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one she’d just had with Brandon? Kate, can I ask you a quick question about something I’ve been chewing on? All deals have to start somewhere.
    Had Kate missed Jack’s signal?
    She didn’t want to think that was possible.
    But she feared she’d spend the next several months tethered to that question.

NINE
    There were notes to the kids’ schools, a copy of the contract with the broker she’d hired to sell her mother’s house, condolence cards and receipts, but nothing suggesting Jack Carpenter had the slightest interest in Ascalon. Either he’d said nothing or she’d failed to pick up his hints. It was out of her hands at that point.
    And Ed assured Kate that she would have no more time to sort through her things or to debate the question when he poked his head into her office a little after eleven. “I’m sure they’re up and running in Boulder. Let’s call Franklin. I want to be on the call when you talk to him about the painting.” Her protest that Ed’s meddling wouldn’t help the deal got her nowhere.
    The moment Chris got on the line Kate morphed into her role as dealmaker as though someone had thrown a switch.
    “Chris, Kate Brewster. I wanted to catch you before things got rolling out there.” She made certain her voice sounded professional and in command of the agenda.
    “We’re rolling. I’ve already been on the phone several times to a chip supplier of mine in Brazil. You were right. That fire has screwed things up for all of us. Beth said you had a couple of questions. I was going to call you later this morning,” Chris said quickly, as though he were juggling a dozen different things.
    “Thanks. Chris, I’m on the speaker because Ed Roth is with me. Ed owns the place, so don’t say anything bad about Steve or me.”
    “I’m honored you’d take time from your schedule, Ed. Nice to meet you.” Ed puffed at the salesman’s flattery.
    Kate spoke next. “Chris, you said you were going to call me. Would you like to go first, or are we talking about the same thing?” She had seen enough of the man to anticipate his style and chose not to play the coquette.
    “It’s the painting your analyst asked Beth about. Explain to me why you’re asking about it. It seemed an odd request. It’s certainly not something your competition asked about.”
    “Chris, I’m looking at the deal from all possible angles. One way to sell it is as a cash-flow deal based solely upon the strength of your new games. Hitting the numbers you’re projecting for your new games certainly will prove you can generate cash. I assume you’re confident about that or else you wouldn’t even think about going public in the current environment.” Kate wanted to be certain she sounded clinical without being judgmental.
    “We’re certainly busting our asses out here to make that happen. If I can find a way to get my hands on a bunch of chips, I’d sleep better at night. You’re the one who said that I’ve only got six months until Halloween to get my games into the stores.”
    “I guess in a way that proves my point, Chris. I worry about things like timing. Slip a week or two on those chips and you’re numbers are way less impressive.”
    “Tell me something I don’t already know. But I’m on top of that at our end.”
    “It’s not just timing, Chris, I worry about everything. I worry about the fickleness of the little boys like my eight-year old who buy your games. I worry about what every other game maker who sells in your market is cooking up. Games is a tough segment of the entertainment market. I worry whether one good season will be enough to convince the equity markets you’re a long term player.” Kate’s job was to sell optimism, but it was in short supply at the moment.
    “You sound like my CFO. Christ, you sound like my mother.”
    Kate laughed. “It’s what I do, Chris. I guess I’m trained to look for the banana peels in the aisle. That’s why I was looking for some assets to support