True Love

"Too blasted serious, if you ask me." Paul snorted. "I just wish he'd slow down and think things through before he acts."

Nicholas shook his head. He knew Paul would find fault with any man who was eager to replace him. Paul was used to doing things a certain way-not always by the book. Often he went by his gut feelings. Carl Stockard operated altogether differently, often before fully thinking things through. "If you feel he's not up to snuff, why don't you consider putting off leaving next year? Give yourself another couple of years to groom him."

Paul returned Nicholas's grin. He knew his game. "As much as I'm going to miss Chenault, this time next year I'm out of here. I plan to spend the rest of my days taking it easy on the water."

Paul spent a lot of his free time boating. Besides his spacious house in Jacksonville, he was also the owner of a nice yacht, which he occasionally used when the huge house got too lonely for him.

"Do you plan to check out the sights while you're here?" Paul asked as he shifted positions.

"Why, you?"

Paul nodded. "I thought I'd do it today. Maybe you ought to consider taking Ms. Kirkland with you."

Paul's words claimed Nicholas's attention. "Take her where?"

"Sightseeing."

Nicholas raised a brow. "Why would I want to do that?"

Paul shrugged at Nicholas's question. "For lack of anything better to do. That way you can spend time with her under pretense."

"Pretense of what?"

"Of not really wanting to spend time with her."

Nicholas frowned. "What's that supposed to mean?"

Paul shrugged his massive shoulders again. "It means just what I said, Nick. I have eyes, and I see things. Especially your interest. You're single, she's single. Why not go for it?"

"Because she's an employee, Paul, and you know I don't date my employees."

"Then fire her. If you fired her you wouldn't have to be concerned about her being your employee."

Nicholas turned a scolding glance in the older man's direction. "Your logic astounds me sometimes. I think Stockard isn't the only one in my security department that I need to worry about."

Getting up, Nicholas left the sauna, ignoring Paul's laughter behind him.

Chapter 7

She needed to formulate a plan.

Shayla knew that it was imperative that she stick to that plan and allow nothing to sidetrack her from it. Especially something like the huge larger-than-life arrangement of cut flowers she had received from Nicholas just minutes after returning from shopping.

A sigh broke from her lips as she looked at the exquisite floral arrangement. It was so large that it had taken two hotel clerks to deliver it to her room. The card that accompanied it was impersonal, and simply read, I appreciate your hard work, loyalty, and dedication. It was signed with his initials.

Shayla opened her daily planner to the current date. She tapped her pen against her chin in thought. The first thing she needed to do was to find out everything she could about this new project Chenault was working on. The Ling Deal was just a small part of a bigger picture, and she was determined to find out just what that bigger picture was. To accomplish that, she would have to gain Nicholas Chenault's trust. She would start there. She jotted down in her planner the words, I'll do whatever I have to to get Nicholas to lower his guard and trust me. Tonight at dinner I'll put my plan into action, and begin working toward that goal.

Then, after finding out whatever was being kept a secret at Chenault Electronics, she would use that to her advantage. When she was in the position that she wanted to be in, she would go about her original plans to destroy the company.

Shayla was pleased that she had some definable goals established. She would be operating under the principle of the three D's: deceive, discover, destroy. She was already working under an air of pretense, and would use that deception to discover what she needed to know. Finally, she would use what she discovered to destroy the company.

She closed her planner, feeling a whole lot better than she had yesterday. For just a little while she had let Nicholas Chenault get next to her. His masculine charisma had momentarily captivated her, and had made her lose sight of her purpose, her goal, and her plan. She would not let it happen again. As she had told her aunt, she was on a mission, and she was determined to see it through to the end.

Nicholas closed the hotel room door behind him and paused before walking across the lobby to get Shayla for dinner. She was a woman through and through, and he always found his control wavering around her. There was no way he should be taking her out to dinner tonight. They had no reason to come in contact with each other until the Mings' dinner party. She was free to do her thing until then, and he was free to do his. But a part of him was determined that they do their things together. To put it more bluntly, he had an overpowering desire to be in Shayla Kirkland's company whenever possible.

And that wasn't good.

Glancing down at his watch, he began walking across the lobby to her room. A knot was pulled tight in his stomach. Shayla Kirkland held a certain appeal he could not resist. Oh, there was that strong sexual appeal he came up against each time he saw her. But then she possessed another sort of appeal on a totally different level. She had an intellectual appeal that was playing havoc with his mind. The woman was as smart and intelligent as she was beautiful and seductive. It seemed that everything about Shayla Kirkland had the ability to turn him on. Did she have any clue as to the effect that she had on him whenever they were together?

