eyes when he looked at Todd.
She nudged the bowl of chips and salsa toward Dixon. "I just dropped in to say
hi to Todd. He tells me that everything's going well with the campaign."
"Nothing can stop her now." Dixon gulped more coffee. "The money is starting to
really roll in. Everyone wants to back a winner."
"That doesn't surprise me."
"Patricia Stryker is our only real competition, and in a month she'll be a distant
second. By the way, Olivia, I've got a couple of things to discuss with you concerning
the fund-raiser. I want to get a better idea of how the lighted flag concept will
work."
"It's going to be fabulous," Olivia assured him.
In the other room, Eleanor dismissed her volunteers and started toward the
small office. Dixon reached for the coffeepot.
"She'll want another cup," he said.
His proprietary air was not lost on Todd. Olivia saw her brother's jaw tighten,
but he said nothing.
She glanced back at Eleanor, who had paused to speak to one lingering
campaign worker. The young volunteer's eyes glowed with excitement.
"People can't help responding to her," Todd said softy. "Eleanor represents the
future, not only of this state but of the country. They're going to be talking about
her as a candidate for the oval office in a couple of years."
Olivia thought that he watched Eleanor with an expression that was closer to
heroine worship than love. But what did she know? she asked herself silently. She
had never been very good at love.
Eleanor eventually made her way into the small office. It was Dixon who pulled
out her chair.
"Hello, Olivia. Nice to see you again."
Olivia smiled. "Hello, Eleanor." Wow . She was on a first-name basis with the
woman who would very likely be the next governor of the state, she thought. A
first-name basis with the woman who might well become president, "I was just
about to leave. I know you folks are busy. I only stopped by to talk to Todd for a few
minutes."
Eleanor smiled her easy, charming smile as she took her seat. "Todd tells me your
new business partner finally arrived in town this afternoon. I understand he's very
big-time and low-profile. That's usually a dangerous combination. What's the
verdict?"
Olivia mentally crossed her fingers behind her back. "No sweat I can handle
him."
7
« ^ »
"What the hell do you think you're doing, Jasper Sloan?" Olivia slammed the
door of Glow's executive suite and whirled to face him. "How dare you fire Melwood
Gill? He's run the Glow accounting department for longer than I can remember."
Slowly, deliberately, Jasper put down the marketing report he had been
examining. He set it aside. It was the only document on his otherwise pristine desk.
It had been three days since he had met Olivia at the Light Fantastic studio.
Nothing had changed, he decided. If anything, the impact she made on his
long-dormant libido this time around was stronger than it had been the last time.
Maybe it was the temper, he thought, trying to be analytical. It did things to her
hazel-green eyes, made them even more vivid. It affected her cheeks, too. They were
flushed. She glowed brighter than the new generation of experimental
electroluminescent devices he had examined that morning in the new R&D lab.
The overhead lights danced on the red in her auburn hair. She wore another pair
of flowing menswear trousers, gleaming oxfords with chunky stacked heels, and a
rakish pinstripe jacket. She looked as though she had just stepped out of a 1930s
gangster film. Fortunately he could tell from the fit of her jacket that she was not
wearing a concealed shoulder holster.
Energy crackled in the air. He wondered again if Olivia was oblivious, or if she
was just very good at concealing her reactions.
"I did not fire Gill," Jasper said. "I transferred him to a different position within
the department."
"But he's always been the head of accounting and the chief financial officer.
Transferring him to a lower-level position is the
She nudged the bowl of chips and salsa toward Dixon. "I just dropped in to say
hi to Todd. He tells me that everything's going well with the campaign."
"Nothing can stop her now." Dixon gulped more coffee. "The money is starting to
really roll in. Everyone wants to back a winner."
"That doesn't surprise me."
"Patricia Stryker is our only real competition, and in a month she'll be a distant
second. By the way, Olivia, I've got a couple of things to discuss with you concerning
the fund-raiser. I want to get a better idea of how the lighted flag concept will
work."
"It's going to be fabulous," Olivia assured him.
In the other room, Eleanor dismissed her volunteers and started toward the
small office. Dixon reached for the coffeepot.
"She'll want another cup," he said.
His proprietary air was not lost on Todd. Olivia saw her brother's jaw tighten,
but he said nothing.
She glanced back at Eleanor, who had paused to speak to one lingering
campaign worker. The young volunteer's eyes glowed with excitement.
"People can't help responding to her," Todd said softy. "Eleanor represents the
future, not only of this state but of the country. They're going to be talking about
her as a candidate for the oval office in a couple of years."
Olivia thought that he watched Eleanor with an expression that was closer to
heroine worship than love. But what did she know? she asked herself silently. She
had never been very good at love.
Eleanor eventually made her way into the small office. It was Dixon who pulled
out her chair.
"Hello, Olivia. Nice to see you again."
Olivia smiled. "Hello, Eleanor." Wow . She was on a first-name basis with the
woman who would very likely be the next governor of the state, she thought. A
first-name basis with the woman who might well become president, "I was just
about to leave. I know you folks are busy. I only stopped by to talk to Todd for a few
minutes."
Eleanor smiled her easy, charming smile as she took her seat. "Todd tells me your
new business partner finally arrived in town this afternoon. I understand he's very
big-time and low-profile. That's usually a dangerous combination. What's the
verdict?"
Olivia mentally crossed her fingers behind her back. "No sweat I can handle
him."
7
« ^ »
"What the hell do you think you're doing, Jasper Sloan?" Olivia slammed the
door of Glow's executive suite and whirled to face him. "How dare you fire Melwood
Gill? He's run the Glow accounting department for longer than I can remember."
Slowly, deliberately, Jasper put down the marketing report he had been
examining. He set it aside. It was the only document on his otherwise pristine desk.
It had been three days since he had met Olivia at the Light Fantastic studio.
Nothing had changed, he decided. If anything, the impact she made on his
long-dormant libido this time around was stronger than it had been the last time.
Maybe it was the temper, he thought, trying to be analytical. It did things to her
hazel-green eyes, made them even more vivid. It affected her cheeks, too. They were
flushed. She glowed brighter than the new generation of experimental
electroluminescent devices he had examined that morning in the new R&D lab.
The overhead lights danced on the red in her auburn hair. She wore another pair
of flowing menswear trousers, gleaming oxfords with chunky stacked heels, and a
rakish pinstripe jacket. She looked as though she had just stepped out of a 1930s
gangster film. Fortunately he could tell from the fit of her jacket that she was not
wearing a concealed shoulder holster.
Energy crackled in the air. He wondered again if Olivia was oblivious, or if she
was just very good at concealing her reactions.
"I did not fire Gill," Jasper said. "I transferred him to a different position within
the department."
"But he's always been the head of accounting and the chief financial officer.
Transferring him to a lower-level position is the
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