, when he’s not emotionally involved.”
    “I must admit I did question that aspect of his character last night when he showed up at the door looking for you. The odd thing is, he seems to think you’re the emotional one.”
    Letty shot her father a quick glance through half-lowered lashes. “He said that?”
    “Yes, he did. He’s concerned about your association with Dixon, you know. Thinks you’re in danger of being swept off your feet.”
    “Oh, that.” Letty switched her gaze back to the flames. “I know. He’s afraid I’ll turn Thornquist Gear over to Philip.”
    “I assured Joel that you would make the right decision regarding Dixon,” Morgan said calmly. “Speaking of the good professor, where is he these days? I half expected to get a call from him. After all, we were nodding acquaintances when I was at Vellacott.”
    Letty frowned. “I’ve been wondering about that myself. I fully expected him to waltz into my office sometime today and tell me that he’s got some brilliant new scheme to expand Thornquist Gear.”
    “Not like him to vanish like this after coming all this way to see you.”
    “Frankly, I hope he stays vanished.” Letty leaned her head back against the chair cushion. “I’ve got enough problems on my hands.”
    “You’ll handle them just fine, my dear.” Morgan sounded calmly certain of that. “Just keep all the elements of the situation in a clear and logical perspective. It might help if you make up a decision matrix before you draw any conclusions.”
    Letty arched her brows. “How do you propose I include the fact that I’m having an affair with Joel Blackstone in my decision matrix, Dad? How do I weight the importance of that? Shall I give it a factor of two or five?”
    Morgan frowned. “What’s this? You’re intimately involved with Blackstone?”
    “Yes.” Letty was curious to see how her father would react to the news.
    “I had not realized that.” Morgan fixed her with a serious expression. “Do you think that’s wise, Letty? There are several delicate financial matters at stake here.”
    Letty’s mouth curved wryly. “Tell me about them.”
    “Well,” said Morgan, obviously intent on doing just that, “there is, first and foremost, the question of the ownership of Thornquist Gear. Then there is the issue of the actual control of the company. Ownership and control are not necessarily the same thing, Letty. On top of that, there’s Dixon’s presence on the scene—”
    “Dad, stop. I didn’t really want a list of all my problems. I know what’s at stake.”
    Morgan nodded wisely. “Yes, of course. I should have realized you were well aware of the situation. Nevertheless, it’s been my observation that emotional involvement does not mix well with business matters. Especially when the business at stake is as large as Thornquist Gear.”
    “I agree with you, Dad. But I seem to be stuck in the situation.”
    “I refuse to believe that you cannot control your emotions better than that, Letty. I’ve trained you to think clearly and logically, regardless of your personal feelings.”
    Letty wrinkled her nose. “That gets boring, Dad.”
    “Letty, this is not a joking matter.”
    “I know,” Letty murmured. “I’m sorry. I guess I’m asking for advice.”
    “My advice is to do what I have trained you to do,” Morgan said firmly.