Free Perfect Partners by Jayne Ann Krentz Page B

curves of the lower portion of the female anatomy aesthetically appealing. Letty, he saw, was designed very lushly indeed in that area.
    For a few seconds he almost forgot how annoyed he was with his new boss. He reached down to grasp her arm and assist her to her feet. “You okay?”
    “Yes, of course. Thanks, Joel. I mean, Mr. Blackstone.”
    “There's no one around to hear if you slip up and call me by my first name.”
    “Mustn't get into the habit while we're in the office.” Letty pushed her glasses more firmly onto her nose. She yanked at her skirt and shoved the hem of the blouse back inside the waistband. “That manual is a disaster. Totally incomprehensible to the novice.”
    “This is the simplest tent in the entire line.”
    “There is nothing simple about pitching that tent. I can't even imagine trying to do it in a high wind or a driving rain. It would be a totally frustrating experience.”
    Joel took a grip on his own frustration and on his temper. “Why don't we go back to your office and I'll explain the instructions to you?”
    “Don't you understand? This new line of camping gear is supposed to be designed for beginners, right?”
    “Right.”
    “I'm a beginner and I'm intelligent and I'm highly motivated. Yet I could not get it up on my own. That says it all.”
    “It does?” He quirked a brow.
    “Certainly. That stupid manual needs to be rewritten. Either that, or the basic design of the tent is bad.”
    Joel sucked in his breath. “Letty, we've taken delivery on the first shipment of five hundred of those damn tents. They're in the warehouse. They'll be on the sales floor in another two months when we start the new ad campaign. There is nothing wrong with the design of that product .”
    She frowned and took a step back. “There is no need to raise your voice.”
    “I am not raising my voice.”
    She gave him a placating smile, which only annoyed Joel further. “Tell you what. Let's go to my office and go over the manual together. I'll show you where I had problems. If the tent design is all right, then the difficulty must lie in the way the instructions are written.”
    “Christ,” Joel muttered under his breath. He forced himself to calm down. This was a juggling act, he reminded himself. He had to keep all the firecrackers in the air while he maintained his balance on the tightrope. The last thing he could afford to do was lose his self-control.
    “Joel? I mean, Mr. Blackstone?” Letty's sea green eyes were widening with concern. “Is something wrong?”
    “No. Nothing is wrong. Let's go back to your office and discuss the manual.”
    “It's loose-leaf,” she said brightly. “It wouldn't be all that difficult to fix. We only have to correct the pages that are badly written and reprint them.”
    “Thank you. I'll keep that in mind.” He took her arm and started toward the door.
    “Wait. My shoes. And my jacket.” Letty tugged free of Joel's grip and darted across the room to grab her jacket and slide her feet into her shoes. She picked up her clipboard and started toward him again with another cheery smile. “Okay. I'm ready.”
    Joel took hold of her again and steered her through the door and down the hall. “You know, Letty, this manual was written by experts.”
    “That was probably the problem. But don't worry, Joel. This is an area where I can really be of assistance. I used to be a librarian, remember?”
    “Only too well. I think about your real career quite a lot.”
    “My former career,” she corrected neatly. “At any rate, one of the things I'm very good at is locating, analyzing, and summarizing information. I think I'll call in one of the tent designers and…Oh, are we going to take the stairs?”
    “Yes.”
    “Fine. Well, as I was saying, I'm going to call in one of the tent designers and have him tell me exactly what he was going for in this particular model.”
    “I can tell you exactly what the designers were going for in this particular