Strictly Business

By A.C. Dupuis

How can you keep a secret without lying – unfortunately, one can’t happen without the other.

Katherine Weston is a highly sought-after management consultant whose personal life is beginning to interfere with her professional one. Due to her divorce settlement, she’s legally obligated to keep her recent divorce a secret until her husband and his powerful family can figure out how they’re going to break the news to their Board of Directors. Until then, everyone must believe that she’s still happily married to her high-profile husband – including her clients.

Kate’s latest job is with wealthy entrepreneur, Benjamin McLaughlin. His undeniable charm and playful personality are making it hard to, not only, keep up pretenses that she’s still married, but keep her from blurring the lines between business and pleasure.

Kate struggles to decide if she will give in to her feelings for her new client, or keep things strictly business.

• Language: English
• Publisher: A.C. Dupuis
• Release date: Aug 13, 2014
• ISBN: 9781311109828

A.C. Dupuis

A. C. Dupuis is a romance novelist whose love for reading developed into a love for writing. She lives in the South with her family and many furry babies.

Book preview

Strictly Business

By A. C. Dupuis

Copyright 2014 A. C. Dupuis

Smashwords Edition

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Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author.

This book is a work of fiction and any resemblance to persons, living or dead, or places, events or locales is purely coincidental. The characters are productions of the author’s imagination and used fictitiously.

Adult Reading Material

Chapter 1

Beginning with the End

My name is Kate, and I make bad decisions. One of them has caused me to be the very first person in my family to get divorced. My parents are so proud.

I need chocolate. Kate murmured as she stared down at the mustard yellow envelope sitting on her desk. She didn’t need to open it because she had already agreed to everything that the divorce decree detailed. For some reason, she thought she would feel different, liberated maybe, but she didn’t. She still felt the same hurt and betrayal she did yesterday, and every other day since she found her husband in bed with another woman. Kate dug through her handbag to find a little piece of heaven filled with caramel sealed in a gold wrapper.

When it came to making decisions in regards to anything but her personal life, Kate was an artisan, in fact, she was paid well to do just that – make decisions for other people. Well, help them make decisions. She was a successful consultant with corporate leaders, and companies lined up for her to help them attain success or increase their profits. However, when it came to anything that dealt with Kate’s personal life, more specifically, her love life – she would use her heart to guide her. That had gotten her into trouble more times than not, which led her to the most epic bad decision of all – Phillip Weston.

Phillip Robert Mead Weston was the only child and sole heir to the Weston family fortune. His grandfather’s grandfather was Robert Weston who manufactured and sold a line of home goods products. One hundred twenty years later, the Weston family owned the multi-billion dollar company that sold household cleaning supplies, food storage containers, trash bags, etc. On top of that, somewhere back in the 1950’s, the female heir of one of the largest commercial airlines at the time, Mead Airlines, married Phillip’s grandfather combining two of the largest bankrolls in the US into one large East Coast juggernaut.

Phillip was a gorgeous and charming playboy who swept Kate off of her feet. They met when they were both in college in Massachusetts. Kate attended Boston College like her sister, Amelia. When Kate was in high school, she visited Amelia, who was still an undergrad at the time. She totally fell in love with the campus and with Boston.

Phillip was enrolled at Harvard when Kate met him. She was out at a bar with a few friends when Phillip walked in. He was poised, gorgeous, and had the attention of every woman in the room. His smile was electrifying, and he oozed charisma. He was standing there with a group of friends, who eventually made their way over to Kate’s table. She truly had no idea who he was and for some reason, he found that fascinating about her.

He called and texted her a few times before they could actually schedule time to get together. She wasn’t trying to play hard-to-get, but it was finals and she had a part-time job, so it was a couple weeks after they met before they went on their first date, which fascinated him even more. He wasn’t used to hearing the word no, and the fact that Kate didn’t drop everything to answer his calls or schedule a date only caused him to pursue her harder. That should have tipped her off.

