"What are you *doing*?!" Laura demanded to know, furious.
"Just reminding Antony here of the ground rules," Remington said.
"Let him go, Remington," she said in a no nonsense tone that drew an angry glance from Remington before he shoved Tony against the wall once more, then released him. "I might have known you'd come crying to her," he sneered. Tony side-stepped away from Remington's anger, and moved closer to Laura.
"He says you fired him," Laura said.
"That's right. I wanted him to go to London on a case and he refused."
"London? What case?" Laura asked. She reflected over the current caseload of the Agency. "We don't have anything that requires a trip to London-"
"*You* might not," Remington said. "But the Remington Steele Agency does. I agreed to take George Craig's case."
"The background check of his fiancée?" Laura recalled. "You've *got* to be kidding! We agreed not to take that one. It's too -sleazy. The idea of someone doing a check on a woman he supposedly loves is-"
"*We* never agreed to anything, Laura," Remington reminded his wife. "You decided- without any input from me- that Mr. Craig should take his business elsewhere."
"It's *my* agency!" Laura declared hotly.
"Really? And whose name happens to be on the door, eh?" Remington questioned. "I thought *your* agency bore the name 'Laura Holt Investigations'."
"I spent too many years building that agency-," Laura began, but Remington cut her off.
"Oh, it was a solo effort, then?" Remington said. "No help from anyone else- not Antony, not Mildred- nor myself, I suppose. Little Laura did it all on her own. And had to *share* the credit for all of that hard work with a bunch of layabouts and hangers-on."
"I'm not going to let you just take over-"
"I don't see that you have much choice," Remington said. "Unless you're ready to give this nonsense up and come back."
"Nonsense?!" Laura questioned.
"Mistake, Steele," Tony commented softly, earning a baleful glare from the other man.
"You don't have to prove anything to anyone, Laura, and you bloody well know it! Now, either you come back to the Agency with me now, or let me run the thing my way."
"Your way? And does that include firing operatives when you're shorthanded just because you're jealous?"
"It's not about my being jealous," Remington insisted. "It's about trust. I don't happen to believe that Antony is trustworthy. Going behind my back-"
"I didn't go behind your back, Steele," Tony began, but this time Laura sent him a look.
"Stay out of this, Tony," she said. He lifted his hands and backed off.
"That's the first intelligent thing you've said," Remington commented.
"I don't see any reason to involve someone else in this. And Tony's still employed by the Agency," she added. "*I* hired him, and *I* am the only one who can fire him."
Remington's angry gaze didn't move from Laura as he asked, "Are you going to London, Antony?"
"Uh- no."
"Then my decision stands."
"There's no *reason* for him to go," Laura pointed out. "Because the Agency isn't going to take that case!"
"You can't run both agencies, Laura," Remington told her. "You have to decide which one is more important to you."
"You aren't going to take over like this," Laura insisted.
"I think you're wrong. I've already done it. It's *my* name that's on the door. Therefore, as long as you insist on continuing this- whatever it is- It is MY agency. I think a court would agree, don't you?" *Now where had THAT comment come from?* Remington wondered. "Unless you're willing to reveal the entire truth about Remington Steele's inauspicious beginnings, which would create just as many problems for you as for me, you would have a hard time proving that it isn't my agency."
"You weren't even *in* Los Angeles when-"
"Ah, but I didn't have to be, did I? You were always telling clients that Mr. Steele was 'out of town', or such, weren't you? Telling them that you would 'consult' with him via telephone about the current case?" he saw the frustration on her face and smiled tightly. "Aha, hoist by your own petard!" he declared. "Face it, Laura, it's MY agency."
"According to the State of California, it's considered community property," Laura pointed out.
"Hey, look, you two," Tony said, but neither of them acknowledged him as they stood there, eyes locked.
"Is that what you want?" Remington asked in a dangerously soft voice.
"*You're* the one who mentioned courts first," she reminded him. "I won't give up that Agency without a fight," Laura responded. "And until it's settled, Tony is still an employee of Remington Steele Investigations," she insisted.
Remington looked at her for a moment. "I guess I'll see you in court, then," he told her. "And I'll see *you*, Antony, back at the office." He turned and left the exhibition room, nearly bumping into a short, non-descript little man in a rumpled suit. "Excuse me," Remington apologized, continuing on his way out of the complex.
The little man watched Remington Steele disappear around the corner, then headed for the bank of pay telephones. He dialed a number and waited for it to be answered. "Yeah, Mary, it's Sid," he said into the receiver. "I'm at the Exhibition Center, doing some prelim on the Diamond Show . . . You know that lead we got about security for the exhibit? . . . Yeah, that's the one. Well, I've got some more information . . . Looks like the Steele-Holt marriage is headed for rough waters . . . That's right. Splitsville . . .Oh, and Mary, I need you to see what you can find out about Steele before he started showing up full time, okay? . . . Yeah, around fifteen years ago, I think . . . Thanks . . . I'll be back at the office in about an hour, I think."
