True Love

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?"

Callie nodded and stood. The two of them left the kitchen and walked into the living room and sat down on the sofa.

"First of all," Shayla started off, "I want you to know that as far as I'm concerned Glenn Kirkland is, and forever will be, my dad. He was a wonderful person, and a fantastic father. I loved him so very much. If anything, finding out the truth makes me love him that much more, for giving me his love unconditionally."

Shayla felt a lump form in her throat and paused to steady her voice before continuing. "He was always there for me. He was the perfect dad, and I know he was a wonderful husband to Mom. Both Mom and I were devastated when we lost him two years ago."

Shayla took a deep cleansing breath as she remembered that time. She knew that during their entire marriage her mother and father had a close relationship. Evangeline Foster Kirkland, known to her family and friends as Eva, had taken her husband's death of lung cancer extremely hard. Shayla knew in her heart that no matter what had happened twenty-seven years ago between her mother and the man who was her biological father, in the end Eva had found true happiness with Glenn Kirkland. "Dad made Mom very happy," she said achingly, and she knew without a doubt that was true.

"Yes," Callie agreed softly as she reached over and captured Shayla's hand. "And she made him very happy, too." She understood Shayla's need to know everything, but she couldn't help but remember all the promises she, Glenn, and Eva had made to conceal the truth.

She looked into Shayla's eyes, wondering just how much of the truth she could handle. After a few emotional moments, Callie tightened her hold on Shayla's hand. "When we were kids in South Carolina, Glenn and his parents lived across the street from us. I think he'd been in love with your mom forever, and I know that she'd always loved him, too. Age was always a major factor, since he was five years older than Eva. Glenn said he was just biding his time and waiting for her to grow up. Everyone knew how he felt about her, and figured he would pop the question when Eva finished high school. That would have been around the time Glenn was to come home on leave from the military."

Callie shook her head, remembering that time, before she continued. "But he never got leave. The army shipped him off to Vietnam immediately after basic training. In the meantime, Eva graduated from high school and left to attend college in Florida."

"Why didn't they get together when he finally came back from the war, or when she had finished college?" Shayla asked quietly.

Callie stared off in the distance as if trying to regroup her thoughts. "Things weren't the same for Glenn after the war. During his stint in Vietnam he had gotten an injury that robbed him of the ability to father children. He thought it wouldn't be fair to ask Eva to marry him, so he did what he thought was the honorable thing and broke things off between them. Eva was devastated by that."

"Did Mom know the reason he broke things off?"

"No, but I did, and he made me promise not to tell her. Eva believed he no longer loved her. A part of me will always regret keeping that promise. Things might have turned out differently if I hadn't. Anyway, Eva remained in Florida after finishing college, and went to work at Chenault Electronics. Glenn was discharged from the army and decided to go to medical school in Washington, D.C."

Aunt Callie released Shayla's hand and leaned back on the sofa. "While working at Chenault, your mother met Thomas Jordache. She was trying to get over Glenn. I don't know the specifics of their short affair. All I know is that she believed he was someone she could care about, and move on with her life with. Then one day she showed up unexpectedly at my apartment in Atlanta with her suitcases, saying she had been fired from her job. Glenn was in town attending a medical convention at Emory University, and was at my place when she arrived. Hurt and torn, Eva told us everything that had happened. She also told us that she'd found out a couple days earlier that she was pregnant. Glenn told her the truth about why he had broken things off between them, and convinced her to marry him. He promised to love Eva's child as his own. And as far as anyone knows, you're a child Glenn and Eva made together. The only ones who knew the truth were me, your mother, and Glenn."

Shayla nodded, knowing it would have been easy for everyone to assume that, since Glenn had married Eva during the very early stages of her pregnancy. "What happened after that? The last entry in Mama's diary was made the day she married my father."

There was a brief pause as Callie tried to gather her thoughts and her emotions. Everything she was telling Shayla had happened long ago, yet recalling those times made it seem just like yesterday. She looked up into Shayla's eyes and smiled. "What happened after that is that you were born, a beautiful little girl. Your arrival in the world made Glenn and Eva very happy."

Shayla nodded. Her parents had taken enough baby pictures of her to prove that. "Do you know if Thomas Jordache ever tried contacting Mom?"

Callie's eyes were somber when she said, "No, but he knew about her pregnancy. Eva said when she told him about it, he told her to get an abortion. As far as he knows, she did."

Shayla shuddered at the thought of all her mother had gone through.

"Knowing all of this, Shayla-especially how Chenault treated Eva when they thought she was passing classified information to Jordache, which she wasn't-how can you even think about going to work for them?"

"I'm doing it for revenge."

Aunt Callie looked at her for a moment, obviously trying to make sense of Shayla's statement. "What do you mean, revenge? That incident happened nearly twenty-seven years ago. Anyone who was working there at the time has retired by now. From what I understand, Alan Chenault, who was president at the time, is dead."

Shayla nodded. "Yes, he died three years ago. His son is running the company now."

