Sweet Fortune

beside her, moving with surprising speed for a man who claimed to be exhausted. He deftly removed the pot from her fingers. “Why didn't you use hot pads?” He set the empty pan on the stove.
    “I was in a hurry.” Jessie held her fingers under a stream of cold water. “I got a little careless, that's all.” Because you have a way of turning me into a nervous wreck , she fumed silently.
    “You sound as if you're blaming me. It's not my fault you forgot the pads. You ought to stop and think before you pick up a hot pan, Jessie.”
    She lifted her eyes heavenward. “Lord help us, he's an authority on kitchen management too. Is there no end to this man's talents? Tell me about following the money, Hatch.”
    “After dinner. I'm tired and I want some food before you start grilling me.”
    “You're just stalling,” she accused as she turned off the tap and started ladling out the small salad she had made earlier.
    “Right, I'm stalling.” Hatch sat down at the counter again and picked up his wine. “What's that stuff?”
    “Pesto sauce. I made it myself.”
    “I'm in luck. You can cook.”
    “Look, Hatch…”
    “After dinner, okay?” He smiled his faint, unreadable smile. “I give you my word I'll tell you what I can after I've had a chance to relax.”
    She frowned. “Promise?”
    “Word of honor.”
    Jessie decided she would have to be satisfied with that much. She went to the cupboard to pull down two octagonal black china plates. “All right,” she continued, determined to be conciliatory now that she was going to get what she wanted. “Just how bad was your day at the office?”
    Hatch narrowed his gaze in surprise. “Bad enough. We've got trouble on a construction project down in Portland. Your father and I spent the afternoon getting briefed by the engineers and the on-site manager. On top of that, your father has decided that we have to bid on a job in Spokane simply because a company called Yorland and Young is also bidding on it. I've told him the job is too small for us and not worth the effort of undercutting Y and Y's bid.”
    “Dad sees Yorland and Young as a competitor.”
    “Yeah, well, it's not. Not any longer, at any rate. We're starting to play in a different ballpark. Vincent shouldn't be fooling around with a small contract bid like that one anyway. Your father's problem is that he gets too involved in the details and doesn't pay enough attention to the big picture. That's the main reason Benedict Fasteners is still small.”
    “I know.” Jessie shrugged. “Dad built that company from the ground up. He can't stand letting go of all the details.”
    “He's going to have to get used to the idea. No point hiring other people to handle things if you don't let them do their jobs.” Hatch rubbed the back of his neck as he surveyed the plate being set in front of him.
    Jessie sat down across from him and forked up a large ravioli. “Dad's old-fashioned when it comes to management techniques. Just like he is about wanting to keep the firm in the family.”
    “You don't think the company should stay in the family?”
    “I don't mind the idea. I just wish he wasn't leaving it to me. I wish he'd give equal chunks of it to my cousin, David, Elizabeth, and me when he retires. But Dad won't even listen to that idea.”
    Hatch narrowed his eyes. “You've tried to get him to divide up Benedict Fasteners among the three of you?”
    “Oh, sure. Lots of times. A lost cause. He thinks it would lead to the ultimate destruction of the company.”
    “He could be right,” Hatch said slowly. “None of you three has the foggiest idea of how to handle the firm, which means that, inevitably, you'd have to hire someone from outside, someone who would then get his fingers into the pie. And that could spell the beginning of the end.”
    “I agree that none of the three of us knows how to run Benedict,” Jessie snapped. “So why leave it to me?”
    “Because you'll do what's best for the company and the family, won't you?” Hatch murmured. “And you won't have to hire an outsider. You'll have me to run it for you.”
    “You don't want to just run it, though, do you, Hatch? You want to own a chunk of it.”
    “You're right. But in turn, I'm willing to let you adopt me into the clan.”
    “Adopt you?” Jessie put down her fork with a clatter. “ Adopt you ?”
    “Figure of speech.” Hatch took another sip of wine. His long, elegant fingers slid along the tapering stem of the glass