Chapter One
It couldn’t be, but it was! Lucas Kincaid! The man who’d turned her whole life upside down, the man who’d made her take a long, critical look at herself, making her despise the selfish, shallow girl she used to be! The man she hated and vowed revenge on!
Lacey Hill stood rooted to the spot, unable to take her flashing green eyes off of the autocratic man seated at the table across the crowded dining room in the elegant Shay Hotel, the memory of the last time she’d seen him as vivid as if it happened yesterday instead of five years ago.
Lacey had been engaged to Calvin Kincaid, college football’s super star, and Lucas’ younger cousin. She and Calvin had made such a stunning pair; he tall and blonde and so muscular, and petite, little Lacey, to all appearances, so fragile. They had laughed at the good-natured ribbing about the differences in their physical appearances, most of the teasing centered on the premise that Cal would have no trouble keeping his feisty, redheaded fiancé in line. Nothing could have been further from the truth, however, and both Cal and Lacey knew it. Lacey called the shots in their relationship, and even when Cal should put his foot down, he didn’t. Lacey had made such beautiful plans for a future together, and Cal was pleased to have the pretty young woman on his arm.
When Cal suggested they go to New York to announce their engagement, Lacey readily agreed. She felt it would be good practice to break the news to Calvin’s only living relative before tackling the monumental task of convincing her doting parents that their only child was ready for marriage at the relatively tender age of nineteen. After all, there was simply no reason for Lucas to find fault with their plans, and if he did, Lacey was sure she could handle him as easily as she did Cal, but Lucas didn’t approve of the engagement. She was hurt, and she convinced Cal to stand up to his cousin. Calvin insisted he and Lacey would have a wedding… or elope, and Lucas reluctantly planned an engagement party for them at his spacious home in Manhattan.
But, from the time of their arrival, Lucas did nothing but find fault with Lacey, using every opportunity he could find to criticize her to Cal! On the night of the party, Lacey caught Cal kissing an old girlfriend of his; he said it was innocent, but Lacey told herself it was a bad omen for the future and threw her engagement ring at Cal. Then she proceeded to grab a tray of champagne from a waitress, and dumped it all over Cal’s old girlfriend, making a spectacle of herself in the process! The language spewing from her mouth was less than lady-like, and Lacey quite suddenly found herself grabbed in a vice-like grip and escorted unceremoniously from the party and into Lucas Kincaid’s private study. Even now Lacey could hear every scathing remark he’d made to her! He’d told her that no one behaves like she did in his home and gets away with it. Before Lacey could guess his intentions, he upended her across his knee and began spanking her, telling her it was time she grew up because she was nothing but a spoiled, selfish child.
Cal came into the study in the middle of it all, shocked, “Lord, Luke, it sounds like you’re killing her! The guests are getting upset!”
Lucas stopped the painful punishment momentarily to demand, “Do you still want to marry this little brat? If so, you can finish this spanking. If not, this is my house, and she’s going to get exactly what her father should have given her years ago!” Calvin Kincaid walked out of the study without another word, his traitorous behavior wounding Lacey beyond belief. Lucas failed to see her tears as more than a tantrum at not getting her own way, and he pulled up her dress and continued spanking her bottom over her skimpy panties and scolding her for what seemed like an eternity, wounding her flesh as much as her pride.
After casually dismissing his guests, Lucas bustled her into his car and drove her to the airport, sending her home and out of Cal’s life. Lacey waited for Cal to call her, to apologize for his cousin’s barbaric behavior, and to beg her to reconsider marrying him, but the call never came. She blamed Lucas. Lacey hadn’t been able to sit down comfortably for a week without remembering all the hurtful things Lucas said about her, and the worst part was realizing that he spoke the truth! Lacey didn’t like the selfish, pampered, little girl she was, and she set out to do something about it. Her first decision was to transfer to the local college so she wouldn’t have to face Cal again, and she asked her father for a job at his company; she startled him even further by insisting she start at the bottom, like anyone else. In the last five years, Lacey Hill had worked very hard to earn her position in her Dad’s company. And she had grown up! Lacey Hill liked herself now.
“Miss Hill?” the maitre’d finally got her attention. “Are you all right? For a while, I thought you might be ill…?”
“I’m fine, Anthony. Just woolgathering, I guess. I’m meeting a client here tonight; have they arrived yet?” she asked. “I’m running a bit late due to an accident on the highway.”
