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A Very Private Merger, by Day Leclaire
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A Very Private Merger
- Sales Rank: #2059477 in Books
- Brand: Harlequin
- Published on: 2012-06-05
- Original language: English
- Number of items: 1
- Dimensions: 6.62" h x .50" w x 4.21" l, .20 pounds
- Binding: Mass Market Paperback
- 192 pages
- Great product!
About the Author
USA Today bestselling author, Day Leclaire is described by Harlequin as “one of our most popular writers ever!” Day’s passionate stories warm the heart, which may explain the impressive 10 nominations she's received for the prestigious Romance Writers of America RITA Award. “There's no better way to spend each day than writing romances.” Visit www.dayleclaire.com.
Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.
Son of a bitch!
Jack Sinclair stood on the sidewalk outside The Kincaid Group building and watched Nikki Thomas, his soon-to-be-former lover, give Elizabeth Kincaid a hug before heading into the Kincaid complex. As far as he was concerned, it was the ultimate betrayal.
Puzzle pieces he didn't even realize he was missing dropped into place in that instant. She worked for TKG, there was no other explanation. All this time—three amazing months together, an affair unlike any he'd experienced before, one that teetered on the brink of becoming something solid and permanent—and she'd been using him. Setting him up. Working for the enemy. He took a deep breath and reached for the cool, calm poise he'd spent a lifetime cultivating. He found it…but just barely.
There could be some other explanation for that hug, his few remaining shreds of rational thought insisted. Since Nikki had purchased him at the Read and Write bachelor auction, an affair held at Lily Kincaid's home and attended by half of Charleston's elite, she could have met Elizabeth there. Or through a woman's club they had in common. Maybe Elizabeth and Nikki's mother were friends. They were all part of Charleston high society. No doubt they'd met at some event or another.
It could be just that simple.
Not only that, but Jack had asked Nikki in her role as corporate investigator to find out who owned stock in The Kincaid Group, specifically who owned the key ten percent not controlled by him or the Kincaids. Perhaps she was here on a fact-finding trip. All perfectly innocuous.
Well, there was an easy way to find out. He pulled out his cell phone and touched the screen to access TKG's main phone number. The receptionist answered on the second ring. "The Kincaid Group. How may I direct your call?"
"Connect me with Nikki Thomas, please."
The woman hesitated. "Nikki? Nikki Thomas?"
"She's your corporate investigator. She said I could reach her through this number."
"Oh. Certainly. One moment, please."
He disconnected the call and swore long and hard, his momentary hope for an innocuous explanation sweeping away like the wish for summer in the face of a frigid Arctic nor'easter. He'd known from the start that she was a corporate investigator, but her claim of confidentiality had kept him from asking key questions. Now she'd answer every last one of them.
He headed for the TKG building, driven by something so deep and primal and basic he couldn't put a name to it. He just knew it led to Nikki. To a confrontation with the woman who'd pushed through doors of intimacy he'd spent years barring and locking.
The woman who'd soon regret ever screwing him over.
Jack didn't waste any further time. He crossed the street, oblivious to the busy traffic. His entire focus remained on the four-story building in front of him and the woman who worked there. He'd been inside TKG several times over the past five months for meetings with his father's sons and daughters—the "Legitimates," as he referred to them. No doubt they referred to him as the "Bastard," a nickname he'd earned on more than one front.
He approached the reception desk. The woman seated behind the wide sweep of finely crafted wood took one look at him and snatched up the phone. He reached over the counter and disconnected the call without the least compunction. No doubt she had standing orders to alert one of the Kincaids whenever he appeared. He'd have done the same in their place.
"You know who I am?" he asked, his voice deadly soft.
She nodded mutely.
"Excellent. Then you also know I own a sizable portion of this company." He gestured for her to return the receiver to the cradle. "Nikki Thomas. Where?"
She'd picked up on his anger and intense concern flickered across her face. "What's your business with Ms. Thomas?"
"That's none of your concern. Where is her office? I won't ask again. Nor will I forget your lack of cooperation."
The receptionist's concern grew, along with an almost protective expression. Leave it to Nikki to instill such loyalty in her fellow employees. For a moment, Jack didn't think she'd answer. Then she caved. "Second floor…210," the woman murmured unhappily.
"You will not alert her to my presence, is that quite clear?"
"Yes, sir."
Jack circled the reception desk, debating briefly on whether to take the elevator or stairs. Stairs. Less risk of running into a Kincaid. Considering his current mood he didn't trust himself not to knock the unlucky person flat on their ass. It didn't take long to find Nikki's office. Her door was ajar and though she stood at a large window overlooking the harbor, he doubted she took in the stunning view, not with her head bent and what appeared to be the weight of the world resting on her fine-boned shoulders. In all the four months he'd known her, he'd never seen her look so defeated.
