CHAPTER ONE
“When are you coming back?” Mary-Knight Tyler whined.
Laney Parks sighed heavily. She was seconds away from wringing her supervisor"s neck. “I"ll be back on the twentieth. I put a reminder on your calendar last month.”
“The least you could have done was taken a four-day cruise. How am I supposed to get anything done while you"re on vacation?”
Laney didn"t have to tell the snooty bitch that if she didn"t use her well-earned vacation she would lose it. Mary-Knight Tyler already knew that but insisted on muttering about it. It was pointless for Laney to mention she had only used two days of vacation last year. She would have used more if it weren"t for Mary-Knight calling her at all hours of the night, barking at her to complete projects, projects she would present to the big wigs as her own.
It was only by sheer grace that Laney and she hadn"t had an all out catfight by now. Lord knows it had been building up for three years.
“You realize you"re going to have to do some serious overtime when you get back, right?”
“I know.” Laney sighed under her breath. “You"ve mentioned that twice already.”
“I just want to make sure you understand how much we have to do.”
Correction, Laney thought, I"ve completed all my projects. You mean all the work you want me to do for you.
“Make a list,” Laney said in a monotone, “and we"ll work on it when I get back.”
She wouldn"t dare tell Mary-Knight that her cruise didn"t leave until next Saturday. Laney needed the next few days off to relax and to completely forget about work. If things went according to plan, she would be engaged next week.
There was no way she was going to let Mary-Knight ruin it by stressing her out about her workload.
There was a beep from the phone and a smooth rich voice flowed through.
“Mary-Knight?”
Laney watched Mary-Knight"s eyes widen as she leaped closer to the phone.
“Yes, Mr. Sinclair?”
“We"re having a quick meeting about the prospect of the Zelman account. Can you join us?”
“Yes, Mr. Sinclair.”
Apparently satisfied with her eager response, a loud beep emanated from the speaker, signaling the call had just been terminated. However, May-Knight continued to gaze at the phone a few minutes longer. Her eyes had gone slightly dreamy and, whether she was aware of it or not, she licked her lower lip nervously. For a minute, Laney thought she looked years younger.
Laney hadn"t missed the seductive tone of Mary-Knight"s response. It was common knowledge that every woman at Sinclair Corp had a crazed crush on the CEO, Nicolas Sinclair. However, Mary-Knight"s feelings veered more toward obsession. Even as she reapplied her makeup and sprayed on a B & B Works sweet pea scented splash along her neck, it was clear she was hopelessly in love with her handsome boss. As it was, Mr.
Sinclair was little more than a ghost to everyone but his executive team. He was rarely in the office and when he was, he met with his secretary, Linda, and a select few. The end result was very few people ever saw him.
Seeming to have wakened from her love-struck stupor, Mary-Knight gave a small cough and pulled herself up taller. Her eyes now flashing with alert clarity, she fixed Laney with her best predatory smile. “I"ll work on a list this evening,” she sang out.
“Are you working late today?”
After working with the woman for years it still amazed Laney how Mary-Knight managed to disguise her demands as harmless questions. It gave Laney great satisfaction to match Mary-Knight"s false smile with one of her own. “No, I"m leaving at noon, remember?”
Her smile vanished. “But, Laney, I need your help on the Moore project!”
There was a definite note of desperation in her voice.
“Can it wait until I get back?”
Mary-Knight tossed a lock of auburn hair over her shoulder and fixed her assistant with a cold look. “No, it can"t.”
* * * *
Laney didn"t get home until seven that night. Damn Mary-Knight. Not only had she waited until an hour before she was scheduled to leave the office before surprising her with the Moore account, the idiot hadn"t worked on it at all. Once again Mary-Knight was tossing her work at Laney. There was no justice.
Calm down, girl, she soothed herself. Yes, Mary-Knight was a bitch but if Laney could just hang in there for another year or so, her supervisor would eventually be promoted and out of Laney"s hair. Shaking her head, Laney forced herself to think of better things. No more Mary-Knight. No more Sinclair Corp. She was officially on vacation. The only thing she needed to concern herself with was what to pack.
