LITMIR.BIZ

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a ride home?”

      Ah, the close confines of a car. So tempting and so dangerous.

      “No, thanks. I have a few errands to run on my way home. I’ll walk.”

      “Are you sure? I don’t mind.”

      She smiled. “I appreciate the offer, but I’ll be fine on my own.”

      She’d learned it was the only safe way to be.

       Chapter Five

      Roger Arnet was a tall, thin blond man in his mid-fifties. He shook Jack’s hand, then sat in the visitor’s chair on the other side of the desk.

      “How are you settling in?” Roger asked pleasantly. “Your father was a great man. A great man. You won’t find filling his shoes easy.”

      Jack didn’t know how to answer the question. News of the second set of books had been released to the public. The response in the press had been relatively mild since Hanson Media Group wasn’t a major player in the city, but there had been plenty of uproar in the office. He wondered if Roger had any way of reconciling his insistence that George had been a great man with the reality of a company president who lied to his entire staff.

      “I’m finding my way,” he said, going for a neutral response.

      “Good. Good.” Roger smiled. “I understand you’re a lawyer.”

      “Yes. I attended law school, then went on to business school. It was my deal with my father. I would study both and then pick.”

      “You chose the law. George was very disappointed.”

      Had his father spoken about him with everyone in the firm? “I’m here now,” Jack said. “Which is why I wanted to talk with you. We’re making some changes.”

      “I heard about them,” Roger said. “I’ve been on vacation and when I got back, everyone was buzzing. The Internet, eh? Are you sure about that?”

      “Very sure.”

      Roger took off his glasses and pulled out a handkerchief. “Arnie’s been filling me in on your plans. Very ambitious. Very ambitious. A bit too much, if you ask me.”

      Jack leaned back in his chair. “Are you saying we’re not capable of expanding our Web sites?”

      “Expansion is one thing, but what you’re proposing is something else. But then it’s not you, is it? It’s that new girl. Samantha something.”

      “Edwards. And she has my full support.”

      “Of course. She’s very energetic, but in my experience, it’s better if we take things slowly. Sort of feel our way. Technology is all fine and good, but this company was founded on print media.”

      “Magazines are expensive and change slowly,” Jack said. “We don’t have any publication that has circulation over a million. We’re barely breaking even on thirty percent of our magazines and we’re losing money on the rest. The Internet is a significant part of our culture. It’s not going away. Changes can be made there relatively inexpensively.”

      Roger nodded. Jack felt as if he’d just stepped into an alternative universe. If Roger was the head of IT in the company, shouldn’t he be pushing for more technology, not less?

      “Arnie mentioned all of this to me,” Roger admitted. “But he’s young and he tends to get ahead of himself. I hope he wasn’t filling your head with a lot of nonsense.”

      Jack was willing to respect those older than him and he was certainly willing to listen to qualified opinions; however, he wasn’t willing to be treated like an idiot.

      He straightened and stared directly at Roger. “Let me be as clear as possible,” he said. “This company is on the brink of financial ruin. I’m sure you’ve read about our recent problems. The announcement that my father kept a second set of books wasn’t happy news. Doing business the old way isn’t going to keep this company going. We need change and we need it quickly. I believe that technology is our best solution. Now you can get onboard with that program or you can find another company that is more to your liking.”

      Roger blinked. “That’s very blunt.”

      “Yes, it is. I’ve heard good things about you and I hope you’ll decide to stay, but if you do, be aware that we have a new direction and I expect everyone to be excited about it.”

      “All right. I’ll consider what you said. As far as the Internet expansion, I’m concerned about the safeguards. Your target market is children and there are many predators out there.”

      Jack wasn’t sure how to read him. Still, the truth would come out quickly enough. Either Roger was with him or Roger was gone.

      “Protecting the children using our site is our first priority,” Jack told the other man. “Samantha’s first presentation was on Internet safeguards. She and Arnie are working very closely on that project. I appreciate your concern as well and I would ask you to oversee their work. Feel free to report back to me on any weak areas.”

      Roger seemed surprised. “Why should you trust me?”

      “I believe you’re genuinely concerned about the children,” Jack said. “You’re also slightly mistrustful of the changes. That will make you a good custodian of the security programs. You won’t let anyone cut corners.”

      “Thank you for that. Let me think about all that you’ve said and get back to you.”

      “Of course. Thanks for coming in.”

      Roger shook hands with him, then walked to the door. Once there, he turned back. “I wish you could have seen your father at work here, Jack. He was brilliant. Simply brilliant.”

      “So I’ve heard.”

      Restless after his meeting with Roger, Jack headed to Samantha’s office.

      “Got a minute?” he asked as she hung up the phone.

      “Sure. Have a seat.”

      He glanced at the light wood furniture, the bright prints on the walls and the purple sofa by the corner. In a matter of a week or two, Samantha had taken the space and made it her own.

      “Interesting decorating,” he said as he settled in a chair.

      She grinned. “You hate it.”

      “Hate is strong.”

      “There’s a lot of really cool stuff in the company storage facility.”

      “Some of it dating back to the sixties,” Jack murmured.

      “You’re right. I didn’t want to get too wild, but I like having color to inspire me.”

      Which, apparently, applied to her clothes, he thought as he took in the orange-and-gold tunic top she’d pulled on over black slacks. Her hair was loose, in a riot of red curls that tangled in her beaded dream weaver earrings.

      By contrast, his suit that day was gray, his shirt white and his tie a traditional burgundy. They couldn’t be more different. Which is what had always made their relationship interesting, he reminded himself.

      “What’s up?” she asked.

      “Have you met Roger Arnet?”

      She wrinkled her nose. “Arnie’s boss, right? I shook hands with him in passing, but we haven’t spoken.”

      “Be prepared. He’s not one to move with the times. He’s opposed to the Internet expansion on many levels. He thinks the plans are too ambitious.”

      “Great. Just what I need. The person in charge of a critical department for me not getting onboard.”

      “I know he’s going to be a problem. I told him he could get with the program

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