“Yes, Miss Hill. Your guest has already arrived and is seated at your table. This way, please.” As she followed Anthony, Lacey strove to remain calm, praying, “Oh, no, Lord! Please don’t let it be him!” But, it was him… Lucas Kincaid! Of all the rotten luck!
“Your table, Miss Hill. Your server for this evening will be Mickey, and he will be with you shortly,” Anthony stated as he pulled the chair and seated her.
“Thank you, Anthony,” she automatically replied, stalling for time before she had to meet those stormy gray eyes she remembered so well. Unable to put off the inevitable, she raised her cool green eyes to the man still standing across the table from her, “Hello, Lucas. Please, sit down and finish your drink. How are you?” she asked coolly, not allowing any of her inner turmoil to show.
Lucas sat and stared at her, appraising her without speaking for a few moments, “Lacey Hill, I do believe you’ve grown up. If I remember correctly, the last time I saw you, you were saying something about getting even with me?” he taunted her.
Lacey could feel her temper start to rise automatically. There was just something about this man that got to her, bringing out the worst in her. “As you pointed out at the time, Lucas, I was a child.”
“A bratty child,” he corrected arrogantly, tilting his head at an angle as if to dare her to deny it.
“Are you deliberately baiting me, Lucas?” she asked quietly, forcing herself to remain calm.
“Stating a fact,” he replied coolly, his eyes never leaving hers as he picked up his glass and sipped his drink.
“Miss Lacey, good evening! Your usual drink?” the server winked at her good-naturedly.
“Yes, Mickey. How are you this evening? Is Sally still giving you a rough time?” she laughingly asked the young man, glad of the diversion. She needed the time to steady herself.
Mickey leaned close to whisper confidentially, “She’s after my body, Miss Lacey! It’s so degrading; I feel so cheap!”
Lacey laughed appreciatively and turned to Lucas to inquire politely, “Lucas, would you care for another drink?”
“No, this is fine,” he indicated his nearly full glass.
“Be right back, Lacey,” Mickey said as he hurried away.
“I expected to be meeting with the Vice-President of Morris Computing Analysis,” Lucas stated matter-of-factly. “Am I correct in assuming you are that person?”
“Vice-President of Morris Computing Analysis? Yes, of course. I’ve been with my father’s company for five years now,” she stated with pride.
“Your father’s company. I see.”
“Don’t look so stunned, Lucas. It doesn’t become you at all.”
“Now who is baiting whom?”
“Just stating a fact, Lucas.” She was getting under his skin and loving every minute of it. “Admit it, you naturally assumed I would be content to let my father support me. Sorry to disappoint you, but…”
“You still have a smart mouth,” he informed her with a grin, the dimple in his left cheek winking at her. “The five years have made you into a beautiful woman.”
“Correction, Mr. Kincaid. I have made myself into a woman,” she declared passionately. “Through sheer determination and hard work.”
“Your temper is showing, Lacey,” Mickey whispered as he set her soft drink in front of her. With a wink at Lucas, he added, “Watch her eyes… I’ve seen her kill with them!”
“Mickey!” Lacey wailed.
“Are you ready to order now, Miss Hill?” he inquired soberly, his dark eyes glittering with humor.
“Mickey, I’m going to tell Sally!” she threatened lightly, amused in spite of herself.
“Oh, no! Not that! Torture… No tip? But, please, don’t tell Sally!” Mickey pleaded in mock horror.
“You are impossible, Mickey Wallace!” she informed him playfully. “Lucas, are you ready to order?”
Mickey took their orders, and Lacey picked up the conversation right where they left off. “I’ll admit it has taken me five years, Lucas, but I did it. I started at the bottom, like any girl just out of college, and I’ve worked damn hard to earn my position.”
Lucas grinned and said mockingly, “I can see you still have the temper to match that fiery red hair of yours, Lacey! I wasn’t implying you didn’t deserve your job, or that you hadn’t worked for it. I was paying you a compliment. I said you are a beautiful woman, no more, no less.”
“I see,” she said thoughtfully. “In that case, thank you… I think.”
Lucas raised one eyebrow questioningly. “You think?”
“With you, it’s hard to tell, Lucas.”
“I don’t understand.”
