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“That’s a far cry from managing on a day-to-day basis. And what do you want me to do with Ward, fire him after fifteen years of loyal service just so you can play Madame Executive?”
    She flushed with temper, her green eyes darkening, her face flushing. “You’re for getting that I own forty- nine percent of the paper,” she said through clenched teeth. “And that it’s been in my mother’s family for almost a hundred years!”
    “You’ll get control of that forty-nine percent only when you comply with the terms of the will,” he said with a cold smile.
    “I’ll contest it!” she raged.
    “Your father’s mind was as sound as mine. You haven’t got a legal leg to stand on.”
    She felt as if her face had gone purple. Rage sparkled in her pale green eyes, making them as glassy as ice.
    “Until you reach twenty-five, or marry,” he reminded her bluntly, “I suggest you follow Ward Johnson’s lead. Then we’ll talk.”
    “Ward Johnson can go to hell,” she said icily. “And you can keep him company, Joshua!”
    His wide, masculine mouth curled up at the co rn ers in amusement. “When you were about seventeen, you had all the spunk of a two-hour-old bunny rabbit,” he remarked. “That was when I started to needle you. Remember?”
    “Made me furious,” she corrected, almost choking on the flash of temper. She took deep breaths to regain control. “Made me mad enough to throw things.”
    He nodded. “It was what you needed. Harrison had made a puppet out of you,” he added, his face hard. “A damned little doll whose strings he pulled. I taught you to fight for your survival.”
    Slowly the rage left her. Yes. He had done that for her. And once she’d started to challenge her father, her life had changed. She, who had never raised a hand in class in school, who had never spoken back to an adversary, was suddenly able to stand up to anyone.
    “It seems I learned well,” she said after a minute. She glanced up at him with a rueful smile. “But it’s uncomfortable to fight, just the same.”
    “Or lose. But both experiences teach valuable lessons,” he returned. His eyes were almost transparent for a few seconds. He could have told her that he knew as much as she did about being overwhelmed and dominated. His childhood had been no joy ride. But that was something he never discussed. Not even with Brad.
    He stepped away, taking a long draw from the cigar. “Disgusting habit,” he muttered. He pulled a tiny tape recorder from his pocket and depressed the record button. “Dina, remind me about that no smoking seminar at the Sheraton next week. I’ve got a board meeting that morning, so I’ll forget otherwise.”
    Amanda smiled secretly, amused at his gesture. Dina had been his secretary since his father’s untimely death from a heart attack ten years ago. She knew where all the bodies were buried, and she was efficient in a frightening way. Amanda had once wondered, quite seriously, if Dina was psychic, because she seemed able to anticipate every move Josh made. Even now she probably had an alarm programmed into her computer to remind him of that seminar he’d just remembered.
    “Why are you grinning like the Cheshire cat?” he asked curtly. “Another dangling thought?”
    The smile vanished. Her hands clenched in her pockets as she prepared for yet another fruitless argument. “About the job press … ”
    “No,” he repeated with cold emphasis.
    She threw up her hands. “I could get more out of a stone wall!”
    “There’s one.” He indicated the sea wall that protected the front of the house. “Try it.”
    Her shoulders sagged. She was too worn out to fight any more today. “Will you at least look at some figures on the press before you kill it?” she asked quietly, determined to set at least that much accomplished.
    “All right. But that’s all I’m promising.” That deep south Texas drawl of his was deceptive. It didn’t denote an easygoing disposition. Quite the