While Mac couldn't concentrate on work because he constantly thought of Afton, Afton had a hard time concentrating on running the shop because of her guilty feelings. A dozen times she wanted to tell her lover the truth, but a dozen times she stopped herself from revealing more than Mac could possibly handle right now, or at least what she could possibly handle in the way of the truth.
On New Year's Day, she asked Mac if she could attend the Wednesday meeting with Leonard Volkes and her brother just as an outside observer. The publisher agreed; in fact, he decided it would be an excellent idea to have her input.
"Someone with your intelligence," Mac remarked, "but with little knowledge of the subject matter will certainly add an impartial viewpoint. You'll be my gauge as far as publ