“I didn’t expect to see you sitting here tonight,” Lacey stated candidly. “For the past five years I’ve tried to convince myself I hated you. I blamed you for breaking up Cal and me, and I hated you for daring to spank me! I wanted revenge in the worst possible way, Lucas,” she told him truthfully. “I couldn’t sit down for a week without remembering the way you treated me… And all the hateful things you said about being a ‘spoiled, little rich girl’.” She looked into the amused gray eyes squarely, “I guess I should thank you, Lucas. You gave me the determination to make something of myself.”
“Your salads,” Mickey served them quickly and efficiently, and as unobtrusively as possible.
“Is revenge why we’re here, Lacey?” Lucas asked conversationally.
“As I said before, I didn’t expect to see you tonight. Confidential Investigators is the name of your company?” she asked politely, studying the handsome planes of his face with interest. Lucas must be thirty-four or five by now, she decided, thinking he carried his age well. His light brown hair was thick and buzzed short. His gray eyes were framed by tiny laugh lines, even though she couldn’t remember his laughing very much five years ago. His blue suit fit him to perfection. He was well-proportioned; his shoulders seemed broad on his frame, even though he was only a head taller than Lacey. The striped tie he wore was conservative, and very expensive, she noted. Lucas Kincaid was a picture of the successful business man.
“Yes,” he replied, “I chose the name because I wanted people to know they could trust me.”
“I didn’t realize you were a detective.” Calvin hadn’t talked about his older cousin very much. Football and partying were his favorite subjects.
“I was a policeman for several years before I opened my agency,” Lucas volunteered, then changed the subject. “Morris is your father’s first name?” he demanded.
“No. It’s mother’s maiden name. Dad named the company after her because she invested her inheritance to start the business and Dad wanted to show her how much he appreciated her confidence in him.”
“And here we are,” he smiled.
“Yes, here we are,” she smiled brightly to cover the tension she was feeling. What a waste of time. Lucas Kincaid would never give her a chance to present her proposal for the new and innovative computer program designed especially with his business in mind. He hated her, and, thanks to her own admission, would think she was bent on revenge. And, that thought stirred another, more familiar one… She’d never given up the idea of revenging herself on Lucas Kincaid. He deserved to pay for humiliating her… and for destroying her marriage plans. Someone had to teach him that he couldn’t play God with people’s lives.
As they ate their dinner, Lucas and Lacey made small talk, the polite conversation of two people caught in an awkward situation and doing their best to keep peace. They discussed Lucas’ flight into Dayton, the weather, and the hotel’s décor.
As Mickey cleared away their dishes, then served coffee, Lacey found her breathing had returned to normal. Soon this impossible evening would be over and she could put Lucas out of her mind for good, or until she came up with a suitable plan for revenge!
“Let’s hear your proposal, Lacey,” Lucas surprised himself by saying. He should get on the first flight out of Dayton for New York. This woman hated him, but for some unfathomable reason, that fact fascinated him. He wasn’t used to being hated by anyone. Lucas let the business part of his mind concentrate on Lacey’s melodious voice, while his eyes roamed appreciatively over her features. Her hair was the same glorious, vibrant red he remembered from five years earlier, and it shocked him to remember how he’d ached to run his hands through the long tresses even then! He allowed his imagination to remove the pins holding her hair up on top of her head, freeing the fiery masses to fall on her slender shoulders.
Her dress was made of the finest silk, very feminine, but most appropriate for a business dinner. The green color matched her flashing eyes. Ah, those eyes! Lacey couldn’t hide anything from him as long as he could see those eyes. He nearly laughed as he remembered Mickey’s earlier words. Yes, indeed, Miss Hill could very likely kill with those eyes.
Lacey Hill had been a pretty girl five years ago, with the promise of more to come. And she’d lived up to his expectations, Lucas realized uncomfortably. Lacey was indeed a beautiful woman, and it fired his blood to look at her. What a pity she was such a spoiled, little brat!
The gray eyes studying her so intently were making it hard for Lacey to concentrate on her presentation. If she hadn’t practiced it so many times, she probably would be stuttering incoherently. That thought angered her, and with determination she forced herself to continue, calmly and thoroughly outlining her proposal.
“Very interesting,” Lucas commented when she’d finished.
“I’m glad you think so, Lucas,” Lacey’s pulse raced. A sale of this magnitude, and to Lucas Kincaid, would do wonders for her self-confidence. “A lot of hard work went into designing this system for your company.”
“I wasn’t talking about your fancy computer program, Lacey. I suppose it’s okay… as computers go,” he shrugged dismissively, watching her green eyes fill with barely suppressed fire.
