True Love

But now, back in the privacy of her own suite, in the intimacy of her bathroom, Shayla wanted to indulge a little in fantasy, knowing nothing would ever come of it. That would make it easier to get down to business tomorrow. She needed to get thoughts of him out of her system. The information he had divulged at dinner about the Ling Deal indicated that he had put a lot of his company's funds into it, not to mention those of his financial backers. His hopes were high about this deal going through. Setting the Ling Deal into motion had connections to another project he had in the works, a project he'd avoided discussing with her. She couldn't help but wonder what it was. But still, without knowing it, Nicholas Chenault had placed in her hands a way to destroy him financially. And she could do so as soon as tomorrow. She could effortlessly ruin things for him at that business meeting in the morning.

But she didn't want to think about that. She wanted to fantasize. For just a few exhilarating moments, she wanted to pretend he was not her enemy, that he was her lover-a lover like no other, which wouldn't be hard to imagine since she'd never had a lover. For just a few moments, she wanted to wonder how things could be with him.

Closing her eyes, she could imagine his long experienced fingers caressing their way from the peaks of her breasts to the heels of her feet, making her whimper-a little like she was doing now, just thinking about it. She could imagine the feel of his kiss, hot and moist as it captured her mouth with frantic hunger-a hunger that she reciprocated.

Shayla opened her eyes. Fantasizing about the enemy was a lot less harmful than sleeping with the enemy, which was something she would never do. She was on a mission, and because of it Nicholas Chenault would suffer.

When she got out of the tub and began toweling dry her body, she did not feel good about that thought.

Nicholas couldn't get Shayla out of his mind. Unbelievable, he thought.

He had spent practically the entire evening with her discussing the Ling Deal, yet he'd hungered for her as he sat across from her, soaking in her beauty, inhaling her scent. He wasn't sure how he had managed to last through their meal. Never in his thirty-two years had he wanted a woman so much.

The last thing he needed was a distraction from the business at hand. At tomorrow's meeting he had to stay focused. There was more than just his money at stake. Three men he admired and respected were counting on him. They had combined their monies with his because they had faith that he could make it work. They believed in the mangolid chip that his company had developed as much as he did. Closing the Ling Deal was just one part-a very major part-of the big picture.

As Nicholas prepared for his shower, he knew he had to do whatever it would take to put Shayla Kirkland out of his mind.

Chapter 5

The following morning Nicholas discovered that putting Shayla out of his mind wouldn't be easy. The woman had too much of a sensuous draw about her. He wasn't the only one to pick up on it. When she walked into the meeting room, looking completely businesslike and professional, every man took notice. Her presence demanded their attention.

Paul had arrived very late the night before. Standing beside Nicholas, he whispered, "I can see why temptation was nipping fast and furious at your heels. She's a good-looking woman."

Nicholas frowned. For some reason he did not like nor appreciate the male attention being lavished on Shayla. "Let's get this meeting underway," he grumbled, ignoring Paul's soft chuckle.

"Feeling the sharp bite of primitive male possessiveness, Nick?"

The look Nicholas shot at Paul spoke volumes. He then shifted his attention from the older man back to Shayla. As efficient as she was beautiful, she had not waited for him to make introductions. A born diplomat, she was making her way around the room, speaking in fluent Chinese and conducting herself with culturally acceptable decorum. It was easy to see that the businessmen were just eating it up.

"Didn't I tell you she'd be an asset to us?" Paul asked, smiling. "Look how easily she's working that group."

Nicholas nodded. They both knew that it was expected for Westerners doing business in China to have a mastery of the given language. Although Nicholas's knowledge of the language was limited to a few words, Shayla, who was representing his company, was laying it on very smoothly with her vast knowledge of it.

He also observed her exchanging business cards with each man present. He knew from past experience that in China the exchanging of business cards was like shaking hands. It was part of the business etiquette. He had forgotten that major detail, and wondered where Shayla had gotten the cards. His company had not yet printed any for her.

By the time Shayla had made it over to where he and Paul stood, Nicholas was completely overwhelmed with her, as the others were. "Ms. Kirkland, I'd like you to meet Paul Dunlap, head of security at Chenault."

Shayla's gaze quickly left Nicholas and looked into the eyes of the tall handsome man standing beside him. She remembered the name from her mother's diary. He had been the security person to uncover Thomas Jordache's plot, and had brought it to the attention of Alan Chenault, resulting in her mother's firing. Knowing what she knew about the man, Shayla forced herself to offer her hand to him and pasted a smile on her lips. "Mr. Dunlap."

