True Love

All the time she had been talking to him, telling him about her extensive travels abroad before she'd finally taken a job as manager of the Business Department at Howard University, he had been thinking that any man would have designs on her. She was definitely a woman who deserved a man's complete attention. And if that thought hadn't been bad enough, at another time during the interview, when a small wisp of hair had fallen out of place and brushed her forehead, he had been tempted to reach over and tuck the strand back in place. There was no way he could work as closely with her as he would need to for the next six to eight months without feeling devoid of space…and of sane thoughts and body control. Shayla Kirkland might be well-qualified for the position she had applied for-to his way of thinking maybe even a tad overqualified-but she would also be a threat he didn't want to deal with. And with the security surrounding his company's development of the mangolid chip, better known as the MC Project, he didn't need anything or anyone around him that could challenge his focus. The last thing he needed was to be in the constant company of a woman he consistently thought of taking to bed.

Nicholas sighed before walking back over to the desk and sitting down. He leaned back in his chair, trying to remember the last time he had been intimate with a woman, and coming up with the conclusion that it had been too long. Because of his vigorous work schedule he'd been too busy to carve out time for a personal life, and he'd never gone for the idea of having sex just for the sake of doing so. At the age of thirty-two he had an intense sexual drive, like most men his age. However, he knew how to control it. Marriage and children were the last things on his mind. Although he much preferred a long-term relationship to a short-term one, he also preferred a relationship in which the two individuals knew up front what to expect and what not to expect. The one thing any woman he became involved with could not expect was an invitation to become a "live-in"-he allowed no one to invade his space-or share it, for that matter.

His last long-term affair had been with Olivia. They had lasted nearly a year before she began dropping hints that it was time for their relationship to move to another level. Since the level they'd been operating on had suited him just fine and he'd seen no reason to change it, she had decided to move on. That had been more than a year ago, and he hadn't been intimate with a woman since. Of course, since the press conference ten months ago-when it had been announced to the world that he was the half brother of superstar movie actor Sterling Hamilton-women from everywhere had been coming on to him in droves, but he'd been too busy to appreciate his newfound popularity. Not that he would have, anyway, since that wasn't his style. His mind had been filled with thoughts of mangolid chips and micron-controllers, not silken sheets, naked bodies, and hot sex.

Until today.

For the first time in over a year he had obsessive thoughts of sleeping with a woman-Shayla Kirkland. No, he quickly corrected, he had more than just thoughts of sleeping with her. During the interview, he'd had visions of her in his arms, the scent of her entrenched in his skin, the taste of her on his tongue, and the feel of him hard and solid as a rock inside of her. Lucky for him he'd been sitting behind a desk.

He was smart enough to know that Shayla Kirkland was a disaster just waiting to happen. She would tempt him to break his own personal rule of not dating any of his employees. Making a quick decision, he checked the block on the interview evaluation form for Do not hire. He would release her file to his secretary, so she could send out the customary Sorry, but you did not get the job letter.

He had to do whatever was needed to protect his space and his peace of mind.

Emotions too numerous to name swept through Shayla as she entered her home. Her world was tilting, and she was experiencing the movement right along with it. Leaning against the closed door to get her balance, she breathed in deeply to take a mind-clearing breath.

The interview had tense moments for her. Although Nicholas Chenault had been the epitome of a professional throughout the process, she had felt a tingling in the pit of her stomach every time she had looked into the depths of his golden eyes. Eyes that color were a rarity among African-Americans unless they wore color contacts. It was obvious his eye color was natural. It was perfectly in sync with his skin tone.

A glimmer of warmth flooded through her as she remembered sitting across from him during the interview. In the beginning it had seemed as if she had no defense against her attraction to him. His startling good looks had nearly taken the wind out of her sails, leaving her body feeling as if it were being heated.

Shayla pushed away from the door, walked across the room, and dropped onto the sofa. Although she had gotten off to a shaky start, she believed she would get the job. Then she would make Chenault Electronics pay for what they had done to her mother nearly twenty-seven years ago. First, she would deal with Chenault. Then she would find a way to take care of Thomas Jordache, the man who owned TJ Electronics. She would have taken care of him first if he had not been out of the country on business. According to his office, he would not be returning for another three weeks or so. That would give her time to put together a plan to deal with him, since he had been the initiator of her mother's woes back then.

