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“Somehow, I pictured my first proposal differently.”
She shrugged, maintaining her pretense of nonchalance when what she really wanted was to find a quiet, dark closet to hide in until her insides quit trembling. She could just imagine her reaction had it been a real engagement.
Devin stared into her face, his brows knitting as they did when he was working out a problem in his head.
“What? Having second thoughts?” Her heart stuttered to a stop and she held her breath. Not like the engagement was real or anything. “That’s bad when you’re having second thoughts about an engagement that really isn’t. Does the thought of a Kendall marrying a lowly executive assistant go against the grain?” She tried to laugh, failing miserably.
He shook his head. “No. I was thinking we should seal this deal in some way.” His frown lifted and he leaned closer, his hand rising to cup the back of her neck, drawing her closer. “Perhaps with a kiss.”
About the Author
A Golden Heart winner for Best Paranormal Romance in 2004, ELLE JAMES started writing when her sister issued a Y2K challenge to write a romance novel. She managed a full-time job, raised three wonderful children and she and her husband even tried their hands at ranching exotic birds (ostriches, emus and rheas) in the Texas Hill Country. Ask her, and she’ll tell you what it’s like to go toe-to-toe with an angry three-hundred-and-fifty-pound bird! After leaving her successful career in information technology management, Elle is now pursuing her writing full-time. She loves building exciting stories about heroes, heroines, romance and passion. Elle loves to hear from fans. You can contact her at ellejames@earthlink.net or visit her website at www.ellejames.com.
Engaged with
the Boss
Elle James
MILLS & BOON
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Chapter One
Devin Kendall left his office at Kendall Communications late as usual, long after rush hour. When he stepped out into the parking garage, he waved as his uncle Craig drove past.
Weary beyond sanity, Devin climbed into his Lexus SUV and relaxed into the leather bucket seats. As tired as he was, he could fall asleep here. All he had to do was recline the seat and close his eyes.
The temptation was great, considering he hadn’t slept much the past few nights. Not with the weight of the world on his shoulders. Or at least the weight of his family’s safety, which in Devin’s mind was his world.
All these years they’d been so certain the killer who’d taken his parents’ lives was off the street, no longer a threat.
That belief had been shattered just a few weeks ago. DNA evidence had proved that Rick Campbell, the man who’d spent the better part of twenty years in jail for the crime, wasn’t the one who’d committed the murders. The police had arrested and the jury had sentenced the wrong man. His parents’ killer still remained at large.
Devin hadn’t slept well since, knowing the killer had been free all this time.
He buckled up, cranked the engine and drove out of the parking garage onto the streets of downtown St. Louis. He noticed his uncle’s car turned left out of the parking garage onto Market Street. As Devin headed east, a car that had been illegally parked on the normally busy street slipped in behind his uncle’s four-door BMW sedan.
This late in the evening, it was not unusual for there to be cars moving up and down Market Street. But something about the way the vehicle had slipped in behind his uncle’s car had the hairs on the back of Devin’s neck standing on end.
The car’s driver hadn’t switched his lights on. The streetlamps gave out enough light that a person could forget to turn on their headlights, but the feeling scratching across his subconscious wouldn’t let Devin rest.
Instead of turning right toward the warehouse district where he lived, Devin made the decision to follow his uncle for a couple blocks. Just in case.
He stayed far enough behind the two cars as not to generate suspicion, until he noticed the vehicle following his uncle didn’t have a license plate. Alarm bells sounded in Devin’s head. He increased his speed, closing the distance between his SUV and the two cars ahead until he was only a hundred yards behind. He wasn’t fast enough.
When his uncle turned north on Jefferson Avenue, the nondescript car behind him sped up. As they rounded the corner, the trailing car rammed into Craig’s sedan, slamming the BMW into the traffic light pole. The unlicensed car sped away, leaving a trail of burned rubber.
Devin skidded his Lexus to a halt behind his uncle’s vehicle, hit the hazard light switch and jumped out.
“Uncle Craig!” He reached the driver’s door as his uncle pounded against it.
Jammed by the impact, the door wouldn’t open until Devin braced his foot against the side of the car and yanked with all his might. The door swung open and his uncle looked out at him, the powder of the deployed air bags dusting his hair and face.
“What happened?” Craig asked, fumbling to unclip his seat belt.
