Synergy: New Adult Romantic Suspense (U-District, #1) (22 page)

“Let go of me.” Her cheeks grew red.

Bryce slid his hand behind her neck. “If you want us to be even”—he gently ran his thumb along her cheek—“you need to kiss me.”

Jade’s eyes softened. She tugged on his tie and pulled his lips to hers.

Heat flashed through his central nervous system. He gripped the back of her neck and balled his other hand into a fist to counteract the way her warm lips caressed his. Should he pull away after a moment and risk upsetting her again, or should he kiss her back?

He was still haunted by the way she’d looked after he’d assaulted her lips. He’d always stayed clear of passionate women, and yet here she was, thrust into his life, and he had no way to distance himself from her. With every step he took back, a stronger pull tugged him forward. Could he have Jade, and still obtain the goals he’d set out to achieve? It was a huge risk. She wasn’t part of the plan, far, far, from it. But damn, he wanted her like no woman he’d wanted before.

She caressed his lips until he could no longer ignore her, then she bit his bottom lip and smiled when a guttural moan came from deep within him. Parting her lips, she invited him to taste her.

He would no longer think about why he couldn’t or shouldn’t be with her. She was here, now, where he could put his arms around her, where he could smell the light perfume on her neck and the shampoo in her hair. He let her tongue and lips set the pace. He wouldn’t push himself on her again. Her slow lazy kiss caused a deep ache in his chest, one he couldn’t lose. He could no longer deny himself what he wanted. He would change his plans. Find a way to make it work so he could have her too.

He let her pull away despite a primal tug to take what his body craved.

She pressed her cheek against his chest. He remembered another time when she’d rested her head against that very spot. She’d been almost unconscious. That was the day he’d become protective of her. That was the day his feelings for her had grown into something he couldn’t be without.

But what if this was only to undo the damage he’d already done? Jade was a beautiful, sensual woman who could have any man she wanted. What if this was just to make them “even,” as she’d said? So that he could stop avoiding her, so that they could work as a team to run the company. What if what he so desperately wanted now from her wasn’t what she wanted? “What are we doing here?”

Jade lifted her head from his chest. “What do you mean?”

“I mean, are we even now and we go back to being co-workers, or is this more? There’s something between us I can’t ignore, but you’re my boss. If things don’t work out between us…”

“Then let’s take it slow.” Jade smoothed out his tie. “Let’s see if things can work between us, and let’s agree to end it amicably if we don’t think they will. How does that sound?” Her eyes drifted down to his lips.

He resisted the urge to kiss her. “It sounds perfect. Now we better get out of here before someone walks in on us and you really do have to fire me.” He helped Jade up and placed his hands in his pockets to avoid touching her again.

His fingers brushed against something silky in his pocket.
Her panties.
He suppressed a groan and closed his eyes. She was killing him.

If she wanted to take it slow, he’d take it slow. If she wanted more, he’d give her more. And if she strictly wanted to keep it professional… well hell, he’d have to change her mind.

NEAL THOROUGHLY RESEARCHED
Stan Templeman to prep himself for the interview. He preferred doing interviews at the person’s home or place of employment, whenever possible. This helped give him a sense of who the person was, how they lived, who they worked for.

With the heavy caseload, Riley took on another case for him so that Neal could concentrate on this one, which was personal.

As he drove by and parked, Neal noted Templeman’s house was very close to the Buchanan mansion. He knocked on Templeman’s door for the one o’clock interview.

“Detective Hawkins, please come in. I’ve been out of town for a couple of weeks, or I would have called back sooner.” Templeman was in his mid-sixties, well dressed, with a full head of gray hair, but his eyes betrayed his emotional, worn-down state. He escorted Neal past an unused formal living room and dining room and into a family room with tan walls wrapped with crown molding, a comfortable leather couch, and a recliner facing a brick wood-burning fireplace and flat-screen television.

Templeman apparently lived alone since his wife’s death. Neal stopped at a picture of Templeman and Gloria Buchanan on a side table.

“That was taken at the twenty-fifth anniversary dinner. I hope you don’t mind if I have a drink?” Templeman poured himself a scotch.

“Were you in a relationship with Gloria Buchanan?” Neal looked him directly in the eye.

Templeman took two slow sips of his scotch before answering. “Yes, Detective, for the past ten years.” He sat in his leather recliner. “She was lonely after her husband died, and so was I after my wife passed. You know, the four of us used to spend a lot of time together outside work. Gloria and I were very close friends, and later, companions. We didn’t let anyone know.”

“Did you know about her illness?”

“I was with her at the doctor’s office when she found out. She was never sick. Gloria was made of steel. When she lost her energy and had difficulty eating, we both knew it was serious.” He downed half his drink. “We thought we’d have more time. She was responding well to the treatments. The doctors said she had another year.” Templeman stared into his drink. His eyes turned glassy, and his hand shook. “I… never said goodbye.”

Neal waited for him to regain his composure. “You worked at Synergy for a long time.”

“Almost twenty-eight years.”

“After serving the company for so long, you must have been angry when Jade fired you in front of everyone.”

Templeman pulled the glass away from his lips. “Is that why you’re here, Detective? Is this about Jade?”

“Yes. How did you feel after Jade fired you?”

“It should have been handled differently.” Templeman shook his head. “At the time, I was shocked. Jade made a decision, and Gloria would have wanted me to support it. But now, after I’ve had time to think it through, she’d been trying to make changes, and I was getting in her way. I thought I was helping guide her, and she seemed to accept what I was saying. But then she’d go off and do what she wanted to anyway. Jade was struggling to find a way to assert herself as the CEO, and I wasn’t helping. I see that now. Firing me was probably the best thing she did. The company is…” Templeman broke off.