Laney had just laid out several potential outfits when Danny sailed through her front door. She wasn"t concerned with his comfort in her home.
Like clockwork, Danny had arrived on her doorstep exactly at eight p.m.
every weekday for the last year. It had become quite pointless to lock her door around that time, so Laney had gotten into the habit of leaving her front door unlocked when she got home in the evenings, knowing Danny would lock it when he arrived.
“Hey, babe,” he called out. “How was work today?” He kissed her on the cheek as he made his way to the kitchen.
She groaned loudly. “I"m trying to forget about that place, Danny.”
“Mary-Knight is a bitch.”
“Always.”
She knew he only said that to excuse himself from having to listen to her complain for an hour about how incompetent the woman was. Normally his ploy wouldn"t have deterred her but Laney was tired of wasting energy thinking about the office.
Laney and Danny had been neighbors since she moved into her small but stylish flat over a year ago. Daniel Rushmore owned his own interior design company and he was very good at it. He worked for the most prestigious San Francisco residents and had built a reputable name as the leading designer for high-rises and condominiums Normally very private people, strangely Danny and Laney hit it off early in their friendship.
A rarity for them both, since they didn"t exactly hang out in the same circles.
“Here you go, sweetie.” Danny handed her a glass of red wine. “We deserve it.”
She smiled. “I couldn"t agree with you more.” She took a small sip of her wine and concentrated on the clothes spread across her bed.
“I read an article today on your boss, Nicolas Sinclair. They did this big editorial on him in Traditional Living. Wade Dobber redesigned his dining room. It looks amazing.”
She shrugged. “I wasn"t aware that dining rooms were national news.”
“They"re not.” He grinned. “But I"m pissed you never told me how cute he is.”
She shot him an appalled look. “That Sinclair fellow is hot, Laney!”
She rolled her eyes. “I guess.”
“You guess?”
“I"ve never noticed, Danny.”
“You mean you"ve never noticed because he"s white.”
“I mean I"ve never noticed because he"s not Rob.”
He rolled his eyes. “Oh, how could I forget tall, ebony Rob?”
“Don"t be rude, Danny.”
Danny turned up his nose. He"d never cared much for her boyfriend and had never pretended otherwise.
“Back to Sinclair … you have to introduce me.”
“No, Danny.”
“Why not? You don"t even like him.”
“No, I don"t.”
“Because he"s white.”
“Danny, you"re white.”
“Oh, you have a point.” Danny"s gray eyes flitted to the side. “Well, I"m your only white friend.”
“You"re my only friend, Danny. I barely know anyone here. If it weren"t for our mailboxes being next to each other I wouldn"t even know you.”
“I guess you have a point. You"re a hermit.” He stretched out across her bed.
“So you"ll think about introducing me?”
“Danny, sweetheart, I don"t even know the guy. He"s a silver-spoon kid.
He barely puts in a cameo at work and when he does he only talks to his executive team
behind closed doors. I"ve only seen the guy a handful of times.
Besides, I"m pretty sure
he"s straight.”
He mulled over the information. “So you"ll think about it?”
She tossed a pillow at him.
“Okay, I was just joking.” He glanced at her selections. “Take the black, the ice blue and the peach dresses.”
“You think? I wasn"t so sure about the peach one.”
Danny snapped his fingers in her face. “Honey, if I weren"t gay I would be all over you in that dress.”
She laughed. “You"re insane.”
“I know.”
* * * *
“William Zelman, it"s a pleasure to see you again.” Nicolas Sinclair gave the elder man a firm handshake. “Nice of you to join us.”
William Zelman was a power player and he knew it. He also knew every marketing firm on the west coast would kill to take over his account, which allowed him to be reserved in all dealings.
“Sinclair, isn"t it? What a surprise. I didn"t know you would be here tonight.”
