now."
Todd regarded her with serious green eyes made even more somber by his choice
of eyewear, a pair of round, gold-framed glasses. "I don't like the situation, Olivia."
"No one does. But we've got to play the hand we've been dealt."
The troubled look in Todd's gaze deepened. He had always had a serious,
idealistic bent, Olivia reflected, even as a child. He was an academic at heart But
underneath the studious, intellectual mien, there had been, until recently, a strong
vein of humor that had nicely complemented the strength in his well-cut features.
Unfortunately Todd had become depressingly more pedantic in the past few
months. The change had started when he left his post in the political studies
department of a local college to accept a position at the Allenby-Troy Institute.
The institute was a small, prestigious, political policy think tank located on a
pricey stretch of Lake Washington shoreline. Many of the papers it produced were
published in influential magazines, journals, and newspapers around the country.
No one admired Todd's intellectual abilities and his professional
accomplishments more than Olivia, but privately, she wished he'd stayed in
academia. He might very well have developed this same tendency toward pomposity
there, she thought, but at least he wouldn't have fallen in love with a politician.
Todd had been introduced to former state representative Eleanor Lancaster a
few months ago when she had contacted the Allenby-Troy Institute. She had just
resigned from her position in the state legislature to run for governor. She had
sought the Institute's professional assistance in crafting a coherent political
platform that would appeal to the widest possible cross-section of voters.
Todd had been one of the policy developers who had worked with her. They had
hit it off immediately.
Within days after she had kicked off her campaign, Eleanor had become the
darling of the media.
Olivia reminded herself that she should be grateful. After all, Light Fantastic had
gotten the contract to produce the huge campaign kickoff event, and now it had one
for the big summer fund-raiser.
Nevertheless, she was still not quite sure how she felt about having a politician in
the family, even one as dedicated, sincere, and hardworking as Eleanor Lancaster.
She worried that Todd had been swept off his feet, not by true love, but by the
potential of seeing his political theories put into action by a dynamic campaigner.
"This afternoon I went on-line to get some information about Sloan," Todd said.
"And?"
"There was surprisingly little. The man keeps a very low profile. But I found
enough citations and references in the business news journals to tell me one thing."
"What's that?"
"To put it in a nutshell, you're a little outclassed here."
"Thanks a lot for the vote of confidence," Olivia muttered. "I can handle Jasper
Sloan."
"There's no point even pretending you could protect Glow if he decided to sell or
merge the company."
"He gave me his word that he intends to keep Glow a closely held family firm."
"Damn it, fifty-one percent of it is now owned by someone who is not family."
Olivia flushed. "You know what I mean. Sloan said he wants to fulfill Uncle
Rollie's vision for Glow."
"You can't rely on a thing he tells you. The man's a venture capitalist. His every
instinct is to go for the brass ring, the big payoff. You know as well as I do that the
quickest way for him to turn a profit would be to sell or merge Glow."
"I offered to arrange to buy him out. He refused."
"Probably because he thinks he can get more if he fattens up the company and
then sells it."
"He can only sell fifty-one percent of it," Olivia reminded him. "Anyone who buys
his shares would still have to deal with me." She grinned. "That should be enough to
discourage most prospective buyers."
Todd hesitated. Then the corner of his mouth twitched. He finally smiled
reluctantly. "It would certainly make most
Todd regarded her with serious green eyes made even more somber by his choice
of eyewear, a pair of round, gold-framed glasses. "I don't like the situation, Olivia."
"No one does. But we've got to play the hand we've been dealt."
The troubled look in Todd's gaze deepened. He had always had a serious,
idealistic bent, Olivia reflected, even as a child. He was an academic at heart But
underneath the studious, intellectual mien, there had been, until recently, a strong
vein of humor that had nicely complemented the strength in his well-cut features.
Unfortunately Todd had become depressingly more pedantic in the past few
months. The change had started when he left his post in the political studies
department of a local college to accept a position at the Allenby-Troy Institute.
The institute was a small, prestigious, political policy think tank located on a
pricey stretch of Lake Washington shoreline. Many of the papers it produced were
published in influential magazines, journals, and newspapers around the country.
No one admired Todd's intellectual abilities and his professional
accomplishments more than Olivia, but privately, she wished he'd stayed in
academia. He might very well have developed this same tendency toward pomposity
there, she thought, but at least he wouldn't have fallen in love with a politician.
Todd had been introduced to former state representative Eleanor Lancaster a
few months ago when she had contacted the Allenby-Troy Institute. She had just
resigned from her position in the state legislature to run for governor. She had
sought the Institute's professional assistance in crafting a coherent political
platform that would appeal to the widest possible cross-section of voters.
Todd had been one of the policy developers who had worked with her. They had
hit it off immediately.
Within days after she had kicked off her campaign, Eleanor had become the
darling of the media.
Olivia reminded herself that she should be grateful. After all, Light Fantastic had
gotten the contract to produce the huge campaign kickoff event, and now it had one
for the big summer fund-raiser.
Nevertheless, she was still not quite sure how she felt about having a politician in
the family, even one as dedicated, sincere, and hardworking as Eleanor Lancaster.
She worried that Todd had been swept off his feet, not by true love, but by the
potential of seeing his political theories put into action by a dynamic campaigner.
"This afternoon I went on-line to get some information about Sloan," Todd said.
"And?"
"There was surprisingly little. The man keeps a very low profile. But I found
enough citations and references in the business news journals to tell me one thing."
"What's that?"
"To put it in a nutshell, you're a little outclassed here."
"Thanks a lot for the vote of confidence," Olivia muttered. "I can handle Jasper
Sloan."
"There's no point even pretending you could protect Glow if he decided to sell or
merge the company."
"He gave me his word that he intends to keep Glow a closely held family firm."
"Damn it, fifty-one percent of it is now owned by someone who is not family."
Olivia flushed. "You know what I mean. Sloan said he wants to fulfill Uncle
Rollie's vision for Glow."
"You can't rely on a thing he tells you. The man's a venture capitalist. His every
instinct is to go for the brass ring, the big payoff. You know as well as I do that the
quickest way for him to turn a profit would be to sell or merge Glow."
"I offered to arrange to buy him out. He refused."
"Probably because he thinks he can get more if he fattens up the company and
then sells it."
"He can only sell fifty-one percent of it," Olivia reminded him. "Anyone who buys
his shares would still have to deal with me." She grinned. "That should be enough to
discourage most prospective buyers."
Todd hesitated. Then the corner of his mouth twitched. He finally smiled
reluctantly. "It would certainly make most
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