I looked at Fred and had to interrupt him.

I continued apologetically, "To be honest with you, Hartz has established a foothold in Solaris. My projects in Foswood with Tanum are going smoothly, and the several projects I have on hand are very substantial. I had initially planned to work alongside you, but..."

I glanced at him, feeling a little reluctant, but there were certain things that needed to be addressed.

"As you know, I don't want to be constantly surrounded by invisible crises. If my