Laura took a step toward the door as Remington left, then stopped, knowing that he wouldn't listen because she couldn't back down. Where the *hell* had that comment about community property come from? She wondered. "Dammit," she sighed.
"Go after him, Laura," Tony urged.
"It won't do any good," she said, shaking her head. "Maybe- maybe it's for the best."
"Divorce isn't the answer, Laura," Tony insisted. "I don't think he wants that anymore than you do. Is that agency really that important?"
"No. If it was, do you think I'd be here?" Laura asked.
"Then what was all of that about just now?"
"I wish I knew, Tony," she said. "At least you've got your job back."
"Yeah. He'll probably stick me with morgue duty," Tony groaned. "But at least it's a paycheck, I guess. You want me to hang around for awhile?" he asked her.
"No. The security people should be here soon. And I'm having lunch with Daddy."
"You're sure you don't need any help? I'd rather run errands for you than fetch autopsy reports for *him*."
Laura's laughter was tinged with sadness. "Thanks for the offer, but you've got some fence mending to do with Jessica, remember? And the best place to do that isn't with me."
"I think that the fence is already firmly in place, Laura."
"Then you'll just have to find a way to tear it back down," she told him.
***
A client was just leaving the office when Remington returned. He smiled as expected of him, shaking the man's hand, reassured him that he would be keeping a close eye on the man's problem with a view to a speedy resolution. But it was all window dressing. The moment the gentleman took his leave, Remington couldn't have repeated the man's name.
"Boss?" Mildred asked, sounding far away. "Mr. Steele?"
All he wanted to do was go into his office and lock the door. Forget what had just happened. Mildred's hand on his arm cleared the thick fog that was threatening to close in around him.
"You okay, Chief?" she asked.
"No, Mildred," he said truthfully.
"Terri told me that Tony walked out earlier. What happened?"
"Antony." He looked at Terri. "Reset the appointments again, Terri. Mr. Roselli will be back sometime today."
Terri sighed, obviously confused. "Yes, sir, Mr. Steele."
"I'll be in my office," Remington told her.
"Your next appointment is due in ten minutes, Mr. Steele," Terri informed him.
"Mildred, can you-?"
"Sorry, Chief. I'm meeting with Mr. Halverson at eleven-thirty."
Remington nodded, and turned toward his office again, then stopped once more. "Terri, would you get my sister on the phone, please?"
Terri picked up the phone as he continued to his office. She glanced at Mildred. "Miss Krebs, what's going on?"
"I'm not sure. I'll be in Mr. Steele's office for a minute."
Terri spoke into the phone. "This is Miss Carson in Mr. Steele's office. Is Miss Beecham in? . . ."
***
Remington was standing by the window when Mildred entered the office, his hands stuffed into his pockets, looking like a lost little boy. "Okay, am I going to get an explanation?" she asked.
"Nothing much to explain, Mildred. I fired Antony this morning-"
"Good for you. We don't need him. Edward said he'd help out-" She frowned. "But- you told Terri that he's coming back."
"He went straight to Laura," Remington told her.
"The rat," she commented.
"I tend to agree." The telephone rang, and he picked it up. "Hello? . . . Thank you, Terri . . ." he pushed a button. "Jessica . . . Are you free for lunch? . . . Good. I'll see you then." He hung up the phone.
"Laura seems to think that she can run THIS agency while she's out there running her own," Remington told Mildred. "We argued- somehow or other things escalated until we were talking about community property and court, and-"
"Oh, no, Boss," Mildred said with a worried frown.
"She really expects me to just sit back and let her pull the strings the way she's always done, Mildred. But I can't do that. Not anymore. I think I've learned a few things over the years- thought we were equals. I guess I was wrong. She still sees me as a front man- someone to glad hand the clients while *she* does the work."
"But- involving lawyers- and what about the kids?"
"I know. That's what I was thinking about all the way back to the office. What the hell am I going to tell the children?"
The intercom buzzed again. "Yes, Terri?"
"Mr. Miller is here, Mr. Steele."
Mildred saw the blank expression on Remington's face and tapped the file that was laying on his desk. "Final update on the disposition of his case?" she reminded him gently.
Remington glanced at the folder and his notes that were paper clipped to it. "Of course. Thank you, Mildred." Into the intercom, he said, "Show Mr. Miller in, please, Terri."
"I'll go out through Mrs. Steele's office," Mildred told him.
"Mildred, about Laura's office-"
"Yes, Boss?"
"Why don't you take it over? No sense in your sharing an office with Antony as long as we have the extra room."
"I will," Mildred told him. "But only until Mrs. Steele comes back. And I'm sure she will. I refuse to believe that after everything you two kids went through it would end this way."