Devin leaned in and released the buckle. “That fool just ran you off the road. Are you all right?”
“I’m fine. Just a little shaken.” His uncle tried to get out of the car, his face pale, his eyes glazed.
Devin placed a hand on his uncle’s shoulder, insisting he remain seated. “I’m calling an ambulance.”
“Really, I’m fine. I’d rather go on home to bed. It was just a little accident.”
“No way. We need to stay right here while I also call the police. I had a feeling something like this would happen.”
“What do you mean?”
“That was no accident. Whoever hit you knew exactly what he was doing. That was a deliberate attack.”
“WHAT HAPPENED TO UNCLE Craig last night was no accident.” Devin Kendall paced the length of his spacious office. “I don’t know about the rest of you, but I haven’t slept in days.”
“What can we do that isn’t already being done?” Craig responded from where he sat on the leather couch, pressing his fingers to his forehead gingerly, lucky he only had a bump on his forehead to show for his collision with the light pole. “The car that hit me hasn’t been found—it was too dark to identify the make and model. Basically, the police have nothing to go on.”
Devin’s family had gathered for this meeting at his request. The twentieth anniversary of his parents’ murders loomed like a ghostly specter with teeth that could come back to bite any one of the Kendalls—and apparently had in the attack on his uncle the previous night.
Devin stopped pacing and faced his family. “The person who killed our parents is still out there. And things are becoming much more dangerous since Rick Campbell’s murder.”
Though he had been exonerated of the crime for which he’d served almost twenty years, Campbell had not been able to revel in his release as he himself was killed just days afterward.
Devin’s sister, Natalie, leaned forward in the wing-backed chair beside the couch. “Whoever did it hasn’t made a move on the rest of us.” With her long straight blond hair and green eyes, Natalie was the spitting image of their dead mother. And, she could more than hold her own in a marketing meeting with the executives of the multimillion-dollar corporation, Kendall Communications.
But Devin wasn’t so sure she could stand up against a cold-blooded murderer. “What if the killer decides the police are getting too close? What if one of us reminds him too much of our parents and he decides to kill again?”
“You’re borrowing trouble, Dev.” His brother Ash shook his head. “The St. Louis Metropolitan Police have reopened the case. We’re working it.”
Devin snorted. “No offense, Ash, but they arrested the wrong man twenty years ago. What makes you think they can figure it out now?”
Ash’s lips thinned into a straight line and his eyes narrowed at Devin. “This time, we don’t have a celebrity-seeking cop investigating. And we’re not kids ready to accept any answer.”
His chest tightened as Devin recalled the morning he’d learned his parents had been murdered. Guilt wadded like a fist in his throat and he had to swallow several times to clear it in order to speak.
He’d been out all night and sneaked back into the house only to find their bodies. Natalie had been standing in mute shock. If only he’d been there, he might have been able to stop the murderer and spared his little sister the horror.
Devin wished his brother Thad was there. As usual, Thad was off on a journalism assignment with no expected return date and limited ability to contact.
Jolie Carson, Devin’s executive assistant, appeared at his side with a cup of coffee. Just her presence helped to ease his discomfort. She’d been his best hire to date. Six years and counting, she’d stood by him, organized his schedule and his life to the point he couldn’t imagine functioning without her. He took the coffee mug from her. “Thanks.”
Devin took a sip of the coffee. Black, with a hint of cinnamon, just the way he liked it. “We aren’t kids anymore.” He set the mug on the desk and crossed his arms over his chest. “But that might make us more of a target.”
“What do you suggest we do?” Natalie’s eyebrows rose up her forehead. “Hide in our homes until the real killer is brought to justice?” She stood, her shoulders back, twin flags of color in her cheeks. “I’m not going to run scared just because some lunatic is out there. Twenty years is a long time. If he was going to make a move on any of the rest of us, he’d have done it by now. I have a job, as do the rest of you.”
Jolie stopped on her way out of the office. “She’s right. You can’t run scared or the killer wins.”
Devin scowled at Jolie. She propped a hand on her hip, her lips firm, her chin held high, daring him to contradict her in front of his family.
He’d have a talk with Jolie when everyone cleared out of his office. Her advice was usually sound and he valued her opinion, but she didn’t understand how dangerous the situation could get.
