Sweet Fortune

of how to handle Jessie Benedict. She was, after all, a top priority at the moment. Almost as important as interest rates.
    Jessie shivered and knew that only part of the atavistic thrill that flashed down her spine was dread. The other part was pure feminine anticipation. She scowled, feeling like an idiot, and concentrated on her menu. George Galloway was an old-fashioned kind of man. Hatch had, therefore, selected one of the few restaurants downtown that still featured a wide variety of beef on the menu. Jessie preferred seafood.
    “Tell me, Jessie, dear,” Ethel Galloway said brightly, “how is your mother? I haven't seen Lilian in ages.”
    Jessie, searching through the short list of fish dishes at the end of the menu, looked up and smiled. Ethel was in her late fifties, a plump, pleasant-faced, grandmotherly woman. She was an excellent complement to her bluff, down-to-earth husband. Jessie had known them both for years.
    “Mom's fine,” Jessie said. “She and Connie are really excited about expanding their interior-design firm. Business is booming.”
    Ethel chuckled. “Oh, yes. The design business. What do they call their firm? ExCellent Designs or something like that, isn't it? In honor of the fact that they're both ex-wives of Vincent's?”
    Jessie grinned ruefully. “That's right. They always claim they found a lot more in common with each other than they ever found with my father. Dad agrees.”
    “And your half-sister?” Ethel continued. “Little Elizabeth. She's still doing well in school?”
    Jessie's smile widened enthusiastically. She felt a rush of pride, the way she always did when she talked about Elizabeth. “Definitely. She's determined to go into scientific research of some kind. She's just finished a fascinating project dealing with the chemical analysis of a toxic-waste dump for her school's science fair. Can you imagine? Toxic-waste chemistry and she's only twelve years old.”
    Ethel gave Hatch a meaningful glance. “Sounds more like the proud mother than a half-sister, doesn't she? You have to understand that Jessie has had a big hand in raising Elizabeth. Connie and Lilian have been very busy with their design business for the past few years and I do believe the child spends more time with Jessie than with her mother.”
    “I see.” Hatch studied Jessie with an unreadable expression. “I imagine Jessie would make a very good mother.”
    Jessie felt herself turn an embarrassing shade of red, but the Galloways didn't seem to find the remark off-base in the least.
    “Well, well, well,” George said, chuckling heartily as he gave Jessie a knowing look. “Sounds like things are getting serious here. Your father implied as much last time I talked to him. Are congratulations in order yet?”
    “No,” Jessie managed in a croaked voice as she picked up her wineglass. She took a sip and nearly choked as it went down the wrong way. Eyes watering from the strain of trying not to cough, she shot a quick glance at Hatch. He was smiling his remote, mysterious smile. He was fully aware of his impact on her. She longed to reach across the table and throttle him.
    “Jessie is feeling a little pressured these days,” Hatch explained gently to his guests. “It's no secret that everyone in the family is matchmaking.”
    “Oh, ho.” Ethel gave Hatch a droll look. “So that's the way of it, then, hmm?”
    Jessie wished she could count to three and vanish.
    “Pretty damn obvious why they'd all want you two to get together,” George observed cheerfully. “Your marriage would certainly simplify things, wouldn't it? Keep Benedict Fasteners in the family and at the same time give Vincent the man he needs to take over and move the company into the big time.”
    “George, really.” Ethel slanted her husband a chiding glance. “You're embarrassing poor Jessie.”
    “Nonsense.” George turned a paternal smile on Jessie. “Known her since she was a toddler, haven't I, Jessie?”
    “Yes,” Jessie agreed with a sigh.
    “And we know, of course, that Vincent intends to leave the company to her,” George concluded.
    “Unfortunately, I don't particularly want it,” Jessie muttered.
    “But you will take it,” Hatch observed quietly, “because if you don't, Vincent will either sell it when he retires or continue to run it until he drops dead at his desk. Either way, the family will lose the future potential of Benedict Fasteners, which is enormous. It could easily be worth five times