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accounting who can give me more accurate information.”
    â€œDid you talk to Melwood?”
    Jasper dropped the report onto the desk. “Of course I did.”
    â€œWell? What did he have to say for himself?”
    â€œHe says that the switch to the new accounting software a few months ago created a lot of problems for his staff. He says they’re only now starting to recover.”
    â€œSo he had a good explanation.” Triumph sharpened Olivia’s eyes. “Perfectly reasonable. There’s always acertain amount of confusion after a major software change, especially in an accounting department.”
    â€œIs there?”
    â€œSure. Everyone knows that.” She unfolded her arms and leaned forward to flatten her palms on his desk. Her voice softened to a confidential tone. “Look, between you and me, poor Melwood had a brush with cancer a few months back. It really shook him. Aunt Rose says he hasn’t been himself since.”
    â€œAunt Rose?”
    Olivia angled her chin toward the closed door that led to the outer office. “Your secretary.”
    â€œIs she the one who called to tell you about Gill’s transfer?”
    â€œYes.”
    â€œI see.” He propped his elbows on the desk and steepled his fingers. “Out of curiosity, how many other Glow employees report to you instead of to me?”
    The high color in her face intensified. “Aunt Rose is not one of my spies, if that’s what you mean.”
    â€œWho are your spies?” he asked with great interest.
    She took her hands off his desk, straightened abruptly, and glared at him. “We’re a little off the topic here.”
    â€œYes.” He exhaled slowly. “We are. Look, it isn’t just the reports from that department that worry me. There are some basic management problems.”
    â€œWhat kind?”
    â€œThe kind you get when the person in charge is not paying attention. Were you aware that both of the senior accountants handed in their resignations two months ago?”
    Olivia frowned. “No. Uncle Rollie was still here at that time. No reason he would have told me.”
    â€œGill’s obviously in over his head.” That was putting the nicest possible spin on it. The alternative explanation was far more sinister, but Jasper did not mention it. He did not yet have any proof of his darker suspicions. “If Rollie had not gone off on that monthlong photo safari, he would have realized by now that he had a problem in that department.”
    Olivia sighed. “If he had not gone off on that safari, he’d still be here running Glow and none of us would be in this mess.”
    Jasper hesitated. When it came to business, he relied on his innate sense of timing. But with this woman he was wary of trusting his instincts. They were giving him dumb instructions. For example, right now he wanted to sink his fingers into her hair to see if the buried red fire there actually gave off heat. Logic told him it would be an extremely bad move. But everything that was male in him was urging him forward to disaster.
    There was too much going on beneath the surface of his own reactions. Stuff he did not yet understand. A potential firestorm. An accident waiting to happen.
    For a heartbeat, instinct warred with common sense. Instinct won. Which only went to prove that modern man was not nearly as evolutionarily advanced as he liked to think, Jasper decided.
    Still, some small portion of his brain was working well enough to search for safe camouflage.
    â€œThis is not a good place to talk about such a, uh, sensitive matter,” he said.
    She slanted him a faintly derisive look. “Have you got a better place than the offices of Glow, Inc., in which to discuss Glow company business?”
    He held onto his patience with an effort of will. “I’ve got a meeting with the R&D people in ten minutes. I’m sure you have a busy schedule today, too. Why don’t