She wore her hair up, exposing the vulnerable paleness of her neck. Brilliant golden sunlight streamed in the window, losing itself in the ebony darkness of her hair while highlighting her potent feminine figure, showcased in a form-fitting royal blue suit. He'd watched her don that outfit just this morning, knew intimately what scraps of silk and lace hid beneath, their color a perfect match to her suit. He also knew—intimately—what she looked like in the panties and bra, how that shade of blue turned her magnolia-white skin luminescent, and how tempted he'd been to strip them away before returning her to their bed.
He clamped down on the surge of desire with a ruthlessness his competitors had come to fear…and respect. She'd betrayed him, something he doubted he could ever forgive. Now he'd find out just how deep that betrayal ran. And he'd know why. He closed the door. The metallic click sounded like the cocking of a trigger, the sound of the lock being thrown as explosive as a gun blast.
Nikki's head jerked up and she spun around, her expression confirming his worst suspicions. He must have still entertained a lingering hope that she'd offer a reasonable explanation for her presence at The Kincaid Group. Otherwise, he'd never have experienced such an overwhelming and devastating sense of loss.
"Jack." His name escaped on a sigh of guilt and dismay.
"I believe there's something you neglected to tell me, Nikki. Vital information that's four months overdue." He didn't dare approach. Not until he'd regained full control of his temper. "Care to rectify that omission?"
"I can explain."
He couldn't help it. He laughed. "How often has a woman said that to a man? Of course, there's usually another man in her bed at the time she uses that expression."
"It's probably as many times as a man's said it to a woman when she comes home unexpectedly to find him making love to someone else," Nikki retorted. Then her flash of anger faded, sliding into something that hovered between sorrow and regret. "I'm sorry, Jack. Saying I can explain is a rather ridiculous comment given the circumstances."
He leaned back against the door and folded his arms across his chest. "I wondered why you were willing to pay so much for me at the Read and Write bachelor auction. You claimed you bid for me because no one else would. But now I suspect it was all a setup. The Kincaids came up with the clever scheme so you'd be in a position to spy on me, didn't they? It all makes sense now."
She held up a hand and her eyes flashed a swift warning. "Hold it right there. If you think for one minute that I bid on you at the Kincaids' request—"
"You bid a thousand dollars when no one else would." The anger he worked so hard to control escaped his iron grip for a split second. "You set me up right from the start."
She shook her head, the vehement motion causing silky strands of her hair to escape and caress her arching cheekbones, as well as the long sweep of her neck. God, he remembered burying his face in that sweet-scented hair only hours before. Remembered kissing a pathway along the pale, velvety line of her neck. How long would it take before the memories faded and he'd know peace again?
"I didn't set you up. Not then and not now."
She took a single step in his direction, but something in his expression drove her back, a stumbling retreat that brought out the predator in him. She must have sensed it because her breath quickened and her eyes—those damnable sapphire-blue eyes—darkened with pain and regret. She wrapped her arms around her narrow waist which only drew his attention to the fullness of her breasts straining against her suit jacket.
He forced his gaze away, forced himself to focus on her elegant, duplicitous features. They were beyond lovely, no doubt inherited from her mother, the aristocratic side of her family tree. He should have known that someone who'd been born and bred within Charleston's social elite couldn't be trusted. Hadn't his mother discovered that when Reginald Kincaid had made her his mistress?
Angela Sinclair had come from the wrong side of the tracks, which made her eligible for a bed partner, but she'd never been good enough to marry, any more than the son they'd borne together had been good enough to claim. Jack's mouth twisted. At least, he hadn't been claimed until dear ol' Dad had been dead and gone, leaving others to clean up the shattered mess the man had left behind.
All his life, Jack had stood on the outside of those fancy manors, while the Southern gentility had stuck rigidly to their social rules and order. Society had made him an outcast because of his bastard status, while welcoming the man who'd set the double standard, the man who'd proudly embraced the Legitimates, the children he'd father...
Most helpful customer reviews
4 of 4 people found the following review helpful.
Great addition - and finale - to an enjoyable series
By jerseygirldownsouth
As I read each of the stories in the Kincaid series (all of which I enjoyed), I couldn't wait to get to the end and read the next installment of the Jack-Nikki story. Such a great build-up to their own book. Or so I hoped. But even so, I was a bit trepidatious as I finally had this loaded on my kindle and ready to go. Mostly because I feared a certain element of the story could be handled in such a heavy-handed manner as to make it both annoying and hackneyed. However, I had a feeling that Ms. LeClaire could pull it off - and she did!
SPOILERS ahead.
The series-level story arc is:
** Reginald Kincaid was found dead in his office - and it was soon clear he had been murdered.
** The shocking, scandalous news that is revealed upon his death and reading of his will is that he's been living a double life. As a young man, he had fallen for Angela but his family wanted him to marry into a prominent Charleston family who'd provide cachet for the Kincaid's new money status. He finally gave in and married Elizabeth, with whom he had 5 children (all of whom get their own stories).