Lacey wanted to slap him, ached to let fly right across the table and wipe the arrogant, smug look off his handsome face. Handsome? Oh damn!
“I was talking about you,” he watched as the anger left her eyes to be replaced by cool, detached curiosity.
“Really, Lucas? I’m surprised to hear you, of all people, say that you find me interesting. Five years ago you couldn’t say enough hateful things about me.”
“I wasn’t trying to be hateful. I was pointing out your faults,” he stated bluntly. “You were a willful, spoiled, little girl.”
“So you said at the time,” Lacey hoped her words conveyed the icy contempt she felt for his opinion.
“It was the truth, Lacey. Are you woman enough to admit it?” he challenged her softly.
“I would love to smack you one, Lucas Kincaid,” she hissed. The hell with the account! Her father would understand! Oh, no, he wouldn’t! she reminded herself. She’d never told her parents about Lucas Kincaid and her disastrous engagement to Cal. She’d planned to surprise them, with the ring already on her finger!
“Maybe you still have a little growing up to do?” he mused softly, as if speaking to himself.
“Growing up to do! Let me tell you, Lucas Kincaid, I am all grown up! But, you have the manners of an ill-refined jackass! How dare you sit there and pass judgment on me? You have absolutely no idea of how hard I have worked to get where I am today! My father may have spoiled and pampered me in our personal life, but not at work. He built that company from scratch and he wasn’t about to let some young girl come along and wipe him out in a couple short months. I had to work three times harder than anyone else to get a promotion, and when I goofed up, Dad didn’t mince words. He came down on me so hard I was sure he’d fire me! And you have the nerve to sit there and…”
“That’s enough, Lacey,” Lucas spoke quietly, but with the confidence of a man who expects to be obeyed and usually is.
“Oh, no, it is not, Lucas Kincaid!” Lacey declared passionately. “I have waited five long years to confront you, and I’ll be damned if I’ll just sit here quietly while you sip your coffee!”
She was surprised when the gray eyes crinkled with laughter, “Okay, then. Chew me up and spit me out, little girl. Just remember, I’ll have my say, too,” he warned.
“You are arrogant and unprincipled!” she said, and then faltered. Where were all the things she’d planned to say to him now that she needed them? If she was going to blow this account, then she certainly wanted to get her monies’ worth!
“Is that all?” he asked mildly, amused.
“For the moment, yes,” she admitted with a telltale blush on her cheeks. Damn this red hair and the fair skin that goes with it. It wasn’t fair for a twenty-five year old woman to blush like a teenager!
“My turn?” he asked skeptically.
“Go ahead.” She would control her temper. This was a public place, for cripe’s sake, and Lucas hated scenes, she reminded herself grimly, remembering. Not that he would dare to manhandle her again. No man would be able to do that. She had a black belt to prove it.
“Would you please smile, Lacey?” he stunned her by asking under his breath.
“What? Why?’ she whispered in response.
“Your server friend looks like he is contemplating my immediate demise,” Lucas informed her with a benign smile that relayed how unconcerned he truly was.
Lacey glanced up as Mickey approached the table and asked, “Is everything all right, Lacey?” He stood with his back turned to Lucas and rolled his eyes questioningly over his shoulder toward. Lucas.
“Just fine, Mickey. Thanks!” Good grief! Was there no end to the men who thought she needed protection merely because she was small? she seethed inwardly.
“I’m getting off early this evening and would be glad to give you a lift home?” he persisted, a worried frown creasing his usually cheerful face.
A darn lie! Lacey knew without a doubt. Sally didn’t let her employees off early. But, it spoke volumes of Mickey’s genuine concern for her. He was willing to lose part of his much needed wages, even risk his job, to help her if she needed him. Smiling warmly, Lacey shook her head, “Thanks, Mickey, but I have my car, and Lucas is staying here at the hotel,” she added pointedly.
“Oh… Well, can I get you anything else?”
“More coffee would be nice,” she replied, smarting from the look of derisive humor in those gray eyes regarding her so solemnly.
As Mickey walked away, Lucas leaned forward to ask, “Is your young friend always so protective? Or is it something I did?”
Lacey shrugged uneasily. If Lucas took offense with Mickey and complained, her friend would probably lose his job. “Mickey isn’t used to seeing me lose my temper.”
Lucas leaned back, and grinned impudently, “Then I take it he doesn’t know you very well, Lacey?”
“On the contrary, Lucas,” Lacey hated herself for rising to the bait, but was unable to resist, “Mickey is a good friend.”