Paul took the hand in his. "Ms. Kirkland, welcome to Chenault Electronics." With his observant gaze, he studied her. "You look somewhat familiar. Have we met before?" he asked, releasing her hand.

Shayla quenched the panic that rose inside her. She hoped there was nothing about her that reminded him of her mother. Surely he couldn't remember that far back. "No, Mr. Dunlap, I don't think we have," she heard herself saying. "Unless we saw each other when I came in for my interview. Perhaps it was then."

Paul nodded as he continued to study her. "Perhaps."

Not wanting to give the man time to dwell on it, she said to Nicholas, "Everyone is ready to begin. How do you want the seating arranged?"

"Whichever way is comfortable for them."

Shayla nodded, agreeing with Nicholas's decision. Often, Chinese people saw Westerners' quick decisions as signs of suspicious behavior. It was imperative to be patient in any business negotiations with them. "I think that all of us sitting around the table will work out fine. Paul needs to sit on your left side, and I'll sit on your right."

Nicholas nodded, deciding not to ask why she'd suggested such an arrangement. He did want to ask her one thing before they began. "The business cards. Where did you get them?"

"After I went to bed I thought about the importance of having them. I got back up and used the computer in the office next to my suite to make them. I hope you don't mind."

"No, I'm very glad you thought of it. We don't need to get things off on the wrong foot." He glanced across the room at a Chinese gentleman standing alone near the window. "I take it you've met Mr. Ho Chin."

Shayla nodded. "Yes."

"We need to be cautious around him. He's the one I was talking about last night. The one who could sway the negotiations another way."

Shayla nodded again. She almost wanted to tell Nicholas that Mr. Ho Chin was not the only one who could sway the negotiations. She had the ammunition to destroy him herself, and that was her intent.

"If you're ready, Mr. Chenault, we can get things started."

"I'm ready."

Shayla walked off to deliver that statement to each man in the room.

"There's something about her that's familiar," Paul said to Nicholas as they moved forward to sit around the table.

Nicholas raised a brow. "Perhaps you saw her photo in her personnel file. I'm sure one was there when your department did their background check."

Paul nodded, his gaze still on Shayla. "Perhaps."

When the golden opportunity presented itself for Shayla to ruin Chenault Electronics, she discovered she couldn't do it.

Negotiations were tense, and had been all morning. They were going into their fifth hour, and what had seemed like a done deal earlier was anything but that now. All because of Mr. Ho Chin. There was something about him that Shayla didn't like, and she found herself wanting the deal to go through just so Nicholas could best the man. His arguments were nothing more than stalling tactics, and everyone in the room knew it. Up until this hour, the other Chinese businessmen in the room were still leaning toward closing the deal, but now things didn't look quite that way. Mr. Ho Chin was trying to discredit Nicholas in the only way he knew, and that was to question his sincerity in doing business with their country.

Shayla shook her head. None of this made any sense. True, the Ling Deal would be good for Nicholas's company, but it would also be good for the Chinese people. Ever since the sovereignty of Hong Kong had reverted back to China, the people of the Republic were trying to catch up in ways of advanced technology, and were doing an astounding job of it. What Nicholas was proposing in his plan was to put them on top, escalating them to a higher playing field than even Japan.

"May I try something, Mr. Chenault?" Shayla whispered, when it appeared the talks were momentarily at a stalemate.

"Anything is better than nothing," Nicholas grumbled softly for her and Paul's ears only.

Nodding, Shayla began speaking fluent Chinese, addressing her words to the men sitting across from them. They fully understood what she was saying, if their expressions were any indication. Nicholas frowned, wondering what she was saying to them. Whatever it was had their rapt attention. And whatever it was made Mr. Ho Chin not a happy camper. He suddenly spoke up in a loud voice, and Nicholas could tell he was angry about whatever Shayla was saying.

Keeping her voice soft and even, Shayla acknowledged Mr. Ho Chin's comments before turning to address the entire group again. After a few minutes, one of the other Chinese gentlemen began speaking. Shayla nodded, smiling. She glanced over at Nicholas and smiled again. Then she gave a reply to the man.

"What in the world's going on?" Paul had leaned over and whispered the question to Nicholas. "What's she saying to them?"

Nicholas shrugged. "I have no idea. She could be giving away the company, for all I know."

"Aren't you going to stop her?"

"No, I'm going to follow my gut instincts and trust her."

Paul lifted a brow. That might be Nick's inclination, but it sure wasn't his. Although he had pushed for her hiring, she had not worked for the company long enough to develop any sense of loyalty. This was just her second day on the job.