Sitting up straight in her seat, Shayla reached over to pick up a book from the coffee table in front of her. It was her mother's diary. She had found it last week when she'd been in the attic going through her mother's things. The information she had uncovered after reading the diary had tilted her world, had literally rocked it. According to what her mother had written, Glenn Kirkland, the man Shayla had grown up believing was her father until his death two years ago, had not been. Glenn had married her mother when she was ten weeks pregnant with another man's child, willingly giving the unborn child his name, his love, and his protection. It had all come about because of a web of deceit and lies.

Shayla closed the diary and placed it back on the table. Twenty-seven years ago her mother suffered an enormous amount of humiliation for nothing. She had been stripped of her dignity and her pride, as well as her job, because of Chenault Electronics and Thomas Jordache.

Shayla stood and walked over to the window and gazed out. "Both of them will pay for causing you undeserved pain, Mama. I'll see to it."

Chapter 2

Nicholas was roused by a knock on his office door. He looked up as Paul Dunlap opened the door and stuck his head in. "Can I talk to you for a second, Nick?"

Nicholas pushed the papers he was working on aside. "Sure."

Paul had been head of security at Chenault Electronics for nearly thirty years. Now, at fifty-two, Paul claimed he would hold the position for just one year before retiring. Nicholas didn't know what he would do when that day came. Paul was much more than just head of security at Chenault. He had been Nicholas's father's good friend and trusted confidant. And now Paul was those same things to Nicholas. Paul was also a father figure, and as much a part of Chenault Electronics as Nicholas was. Paul was a highly intelligent man who took his job seriously. He always had. And now, with the high security measures surrounding the MC Project, Nicholas depended on Paul's skill and expertise even more. The world of technology was a very competitive one, and the ability to emerge as a leader within the industry could mean the difference between success and failure. Some people, those without scruples, would stop at nothing to get that success.

Nicholas watched as Paul walked in carrying an envelope in his hand. He placed the envelope before him on his desk. "Would you like to explain this, Nick?"

Nicholas glanced down at the envelope, which was addressed to Shayla Kirkland. He shrugged. "What's there to explain, Paul? She didn't get the job." Nicholas raised an eyebrow. "Is she someone you know?"

Paul shook his head. "No, but she's someone I wouldn't want to take a job with one of your competitors, especially TJ Electronics. They would just love to get their hands on a person of her caliber."

Nicholas leaned back in his chair and looked up at Paul curiously. "And just what do you know about her caliber? You weren't in on the interview."

Paul sighed. "I didn't have to be. I saw a copy of her résumé for security clearance. After reading it, I figured you'd grab her up. I was totally surprised when I saw Leanne typing up this letter."

Nicholas nodded. Leanne was his secretary. "What if I told you she wasn't a good fit?"

Paul sat down on the edge of Nicholas's desk and gazed at him pointedly. "After reading her résumé, I'd ask you this question-she wasn't a good fit for what, this company, or your bed?" A smile touched the older man's lips when he saw the deep coloring flush Nicholas's features. "In fact, I'd bet she was a very good fit for both this company and your bed, and that's what has you worried."

"I'm not worried about anything," Nicholas grumbled, pushing the envelope aside.

"Then maybe you're just a tad bit horny, son."

Nicholas couldn't keep from grinning. For as long as he had known Paul, and that had been forever, the man had been blunt, and straight to the point. It had been Paul who had taken on the chore of explaining the birds and the bees to the fourteen-year-old Nicholas when Alan Chenault had become flustered with embarrassment while attempting to do so.

"I'm glad you're finding humor in all this," Paul said, frowning. "The statement was not meant to be funny. It was said in all seriousness. I'd hate to think we're losing a prime candidate for employment because you don't think you'll be able to keep your pants zipped whenever you're around her."

Nicholas stopped grinning and sat up straight. "That's not it."

"Then what is it, exactly? Shayla Kirkland is looking for a job. Her credentials are excellent. Just imagine how her expertise could be used here. If we won't give her an opportunity to come work for us, who's to say that JT Electronics won't be her next stop? I told you I thought we'd be making a mistake by opening another company in the same city where Thomas Jordache is also doing business. We can barely tolerate the likes of him in Jacksonville."