Remington nodded, his expression carefully hiding his doubts as she went through the connecting door. The main door opened, and Terri led Anton Miller into the office. "Ah, Mr. Miller. Do be seated," he said, smiling warmly as he clasped the client's hand. *Icy calm, old boy*, he kept telling himself. *Icy calm.*
***
"Laura, you didn't threaten a divorce over the agency, for goodness sake," Edward told his daughter over lunch. 'That doesn't make sense."
"Nothing is making any sense right now, Daddy," Laura insisted. "I don't know what happened. One minute we were arguing over Tony and the Agency, and the next I was saying things that I couldn't believe I was saying. And we never really mentioned that word. It was like- like we were arguing over who was going to get custody of the damn Agency!"
"It's better than arguing custody of the children, I suppose," Edward commented.
"It's not funny," Laura said.
"No. Something like is never funny," Edward agreed. "I had it easy when your mother filed. I was out of the country. But it was still hard for me. Especially since I knew that I couldn't see you or your sister- explain why I'd left. Speaking of that- I think the children need to see their mother. Maybe you'll have the chance I didn't- the opportunity to explain what's going on. Megan, especially needs you around."
Laura frowned. "Megan? Why? Is something wrong with her?"
"Well, there was an incident at school . . ."
***
"Am I right, Jessica?" Remington asked over lunch at La Trec. "Would a court agree with me, or with Laura?"
"Remington, I hate getting involved in this. It doesn't seem right, somehow, for you and Laura to be talking about divvying up the Agency. What's next? The children?"
"I'm not divvying up anything, Jessica. I just want to know."
"Legally- it's a gray area. Your name *is* on all the paperwork as the Agency's owner. So business-wise, yes, the agency is yours." She lifted at hand to forestall his victorious smile. "However- if we're talking community property- considering the time that Laura has put in with the Agency, a judge just might award her half of the Agency's assets. But surely it won't come to that, will it? I mean, neither of you want a divorce."
"I know that I don't," Remington said. "I can't speak for Laura at the moment." He sat back. "So she can't force me to keep Antony on the payroll?"
"No, she can't. But I'm not sure that firing him is a good idea, either."
"What do you mean? Jessica, you're not going to try and plead his case. Not after -"
"No, of course not. But- if you fire him right now, he could make things difficult if things *do* degenerate further between you and Laura. I won't kid you, Remington. Anything like that would be *very* messy. You're a magnet for the press. Anything you do seems to wind up in print. The tabloids would have a field day with a divorce and custody battle over the children- OR the agency."
Remington sat forward again. "Jess, do *you* understand what she's trying to do?"
"I think so. I've never really had to stand in anyone else's shadow the way she feels that she has, but I can understand, in a way."
"Then explain it to me. Because I haven't a clue, really. Oh, I know I talk a good game, but when it comes down to it-"
Jessica shook her head. "I'm not the one who needs to explain it. I think Edward's right. She just needs her - space right now. Time to figure out who Laura Holt Steele is going to be in the future."
"And if she decides that future doesn't include me?" Remington wondered. "What then?"
"We'll deal with it," she assured him, reaching across the table to touch his arm.
***
Mary, a grizzled, middle aged woman with a nasal voice, looked up as her boss came into the cramped basement office. "Sid. I thought you said you'd be back before now."
"I had some things to take care of," Sid told her, munching on a donut that he'd swiped from one of the desks in the press room. There were times when he disliked having been relegated to a basement office, and put in charge of the paper's archives. Right now wasn't one of those times. At least none of those kids up there would be able to scoop him on this story. "Did you get that information on Steele?"
"Yeah. There's not much," she told him, handing over a file filled with papers. "Most of it came from the morgue." She waved toward the stacks on the other side of the dark room. "Old articles from before fifteen years ago. Mostly interviews with Laura Holt, mentioning this place or that where her boss was at the time."
"And before that?" Sid asked.
"Nada. No mention of Steele anywhere that I can find. His dossier implies that he worked for the government before that, but-"
"He was too young to have done much," Sid commented, glancing at the file. "Okay. I got questions."
"What're you gonna do?"
"Mary, honey, haven't you learned anything from working with me over the last thirty years? When you've got questions, -"
"Go right to the horse's mouth," Mary finished. "You really think Steele will talk to you?"
"Sure he will.You saw all those interviews. The man's a press hound. There's a story here, Mary. I can smell it. And my nose is never wrong."
"I think it's all the newsprint," Mary muttered, shaking her head.
Sid sat down in his chair, grinning like a Cheshire cat. "We'll see, Mary. We'll see. And make sure you don't mention this to anyone else. This could be my ticket back upstairs to the big time. I'll show those college kids what a *real* reporter is supposed to do."
Mary just continued to shake her head. She'd heard it all before . . .
To Be Continued . .