Kate was focused on her studies and very ambitious. Being the baby of the family, she had a legacy of success that her sister and brother laid before her. Kate wasn’t trying to compete with her siblings; it was just something that they were taught by their parents. Hard work is the foundation of success. She had no intentions of allowing her social life to steer her from her dreams. Phillip seemed to understand that and even encouraged it.

Kate swore she fell in love with him on their first date. He was on the Harvard rowing crew, so he brought her over to the Charles River where he loaded a picnic basket into a small row boat and brought them to a quiet part of the waterway. It was early May so the sun set pretty late in the day. While the sun painted the sky in lovely shades of orange and yellow as it lowered past the horizon, they ate the four course meal that Phillip ordered from a five-star French restaurant in the heart of Boston, which was on a three month waiting list to get through the door. The food was delicious, and Phillip seemed to enjoy introducing her to the cuisine that she wasn’t familiar with.

He spent the rest of the evening opening up to Kate about himself and his family. He was incredible, and when he walked her to her door, he placed a sweet, tender kiss on her lips and bid her goodnight. Kate remembered how she laid down on her bed and gushed from the amazing night she had had. It was the perfect first date, which was followed by one perfect date after another for the next year.

The night Kate graduated, Phillip proposed to her in front of her friends and family who had come in to celebrate. A short year later, they were married at the twenty-three million dollar Weston family estate, which sat smack dab in the middle of Boston, and sprawled across Exeter Street and Commonwealth Avenue. It had fifteen bathrooms, six covered parking areas, and twenty-four thousand feet of living space and was built in the late eighteen hundreds. It was its own suburb.

Eighteen months into the marriage, she was still head over heels in love with him, and they began having conversations about starting a family. She would have done anything for Phillip, until the day she came home early to find him in bed with some woman. She was away on business and decided to take an earlier flight to surprise him – another bad decision of sorts. She most definitely did surprise him.

She entered their home and headed straight into their bedroom to set down her luggage and shower before he came home. As she walked down the hallway, she heard sounds that were out of context. When she cracked open the door to their bedroom, she saw the naked back of some woman who was climaxing as she was riding Phillip. Kate dropped her luggage and backed away from the bedroom silently. That was one of the last times she saw Phillip before the divorce proceedings began.

When she left their home, she immediately called her sister who lived in New York with her husband and two children. Amelia made it to Boston in record time to retrieve her heartbroken sister. Kate was catatonic for the better part of a week, and Amelia and her husband did a wonderful job of being a buffer between her and Phillip, who made a few attempts to contact her. Kate never knew what caused him to stray. She never asked him … never really wanting to know. She was rocked to the core and chose the road of being ignorant than facing whatever harsh reality Phillip had in store for her. Probably another bad decision, but one she was willing to live with.

When Kate could function again, she dove herself into her work. After graduation, her career had taken off as a consultant working with major companies who were looking at restructuring, optimizing profits, or simply wanted a second pair of eyes on the day-to-day in order to boost efficiency. She specialized in financial and management consulting. She had a knack for analysis. Kate could see processes and determine whether they were as efficient as they should be, or look at an organizational chart and make small shifts to optimize performance. She loved the fact that she was in the business of making things better.

She was great at her job and owed her success to Harold The Duke Ducane, the world renowned British telecommunications mogul who was actually an Earl, related somehow to the current British monarchy. Kate scored a much sought-after internship with one of his companies, which was one of her most rewarding business experiences of her career. She remained friendly with the Duke to this day. He catapulted her career into superstardom, and she was now at the point where she was sought-after and didn’t have to go looking for business.

It was Monday, and she was just finishing up an eight month job in Los Angeles working for a media tycoon who was buying out a few publishing companies. It was a long term contract that kept her away from the East Coast for a large portion of her legal separation. She was glad that she wouldn’t have to be in the hub of Weston-land where everybody knew her last name, and the family associated with it, while she was still dealing with the heartbreak of her marriage failing.

