Hot shot businessman Kirk Anderson saw a quick rise to the top of the corporate ladder when he was hired at Walsh Enterprises and decided to make himself invaluable to "the boss lady", Lucinda Walsh herself. In addition to building a name for himself in business, he started becoming very attracted to a woman named Iva Snyder, who'd been brutally raped in the past, an event that still haunted her. Finally, Kirk's professional and private life collided when Lucinda gave him an assignment--get the Snyder farm. Though torn because of his feelings for Iva, Kirk was still the corporate shark and drew up the papers to have Walsh buy out the farm. In the midst of this, he was becoming more and more attracted to Iva and, when she seemed reluctant to get close to him, he pulled her into a passionate kiss! Caught off guard, Iva warned Kirk not to play games with her heart.

Meanwhile, Kirk was concerned when Iva made plans to locate her biological family, the Carpenters, and tried to dissuade her. When it became apparent that she needed to find them for her own peace of mind, Kirk mysteriously told her not to mention his name. In time, Iva not only found her biological family but also discovered Kirk's secret--he'd abandoned his wife, Lenore Carpenter, and their two children in order to run off with his boss, Adelaide Fitzgibbons. Saddened at his callousness toward his family, Iva left Kirk, but was persuaded by her mother to give him a chance to explain himself. Meanwhile, a regretful Kirk sought out Lenore in Quebec and ended up being a hero when he saved her life in a fire. Though Lenore was initially far from grateful, coldly snubbing him without even a thank you, she had a change of heart and allowed him to see their children. Touched by Kirk's heroism, Iva let him back into her life and accepted his marriage proposal. However, a still emotionally scarred Iva had trouble becoming intimate with Kirk, and she suddenly left him one day, leaving only a note saying she wasn't ready.

With Iva gone, Kirk ended up having a one-night stand with her free-spirited, business-minded younger sister, Ellie. Though Ellie wanted to keep their relationship on the merely physical level, Kirk's feelings started to run deeper and he found himself falling in love, and despite what she wanted, so did she. When the Snyder family learned about the relationship, they were incensed since they didn't want Iva getting hurt. However, Ellie decided not to let her family dictate her life and secretly moved in with Kirk on his yacht. By the time Iva returned, the couple's secret was out. Though hurt, Iva gave the pair her blessing, but warned Kirk that Ellie could be as selfish as he could, while Caleb Snyder wrote off Ellie, calling her a kept woman. However, despite what others thought, Kirk and Ellie had fallen in love and married on the yacht. Unfortunately, Kirk's greed would create a stumbling block. About the time of their marriage, Kirk had become friends with a new Walsh employee named Connor Jamison, who in turn became very close to Lucinda.

It wasn't long before Kirk discovered Connor's secret--she was the granddaughter of Lucinda's late husband, James Walsh. Realizing that Connor was hiding her true identity in order to oust Lucinda, a crafty Kirk saw his chance to seize more power and betrayed Lucinda by persuading her daughter, Lily, to let him vote for her in proxy and then voted Lucinda out! Disgusted that Kirk would betray Lucinda to become CEO of Walsh Enterprises, Ellie left him. However, in spite of herself, she still loved him and the pair reunited. Their happiness seemed complete when Ellie became pregnant. Unfortunately, a happy ending wasn't meant to be. When a sonogram revealed that their child would be severely malformed, Ellie unitarily decided on an abortion. Kirk learned the truth from Ellie's sister, Meg, who accidentally learned it from Ellie's doctor, and was furious. Kirk and Meg publically confronted Ellie at the Yacht club. Soon after, both Iva and Connor spoke to Kirk trying to urge him to forgive Ellie and eventually, Kirk realized that Iva and Connor were correct. Unfortunately, Kirk was too late; early the next morning, Ellie had already left town.

Alone, Kirk turned to Connor for comfort and then in a surprising move, deserted her to start working for Lucinda again at her new company, Worldwide. However, his main priority was still himself and hatched a plan with Lucinda's just discovered half-sister, Samantha Markham: they were going to marry and then bilk Lucinda out of her money and business. Oblivious to what they were planning, Lucinda threw the couple a huge wedding on her lawn, not knowing the minister was a fake. However, while setting up the con, something happened--Kirk and Sam fell in love. Soon after the pair decided to forgo conning Lucinda, Kirk was presumed dead after going overboard into the ocean. After being cast off for months on a deserted island, Kirk returned to Oakdale and he and Samantha married for real on Christmas Eve.

Not long after, Kirk would become involved in a business deal with a man named Umberto Malzone. Unfortunately, Malzone turned out to be as unscrupulous as Kirk and ended up double-crossing him. Angry that he'd been used, Kirk uncharacteristically resorted to murdering Malzone a.k.a Diego Santana. Not only that, but he let Lily take the blame and be convicted for his crime! In the end though, Kirk's deception was uncovered by Samantha herself. Desperate to stay out of jail, Kirk held Sam hostage. However, he was quickly subdued after being shot by James Stenbeck. While Kirk is sent to jail, Sam got conned herself by a master--James, who used her to get her stock of Walsh Enterprises. Wanting James taken care of, Sam went to Kirk and told him she'd help get him out of jail if he helped her. Despite Kirk's earlier actions, there obviously was still a bond between them, and he agreed to help her, in order to prove his love for her. Touched, but guarded, Sam refused to make any promises but said that she wouldn't testify against him. After helping to get rid of James, Kirk was released from prison and resorted to more power plays in an attempt, again, to oust Lucinda from Worldwide. With help from D.A. David Allen, he was successful and took great pleasure in ordering Lucinda around. However, the tables were turned on him again and he ended up working for Lucinda. Meanwhile, he and Sam reconciled and decided to put the past behind them and renewed their vows. However, things would turn tragic, for the specter of James Stenbeck came back to haunt them and they'd mysteriously disappeared without a trace.