Hostile Takeover
Joey W. Hill
Part of the Knights of the Board Room series.
Ben is the last unattached member of the five-man executive team of K&A Associates. The other four, all Masters, have found the submissives of their dreams. That’s fine. The sharp-edged lawyer knows he’s the most hardcore of them all, with extreme tastes as a Master he satisfies physically through experienced club submissives. He doesn’t really need anything more.
Marcie has loved Ben since she was sixteen. He’s never behaved as anything more than a protective big brother, a family friend. But now she’s twenty-three and starting her career as a corporate investigator. She may be a blood-and-bone-deep submissive, but she won’t hesitate to use her aggressive talents to prove she’s meant to be his. With a Master as tough as Ben, she’ll have to take whatever measures are needed—even if her deepest desire isn’t a hostile takeover of his heart, but an unconditional surrender to it.
Ellora’s Cave Publishing
www.ellorascave.com
Hostile Takeover
ISBN 9781419936449
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
Hostile Takeover Copyright © 2012 Joey W. Hill
Edited by Briana St. James
Cover design by Syneca
Photography: Fotolia.com
Electronic book publication January 2012
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Hostile Takeover
Joey W. Hill
Acknowledgements
Bringing together a story that completes a full circle of books involving five extraordinary men and the exceptional women they love required a lot of fact checking and review of the past works for consistency. My fingers are crossed that we caught everything, but of course that’s likely wishful thinking. Still, it was not for lack of helpful resources. I want to give heartfelt thanks to the following:
To the JWH connection fan forum, particularly the participants of the Ben and Marcie thread, whose insights into the characters, their recollection of details about Ben and Marcie from previous works, and their overall enthusiasm, helped drive this book forward.
To Janine, for the legalities of rummaging through trash containers.
To Karen, for the wonderful timeline you put together—it was a godsend!
To Michele and Mandy, for medical advice regarding the aftercare of an especially stressed submissive.
To Mindy, for your delightful command of anatomy terminology.
To Minuet, for your observations about the positive effect a good Master has on a woman’s confidence and self-worth. These observations helped connect some key dots about Marcie’s motivations and personality.
To Ritu, for helping me locate the right setting for Jeremy.
To Sandy, one of my dedicated “Ben” fans. Despite your insanely busy schedule, you took the first look and assured me that most of the readers wouldn’t run screaming from the more controversial areas. Thank you also for the great photos and information you provided to guide my research on New Orleans.
To Sarah Frantz, whose academic exploration of popular romance led her to write an essay about one my works for the upcoming New Approaches to Popular Romance Fiction: Critical Essays (spring/summer 2012). Your insights actually furthered my understanding of my own characters, such that I was able to direct Ben and Marcie’s areas of conflict much better.
To the folks of the SouthEast LeatherFest, thank you for exponentially increasing my practical knowledge of the D/s world, and for making a new attendee feel so at home at your wonderful con.
I’m sure I missed someone, but as always, I thank everyone who contributed in ways large and small to the creation of this work. As always, any remaining missteps or errors are entirely my own.
Finally, a loving thanks to my mother, who wanted to go on the Voodoo/Cemetery tour of New Orleans. It’s not something I would have done on my own, and as a result, I discovered a very special place for Ben to go to clear his head, as well as many other details that enhanced the book. Thanks for going with me on this trip, Mom. You were the best travel companion ever. I’ll miss not having you with me for future trips, but I’ll try to carry your spirit of adventure in my pursuit of future stories.
The best advice I can give you is to start every day with chocolate cake. That way, no matter what else happens, the day started with something perfect.
Ben, letter to Marcie during her freshman year
Chapter One
“Goddamn it, I don’t have time to nursemaid a damn baby.” Ben snapped his phone closed. “I’m meeting with Senecorp at ten this fucking morning, and that contract was supposed to be ready.”
Peter gave him a sidelong glance as he made his coffee. Out of habit, he poured Ben’s, leaving it caffeine-coma black as he added sugar and cream to his own Colombian blend. “Janet hears you barking like that,