He had precious little time to ponder that question as he stood before her door. He knocked once, and then the door opened. Soft light from inside her suite illuminated the section of the lobby in front of her room. Another knot pulled in his stomach when his eyes feasted on her. She was dressed in a chic mint-green pantsuit, and as usual she looked great. A mixture of desire and longing tried overpowering his senses, but he refused to let it.

"You look very nice tonight, Ms. Kirkland."

"Thank you."

"Ready?"

"Yes."

He took a step back when she moved out into the lobby, closing the room door behind her. "I hope you're hungry," he said, leading her toward the elevators.

"I am. I worked up quite an appetite while shopping."

When Nicholas reached up to push the elevator button, Shayla couldn't help but stare at his large hands. They appeared to be strong. His fingers were long, and the dark hair that dusted the back of his hands appeared in sharp contrast to the dark brown hair on his head. She realized that was because of the dim lighting in the elevator. His coloring, which she would have described as light almond, somehow added an air of supreme sensuality to him.

When the elevator opened, Shayla quickly withdrew her attention from his hands. "Will Paul be joining us?" she asked. A part of her hoped that he wouldn't.

"No. He grabbed something to eat earlier."

Shayla nodded. Good. It would only be the two of them. She was determined to put her plan into action tonight. "Thanks for the flowers. They're beautiful."

"I'm glad you like them. You're most deserving." He reached out and wrapped his fingers around her arms to assist her in taking a step back when the elevator stopped and others entered. The heat from his hands, those hands she'd just been so attentive to, made her tremble deep inside. She glanced up at him, searching for some sign that he had felt her reaction to his touch, then relaxed when she didn't notice any. They continued the elevator ride in silence.

Nicholas cursed silently. He had felt her tremble from his touch. He couldn't keep from imagining how she would react if he caressed her bare skin. For a moment, he wished he had the chance to find out. He inhaled deeply as he tried willing those disquieting thoughts away, then discovered he couldn't-especially when he was totally consumed by her scent.

Shayla's perfume, he thought, was downright alluring, sensual, and provocative. He leaned over, stopping a mere few inches away from her neck. At that close range he was getting the full potent effect of it. "What's it called?"

Shayla looked up at him, suddenly caught off guard by his closeness and the sharp coloring of his gold eyes. "What?"

"The perfume you're wearing. What's it called?"

She held his gaze. "Seduction."

She watched as the color of his eyes deepened. "I can understand why."

Shayla was spared having to respond when the elevator door opened.

When they stepped into the lobby, Nicholas couldn't resist placing his hand in the center of her back as he led her down the stairs and through swinging glass doors to a waiting limo.

Shayla turned to him, surprised. "We're leaving the hotel?"

"Yes, do you mind?" he asked when he noticed she had slowed her steps.

Yes, she minded. Since the day she had arrived, the hotel had served as her safety net. Instead of telling him her true feelings about the matter, she shook her head and said, "No."

Nicholas smiled. "Good. I thought it would be nice to get away from the hotel for a few hours. Besides, you and I need to get our stories straight."

Shayla waited until she was seated comfortably in the backseat of the limo with Nicholas before asking, "What stories?"

"The ones about our engagement. I understand Ming is not hosting some short-order dinner party. A number of Chinese dignitaries and quite a few important American businessmen will be attending. News of my engagement may surprise some, and I want to at least know something about my fiancée, in case I'm asked."

Shayla blinked at him. She hadn't thought her little white lie would cause this much trouble, and said as much.

"As you told Paul yesterday, you had to do what you had to do. I don't have a problem with the story you came up with. Engagements can easily be broken. And I'm not concerned about my business associates from the States. I can deal with them later. I just don't want Ming and the others to think they were deliberately deceived in any way. I have a feeling Ho Chin will be there, and I'm not sure he fully bought the story of our engagement. He may try his hand at digging holes in it."

Shayla nodded, and the limo made its way through the streets of Hong Kong to the restaurant.

Shayla's hand tightened around her wineglass as she answered another round of Nicholas's questions. The evening was not going as she had planned. She was supposed to be asking the questions. However, he was determined to find out everything he could about her for the dinner party.

"So let me see what information I have so far," he was saying. "Pink is your favorite color. You like jazz music. You have a weakness for chocolate. You prefer seafood to steak. Your most favorite place is the Islands, and doing volunteer work with charities is important to you."

Shayla nodded. "Now I think I deserve answers from you to those questions, as well."

Nicholas took a sip of his wine. "Believe it or not, you and I enjoy a lot of the same things, although pink is not my favorite color. Green is," he said, smiling. "Like you, I prefer jazz music. I enjoy chocolate, although I wouldn't go so far as to call it a weakness. I prefer a plate of plump fried shrimp to a T-bone steak any day, and I've enjoyed my visits to the Islands, too. My favorite place is St. Thomas."