"And you plan to make his son pay for something he probably knows nothing about, Shayla? Think about what you're doing."

"He still represents Chenault Electronics, and they humiliated Mama. She didn't deserve that. She'd been a loyal and dedicated employee, and in the end they chose to believe the worst about her. They didn't even listen to what she had to say in her own defense."

Callie Foster shook her head. "And I guess you plan to make Thomas Jordache pay, too?"

"Yes, that's part of my plan."

Callie took a deep breath, knowing Shayla wasn't thinking straight. No doubt she was still in shock as a result of her mother's unexpected death two weeks ago in a car accident. She also knew that when Shayla made up her mind about something there was no changing it. Unfortunately, she had inherited a stubborn streak that could be a force to reckon with at times.

"Shayla, promise me you'll think about this, and not do anything foolish or vindictive that could get you into serious trouble. Please let what happened in the past stay in the past. Let it go, sweetheart."

"I can't do that. All the while I was reading Mom's diary I could feel her pain, her humiliation, and her frustration. I could feel her loss of pride and dignity at the hands of Chenault Electronics and Thomas Jordache. She didn't deserve what they did to her."

Callie captured her niece's hand in hers. "Be careful, Shayla. Sometimes revenge can be like a double-edged sword. You can taste a little of it yourself while you're trying to dish it out to someone else. I don't want you to be the one who gets hurt in the end."

Shayla met her aunt's worried stare. "I won't, Aunt Callie. I know what I'm doing."

Callie heard Shayla's words, but she was fearful that she really didn't.

"After reading Mom's diary I think she let Chenault Electronics off too easy."

Callie raised a brow. "What do you mean?"

Shayla released a long sigh. "I kept rereading the entry she made on the day she got fired. If I knew I was innocent of something I was accused of, I would stand my ground. There's no way I would have let them get rid of me without a fight on their hands."

Callie couldn't keep from smiling. Knowing Shayla and her stubbornness, she could see that happening. "Eva did speak up for herself, although I doubt she took it to the extremes that you would. She was a soft-spoken, easygoing person, Shayla. You know that. She never liked conflict of any kind. She was just that way. She was a peacemaker, and everyone loved her."

Shayla's smile was thoughtful, reflective, and filled with loving memories. "Yes, everyone did love her, didn't they?"

Callie shared Shayla's smile. "Yes, they did."

Chapter 3

Shayla sat cross-legged on her living room floor, mapping out in her daily planner all the things she needed to accomplish in the coming week. She was compulsive when it came to organization, and preferred doing things systematically by following a well-thought-out schedule. Although she could be flexible-if she had to be-she much preferred order to disorder, preparation to no preparation, and planning to last-minute decisions.

Those were the main reasons why at three o'clock Sunday afternoon, anticipating her first day on the job at Chenault Electronics on Monday, she was diligently planning the week ahead. No doubt her first week at work would be spent going through some sort of new employee orientation and a fast-paced management training program. However, the hours she spent away from work were her main concern at the moment. She needed to plan her meals for the week, get her clothes together, make a trip to the grocery store, squeeze in an appointment at the dentist, and arrange time for a repairman to come in and check out her washing machine. The spin cycle didn't seem to be working properly. Last, but definitely not least, she wanted to include spending time with Aunt Callie. They had decided to get together and enjoy dinner at some nice restaurant at least once a week.

Satisfied that she had covered all her bases for the week in an organized fashion, Shayla closed her planner. At that exact moment her phone rang. She reached over and grabbed it. "Hello."

"Ms. Kirkland?"

"Yes."

"This is Leanne Johnson, Mr. Chenault's secretary. I'm sorry to bother you at home, but Mr. Chenault asked me to call you to discuss your reporting to work tomorrow."

Shayla frowned. "Yes?"

"He apologizes for this last-minute change, but he's been called out of town on a very important business trip, and would like you to join him as soon as you can. He feels you can most definitely be useful to him right now."

Shayla's frown deepened. "I don't understand. Useful in what way? And where exactly am I supposed to join him?"

"China."

"China!" She thought she had misunderstood the woman.

Leanne Johnson's response assured her she hadn't. "Yes, China. There seems to be a glitch in some business negotiations, and he needs your help. Your résumé indicates you speak fluent Chinese."

"Yes. But what about my first day on the job tomorrow, here in Chicago?" Whatever happened to new employees' orientation or management training! She wanted to scream.

"Well, now it seems that your first day on the job will be in Hong Kong. Mr. Chenault has been placed in a bind, and really needs your help with some very important negotiations." As if that explanation were enough, Leanne Johnson added, "I just got off the phone with the airlines. Your tickets are ready. I hope your passport's in order."

"Yes, it is, but this is totally unexpected," Shayla implored.

"I know, and Mr. Chenault apologizes for any inconvenience, but he hopes you'll come through and meet him there. A courier will deliver a package containing information about the Ling Deal to you before seven this evening. He wants you to study it and become familiar with it. May I relay a message back to Mr. Chenault that you'll be joining him?"