“Natalie and Jolie are right.” Craig stood, as well. “Much as I hate that we haven’t found the killer, we can’t live in fear. We have lives. We have a business to run.”
If Devin could, he’d lock his family up on the Kendall estate until the killer was found. He leaned toward telling them just that, but knew they’d fight him tooth and nail. The Kendall stubborn streak was strong in every one of them. It’s what made them successful. They didn’t give up and they didn’t run scared. Unfortunately, that didn’t make him worry any less.
The tension in his shoulders loosened and he sighed. “Just do me a favor, will you?”
His siblings and uncle waited before committing to the favor.
“Be careful. Watch your backs and don’t take anything for granted. If you see anything or anyone suspicious, let me or Ash know immediately. You can’t be too cautious.” His message was for all of them, but his gaze landed on Natalie.
She frowned. “I’m always careful. Just try to attack me and let’s see who ends up on his butt.” She waved him forward, her stance hampered by her slim-fitting skirt.
Jolie chuckled. “I’m scared.”
“Me, too.” Ash clapped his sister on her back. “Natalie is a black belt.”
“Training and defending are completely different.” Devin’s gaze darkened. Natalie was his little sister. He still felt responsible for her safety even though she was a fully grown twenty-six-year-old.
“I think he’s chicken,” Natalie confided to Ash, her gaze on Devin, a smile lurking at the corners of her mouth. “But I’ll let it slide this time. I’d hate to damage my favorite skirt.” She cocked her head at him. “Anything else, dear brother?”
“Yeah, I need that marketing plan by end of day. I suggest you get to work before the CEO fires you.”
She laughed. “Anyone ever tell the CEO he’s a pain in the butt?”
“That could be construed as insubordination.” Devin shot a wad of paper at her. “Get out of here.”
Natalie spun on her sensible heel and headed for the door, stopping long enough to ask Jolie, “We still on for dinner tonight?”
“You bet. I’ve been dying to try that new Hunan restaurant around the corner.”
“Me, too.” Natalie turned back toward her brothers. “And, don’t worry, I’ll have eyes in the back of my head.”
Craig buttoned his suit jacket. “I’m sorry this has all come up again. Your aunt Angela is beside herself with worry.”
“Like Natalie said, we can take care of ourselves.” Ash draped an arm over his uncle’s shoulder. “You and Aunt Angela have done so much for this family. I’m more worried about you than the rest of us.”
Craig and Angela had taken on the responsibility of raising the Kendall children upon the death of their parents.
“I beefed up the security at the estate,” Craig said. “I’m considering hiring a bodyguard, but Angela is dead set against it.”
Natalie paused in the doorway. “Can’t blame her.” She shuddered. “I’d hate having someone following me around, anticipating my every move. It would drive me nuts.” She glanced at Jolie. “Six o’clock, then. Bye.”
Jolie smiled and closed the door behind Natalie. She had her wavy red hair pulled back in a neat bun, exposing the long length and porcelain skin of her neck.
For a moment, Devin studied the way an errant curl bounced against her earlobe and wondered what she looked like with her hair down. She was somewhat plain in her soft gray suit with a proper slim-line skirt cut to the knee. Everything about Jolie was proper except her wicked sense of humor and her ability to tell him like it was. She didn’t pull her punches.
He liked that about her. Jolie Carson didn’t take any guff from him or anyone else.
“I’m out of here. Duty calls.” Ash, always assuming his role as the cop, headed for the door. “I’m still digging through the case file hoping I find something they missed. I’ll start interviewing witnesses again soon.”
“Can you keep us up-to-date on how it goes?” Devin asked.
“You bet.” Ash crossed the room and just as he reached for the door handle, Natalie crashed back in.
“You aren’t going to believe this.” She walked to the large television screen mounted on the wall, flicked it on and fumbled with the remote until she had a picture of the local district attorney at what appeared to be a press conference in front of the St. Louis courthouse.
A reporter pushed a mike in his face. “We understand the Christmas Eve Murders case has been reopened. What are you and the St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department doing to solve this case?”
The D.A. stood straight and looked directly into the camera. “As you all have heard, with the latest forensic evidence, the state crime lab was able to rule out Rick Campbell as the murderer. The St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department has reopened and is actively investigating the case again. We’ll get our murderer.”
