“I bought us another couple of weeks on the bills. And I got us an excellent deal with Tetrick Airways. Three-month spread, two-page color copy, and six weeks online. Nice deals. Cute guy is the sales rep, but he’s got a girlfriend. They always do. Scored an even better deal with DeLoach Tires and Treads. He’s up for a six-month weekly and website, with a bonus tied to sales. Customers bring in our ad enough, and he’ll make it a year. Take that, Chronicle. Plus, I’m meeting with the Chamber on Monday. Gonna pitch a package deal to members. Revenue report’s in the file. If the summer picks up, we might break even this month.”

“We will break even,” Gabriel corrected.

She lifted a paperweight from a pile of copy and began to toss the tourmaline rock into the air. “You’ve got to talk to Peter. He’s playing business manager again. I told him I was going to squeal on him, but who has time to argue with a curmudgeon? I think he just likes being ornery. An ornery Captain Hook. Just needs an eye patch and a foul-mouthed parrot.”

Gabriel stretched long legs beneath the desk and laced his fingers behind his head. He fixed the chattering woman with a look. Then he grinned. It was good to be home.

“Hi, Kelly.”

“Hi, yourself.” Lifting a rubber ball in iridescent colors and a bottle of Liquid Paper, Kelly began to juggle the objects in the air. “We’ve got a meeting Friday with the bank. Our cash flow projections aren’t looking too healthy, and they may decline the loan.”

Gabriel slid a letter across the polished surface. “Too late. Already done. At least they had the decency not to laugh.”

She set the objects back on the desk in their appointed spaces. As she skimmed the brief missive, she thumped the letter. “New businesses take time. Any banker knows that. ‘Negative cash flow.’ Of course it’s negative. We’ve only been up and running for six months. Budget projections don’t have us breaking even until the fifteenth month of operation. Morons.”

“Without a doubt,” Gabriel agreed. “But they have a point. Even if we break even this month, the Chronicle has steadily eroded our advertisers. If we don’t increase readership, we won’t get them back.”

“More morons. If people read us and the Chronicle, they’d see who has the superior paper.”

Gabriel didn’t disagree. “The Chronicle is a daily. We’re a weekly.”

“We change our site every day.” Kelly sulked, tapping her foot on the chair opposite her own. “Besides, we’re much better.”

“Yes, we are.” Gabriel motioned to a leather chair angled across from his desk. He picked up the phone and summoned Peter. When the older man trudged in, he scowled at Kelly and Gabriel as though their presence offended him.

“What?” he demanded, taking the seat next to Kelly.