“This is a bit of a last-minute stop for me.”
“Interesting. I wasn"t aware you were affiliated with Ritchie Benson.”
“We socialize from time to time. He"s good friends with my father.”
“Right. How is Sheldon?”
“He"s well, thank you.”
He nodded. “Glad you could make it.”
Properly dismissing Nick, William Zelman turned to the man at his right and began a conversation. Nick was surprised Zelman remembered his name. They had been to many of the same events but Zelman never had much to say to him. There were times when he outright ignored him.
Zelman was the type of man that rarely spoke and when he did it was with cautious forethought. Never one to give too much away, he was always watching his surroundings, careful to note even the smallest and insignificant of actions. He had created quite a reputation for walking away from business ventures for the oddest reasons. One rumor claimed Zelman backed out of a huge sale because the guy smacked his food during the celebration dinner the night before signing.
As it was, everyone was talking about the Zelman and Proctor shakedown. The buzz was that the Zelman soup campaign had recently bombed due to an ill-timed marketing strategy launched by Proctor, Inc.
Zelman counted this as the final straw of failed marketing plans and was actively accepting bids for a new promotion firm. Nick knew that Sinclair Corp could stand to gain millions from the acquisition of the Zelman account but the trick was to persuade Zelman to see the light. It was near to impossible.
As fate would have it, a colleague who happened to know Nick drew Zelman into conversation. The discussion ranged from sports to home life.
Nick had little to say at this point, as he was a confirmed bachelor. Instead, he stood by and listened intently, but he wasn"t alone. Cooper Wright, a competitor, had managed to dance his way into the group.
For the most part they both remained quiet, letting the men exchange light banter. Both Nick and Cooper were biding their time, waiting for the perfect opportunity to lure Zelman into a discussion. So for now they stood politely aside, letting the older men carry on. An hour had passed, and the group had turned to more domestic issues. To Nick"s amazement, Zelman, (who was normally quiet and reserved) became quite vocal when the attention turned toward family life. Nick saw this as his opportunity.
“A man"s family is the most valuable treasure he can obtain during his lifetime,” Zelman said with fervor. “I"ve had many successes over the years, but none of that matters when I see the look on my wife"s face when I come home.” “I couldn"t agree with you more.” Nick was just as surprised as Zelman by is response.
William Zelman"s bushy eyebrow perked. “You"re married, Sinclair?”
“Yes, sir,” he answered before he could catch himself.
“I had no idea.”
“Neither did I.” Cooper Wright picked this opportunity to join the conversation.
“Please tell us, Sinclair. How long have you been wed?”
There was a knowing smile that tickled the corners of Cooper"s lips.
He was clearly on the verge of laughing out loud but curiosity made him refrain. He obviously wanted to see how far Nick would go.
“We"ve been married for a year now.”
“Strange, as many times as we"ve run into each other, I"ve never seen Mrs. Sinclair.” Cooper had thrown down the gauntlet. If Nick wasn"t careful, his big mouth was going to bury him alive.
“Well, that shouldn"t be a surprise. I"ll keep her hidden for as long as I can. I wouldn"t let my wife come within ten feet of you guys.” He laughed off an unusual shiver of nervousness. “I wouldn"t want her to realize how good I made out in the deal.
It"ll give her a reason to leave me.” He winked at Zelman, unsure if that answer was even believable. William Zelman eyed him suspiciously for a torturous minute before joining him in his jest. “Good for you, Sinclair. I thought I was the only one. I hate going to these industry parties, but I"d hate it even more if Vivian were with me. I may be old but I"m just as possessive today as I was the day I met her.”
Nick released a sigh of relief. With any luck he could maneuver his way into Zelman"s good graces and land his account. Screw Cooper. He was going to ride this for all it was worth.
As if reading his mind, Cooper Wright did not wish to be forgotten.
“Perhaps our wives could get together sometime, Sinclair.” His gaze threw a daring message at Nick.
