Free SEALed with a Ring by Mary Margret Daughtridge Page A

control of the busi ness on the grounds of incompetence would be expen sive and probably fail.
       She'd learned a long time ago not to fight what couldn't be changed. Far better to adapt and make cir cumstances work for you.
       By the time her parents' marriage had had its final eruption, she had already found more security than she'd ever had before in the dealership's active orderliness and purpose. She had somewhere to be other than on the battleground of her parents' marriage.
       At the car place, there was always noise in the repair bays—whines of power screwdrivers and percussive bangs from compressed-air power wrenches tighten ing lug nuts—but never discord. People came and went (hired, fired, and retired) and car models changed with the years, but the purpose, the need, and the work of the business stayed exactly the same.
       She couldn't remember the first time she'd come here. From her babyhood, the dealership had always been the background of her life. She starred in her first commercial at two. When she was thirteen, she had realized that Caruthers was hers—or would be one day. She had drawn the first unrestricted breath she'd known in years. And the business had moved into the foreground.
       She'd had a year to get to know each of the four men her grandfather had selected.
       The cardiac surgeon—that one had never gotten out of the parking lot. It was harder for him to find time to date than it was for her, and that was saying something.
       She and the scion of the agribusiness family had be come friends almost instantly and still were. But he had known exactly what he wanted in a wife—and it wasn't someone dedicated to a business of her own.
       The lawyer was a decent man, one who shared her commitment to service in the community. But he was captivated by her beauty and looking for true love. He would have married her in a heartbeat, and she would have broken his heart in no time. Even with the future of Caruthers at stake, she couldn't use him without regard for his welfare.
       That left Blount. She had always intended to marry some day. The last thing she needed was to get senti mental about marriage at this point. Blount would do very well. JJ scooped up a contract she wanted to study before Monday and tucked her purse under her arm. There was just time to check on the progress of the adop tion fair. Several times a year, JJ invited animal rescue groups to use the parking lot to show off pets available for adoption and to raise money.
       The phone clipped to the Italian leather belt of her black silk-crepe slacks sang "We Are the World" as she descended the white metal stairs from her office on the mezzanine to the polished black granite floor of the car showroom. A soaring, semicircular bank of windows filled the building with sunlight all day. She'd only been sixteen when the old headquarters was razed and the new building put in its place, but her grandfather had included her in every decision.
       She loved the black, silver, and white color scheme; the clean serenity of the façade's classical proportions; and the efficiency and functionality of the back sections. It was she who had insisted on a spotless lounge for customers waiting for their cars to be serviced and a quiet room equipped with child-sized furniture and toys where tots could be entertained. Tires and motor oil, plastics and lubricants smelled like security to her.
       She put the phone to her ear. She blessed the tech nology that had created cell phones. Their advent had eliminated the unending noise of a public address sys tem that had to be audible over a fourteen-acre lot and kept her in touch no matter where she was—since she wasn't likely to be found in her office. And while her employees knew they could come to her at any time, she preferred for them not to have to. She preferred to be so visible and present in the workings of the business that she already knew of any problems