He took another sip of his wine. "And I also firmly believe that a person should help those less fortunate. I've always devoted my time and money to a number of worthwhile charities. My favorite is Dream Maker-a group of other businessmen and I work closely with a foundation that helps fulfill the dreams of terminally ill children. I'm chairman of the board of that particular one."

Shayla didn't like this, finding out about the personal side of him. She preferred sticking to the business side. She didn't want to think of him as a separate individual, one with a life that wasn't connected to Chenault Electronics. She decided to move the conversation to one that was more to her advantage.

"Now that you have the Ling Deal, what's next?"

Nicholas smiled. He was still pleased with the way things had turned out. "Chenault is involved in a number of projects, some more important than others. Once you get back and get settled, I'll go over all the ones you'll be working on."

"Anything major?"

Fortunately for Shayla, Nicholas did not pick up on the eagerness to know in her voice. "All my projects are major. The most important ones are being worked on at the Jacksonville, Florida, office. However, there are a number that will be handled out of both Jacksonville and Chicago."

Two hours later Shayla and Nicholas had returned to the hotel. Although Shayla didn't feel the evening had been a complete waste, she did wish she could have obtained more information about Chenault's major projects.

When Nicholas walked her back to her suite, she turned to him after retrieving her key from her purse. "Thanks for dinner, Mr. Chenault."

Nicholas's gaze swept her face. "Considering the fact that we're supposed to be engaged, don't you think we should get into the habit of calling each other by our first names for tomorrow night's affair?"

A frown drew Shayla's eyebrows together. She didn't like the idea. Calling him "Mr. Chenault" had kept things on a business level. But still, she had to agree with his suggestion. "Yes, I suppose that makes sense, Mr. Chen-I mean Nicholas."

"We don't want to take any chances, do we?"

Shayla nervously gnawed on her bottom lip. She immediately stopped when she noticed Nicholas's gaze fasten on her mouth. "I guess not." She then held her hand out to him. "Thanks again for a nice evening."

Nicholas looked down at the hand she was offering him. A part of him knew he should take it and remove himself from her company immediately. Another part, though, wanted to do something he'd been dying to do since first meeting her. He glanced up from her hand to her face. "I don't think it's proper for an engaged couple to shake hands, Shayla. What happens if we're placed in a position where we'll have to kiss?"

A knot formed in Shayla's throat and heat settled in the pit of her stomach at the very thought of that possibility. The lump in her throat tightened, and the heat in her stomach grew more intense when she saw Nicholas's gaze had again fastened on her mouth. "I doubt that'll be necessary. The Chinese aren't big on public displays of affection."

"That may be the case, but Americans are, and a number of them will be there. I think we should get in a couple of practice sessions," he said, leaning toward her.

When Shayla realized his intent, she went still. How on earth would she be able to survive his kiss? Before her mind could provide an answer and before she could catch her next breath, Nicholas's lips captured hers. He tasted of the wine they'd had at dinner and the heat of desire. The mixture was intoxicating. On a sigh, her mouth opened under his, inviting the invasion of his tongue.

His kiss was possessive and urgent as it began mating rhythmically with hers. Automatically, instinctively, her tongue began moving with his as her emotions whirled and skidded out of control. Something in the back of her mind told her that she desperately needed this-the deep urgent mating of his tongue with hers, the release of the emotional turmoil within her, and the fierce heat that was totally consuming her.

From somewhere else, the voice of reason flashed through her delirious mind and tried convincing her that she did not need this. But when Nicholas's kiss deepened, becoming even more demanding, and his arms tightened around her, bringing her even closer to the muscled breadth of his chest, she thought that even if she didn't need this, she wanted it, anyway. She eradicated all thought from her mind, languidly content to be in his arms, savoring the heady taste of him.

The sound of a door opening and closing startled Shayla from the sensuous insanity possessing her. Since they were on a private floor with only three suites, the person who opened the door had to have been Paul. No doubt he had been a witness to their torrid kiss. Although her body was still somewhat out of whack, she forced her mind back on track, broke from Nicholas's kiss, and took a step back.

"Nicholas," she said breathlessly, "that was enough practice. I think we'll get it right if the time comes."

As Shayla's gaze settled on Nicholas's features, she saw that his lips were moist and glistening. His eyes had a glazed look that made the pupils appear a fiery gold. She also noted that they were both breathing hard.

"Yeah, I think you're right," he responded softly in a deep husky whisper. His gaze glued to her lips, he was ready to practice some more if she let him.

"Good night, Nicholas." Shayla opened her door and hurried inside, quickly closing it behind her.

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