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she
    could handle.
    Which was why it was imperative that the problem of Jasper Sloan stay under
    the heading of business.
    It would be a working dinner, she thought Just keep repeating that over and
    over. A working dinner.
    She came to a halt in front of the elevators and stabbed the button.
    "Hi, Olivia," a cheerful voice called. "How's it hanging?"
    "Hey, Olivia," another voice said a little too loudly. "Come to save Glow from the
    big bad wolf?"
    Olivia stifled a groan. She turned her head to see her cousins Quincy and Percy
    ambling toward her down the hall. The twins were attired in their usual jeans,
    short-sleeved, nerd-pack-equipped sport shirts, and running shoes. They both wore
    thick-framed glasses. As usual, they had soft drinks and candy bars in their hands.
    The geek look, they frequently assured her, was trendy.
    "Hi, guys." She glanced at the soda and snacks. "Break time?"
    "You got it." Quincy glanced past her down the hall toward the executive suite.
    His brows bounced above the frames of his glasses. "So, are the rumors true? Is
    Sloan really going to fire good old Melwood?"
    "No," Olivia said.
    Percy cast a quick look around and then leaned in close. "What's all this stuff
    about a merger?"
    "Nothing to it." Olivia stabbed futilely at the stubborn elevator button. "Wish I
    could hang around and chat, but I'm really busy today."
    "Yeah, sure." Quincy stuffed half a candy bar into his mouth. "Me and Percy have
    to get back to the lab. Sloan's putting the pressure on. He wants all kinds of task
    updates ready by five o'clock."
    "Guy doesn't cut any slack," Percy said cheerfully. "You oughta see what's on the
    schedule for tomorrow's staff meeting. He wants all of us there, not just the
    managers."
    "Word is, he's going to push the new electroluminescent development project
    hard."
    Olivia took a close look at Percy and Quincy. Neither appeared offended or
    anxious by the shakeup in the tech labs where they worked. If anything, they
    seemed to be excited. There was an energetic enthusiasm about them that she had
    not noticed when Rollie had been in charge.
    "That's great," she said. She punched the elevator button a few more times.
    Percy started past her. "Hey, you hear about cousin Nina and Sean Dane?"
    Olivia tried not to stiffen. "Yes."
    "Somethin' else, huh?" Quincy took a huge bite out of his candy bar. "Who'd have
    guessed that she and Sean would get together? Mom says she thinks they're going to
    get engaged soon."
    "That's nice," Olivia said blandly.
    "See ya."
    "Ciao, cuz."
    Mercifully, Percy and Quincy moved off down the hall.
    The elevator doors finally opened a moment later. A short, bald little man with a
    pinched face stepped out. He was dressed in a neutral suit that blended into the
    neutral wall and the neutral office carpet.
    "Mr. Gill." Olivia stepped back quickly. She always had the uneasy feeling that
    she might accidentally step on Melwood Gill. He was the kind of person you barely
    noticed unless he was right in front of you.
    "Ms. Chantry." Melwood moved hastily out of the way and gave her his shy,
    apologetic smile. "So sorry. I wasn't paying attention."
    "My fault, Mr. Gill." No one, so far as Olivia knew, not even Uncle Rollie, had
    ever called him Melwood to his face.
    "No, no, it was my fault." Melwood made an obvious effort to straighten his thin
    shoulders, but they slumped forward again almost at once. "My mind was
    elsewhere." He glanced down the corridor to the door of the executive suite and
    seemed to shrink in on himself. "I expect you've heard the news?"
    Instinctively, Olivia opened her mouth to tell him that she knew about his recent
    demotion and that she fully intended to defend him that very evening.
    But something made her hesitate. She thought about the printouts on Jasper's
    desk. What if there really was a problem in the accounting department? Jasper's
    words slammed through her head. It's essential that you and I present a united
    front …
    Maybe it would be