Mrs. Weston? Are you alright?

Kate looked up at the administrative assistant, who was wearing a look of concern. She realized that she needed to snap out of it, so Kate quickly put a fake smile on her face and greeted the young lady. She’d become a pro at issuing a very natural looking fake smile over the course of the last year and a half.

She swallowed her third piece of chocolate and scooped up the yellow folder and placed it into her briefcase sitting next to her on the floor as she replied, I’m just fine, Joann. Sorry, did you need something?

Joann held up a white envelope and said, No, but I do have these for you. Mr. McLaughlin wanted to invite you to the Laker’s game tonight. Burnside Publishing has a suite, and he thought you’d be interested in the game since they are playing the San Antonio Spurs.

Kate laughed. It felt good to laugh. The team here really took care of her over the last few months. Knowing her Texas roots, she’d developed a healthy competitive relationship with some of the folks at the publishing company who were die hard Laker fans. Her San Antonio Spurs were in the semifinals playing against the Laker’s so the discussions around the office had become a lot more heated over the last week or so in anticipation of the first playoff game. She stayed true to her roots, so tonight she would be going to the game and donning her Spurs attire.

Kate smiled and took the envelope from Joann saying, Thank Mr. McLaughlin and tell him not to worry. It won’t be a complete shut out.

Joann smiled and said, You know, his mom worked on the administrative team for the Laker’s for years until his brother hit it rich and retired her. So his loyalty to the Laker’s is beyond just a love for a local basketball team.

Kate smiled at the thought, Well at least he has a good reason to love them.

Joann smirked, There are two tickets in there; so if you want to bring another Spur’s fan with you, you can.

Kate’s thoughts immediately went to her family. They were the only Spur’s fans that she knew and none of them were here in Los Angeles to join her. It reminded her that she needed to call her sister to let her know that she received the paperwork. Thanks, Joann. I’ll see you guys tonight.

Joann held her hands up and said, I won’t be there, but the rest of the team will. You know how it goes when you’re the low man on the totem pole.

Kate tilted her head and said, Would you like to go? I don’t have anyone to bring, and I’m sure you deserve to be there more than I do.

Joann’s face lit up, I’ve never been to the suites before. Are you sure?

Kate smiled and said, Positively. You’ll be my plus one. She opened the envelope and handed over the second ticket to Joann.

Joann clutched the ticket to her chest and said, Thanks, Mrs. Weston. I’ll see you tonight.

Mrs. Weston … only one more year of hearing that name. The sound of it nauseated her, and Kate couldn’t wait to amputate that disease off of her given name. Unfortunately, her divorce decree barred her from changing it until her twenty-ninth birthday – only one year and roughly a month or so away. It was Phillip’s way of controlling a situation that had been out of his control from the moment Kate heard the screams of his whore’s ecstasy.

She looked down at the thin silver band that replaced her three carat Asher cut wedding ring. She twisted it nervously with her thumb.

Due to the fact that his family was going through some major scrutiny with the board over Phillip being prepped to take over as CEO and Chairman when his father decided to retire, Phillip couldn’t have any bad press over his indiscretion. The board claimed he was too young and too impulsive to run the company. The news of his adultery would seal the deal with the board. He needed some time to figure out how to position the divorce to the world and needed Kate for that.

He used Kate’s urgency to get out of the marriage to offer her a completely clean break without contest, which would allow her to get her business free and clear. Since she started her business while she and Phillip were married, technically he owned part of it and could keep her in litigation for years without any certainty of Kate getting it in the end.

So in order to maintain her livelihood post-Phillip, she had to agree to 4 things: she must agree to seal the divorce records that way no one would ever know the reason or terms, she could not be romantically linked to anyone in the press for the period of one year after the divorce, she must keep and use in business the Weston name until her twenty-ninth birthday, and finally she and her family had to sign a non-disclosure agreement to not discuss the fact that she was divorced or the circumstances surrounding it to anyone for a period of one year. Phillip wanted to keep the board in the dark for as long as possible, and this was his way of ensuring that they were.