As Nicholas studied Paul he heard the venom in his tone. It was there every time he mentioned Thomas Jordache's name. Although Jordache was their major competitor and had proved to be a pain in the butt more than a few times, Nicholas knew why there was more to Paul's immense dislike of him. It had a lot to do with Paul's sister, who had been married to Jordache for a short while. Paul had been against the marriage. But that wasn't the only reason. Over the years Nicholas had heard other rumors about why Paul disliked Jordache. He'd heard that over twenty-seven years ago Jordache, in an attempt to obtain classified information from Chenault Electronics, was said to have bought off one of Chenault's female employees, who'd been willing to give him what he wanted. It was a case of underhanded industry theft, or at least that's what they'd thought initially. It had been Paul, as head of security, who had uncovered the plot. Months later, after the woman had been fired, Paul had also discovered that the woman had been falsely accused. She had been an innocent pawn in one of Jordache's ruthless games.

Nicholas sighed, knowing Paul was right regarding Shayla Kirkland. He had been thinking with the lower part of his body rather than with his brain. Somehow and someway he would have to maintain an iron-fisted amount of sexual control around her even if it killed him…and it just might. There was only so much a man could take, especially a man who hadn't slept with a woman in over a year. He picked up the envelope and ripped it in two, knowing Paul was watching him with keen interest.

"Is she that much of a temptation, Nick?" Paul asked, cocking a curious eyebrow at him.

Shayla Kirkland's beautiful face and shapely body flashed through Nicholas's mind. "Yes, but I'll deal with it for the sake of the company. My relationship with Ms. Kirkland will be strictly professional, and nothing more."

Shayla watched her aunt take a sip of coffee, then put her cup back down on the table. As usual, she thought Callie Foster, her mother's younger sister by four years, was a beautiful woman who wore her age of forty-seven well. She could pass easily for a woman in her thirties. Shayla knew her aunt credited her good eating habits and her policy of staying in shape as the reasons for her young appearance.

"So, sweetheart," her aunt said cheerfully, interrupting Shayla' s thoughts. "What did you do today?"

Shayla sighed inwardly. Now was as good a time as any to tell her aunt about the phone call she had received an hour ago. "I had an interview earlier today, and got a call before you arrived making me a job offer."

Shayla saw the happiness that lit up her aunt's entire face. She knew Aunt Callie had been hoping that she would move back to Chicago permanently. Callie reached across the table and captured Shayla's hand in hers. "Oh, honey, that's wonderful. Now that your mother is gone, you're all the family I have." Her aunt's smile widened as she released her hand. "Did you take that job as manager of the business department at the hospital?"

Shayla sighed and deliberately watched her aunt's reaction when she answered. "No. I've taken a job as manager of international affairs with Chenault Electronics."

Callie Foster nearly choked on the piece of pie she'd just put in her mouth.

"Aunt Callie, are you all right?" Shayla asked, genuinely concerned. Her aunt' s reaction was a dead giveaway that she knew something.

"Yes, I'm fine," Callie said, trying to regain her composure. "Wh-what made you want to go to work for Chenault?"

Shayla put her coffee cup down as she decided just what she would tell her aunt. There had always been complete honesty between them in the past, and Shayla knew she would tell her the truth-all of it. "I came across Mom's diary, Aunt Callie, while packing up her things. It was in the attic." Determined to bring everything out in the open, she added, "And I know."

Shayla could tell from the way her aunt was nibbling on her lower lip that what she had read in that diary was something she was never, ever supposed to have known.

Aunt Callie cleared her throat "You know what, Shayla?"

"I know that Glenn Kirkland was not my biological father."

Her aunt said nothing for the longest time. When she did speak her voice was soft, almost weak. "You weren't supposed to find that out."

"Evidently."

Shayla watched as light tears formed in her aunt's eyes. Pushing her chair back, she stood quickly and walked over to the woman she loved so much. Reaching out, she took her aunt's hand in hers. "Come on, Aunt Callie, let's go into the living room. It's time for us to have a girls' chat, don't you think?"