Behind Boardroom Doors Read online

  The kiss that launched a thousand ships

  Boss whisperer Brooke Nichols has never seen RJ Kincaid act like this. True, his mother is in jail for murdering his father, and an illegitimate brother has all but stolen the shipping dynasty RJ’s worked so hard to safeguard. But that’s no excuse for bad behavior. So, as a good assistant should, Brooke pulls him aside and pours him a drink. Resulting in a kiss...or two. If only she didn’t have a secret that could tear the Kincaid family apart, maybe this fantasy coudl last forever. If only...

  Enjoy a special 30th anniversary bonus story from Catherine Mann—“The Royal Cousin’s Revenge”

  “Harlequin Desire—

  lush, sensual reads guaranteed to take me away!”

  —USA TODAY Bestselling Author Catherine Mann

  Look for all six

  Special 30th Anniversary Collectors’ Editions

  from some of our most popular authors.

  TEMPTED BY HER INNOCENT KISS

  by Maya Banks

  with “Never Too Late” by Brenda Jackson

  BEHIND BOARDROOM DOORS

  by Jennifer Lewis

  with “The Royal Cousin’s Revenge” by Catherine Mann

  THE PATERNITY PROPOSITION

  by Merline Lovelace

  with “The Sheik’s Virgin” by Susan Mallery

  A TOUCH OF PERSUASION

  by Janice Maynard

  with “A Lover’s Touch” by Brenda Jackson

  A FORBIDDEN AFFAIR

  by Yvonne Lindsay

  with “For Love or Money” by Elizabeth Bevarly

  CAUGHT IN THE SPOTLIGHT

  by Jules Bennett

  with “Billionaire’s Baby” by Leanne Banks

  * * *

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  Dear Reader,

  I’m thrilled to be a part of Desire’s 30th anniversary celebration. I still remember the first time I discovered Desire. I was working in midtown Manhattan, around the corner from the Donnell Library. On my lunch breaks I often headed to the library looking for something to read, and before long I noticed the big rack of series romance novels. I don’t remember which book I picked up first, but it didn’t take me long to get hooked.

  I loved the strong, savvy characters in every Desire, and the interesting mix of settings. I looked forward to plunging into each new romance and following the ups and downs of the couple’s road to their happy ending. I also enjoyed the short length of the stories, which allowed me to ride the whole rollercoaster in a day.

  Eventually I grew daring enough to try my hand at writing, though it took many years before I honed my craft enough to bear the Desire logo. This book is my fourteenth Desire and I hope you enjoy Brooke and RJ’s romance!

  Happy reading,

  Jennifer Lewis

  Jennifer Lewis

  Behind Boardroom Doors

  Books by Jennifer Lewis

  Harlequin Desire

  †Claiming His Royal Heir #2105

  Behind Boardroom Doors #2144

  †The Prince’s Pregnant Bride #2082

  †At His Majesty’s Convenience #2094

  Silhouette Desire

  The Boss’s Demand #1812

  Seduced for the Inheritance #1830

  Black Sheep Billionaire #1847

  Prince of Midtown #1891

  *Millionaire’s Secret Seduction #1925

  *In the Argentine’s Bed #1931

  *The Heir’s Scandalous Affair #1938

  The Maverick’s Virgin Mistress #1977

  The Desert Prince #1993

  Bachelor’s Bought Bride #2012

  *The Hardcastle Progeny

  †Royal Rebels

  Other titles by this author available in ebook format.

  JENNIFER LEWIS

  has been dreaming up stories for as long as she can remember and is thrilled to be able to share them with readers. She has lived on both sides of the Atlantic and worked in media and the arts before she grew bold enough to put pen to paper. She would love to hear from readers at [email protected]. Visit her website at www.jenlewis.com.

  Behind Boardroom Doors

  Jennifer Lewis

  For Pippa, international pony of mystery

  and cherished member of our family

  * * *

  Don’t miss a single book in this series!

  Dynasties: The Kincaids

  New money. New passions. Old secrets.

  Sex, Lies and the Southern Belle by Kathie DeNosky

  What Happens in Charleston… by Rachel Bailey

  Behind Boardroom Doors by Jennifer Lewis

  On the Verge of I Do by Heidi Betts

  One Dance with the Sheikh by Tessa Radley

  A Very Private Merger by Day Leclaire

  Special thanks and acknowledgment to Jennifer Lewis for her contribution to the Dynasties: The Kincaids miniseries.

  Contents

  Chapter One

  Chapter Two

  Chapter Three

  Chapter Four

  Chapter Five

  Chapter Six

  Chapter Seven

  Chapter Eight

  Chapter Nine

  Chapter Ten

  One

  “There is one good thing about this situation.” RJ Kincaid slammed his phone down on the conference table, his voice cracking with fury.

  “What’s that?” Brooke Nichols stared at her boss. She failed to see a bright side.

  “Now we know things cannot possibly get any worse.” His eyes flashed and he leaned forward in his chair. The other staff in the meeting sat like statues. “My calls to the prosecutor’s office, the police, the courts, the state senator—have all been ignored.”