If any of the terms were broken, Phillip would own her company and a ten year non-compete clause would go into effect, barring her from consulting, and essentially crippling everything that Kate had worked so hard for over the last few years, henceforth the small silver band that she bought for herself and was wearing on her left hand now. She didn’t want to wear the ring Phillip gave her, so she bought the thin, plain ring to replace it. Even though it was meant to look like her wedding ring, it was a commitment that Kate made to herself. It reminded her that she did the right thing.

If she agreed to the stipulations of the divorce decree, then on her twenty-ninth birthday she would receive her consulting business which would have no ties to the Weston family, get to change her name back to Stakes, and lastly, receive the twenty-two million dollar infidelity penalty that was outlined in her prenuptial agreement. Her original settlement of eight million dollars was wired into her account this morning, as well as, one percent of their company’s stock. She tried to use that as leverage to just get out of the marriage with no strings attached, offering to give it up completely if Phillip would just let her out. However, what was a measly thirty million when he stood to inherit billions if Kate played by his rules.

She figured that the sooner she signed the documents, the sooner the farce would be over. It was only one year, and due to the number that Phillip had already done on her, she doubted that the urge to jump into another relationship would be on the top of her to do list. She was madly in love with him, and he had been cheating on her. What a fool.

Chapter 2

A Repulsive Compliment

Kate’s cab pulled up at the Staples Center roughly twenty minutes before the game started. She was wearing a pair of jeans and a black tank top with the Spur’s logo adorned with crystals, so she was harassed by Laker fans from the moment she exited her cab until she stepped foot into the suite with the rest of the group from Burnside Publishing. She was dressed much more casually than she ever had in front of the group, but she had no qualms since her contract was over, and she’d be moving on to her next job soon. Plus, it was mid-May in Los Angeles, so she was going for comfort more than class with the weather being on the warmer side.

Bryce McLaughlin was the first one to greet her in the suite. He was wearing a vintage Laker’s t-shirt with a pair of jeans. She felt better about being so casually dressed when she saw the President of Burnside Publishing in a pair of Chuck Taylor’s.

He greeted her at the door with a hand shake and a small kiss on the cheek. He pursed his lips and shook his head as he said, It’s a shame that you got all dressed up to get your ass kicked. He was with a group of folks that she recognized from the office and one person that she recognized from the press – his brother, Benjamin McLaughlin.

Kate’s gaze was uncontrollably fixed on Benjamin as she shook her head, Not likely, Bryce. The Laker’s may hold the post season record, but my Spurs are looking way too good this year.

Kate, step up and take a look at the greatest basketball player that ever lived. He’s the one in the Laker’s jersey. Bryce antagonized.

She tore her eyes away from the eldest McLaughlin in order to straighten the youngest out. Well unless Michael Jordan is on that court, the greatest basketball player that ever lived isn’t wearing a Laker’s jersey. Kate retorted.

Burn! Bryce laughed, Just a fierce outside the boardroom as she is inside. Come; let me introduce you to a few people. He was a laid back guy and it was nice to see that he was the same in a casual setting.

Bryce guided Kate to the group of people he was entertaining before her arrival. She addressed the few people that she knew from the publishing company with handshakes before Bryce introduced her to the two people that she didn’t know … officially.

Bryce pointed to his brother first and then the older woman standing with them, Kate Weston, Benjamin McLaughlin, my brother and Annie McLaughlin, my mom.

Kate purposefully extended her hand out to their mother first, obliging standard rules of etiquette, Mrs. McLaughlin, very nice to meet you. I understand that you worked for the Laker’s and had a big part in the love that Bryce has for the team.

Bryce and Benjamin looked over at one another and then at Kate, like she had revealed some sort of family secret. Annie smiled brightly and shook Kate’s hand firmly, I worked as a secretary for the main office for over twenty years. These boys bleed purple and gold.

