LITMIR.BIZ

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mean I would have been outnumbered, even if you’d talked to me ahead of time, so why talk to me?” Skylar said flatly. “The way you didn’t ask when you appointed me to Jimmie’s job?”

      Chet at least had the decency to look embarrassed.

      “You owe me a large Vittorino’s Italian pizza with the works,” she told him. “Bread sticks, garlic sauce, the whole thing. And that’s just to start.”

      “Sure, sure. Absolutely. I’ll even deliver it myself, whenever you want.”

      She eyed the rest of them. “And I’ll be thinking of how each of you can make it up to me, as well.”

      With a chorus of agreement, they practically ran from the room. Skylar would have thought it was funny if she hadn’t been so annoyed. She stepped into the main room and saw Aaron. Aside from the security guard who was probably in the lobby waiting to lock the front door, he must be the only one left in the building.

      “I’ll let you know when I can meet with you, Mr. Hollister,” she said. It wouldn’t hurt to be more formal with him.

      “How about right now?”

      “How about remembering it’s after nine o’clock and we both have teenagers at home?”

      Aaron looked startled. “Oh, yes, of course.”

      “I’ll have to arrange a time when I can get an extra employee to cover for me at the stand. Or we can meet after I close. Just not tomorrow.”

      “What’s wrong with tomorrow?”

      “It’s Friday and I have plans.” Those plans involved getting together with Grace Gibson and finalizing the arrangements for Karin’s birthday party, but Skylar didn’t want Aaron to start thinking about Karin’s birthday. She especially didn’t want him to start counting back and remember when Karin had been conceived.

      “Fine,” Aaron said. His teeth were gritted. “Let me know when and where.”

      “I will. But don’t expect to show me a slick PowerPoint program and get an instant approval. I’m sure we’ll have several meetings.”

      If Aaron was dismayed, he hid it well. “My presentation is more than a slick PowerPoint—it has important information.”

      “Oh, I’ll watch it, but even in Cooperton we’ve heard of computers—bells and whistles won’t impress me.” She smiled sweetly. “You’re going to get lots of questions.”

      “Uh...yes. I’ll be at your disposal.”

      Skylar found that doubtful, but she didn’t have time to think about it. Ever since Jimmie’s accident it had been emotionally challenging to leave her daughter alone for long periods. And it was worse now with Karin being so moody over the baseball play-offs.

      “Fine. I’ll contact your office in a few days with a date for our first meeting. Have a good weekend.” She had almost escaped through the door when Aaron cleared his throat.

      “Cooperton used to try to accommodate my grandfather,” he said. “But it seems as if everyone is opposed to the idea of Cooper Industries expanding, even though they haven’t heard my ideas. It’s the sort of thing that’s good for a town, so why is it a problem?”

      She hesitated, debating what to tell him, then chose cautious honesty. “Your grandfather was concerned about both his company and Cooperton. But no one knows what your priorities are...or what you’d do to protect them.”

      “That’s absurd.”

      “Is it?”

      * * *

      AARON WAS ANNOYED as Skylar left; her reply hadn’t made any sense. Maybe he didn’t have George’s commitment to Cooper Industries, but he didn’t hate the company. And he didn’t hate Cooperton. Sure, he didn’t have the greatest childhood memories of the small town, but that didn’t mean he was out to destroy it.

      Belatedly he realized he should have walked Skylar to her car and hurried outside in time to see her drive away in the old truck he’d often seen at the Nibble Nook.

      Frowning, he headed for home himself. Melanie was sixteen, not six, and leaving her alone wasn’t irresponsible...yet somehow it felt irresponsible, having to be reminded that staying late for a business meeting wasn’t necessarily the best idea.

      By Skylar, no less.

      Skylar.

      Aaron shook his head. As a teenager she’d gotten under his skin with her curvaceous body and wild nature, and now she was still bothering him in other ways.

      CHAPTER FOUR

      KARIN LAY ON her bed looking at her geometry textbook. Algebra was all right, but this junk about points and lines and angles was so easy it was boring. Still, if she was going to be a great scientist and save lives someday, she’d better pay attention. She wasn’t sure where geometry fit into being a scientist, but it must somehow. After geometry she had to take trigonometry and calculus, which sounded just as dull. She liked chemistry and other science courses the best.

      Closing the book, she grabbed her smartphone and dialed Melanie’s number. Honestly, how did anyone survive in the dark ages without cell phones? It must have been awfully primitive.

      “Hi,” Mellie answered. “Is your mom still gone?”

      “Yeah, she said the meeting would go late.”

      “It might be over. Aaron just got home, and he doesn’t look happy.”

      “Does he ever look happy?” Karin couldn’t remember a single time when Mellie’s brother wasn’t acting pissed or disapproving.

      “Sometimes he isn’t so bad.”

      Karin heard the front door open and close. “Mom’s back, too,” she said. “See you tomorrow.” With a hurried “bye” she turned off the smartphone.

      Her mother was in the kitchen putting the teakettle on to heat. “Sorry, it took longer than I expected.”

      Karin shrugged. “It’s not like I need a babysitter or anything. Mellie told me that her brother was going to the meeting. What did Mr. Hollister want?”

      “Just some city council business. You’ll probably hear about it in a few days.”

      Uh-oh. Now her mom seemed uptight and not very happy, either. Darn it, anyhow. Karin was glad that Mellie had come to Cooperton and she wouldn’t be here if her brother wasn’t here, too, but why did he have to be so awful? The kids at school were always talking about Aaron because their parents worked at the factory and hated him. Jill Vittorino’s dad was the mayor, and she said that her father was worried that Aaron Hollister might even move the company to another place where they didn’t have to pay workers as much.

      “Is everything okay?” she asked cautiously.

      “It’s fine. Did you get your homework done?”

      “Define done.”

      Her mother rolled her eyes. “Stop imitating that actor on Psych or I’m taking your television away until you’re thirty. You know perfectly well what I meant.”

      Karin giggled. “It’s done. Even geometry.”

      “Good. Parent–teacher conferences are coming up, and I don’t want to be asked why you aren’t doing your assignments.”

      Karin laughed again, but an odd thought occurred to her. “What if I was flunking? What would you do?”

      “Are you flunking?”

      “No, I just wondered. Kids flunk, you know. Susan Lightoller is real smart, but she’s blowing calculus, and everybody knows that Tiffany Baldwin got an F in English last year.”

      “From what you’ve said about Tiffany, I’m surprised

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