Sweet Fortune

taking Valentine Consultations. Said she would give me nice references. Oh, my God, this is so funny. You and me both fired on the same day. I can't believe it.”
    “Somehow I hadn't seen it in a funny light.”
    Jessie blinked away the moisture the laughter had brought to her eyes and gulped in air. “No, of course not. You poor thing. I'll bet you've never been through this before, have you?”
    “There was one other time,” he reminded her deliberately.
    She nodded, reaching out to yank him through the door. “That's right. I'd almost forgotten. Back when you were married to Olivia and your company got taken over.” She closed the door behind him and threw the dead bolt. “Still, that was years ago. You haven't had my vast experience with the situation. Come on in and I'll show you how it's done.”
    Hatch felt as if he had just fallen down the rabbit hole. Nothing seemed to be going according to the script. “How what's done?”
    “How you celebrate getting fired, of course. Since you've had such limited experience, I'll guide you through it. First, you sit down.” She pushed him onto a stool in front of the counter.
    “What happens next?”
    “Why, next you open a bottle of champagne, of course. As soon as I left the office this morning, I bought one. I stuck it in the refrigerator hours ago.” She opened the refrigerator door and grabbed the bottle sitting on the top shelf. “This is the real thing, you know. From France, not California. I splurged. I always do when I get fired.”
    “I see.”
    “Personally,” she said as she peeled back the wire that held the cork in place, “I vote for Oregon. I've been to Arizona, though, and it's very nice. We can go there if you think we should. But it would be easier for Elizabeth to visit if we went to Oregon. On the other hand, I guess we really can't be too picky, can we? I mean, both of us being unemployed and all.”
    The cork came out of the bottle with a bang, striking the ceiling. Champagne started to billow forth, threatening to cascade all over the kitchen floor.
    Hatch reached out, took the bottle from Jessie's hands, and quickly poured the sparkling liquid into the glasses.
    Then he grabbed Jessie and pulled her into his arms. She went into them willingly, laughter and love gleaming in her eyes.

CHAPTER EIGHTEEN

    D oes this mean,” Hatch asked carefully a few minutes later as he slowly released her, “that you still view us as being engaged?”
    Jessie picked up her champagne glass and shot him a startled glance over the rim. “Are you trying to wriggle out of the engagement?”
    “Hell, no.”
    “Aunt Glenna said you might.”
    “Might what?”
    “Might lose interest in me if I didn't bring Benedict Fasteners along as my dowry.”
    Hatch was annoyed. “What a coincidence. I was wondering if you'd lose interest in me if marrying me meant losing Benedict Fasteners. Your father says he's going to cut you off without a cent, by the way. I don't think I mentioned that, did I?”
    “That's Dad for you. He's so engrossed with the bottom line that he just naturally assumes it's everyone else's first consideration too. How did it happen, Hatch?”
    “Me getting myself fired? I gambled. Tried to bluff an old poker player, and he called. I should have known better.” He thought about that. “Hell, I did know better. I realized there was a risk. But I had to take it.”
    “Why?”
    “I wanted to cut a few more of the knots that keep you tap-dancing between your father and the rest of the family. I thought that if I could arrange for Elizabeth and David to each get a quarter of the company, you'd be out of the loop permanently.”
    “Out of the loop?”
    “That was Plan A. Split up the company among the logical heirs and let me buy a quarter of it. That would put everyone on a more or less equal footing. No one would be dependent on you to make certain they got their fair share of the inheritance. The moms would stop pressuring you, and maybe a chunk of the company for David would appease Glenna. You would no longer feel like you had to hold the whole thing together all by yourself.”
    Jessie's mouth fell open in amazement. “You tried to make Dad give us all an equal portion of Benedict Fasteners?”
    “Yeah. Like I said, that was Plan A. Seemed like a good idea at the time.”
    “Dad has never been willing to even listen to that idea. I told you that. Lord knows I tried it out on him a few times in the past. He's been absolutely