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ad before sending it to the printer? It needs to be ready as an insert for this Sunday’s newspaper.
    Thanks! R
    Caroline smiled to herself as she replied to his email.
    Will do. Have a nice day. Hamilton ad will be a challenge—Mr. Hamilton can’t spell or punctuate!
    Caroline steeled herself before reviewing the proof. Hamilton Hardware was one of Meadows Advertising’s big accounts. Mr. Hamilton had several stores in the Indianapolis area, plus one in Belford and one in Muncie. The man had built his business from the ground up, so Mr. Hamilton was very hands-on. He even wrote his own print ads, emailing them to Richard weekly, and those ads were always in need of correction. The current one had a picture of a bathroom sink, with the following copy:
    If your in need of plumbing supplys, stop by Hamilton Hardware We have the best for lest!
    Caroline smiled to herself, knowing it was an easy fix, and went back to her emails. She went through them quickly but decided she could handle them later, since that Hamilton ad needed to be at the printer by noon, and Richard had asked her to get it done. Then one more message popped up, from Sharlene. She sighed as she opened it.
    Hi Caroline!
    I changed my email address to reflect my new status as your dad’s wife.
    Love, Sharlene
    P.S. If thirty-five is too young to be your stepmother, you can think of me as Mrs. Meadows-Benedict LOL!
    Caroline cringed and deleted that one. “A thirty-five-year-old stepmother,” she mumbled to herself.
    Sharlene was youthful looking, medium-height with a Barbie-doll figure, and always wore the latest fashions bought at high-end stores. She was also a highly successful saleswoman and had been an asset to Meadows Advertising till she met Daniel Benedict, who was no match for her charms.
    Medical insurance companies had attracted some bad press in the deepening recession. CEOs like Daniel were earning huge salaries while their employees worked for low wages and their clients’ premiums skyrocketed. Sharlene had arrived in Daniel’s office four years ago to sell him on the idea of a positive publicity campaign for his mega-corporation, a bold move for so small a company as Meadows Advertising. She had flirted with Daniel, flattered him, and generally inflated his ego to the point that he could not resist her or her advertising proposal.
    Officially they were business associates, but when Dad divorced Mom a year later, no one was surprised. Sharlene had proclaimed her love for Daniel and her intention to marry him to anyone who would listen, and to some who didn’t care to listen, like Caroline.
    Richard was as unlike his sister as two people could be and still share DNA. Both were very attractive people, even resembling each other somewhat. Both had dark brown hair and deep blue eyes, and since Richard was just under six feet tall and Sharlene always wore very high heels, they often appeared to be the same height. However, Richard was definitely overshadowed by his domineering older sister.
    Despite losing Sharlene’s capable sales acumen to her social ambitions, Richard pulled in clients of his own, including the large contract with Hamilton Hardware. Sharlene no longer wanted to work, and she didn’t need to anyway, having the use of Daniel’s credit cards, the run of his penthouse, and soon, the Benedict family home.
    Caroline laughed to herself, remembering what her mother had said. “Sharlene will fit in nicely with the suburban housewives in Belford.”
    ****
    Caroline rushed back into the air-conditioned office a few minutes late for her Chinese lunch with Lucy. The late May temperature was hotter than normal, and she was already overheated, but she hurried down the hall to her office nook to deposit her handbag and the mail from the post office. She stopped to dig through her desk, looking for that half-drunk bottle of water she’d stashed in there yesterday, but after opening and closing every drawer, she came to the conclusion