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opportunities.”
    “But let’s not forget,” Justin said, raising a finger, “that Promised Land is under the umbrella of Sherman Enterprises. I’d just be a minute part of the empire.”
    “Not true,” Andi said, unwilling to show her hand but realizing it was the only way to win. “Promised Land is not owned by Sherman Enterprises. I own most of the stock in this company. Some of the major stockholders sold out after Dad’s accident, and I bought as much as I could. Don’t you see that if I bought your company I’d have its best interests at heart? If you succeeded, I’d succeed. And if one of us failed, it would very likely pull the other down. And you know the chances of Promised Land failing.”
    “Actually,” he said, “there have been a hundred times when everybody in town has thought Promised Land would fail. Your fights with the city are almost legendary.”
    “That’s propaganda,” she said. “There are people here who have vendettas and will do whatever they can to keep Promised Land from opening. But I’ve stood up to them, and I always win. Promised Land won’t fail, and neither will Pierce Productions if we join forces.”
    Justin’s amusement faded as the offer grew more attractive. “Pierce Productions may not be much,” he said solemnly, “but it’s mine. I haven’t struggled to keep it going all these years just to hand it over to someone else.”
    Andi pulled a note pad out of her purse and jotted down her first offer. “Does that sound like ‘handing it over’?”
    Justin read the amount and swallowed. “It doesn’t make any difference,” he said, resenting the temptation. “I won’t work under someone else. I’m not inflexible when it comes to my cartoons, but I’m used to having the last word.”
    Andi scribbled out the refused offer, then brought her eyes back to Justin, who was watching her with growing interest. “What if I made you president of Pierce Productions, with the stipulation that you could never be fired or demoted in any way and that all creative and management decisions must be approved by you?”
    A wry grin crinkled his eyes again, but this time it held less sarcasm. “I already have that.”
    “But that’s all you have,” Andi said. “With Promised Land’s budget you could stretch to the limits of your imagination. You’d have freedom to do anything you wanted, Justin.” Sitting back, she waited.
    Justin hoped his reeling thoughts weren’t apparent on his face. “You have to realize what would be involved here,” he said. “For me to make a move like that, I’d want to take my business a lot farther than I’ve been able to in the past.”
    “That’s the point, Justin. It can take us both farther. Give me some specifics,” she said in a voice that had always captivated him. “Think about it for just a minute, and imagine the way you’ve always dreamed of Pierce Productions.”
    Justin smiled at her prodding, but he kept his dreams within the realms of reality, knowing that taking the gauntlet meant entering negotiations. “I’d want at least a hundred employees. Most of my work now is done by a pretty small staff, some of whom work out of their homes painting and inking. I’d like to have them all in the same offices, with enough people to work on other projects I have in mind.”
    “Go on,” she said with a grin that was both persuasive and innocent.
    “I’d want a sound studio so that we wouldn’t have to pay through the nose to use someone else’s. And I’d need to update my photographic lab with the most modern equipment.”
    “Anything else?” she asked, undaunted.
    Justin riveted his eyes into hers. “Sixty percent of the stock. I won’t give you all of it under any circumstances, and I’d have to have controlling interest.”
    Andi sat back in her chair. “Justin, that’s a lot to ask. I’d have to have at least fifty percent. I won’t change my mind on that point.” She waited while Justin stared