** Well after this marriage, he learns that Angela had borne his son, Jack. His actual first-born, though not his legitimate first born. Angela had married, given birth to second son, but when she was widowed she finally let Reginald know about his son (or he found out somehow).
**From the time Jack was 10, Reginald was back in his life - splitting his time between his official family (whom Jack called "the Legitimates") and stolen moments with Angela and her 2 boys.
** All this comes flying out of the woodwork, and plays across the media, when Reginald is killed. In his will, he leaves 45% of his company (The Kincaid Group)to his legitimate heirs 45% to Jack alone - and 10% is held by a mystery shareholder.
** Jack has built up his own company, Carolina Shipping, from scratch, and it is now a major competitor to TKG. Moreover, the Kincaids all fear what he'll do to TKG when the shareholders meeting is held, and how he'll wield his power.
** Even more to the point, he is seen as a suspect in Reginald's murder, as his very rare Aston Martin was seen at the scene.
A VERY PRIVATE MERGER
In the snippets of the Jack-Nikki story told at the end of the other books, we see that real feelings have developed between them, but that Nikki knows she's on borrowed time. Because she is actually TKG's corporate investigator, and she will never be able to convince Jack that she had not become involved with him as a spy.
Before she knew who Jack was, Nikki bid on him at a charity bachelor-date auction. She was drawn to him, but also couldn't fathom why no one was bidding for him and didn't want him left hanging. Only later did she realize why Charleston society was shunning him.
Knowing it was ill-advised, she continued to see him - but while she pulled together a standard PI report on him for the Kincaids, she gave them NOTHING that came from her relationship with Jack, or that any other standard PI couldn't have gotten.
Of course, Jack eventually finds out the truth - just when he'd admitted to himself that Nikki was truly special, that she had gotten behind his defenses, and he had gone so far as to buy an engagement ring.
And here is where I held my breath and Ms. LeClaire came through (at least for this reader). I had feared the bulk of the book would have Jack and Nikki in conflict, with him holding a grudge, feeling betrayed, lashing out, etc. While he certainly had a bad initial reaction, he rebounded quickly, not throwing the proverbial baby (their relationship) out with the bathwater. He realized she was telling the truth that she hadn't known who he was at first - and that she kept seeing him BECAUSE of HIM. He also acknowledged that she was caught in a difficult situation because of her understandable loyalties to the Kincaids.
This was just the first of many moments when we saw the true nature of Jack's character. He was a person of honor and decency, notwithstanding his desire to take over TKG and gain some sort of vengeance against the Kincaids. What we see - what Nikki helps him painfully understand - is that at his core, he always wanted to be PART of them. He'd been on the outside looking in, wanting to be legitimate, a part of this family, to have his father truly with him like he was with his other children. To the point where, when Jack had almost died at age 12 when he was hit by a car, Reginald couldn't come to him because it was publicly-acknowledged son Matt's birthday.
As the story unfolds, not only does Nikki help him figure out who really killed Reginald, but she begins to broker detente between the Kincaids and him - much to his dismay and anger at times. He holds on to his need for vengeance for quite some time even as he admits that his half-siblings were innocent of guilt. Yet he gives he much nicer nature away as he does nice things on behalf of Elizabeth and other Kincaids.
I really liked Jack. I understood what drove him, what formative, emotional experiences shaped him and his actions. I also liked Nikki very much - she was so good for him and in helping him see the bigger picture, not just externally, but inside himself when it came to what he REALLY wanted. The scenes where the Kincaids finally realize what it had been like to be in Jack's shoes were truly moving.
I am not going to spoil the rest - who killed Reginald, who owns the remaining 10% of TKG. Suffice to say, in the end Jack makes the right decision - aided by both Nikki and a touching letter from his father. And he gets the family he always craved.
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful.
Really good emotional story
By paula legate
This book made my eyes weepy in a few places. It was a really good emotional journey. This book is part of a series, but stands alone just fine. It was the only book in the series that I have read so far, and I think it was the last book in that series. I thought by the title that the plot would be about Nikki being pregnant, and there would be some sort of business deal. I was very wrong. The story is about one family, and how one dad divided his family by having an affair, and having one son out of wedlock. Jack wanted to buy out the company owned by his half sisters, and brothers. Can one person change his mind? Can one broken family heal the past, for a better future?
0 of 0 people found the following review helpful.
a wonderfully intriguing romance! loved it!
By Kim morgan
This book was a delight from start to finish! I love the characters and the romance and the relationships around the couple. The intrigue of who done it was a surprise! I did not like finding myself on the last page. I want to follow these characters throughout the rest of their lives! I fell In love with both of them and most of all with this unpredictable story! Thank you! I want more about the Kincaid's!
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