The boys inherited their green eyes and dark hair from their mom. Bryce mentioned that their father passed away when they were young due to some health complications. Their mom raised them all alone and seemed to have done a fabulous job from what she knew about Bryce.

Kate jested, Well at least they have a good excuse, unlike the rest of the folks here at the Staples Center.

Annie laughed, Well I see that your loyalty to the Spurs is just as deep seeded. I’m assuming from your slight accent that I’m in the presence of a Texas native?

Kate liked Annie. Yes, ma’am.

Annie gestured to her other son, "Ben, grab Kate a drink. It’s going to be a long night for her and her Spurs. She may want to start self-medicating now. Pick your poison, Kate."

Kate’s jaw hung open. She was just schooled… big time. It was now time to make eye contact with the infamous Benjamin McLaughlin. Kate raised her gaze to the most striking emerald green eyes she’d ever seen. Red wine, please.

With a small grin and a nod, Ben followed his mother’s orders, heading towards the bar to retrieve Kate’s wine. She felt all the air sucked from her lungs just from that small grin. Her heart was racing uncontrollably. Kate almost felt lightheaded. She was glad there was now space between them so she could slightly recover from her body’s traitorous behavior. She mentally scolded herself… He’s a rich playboy, dumbass. Haven’t you had your fill of those?

She turned to their mother and touched her arm, Annie, I think that you and I will get along beautifully. I don’t find too many other women that are as passionate as basketball as I am. We’re a rare breed. It was truly a pleasure meeting you.

Likewise, Kate. Annie shook Kate’s hand once more before moving over to another group of people.

Kate felt goose bumps on the back of her neck. She was suddenly overshadowed by the eldest McLaughlin brother who seemed very brooding. He handed her a glass of wine and said, Hi. Ben McLaughlin. Nice to meet you.

His voice was a deep baritone and had a slight gravely tone. It caused chills to run down the center of her back. He extended out his hand which Kate grabbed firmly, using the strength in her forearm with all its might. Kate learned to importance of a firm handshake from her father. Katherine Weston. No Kate for him. This was remaining formal, regardless of what he was doing to her physically.

Bryce said you’re consulting with his company. He pulled out his cell phone and held it in front of him, reading the text message that popped up on the face of the phone.

Kate could see the name Rosalie as the message contact but couldn’t see the actual message itself. His attention wasn’t on Kate even though he initiated the conversation. Phillip had done the same thing to her hundreds of times. Only the self-absorbed would do something like that. It was rude and pompous, and he was living up to the egotistical, narcissistic image the tabloids portrayed of him. Goosebumps or not … this man was another Phillip.

Kate wasn’t sure if what he said was a question or a statement, so she replied, Consulted. My contract ended this week. Her tone was curt, purposefully.

He placed a phony smile on his face and said, Well, it’s been nice, Mrs. Weston.

She nodded her head, Mr. McLaughlin.

Benjamin McLaughlin was an uber rich entrepreneur and a notorious womanizer. Kate remembered seeing him on magazine covers and gossip news shows while she was in college. He always had a model or some starlet on his arm and proclaimed avidly that he was an eternal bachelor immune to the idea of settling down with one woman, actually dumping anyone who publically claimed they were anything more than just friends. She hadn’t remember seeing too much coverage in regards to his social life over the last few years; then again, she was building a career and dealing with the disintegration of her marriage.

He was undeniably gorgeous – thick black hair, hypnotic emerald green eyes, over six feet tall, and a statuesque body. Kate felt a sense of foreboding from the moment she saw him; he was the West Coast version of her husband … damn it, ex-husband. The parallels between him and Phillip were obvious, besides the fact that Benjamin came from a middle class family and built his own success and wealth, whereas everything was handed to Phillip.

