The Hellion's Waltz: Feminine Pursuits

“My mother lived and died believing that what we did together was more important than what each of us did alone.

The problem,” she said, “is when people think the factory is more important than the people who work there.”

“If the work cannot go forward without you,” she countered, “then it is doomed to fail. You cannot base a collective on the effort of a single person. No matter how dedicated that one person may be.”

“So now you’re an accomplice,” Maddie murmured, and on her tongue it became the sweetest of endearments. “Tell me: How much time do you need?”