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mean it is rather…” She floundered.
    “Wanton?” Joel supplied helpfully.
    “Yes. Wanton.” She appeared relieved by the word. “As I said, if there had been a lot of real passion in our relationship I think I should have at least been able to visualize it. Don't you think so?”
    Joel tried valiantly to squash the picture he had conjured up in his own head. He failed. “Yeah. Sure.” Damn. At this rate he was going to need another long run before he would be able to sleep.
    “What I have come to realize lately, Joel,” she continued with a burst of earnest intensity, “is that passion is exactly what's been missing in my life. It's missing in every area of my life. My career, my past, my future. Everything seems to have gotten into a rut. I want out.”
    “Out. I see.”
    “Lately I've begun to feel as though I'm sitting on the sidelines of my own life. Normally I'm a very goal-directed person, but I feel as though I've lost my way or something. I need to revitalize and redirect myself. Great-Uncle Charlie has given me the perfect opportunity to do just that, and I'm going to grab the chance. Thornquist Gear is going to change my life.”
    Joel was torn between wanting to insert his male member between her scarlet-tinted lips and the equally strong desire to throttle her. Thornquist Gear was his .
    “Letty, have you really thought this out? I know the idea of being president of your own company probably sounds exciting, but it's not that easy. You have no background in retailing, let alone in the sporting goods business. Hell, I'll bet you haven't even done much camping.”
    She wrinkled her nose. “So?”
    “Letty, camping equipment is one of our staple product lines. We cater to campers. We sold over a million and a half dollars' worth of tents alone last year.”
    Her eyes widened. “I don't see why I have to be an expert with the product in order to sell it. I'm interested in management and growth and the creation of a thriving enterprise. I'm excited about running a big business, not setting up my own tent.”
    Joel swore under his breath. “You don't know what you're getting into, lady. Running a growing corporation is not a game. It's not even a good way to amuse yourself while you get over a broken engagement.”
    Her mouth tightened into a mutinous line. “I am fully aware that I am about to embark on a major career change, and I am prepared to devote myself completely to learning everything I need to know to be successful. I am a very fast learner, Joel.”
    “You think you can just sit down behind the president's desk tomorrow or the next day and start running things? You think it's going to come naturally?”
    “Of course not.” She smiled. “I told you I've done a great deal of research.”
    “Oh, great. Research.”
    “I am a librarian, you know.”
    “Don't remind me.”
    “Now, Joel, there's no need to get so intense over this,” she said soothingly. “I think that may be one of your problems, you know. You're very intense. As it happens, I have read several articles on the subject of women in business, and they all point to one component that seems to be crucial to success.”
    “What the hell is that?” he demanded.
    “A mentor.”
    That stopped him in his tracks for an instant. “A mentor? Jesus Christ, what are you talking about?”
    “A mentor. You know, a teacher. Someone who takes you under his wing and shows you the ropes. That's how most people make it up the ladder in the corporate world, Joel. They have mentors who guide them and bring them along.”
    “I never had a mentor,” he snarled.
    “Of course you did. Great-Uncle Charlie was yours. You just didn't think of him that way because you weren't familiar with modern corporate jargon.”
    “ Shit . You think Charlie was a mentor?” Joel's hand clenched into a fist around the towel. “Let me tell you how it was with me and Charlie Thornquist. Ten years ago I walked in off the street looking for a job. He