  He stood and marched around the table. “The Kincaid family is under siege and they’re firing on us from all angles.” Tall and imposing at the best of times, with bold features, dark hair and smoky slate-blue eyes, RJ now looked like a general striding into battle. “And my mother, Elizabeth Winthrop Kincaid, the finest woman in Charleston, will be spending tonight behind bars like a common criminal.”

  He let out a string of curses that made Brooke shrink into her chair. She’d worked for RJ for five years and she’d never seen him like this. Normally he was the most easygoing man you could meet, never rattled by even the most intense negotiations, with time for everyone and a nonchalant approach to life.

  Of course that was before his father’s murder and the revelation that his privileged and entitled existence was founded on lies.

  RJ walked over to his brother Matthew. “You’re the director of new business—is there any new business?”

  Matthew inhaled. They both knew the answer. Even some of their most stalwart clients had fled the company in the aftermath of the scandal. “There is the Larrimore account.”

  “Yes, I suppose we do have one new account to hang our hopes on. Greg, how are the books looking?” RJ strode around to the CFO and for a moment she thought he was going to collar him.

  Mild-mannered Greg shrank into his chair. “As you know, we’re experiencing challenges—”

  “Challenges!” RJ cut him off, raising his hands in the air in a dramatic gesture. “That’s one way of looking a
t it. A challenge is an opportunity for growth, a time to rise up and seize opportunity, to embrace change.”

  He turned and walked back across the room. Everyone sat rigid in their chairs, probably praying he wouldn’t accost them.

  “But what I see here is a company on the brink of going under.” RJ shoved a hand through his thick, dark hair. His handsome features were hard with anger. “And all of you are just sitting in your chairs taking notes as if we’re at some garden party. Get up and get out there and do something, for Chrissakes!”

  No one moved an inch. Brooke rose from her chair, unable to stop herself. “Um…” She had to get him out of here. He was acting like a jerk and if he continued like this he’d do himself permanent harm in the company.

  “Yes, Brooke?” He turned to face her, and lifted an eyebrow. His eyes met hers and a jolt of energy surged in her blood.

  “I need to speak to you outside.” She picked up her laptop and headed for the door, heart pounding. He could probably fire her on the spot in his current mood, but she wasn’t doing her job if she let him insult and harangue employees who were already under a lot of pressure and stress through no fault of their own.

  “I’m sure it can wait.” He frowned and gestured to the gathered meeting.

  “Just for a moment. Please.” She continued toward the door, hoping he’d follow.

  “Apparently my assistant’s need to consult with me in private is more urgent than the imminent collapse of The Kincaid Group, and the imprisonment of my mother. Since it’s the end of the day I’m sure you also have better places to be. Meeting dismissed.”

  RJ moved to the door in time to hold it open for her. A wave of heat and adrenaline rose inside her as she passed him, her arm almost brushing against his. He closed the door and followed her out. In the hush of the carpeted hallway Brooke almost lost her nerve. “In your office, please.”

  “I don’t have time to loll about in my office. My mother’s in the county jail in case you hadn’t noticed.”

  Brooke reminded herself his rudeness was the result of extreme stress. “Trust me. It’s important.” Her own firm tone surprised her. She walked ahead into the spacious corner office with views of the Charleston waterfront. The sunset cast a warm amber glow over the water reflected on the walls in moving patterns. “Come on in.”

  RJ sauntered into the room, then crossed his arms. “Happy now?”

  “Sit down.” She closed the door and locked it.

  “What?”

  Her resolve faltered as her boss glared at her.

  “On the couch.” She pointed to it, in case he’d forgotten where it was. She almost blushed at the way it sounded as she said it. What a lovelorn secretary’s fantasy! But this situation was serious. “I’m going to pour you a whiskey and you’re going to drink it.”

  He didn’t move. “Have you lost your mind?”

  “No, but you’re beginning to lose yours and you need to step back and take a deep breath before you damage your reputation. You can’t talk to employees like that, no matter what the circumstances. Now sit.” She pointed at the sofa again.

  A stunned RJ lowered himself onto it.

  Brooke poured three fingers of whisky into a crystal tumbler with shaking hands. Everything really did seem to be going to hell in a handbasket for RJ. Until now he’d faced each disaster with composure, but apparently he’d reached his breaking point.

  Their fingers touched as she handed him the glass, and she cursed the subtle buzz of awareness that always haunted her around RJ. “Here, this will settle your nerves.”

  “My nerves are just fine.” He took a sip. “It’s everything else that’s screwed up. The police can’t really believe my mother killed my father!”

  He took a long swig, which made Brooke wince. She bit her lip. The pained expression on his handsome face tugged at her heart. “We both know it’s impossible, and they’ll figure that out.”

  “Will they?” RJ raised a dark brow and peered up at her. “What if they don’t? What if this is the first of many long nights in jail for her?” He shuddered visibly and took another swig. “It kills me that I can’t protect her from this.”