“You know, like a homemade dinner at my place. Perhaps you would like to join us, Mr.
Zelman?”
Nick knew damn well Cooper wasn"t married. He was moving in on his territory by trying to destroy his edge. “I"m afraid that"s not possible, Coop.”
“Why not? We would love to have you over.” He winked at Nick.
“Both of you.”
Nick flashed him a strained grin, his mind viciously working to come up with a reason why he couldn"t bring his imaginary wife to dinner. “We have plans that will make us quite unavailable for the next few weeks.”
“Is that so?” Cooper"s eyes sparkled. Nick would have dropped the conversation with that response but Cooper and Zelman were staring at him expectantly, waiting for an explanation. Shit. What could possibly be so important that he"d have to postpone a simple dinner date?
Then the bulb of brilliance lit in his head. “Our anniversary is coming up.”
“Interesting.” Cooper laughed, unamused.
“Is that right?” Zelman gave what could vaguely be called a smile.
“So is mine. This month?”
“Uh ….” Nick was speechless.
Zelman didn"t wait for an answer. “Vivian and I are celebrating our thirteenth anniversary this month.”
“S-so are we. I mean our anniversary is this month as well.” Nick struggled to keep up with the turn of events.
“Congratulations to you both,” Cooper acknowledged. “Mine is this summer,” he lied.
Zelman nodded. “Any special plans, Wright?”
Nick smiled. It was nice to see Cooper pale a little under Zelman"s piercing gaze.
“Well, I hadn"t really decided on anything in particular.” He blushed a deep red.
“I let the little lady plan things like that.”
“Oh.” Zelman nodded, unimpressed. “And what about you, Sinclair?”
Nick searched his mind frantically. Suddenly this morning"s conversation with Mary-Knight popped into his head. I have the reports ready but I"m waiting for my assistant, Laney, to type them up. She"s going on a cruise to the Caribbean with her boyfriend. I"ll make sure she handles this as soon as she returns. A wave of confidence settled over Nick. Finally he had control over this absurd conversation. He now knew how to gain Zelman"s respect and shut Cooper up.
“A Caribbean cruise.” He smiled. “My wife and I are going to relax and fall in love all over again.”
Cooper"s mouth dropped.
“I"ve been thinking about this for months,” Nick boldly fabricated. “I wanted to do something extra special for my girl and I think this will work.”
Zelman patted him on the back. “Great minds must think alike. I"m taking my wife on a cruise to the Caribbean for our anniversary too. Out of Florida?”
Nick nodded, not trusting himself to speak any longer. Zelman laughed. “I wouldn"t be surprised if we"re booked for the same vessel.”
* * * *
Nick sat in his car thunderstruck. His conversation with Zelman and Cooper had really veered into left field. How was it that he had claimed to be married for a year and celebrating his anniversary next week? How had he managed to keep a straight face when he lied to Zelman about all the wonderful attributes of his bride? Even more important was how could he make this situation work to his benefit? Thinking with a clear head for the first time tonight, he flipped open his cell phone and punched in a number.
“Hello?”
“Linda, this is Sinclair. Did I wake you?” It was eleven p.m. and Linda was a mother of two--of course he"d woken her.
“No, Mr. Sinclair.” She muffled a yawn. “I was up. How can I help you?”
“I need you to find out which Caribbean cruise ship departing from Florida, William and Vivian Zelman have reservations on and book passage for Mr. and Mrs. Sinclair on the same liner.”
“Okay.”
“Make sure the room is very romantic. Whatever a couple would choose for their first anniversary. It has to be perfect.”
“Do you know which liner Mr. Zelman is booked for?”
“No, but it"s scheduled to leave next week.”
“I"ll work on this first thing in the morning.”
“Be a dear, Linda, and work on it tonight. This is top priority. Brief me in the morning.”
“Okay,” she responded in a clipped voice. “Is there anything else I can assist you with?”
“Yes, call Roger Eaton and tell him to find out everything he can about Vivian Zelman.”