Bryce and Benjamin looked alike and were indisputably brothers; however, Benjamin had the alpha gene. There were twenty people in that small suite, and Benjamin was obviously the dominant, top-ranking person there – he knew it and so did everyone else; with the exception of Kate. She’d earned her stripes dealing with the upper echelon of old-money, power-driven socialites in Boston. He didn’t scare her or impress her … he repulsed her.

Kate was determined to spend the rest of the evening enjoying the game and staying as far away from Benjamin McLaughlin as possible.

~

Ben tipped his beer bottle up to his lips and took a long sip. He peered over at Mrs. Katherine Weston, who was one of the rudest women he’d ever met. She was visibly stiff around him earlier, yet seemed so relaxed around Bryce at the moment, who was trash talking about a block the Lakers just made against the Spurs starting forward. Ben had only just met her, so there was no reason why she was so impolite. He seriously considered walking over there and demanding an explanation.

Bryce had been boasting about how well she did over the last few months with aligning processes and working through the staffing and finances with the merger of the television, radio, and print companies that his boss had acquired. Bryce was the President of Burnside publishing, but it was owned by a media mogul named Owen Sharpe. Owen was the one that brought Katherine Weston in to examine his purchases and align the leadership teams and common process that would be practiced across all companies. Bryce had been raving about her, claiming that she taught him a ton about operational excellence during mergers or downsizing. Burnside had even offered Kate a permanent position, which she politely declined. He was seriously considering talking with her tonight about another long term contract working with the McLaughlin Group since Ben was now in acquisition mode.

Currently, Ben directly oversaw the operations of all aspects of his business which included his Asset Management group and a few retail and media ventures that he was beginning to dabble in. He was looking to diversify his portfolio further and needed someone who would be looking at everything with an unbiased eye. If he used his current staff, some may be tempted to guide Ben into making decisions that they may profit from, instead of what was just good business sense. After listening to Bryce go on and on about Kate for the last few months, Ben was looking forward to meeting with her to see if she could assist him in his next set of ventures.

He was now wondering if Bryce was just spellbound by her very good looks, since her personality was caustic, at best. She was stunning with her sun-kissed blonde hair and crystal blue eyes. She wasn’t the typical stick-thin LA girl with big breasts, Botox, and tons of plastic surgery, seeking ultimate perfection. She had very nice curves, and they were all natural from what he could tell. She was confident and composed, which was probably due to her last name.

Ben was well aware that her husband was Phillip Weston, heir to the multi-billion dollar Weston fortune. He was shocked that someone who married into that kind of money actually pursued a career in lieu of attending charity events and shopping. Surely, she had to be bred for the role of Mrs. Phillip Weston from a young age. She had access to more money than God, yet, according to Bryce, worked harder than any individual he’d come across in his time at Burnside. When you were just handed everything, like a Weston, an honest day’s work was the basis of the story that led to the legacy of the family, not what the members of it actually did day-to-day. Kate wasn’t supposed to be building a fruitful career, but there she was. Ben did find that very intriguing about her.

He decided to write off her stand-offish behavior as nerves or some sort of wariness about his past indiscretions as a self-proclaimed man whore, and see if she’d be interested in taking a meeting with him in regards to setting up a contract. Those days of mischief and models were long behind him, but he would still receive looks from women thinking that he was going to pounce on them at any moment. Some women seemed excited about the thought; some women seemed to fear him. Either way, Ben had been living a completely different life for the last three years and had no intentions on returning to that life … ever. He had been practicing a celibate lifestyle far outside of the limelight that caused him to be a household name all those years ago.

His attention went over to the conversation happening between Bryce and Kate. Bryce was gesturing over to Ben, and Kate seemed apprehensive to whatever he was saying. He placed his hand on the small of her back and began walking her over to Ben.

Bryce said, Hey Ben. Didn’t you want to talk to Kate about setting up a meeting?

Kate had a reluctant smile as she tilted her head seeming confused, Meeting? For?

New acquisitions. Ben noticed that her eyebrows rose in interest. "I’m looking at using the next year to gain new investments and based upon what