  “I know. And you’re still grieving the death of your father.”

  “Not just his literal death.” RJ stared at the floor. “The death of everything I thought I knew about him.”

  She and RJ had never discussed the scandalous revelations about the Kincaid family, but they were both aware she knew all the details—along with everyone else in Charleston. They’d been splashed all over the local media every day since his father’s murder on December 30th. It was now March.

  “Another family.” He growled the words like a curse. “Another son, born before me.” He shook his head. “All my life I was Reginald Kincaid, Jr. Proud son and heir and all I wanted to do was follow in my father’s footsteps. Little did I know they’d been wandering off into some other woman’s house, to sleep with her and raise her children, too.”

  He glanced up, and his pain-filled gaze stole her breath. It killed her to see him suffering like this. If only she could soothe his hurt and anger.

  “I’m so sorry.” It was all she could manage. What could she say? “I’m sure he loved you. You could see it in his face when he looked at you.” She swallowed. “I bet he wished things were different, and that he could have at least told you before he died.”

  “He had plenty of time to tell me. I’m thirty-six years old, for Chrissakes. Was he waiting until I hit fifty?” RJ rose to his feet and crossed the room, whiskey splashing in the glass. “That’s what hurts the most. That he didn’t confide in me. All the time we spent together, all those long hours fishing or hunting, walking through the woods with guns. We talked about everything under the sun—except that he was living a lie.”

  RJ tugged at his tie with a finger and loosened his collar. Recent events had given him an air of gravitas that he’d never had before. The strain hardened his noble features and gave his broad shoulders the appearance of carrying the weight of the world.

  Brooke longed to take him in her arms and give him a reassuring hug. But that would not be a good idea. “You’re doing a great job of keeping the family together and the company afloat.”

  “Afloat!” RJ let out a harsh laugh. “It would be a real problem for a shipping company if it couldn’t stay afloat.” His eyes twinkled with humor for a split second. “But at the rate we’re losing clients we’ll be belly up in the bay before the year is out if I don’t turn things around. For every new client Matthew brings in, we’re losing two old ones. And I don’t even have a free hand to guide the company. My father—in his infinite wisdom—saw fit to give his illegitimate son forty-five percent of the company and only leave me a measly nine percent.”

  Brooke grimaced. That did seem the cruelest act of all. RJ had devoted his entire working life to The Kincaid Group. He’d been executive vice president almost since he left college, and everyone—including him—assumed he’d one day be president and CEO. Until his father had all but left the company to a son no one knew about. “I suppose he did that because he felt guilty about keeping Jack secret all these years.”

  “As well he might.” RJ marched back across the room and took another swig of whiskey. “Except he didn’t seem to think about how much it would hurt the rest of us. Even all five of us Kincaids together don’t have a majority vote. Ten percent of the stock is owned by some mystery person we can’t seem to find. If Jack Sinclair gains control over the missing ten percent he’ll get to decide how to run The Kincaid Group and the rest of us have to go along with it or ship out. I’m seriously considering doing the latter.”

  “Leaving the company?” She couldn’t believe it. Selfish thoughts about her own job disappearing almost toppled her concern for RJ.

  “Why not? It�
��s not mine to run. I’m just another cog in the machine. That’s not what my dad groomed me for or what I want for myself.” He slammed the empty glass down on a table. “Maybe I’ll leave Charleston for good.”

  “Calm down, RJ.” Brooke poured another three fingers of pungent whiskey into the glass. Right now it seemed a good idea to get him too drunk to go anywhere at all. “It’s early days yet. Nothing will be decided about the company until the shareholders’ meeting and, until then, everyone’s counting on you to steer the ship through these rough waters.”

  “I love all your nautical lingo.” He flashed a wry grin as he took the glass. “I knew there was a good reason I hired you.”

  “That and my excellent typing skills.”

  “Typing—pah. You could run this company if you put your mind to it. You’re not just organized and efficient, you’re good with people. You’ve managed to talk me back off the ledge today, and I thank you for it.” He took another sip. The whiskey was certainly doing its job. Already the hard edge of despair and anger had softened.

  Now was not the time to mention that she had applied for a management job, and been turned down. She didn’t know if RJ was behind that, or if he even knew.

  “I didn’t want you to upset people any more than they already are.” She pushed a hand through her hair. “Everyone’s temper is running high and we need to work together. The last thing you want is for key employees to quit and make things worse in the run-up to the shareholders’ meeting.”

  “You’re right, as usual, my lovely Brooke.”

  Her eyes widened. Obviously the whiskey was going straight to his head. Still, she couldn’t help the funny warm feeling his words generated inside her, almost like a shot of whiskey to her core.

  “The most important thing right now is to find your dad’s murderer.” She tried to distract herself from RJ’s melting gaze. “Then your mom won’t be under suspicion.”

  “I’ve hired a private investigator.” RJ peered into his glass. “I told him I’ll pay for twenty-four hours in the day and he shouldn’t stop until he finds the truth.” He looked up at her. “Of course I told him to start with the Sinclair brothers.”