“Any guesses as to who might have done it?” another reporter asked.
“It’s too early to say at this time. Let the detectives do their work.” The D.A.’s eyebrows lowered, his eyes darkening. “But we’ll look at everyone involved with the Kendall family. As in the majority of murder cases, many times it’s someone close to the family, usually a family member who commits the crime.”
Natalie and Jolie gasped.
Devin, Ash and Craig all swore.
“That SOB. How dare he cast suspicion on the Kendalls.” Natalie’s cheeks flamed and her hands fisted. “I’d like to have a word with that man.”
Jolie shook her head. “Perhaps he’s after the publicity. Bashing the Kendalls is a sure way to get the cameras turned your way.”
“But why?” Natalie stared at the man on the screen. “He’s not up for reelection this year.”
“No, and he wouldn’t get my vote even if he was.” Devin flicked the television off. “Don’t let it worry you. They don’t have anything on any one of us.”
“Yeah, but the media will be following us, just in case they find some dirt somewhere,” Uncle Craig said. “If they don’t find dirt, they might just make something up to sensationalize a slow-news night.”
“Be extra vigilant with your safety and keep your nose clean.” Devin shot a stern look at his siblings. “Don’t get caught in a situation where you’re cornered by the paparazzi.”
Ash snorted. “Easier said than done. Later, brother.” He grabbed Devin’s hand and shook it, then pulled him close. “Get some rest. You look like hell.”
“Thanks, you don’t look so good yourself. Keep an eye on that fiancée of yours. She could be in as much danger as the rest of us. Especially since she found the DNA evidence that freed Rick Campbell.”
“Rachel can hold her own. But I’ll gladly keep a very close eye on her.” Ash waggled his eyebrows.
Devin shook his head. “How she puts up with you, I’ll never know.”
Ash smiled at Jolie. “My big brother hasn’t learned that a good woman makes a man want to be a better person. That woman could be right under his nose and he hasn’t pulled his head out of the sand long enough to notice.” He winked at Devin. “Am I right?”
“Shut up and get out.” Devin shook his head, a hint of a smile pulling at his lips. Ash was a ladies’ man who’d met his match in Rachel. That didn’t mean Devin was headed down the matrimonial path. He had too much on his plate to even think of a relationship.
His gaze landed on Jolie. She was the ideal woman, the one he found himself measuring all others by. If he decided to settle down and think about a wife and two-point-one children, he’d like to find someone as strong and stable as Jolie. But that was a big if, one he didn’t intend to explore anytime in the near future.
And she was his executive assistant. Completely off-limits in the corporate world. He shuddered inwardly at the media nightmare such a relationship would generate.
JOLIE SAT ACROSS THE restaurant table from Natalie, laughing and chatting. Yet her thoughts were of Devin, whom she’d left in his office thirty minutes earlier. She really should have stayed to see if he needed anything.
“He’ll be fine. You know, you aren’t married to him or the job.” Natalie smiled at Jolie’s attempt to eat Chinese the traditional way.
“I understand why the Chinese are so thin,” Jolie grumbled, fumbling with the chopsticks. She almost managed to get four grains of rice to her lips before the chopsticks slipped and the rice fell into her lap. What was the use? “I give up. I’m hopeless at this. I can’t even pretend to be sophisticated and a world traveler.”
“Not to worry. That’s what they make forks for.” Natalie handed her the fork beside her plate.
Jolie held her hand up. “No. I’m going to eat with the chopsticks or go hungry.” She put the sticks together and used them as a shovel, this time getting a line of rice and vegetables into her mouth without too much spillage.
“So what did you think about my brother’s family meeting?”
Jolie shrugged. “I don’t know what to think about the whole situation.”
“Oh, come on. Are you telling me Jolie Carson doesn’t have an opinion? That’s a change.”
Jolie grinned. “Okay, I do, but I didn’t want to speak out against Devin. He’s been taking this all to heart. The man hasn’t slept in days. Probably hasn’t eaten.”
“Oh, so the dinner-to-go you ordered isn’t for your freezer then, is it?” Natalie smiled. “Don’t worry. I won’t hold that little lie against you. You’re going by my brother’s condo to make sure he gets a proper meal.”
Jolie’s cheeks burned.
Natalie leaned across the table and grabbed Jolie’s hand. “Have you told him how you feel about him?”