“Friend or lover?” Lucas demanded, surprised at the wretched flash of jealously that coursed through his midsection at the thought of Lacey making love with another man.
“How dare you ask me that?” Lacey asked in an icy whisper. “You are so far out of line it is unbelievable, and I owe you no answer or explanation, but, for Mickey’s sake, I’ll set your dirty mind at ease. Mickey is the eldest son of my father’s executive assistant, and I’ve known him since he was a small child. He is in his first year of college and needs this job to pay his tuition. Don’t you dare say one word to get him fired! Do you hear me?” she hissed angrily.
“Where did you get the idea I would do something like that, Lacey?” Lucas asked in genuine surprise. “You must think I’m a real bastard.”
“You are a bastard, Lucas Kincaid, and I wouldn’t put anything past you. Remember, I have first hand experience of how ruthless you can be!” she declared vehemently, uncaring that her voice carried to the tables closest to them.
“Lower your voice, young lady!” Lucas ordered quietly, his eyes flashing dangerously as he struggled to control his temper. Right now he would love nothing more than the privacy to take Miss Lacey Hill over his knee and spank her sassy bottom! It would be richly deserved, in his opinion.
“Oh, yes… I’d nearly forgotten! You don’t like public scenes, do you, Lucas?” she asked far too sweetly, her false smile telling him she didn’t give a damn what he liked… or disliked. Her green eyes met his bravely, refusing to back down, even when Mickey approached their table to refill their coffee cups.
“I don’t like this, Lacey,” Mickey said forthrightly. “He’s upsetting you.”
“I can take care of myself, Mickey,” she informed him pertly. “And you are going to get fired if Sally sees you just standing here,” she warned. “Get back to work!”
“You need a keeper!”
“You’re too young to apply for the job!”
“Oh, hell, Lacey!”
“Those people are trying to get your attention,” Lucas broke in, pointedly reminding Mickey had had a job to do.
“You’d better quit giving her a rough time… sir,” Mickey tacked the last on sarcastically, his brown eyes flashing a warning at the older man before reluctantly getting back to his other customers.
To Lacey’s surprise, Lucas chuckled. “And to think I flew in from New York for this!”
“Yes, it was a complete waste of my time,” Lacey agreed. A very expensive waste of time. Her father would be furious with her… rightfully so!
Lucas chuckled again and Lacey couldn’t resist asking, “Just what do you find so amusing?”
“This whole situation. Admit it, Lacey. You wouldn’t insult any other client the way you have me.”
“I’d have no reason to.”
“… And now you are wondering what Daddy is going to say…” he broke off with a chuckle, which served to set Lacey off again.
“Damn it, Kincaid,. This is all your fault. If I’d known that Confidential Investigations was your company…”
“You would have refused my business?” he cut in angrily.
“I would have let my father handle the presentation and negotiations. At no time was I aware I would be dealing with you.”
“And now you would like for me to go back to New York and forget all about his encounter?” he asked thoughtfully. “And what little lies will you tell Daddy to save your hide? That I didn’t show for the meeting? Or was unreasonable, that I wouldn’t listen to your proposal? That I wasn’t serious about installing a system? Or that I couldn’t afford it? Which one, Lacey?” Her guilty flush admitted he was on target, and that sparked his own temper. “I’ve worked hard to establish a good reputation for my business, and I’ll be damned if I will let some spoiled, little girl malign me because it suits her sense of revenge to do so. I take back what I said earlier. Your body may have filled out, but you haven’t changed at all. You are still the same spoiled, little girl,” he accused harshly.
“I’ll admit I did consider taking the easy way out, Lucas,” Lacey acknowledged truthfully, “and five years ago that is exactly what I would have done. I don’t expect you to believe me, but I intend to tell my father the truth.”
“You’re right. I don’t believe you,” he stated without hesitation, his eyes glittering angrily.
“It’s pointless to continue this conversation,” Lacey rose to her feet and swept away before Lucas could rise to his feet.
He watched in muted surprise as she crossed the room and left the dining room without glancing back. As he slowly sat down, he realized two things; she’d left the folder with the business proposal in it, and she’d stuck him with the check Mickey was holding out for payment.
He offered his credit card and waited impatiently for Mickey to return it to him. He was going to catch one Miss Lacey Hill and… What? Return her folder for starters… And quite possibly turn her over his knee just for the sake of his principles!
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