“Paul.”

Startled, he whirled around to see Joanna standing in the doorway, looking cool and beautiful in a beige miniskьted business suit. He hadn’t seen her since the day of her husband’s suicide.

“How are you?” he asked, hurrying toward her. “How’ve you been? I wanted—”

“Later,” she said, raising one hand to stop him from embracing her. “Business first”

“Where’s everybody? The meeting’s scheduled to start in ten minutes.”

“It’s been pushed back half an hour,” Joanna said, “Nobody told me.”

She smiled coolly at him. “I asked Brad for a half-hour delay. There’s something I want to discuss with you before the meeting starts.”

“What?”

Joanna went to the conference table and perched on its edge, crossing her long legs demurely. “We’re going to elect a new president and CEO,” she said. , Paul nodded. “Greg. I know.”

“You don’t sound happy about it”

“Why should I be?”

“Who else would you recommend?” she asked, with that same serene smile.

“Greg doesn’t know enough to run a corporation,” Paul said, keeping his voice low. But the urgency came through. “Okay, we’re not supposed to speak ill of the dead, I know, but his father nearly drove this company into the ground.”

“And you saved it.”

Paul felt uncomfortable saying it, but he agreed. “I had to practically beat your husband over the head before he saw the light”

Every major airline in the world began clamoring for Masterson Clipperships, once Paul pushed the project dirough its development phase. Yet Gregory Masterson II had almost ruined Masterson Aerospace, despite the Clippership’s success. Maybe because of it, Paul how thought.

And his son was eager to follow in his father’s mistaken footsteps.