“I don’t know what you mean.” Jolie pulled her hand from her friend’s.
“Sorry, I’m not buying it.” Natalie stared hard into Jolie’s face. “You’re in love with him, aren’t you?”
Jolie considered lying again but thought better of it. Her friend deserved the truth, no matter how pathetic it was. She sighed. “For six years.”
“Good grief. When are you going to tell him?”
“Never.” Jolie sat up straight and pointed a finger at Natalie. “And neither are you.”
“Not tell him? What good will that do?”
“I work for the man. If he thinks I’m in love with him, he’ll fire me on the spot.”
“And you’d rather work as his executive assistant, secretly in love with him, than work somewhere else. Right?”
Jolie’s lips twisted. “Pathetic, huh?”
Natalie leaned her chin on her palm and sighed. “No, I think it’s romantic. I wish I could find someone I’m completely crazy about.”
“You will. He’ll show up when you’re least expecting it.”
Natalie sighed again. “I hope it’s before I’m as old as you are.”
Jolie tossed her napkin at her. “Thanks. I’m feeling older by the second with you around.”
“Speaking of showing up—” Natalie sat up straighter, her brow furrowing “—there he is again.”
“There’s who?” Jolie twisted in her seat.
“That guy at the table by the door.”
“The one with the menu over his face.” Jolie rolled her eyes.
“Yeah, only he hasn’t always had the menu over his face.” She lobbed Jolie’s napkin back at her. “I swear he’s the same guy who’s been following me for the past few days.”
Jolie looked closer, but the menu remained up, the man studying it intently. A flicker of concern threatened her usual calm. “Have you said anything to your brother?” Devin would want to know if there was any threat to his family.
“No. If I tell him I think I’m being followed, he’ll insist on a police escort everywhere I go.” Natalie shrugged. “I’ll handle it myself rather than be put under lock and key by my overbearing brother.”
“He’s worried about you.” Jolie shot another glance behind her at the menu-covered stranger. “He worries about his family.”
“He’s annoying and overprotective. You’d think he was my father, not my brother.”
“As the oldest, he feels responsible for his siblings.”
“Well, he needs to stop it.” Natalie set her fork aside. “I have work to do at home. Are you sure you don’t mind taking the marketing plan to my brother? I promised I’d have it by the end of the day.” She laughed. “Guess late at night is still part of today.”
“I’ll get it to him.” Jolie patted her oversize purse with the file folder inside.
“Yeah, and make sure he eats that food you bring him. He looks like he’s losing weight.”
“Now who’s the worried sibling?” Jolie laughed. “I’ll stand over him until he downs every bite.”
Natalie grinned. “I can see you doing just that. Like a drill sergeant ready to pounce on him if he doesn’t.” Then her smile faded. “I have half a mind to tell him to wake up and smell the rose he has for an E.A.”
“Don’t you dare.”
“It goes both ways. Don’t tell him I have someone following me unless you want me to tell him that you have a thing for him.”
Jolie already regretted telling Natalie about her secret infatuation for her boss. No matter how good it felt to let it out and confess, she saw it for what it was, a wretched situation of unrequited love.
Everyone, especially her, knew that Devin Kendall was married to his job. What time he didn’t give to the business, he dedicated to the protection of his family. He didn’t have time for himself, much less a relationship. Jolie had known this for a long time and had come to accept it. But having turned thirty on her last birthday, she had heard the beginning ticks of her biological clock. Deep in her heart, she’d always wanted a family … children … a husband who loved her.
She wouldn’t get those things from Devin Kendall. He was in a league way above Jolie’s humble beginnings. If she was honest with herself, she’d accept that and move on.
She gathered her purse, the to-go bag of his favorite Kung Pao Chicken, and bade Natalie goodbye at her car.
The man who’d been at the table with the menu over his face had left before they did so she didn’t get a good look at him. But that didn’t make her feel any better about sending Natalie off on her own.
Despite her promise not to tell Devin, she knew she would. Natalie’s safety was more important than Jolie’s love life.
Or lack thereof.
She dropped her purse and the bag of food on the empty passenger seat, revved the engine of her four-door sedan and then drove toward Devin’s condo, trying to squelch the sudden rush of adrenaline and excitement at seeing her boss outside the office environment.
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