Neal waited for him to continue.

“I don’t know if Jade told you this, but the company is having financial difficulty. I’ve known about it for years. When Gloria was ill, all I could do was be there for her. The company didn’t matter. All that mattered was her.” Deep sorrow washed over Templeman’s face.

Either Templeman was a good liar, or he was in considerable pain. Neal would have to check other sources to see what they said about Stan Templeman’s relationship with Gloria. “Someone attacked Jade Buchanan in the parking garage.”

“What?” Templeman’s head snapped up. “Is she all right?”

He doesn’t know.
“She’s fine. Can you tell me your whereabouts at seven-twenty p.m. last Friday?”

“Of course. I was here at home.”

“Were you with anyone?”

“I was alone. I wasn’t exactly in the mood to socialize, Detective. It came as quite a shock when Jade fired me. I left for my sister’s the next day.”

“Were you in enough shock to attack Jade?”

“I care about Jade. She meant the world to Gloria. Besides, I’m an old man. I can assure you, she could hurt me worse than I could her.”

Unless you hired someone to do it for you.
Neal made a mental note to check if any large amounts had left Templeman’s bank account recently. Templeman could be telling the truth, but Neal wasn’t ready to rule him out just yet.

JADE WAS HUNGRY FOR MORE THAN
just food, and she was thrilled that Bryce had asked her to go out to dinner while they worked. Technically, it was their first let’s-see-where-this-goes date. The flurries in her stomach reminded her of being a teenager. They hadn’t kissed since four days ago, though they were finally easy with each other again, working great together, even flirting. But they hadn’t touched since that day.

Nerves had kept her from doing anything to compromise the good relationship they had now. She couldn’t risk going back to him ignoring her. They needed to work as a team to run this company, but more importantly, she couldn’t bear not being around him.

She took a deep breath and knocked on Bryce’s office door, making sure she had a friendly smile on her lips. “You ready?”

“I’m always ready for dinner with a beautiful woman.” Bryce laid a file on his desk, reached for his leather jacket, then walked out to the elevator with her.

His comment about her being beautiful took the flurries to full-on blizzard. “Don’t you want to bring that contract with you?”

“Nope, we have plenty of time to work when we get back. What do you say to being really crazy and actually taking an entire hour away from work?”

“I don’t know.” She tried to keep her tone light. “It sounds really risky. The company might go under if we take a break.”

“You’re right. I better go back and get it.” He wheeled around, as if to retrieve the contract.

Jade playfully pushed Bryce toward the elevator. It felt good to laugh and even better to touch him again. “Okay, I have to know what that is.”

“What?”

“In your pocket?”

Bryce pulled out a large coin and held it up between his thumb and finger, showing her the front and back of it.

“Why do you have a silver dollar in your pocket?”

“It’s always brought me luck. I found it on the floor of a casino on a senior college trip to Vegas and won fourteen hundred after I found it. I kept it in my pocket for luck during finals. Guess it became habit.”

“I wouldn’t mind having one of those.” Jade pressed the elevator button.

Bryce stepped in close behind her. “You’ll have to go to Vegas and find one of your own.” His voice was low, sensual. “Ever been?”

His breath was hot against her ear. “No, that’s one place I haven’t gone.” She closed her eyes. Just the mention of Vegas conjured up an image of satin sheets and heart-shaped beds.

The elevator door opened and to her disappointment, it wasn’t empty. She walked in and stood next to Bryce.

The elevator seemed to stop on every floor on its way down. The more people that got on, the closer she and Bryce stood together. At one point, their hands touched, and he linked his fingers with hers. Could the people in front of her feel the heat between her and Bryce in that cramped space? To her disappointment, he released her hand when they reached the lobby. Jade breathed in the fresh air when they left the building. It was cooler outside in early August than in the elevator with Bryce.

“It’s this way,” he said.

Jade lifted her face to the last of the day’s sunshine. “Have to soak up enough Vitamin D for next winter. I miss California.”

“Me too, but you have to admit, there’s no place on earth more beautiful in the summer than the Pacific Northwest. It wouldn’t be this green without the rain.”

Jade sauntered along the Seattle sidewalks, peering in shop windows. She stopped to look at a glass bowl with varying shades of red swirling throughout it in a classic Chihuly shape, similar to an oyster. Bryce wasn’t in a hurry and didn’t seem to mind. “I just adore glass,” Jade said.

“That was apparent when I saw your place.”

“I love the way the colors change when the light reflects over it or shines through it.”

“I like the orange one.”

She considered the tall, sleek modern vase. The orange coloring seemed to float inside its clear rectangular base. “It’s beautiful.”

“So are you.”

Jade’s gaze shifted to Bryce. He’d stepped in close to her. “Thank you.” The words came out in a whisper. Gran had taught her always to thank a person who complimented you. Now, the words seemed foolish. She looked away. “Uh, where’s the teriyaki place?”

“Two more blocks.” Bryce grinned. He seemed to enjoy flustering her. They walked a little farther, then he stopped. “Hold on. Do you mind if I go in here for a second?”

“No. For what?” She followed him into a store full of dolls and stuffed animals.

“I have to get this for my niece.” He pulled a green stuffed turtle from the window shelf. “She collects turtles. Her birthday is next month.”

Jade couldn’t help smiling at the toy’s cartoon-like grin. She waited for him to pay. “It’s adorable.”

When they made it to the brightly lit teriyaki restaurant, Bryce held the door open for Jade. She followed him to a cozy booth for two in the back where he sat opposite her. A complete bummer, but she wouldn’t complain, not when she was here with
him
.

He checked out the menu choices. “Do you want to share? We can order family style.”