No, no, no! Shayla wanted to scream. What gave Nicholas Chenault the right to mess with her well-ordered life? Taking a deep breath, she forced herself to remember why she had sought employment with Chenault Electronics in the first place-revenge. A major part of dishing out that revenge was getting to know as much about the company as possible, and what better way than to have firsthand knowledge of Chenault's business dealings? She released a deep sigh. She wasn't crazy about the idea of going anywhere, especially out of the country, on such short notice. At the university where she had worked for the past two years, business trips were planned far in advance, especially those that took her out of the country. Evidently in the private sector things were different. They were fast-paced, competitive, and last-minute.

"Yes, tell Mr. Chenault I will be joining him there."

"Thank you, Ms. Kirkland, and I hope you have a nice week."

After hanging up the phone Shayla looked down at the planner in her lap. All her well-thought-out plans for the week had just been cancelled-big-time.

Shayla had not given much thought to the mistake she might be making by going to Hong Kong until she began packing later that night.

After her conversation with Ms. Johnson, she had immediately called her aunt. Callie owned one of the most exclusive clothing stores in Chicago, and she was a lifesaver, helping Shayla get ready for her trip, opening the store that evening just for her. Shayla had met her aunt at Callie's Fashions and shopped to her heart's content.

Now they were in her bedroom, while Shayla packed.

"Are you sure you're doing the right thing, Shayla?" Her aunt's question interrupted Shayla's thought. She decided not to tell her that she was beginning to have second thoughts. Instead she said, "Yes. I have to do this, Aunt Callie. I know you don't understand, and I respect that, but there's no way I can let Chenault Electronics or TJ Electronics get away with what they did to Mama."

"Things worked out fine in the end for Eva. If you ask me, they did her a favor. If things hadn't turned out the way they did, she would never have married Glenn. Have you thought of that?"

Shayla nodded. Yes, she had. But still, their treatment of her mother was inexcusable, unforgivable.

"Tell me about Nicholas Chenault," Callie said quietly.

Shayla continued packing, hoping her aunt would not notice the tint that colored her face. For some reason just the thought of Nicholas Chenault did that to her, and that wasn't good. "What do you want to know?"

"Well, is he good-looking?"

Shayla turned to her aunt. The eyes that met hers were filled with curiosity, knowledge, and understanding-a woman's understanding.

"Yes, he's good-looking."

There was a moment of silence before her aunt spoke again. Her voice was thick with caution. "Shayla, don't go," she pleaded in a soft voice. "I don't think you understand what you might be getting yourself into. A week in Hong Kong alone with Nicholas Chenault may not be such a good idea."

Shayla turned back around and pretended to be totally absorbed in her packing. "It's just a business trip, Aunt Callie, nothing more."

"Yes, sweetheart, but even things of the most innocent nature usually start off that way."

Shayla chuckled to shake off her feelings of uncertainty. "I know all about the birds and the bees."

Callie caught Shayla's wrist before she could place another piece of clothing in her luggage. "I'm not talking about the birds and the bees, Shayla. I'm talking about your heart."

"My heart?" Shayla asked, frowning.

"Yes, I'm talking about your heart, and the risk of losing it. Don't you see?"

Shayla really didn't see at all. She couldn't help wondering what her heart had to do with anything. Over the years she'd had her share of dates, but none had ever come close to having any effect on her heart. She'd decided long ago to hold out for that special kind of love her parents had shared, and would not settle for anything less. She'd always known her parents had a close relationship. Now, after reading her mother's diary and having her long talk with her aunt, she understood why. In everything they'd done, love had governed their actions. Despite all their trials and tribulations, things had worked out for them in the end. It had been meant for them to be together. Even when Glenn had been robbed of the ability to father a child, a twist of fate had given him her. He had loved her and accepted her as if she'd come from his own seed. Not once had he held her mother's brief affair with Thomas Jordache against her. Love that pure and that true was hard to find with a man.

Shayla glanced down at the hand that was holding her wrist gently. They were the hands that had often braided her hair when she was a little girl. They were hands that had wiped away tears from her eyes when she'd discovered that a boy she had a teenage crush on was more interested in her best girlfriend than in her. They were the hands that had comforted her when she'd lost her father, and most recently they were hands that had held hers throughout her mother's funeral services. They were loving hands, caring hands.

Shayla didn't want her aunt to worry about her. She reached out and hugged her. She had always been there for her, and always would be. "Trust me, Aunt Callie, my heart will have nothing to do with it. Although Nicholas Chenault's not directly to blame, it was his father's decision to fire Mama without taking into consideration that she might have been innocent. I won't be able to overlook that."

"But still, sweetheart, you may not know all the facts. Eva's involvement with Thomas Jordache may have been guilt enough in Chenault Electronics' eyes. He was their biggest competitor back then. Besides, you don't know how thick Thomas Jordache's web of deceit and lies was."