Synergy: New Adult Romantic Suspense (U-District, #1) (7 page)

“Me neither. Did I tell you that if I don’t want to be CEO in a year, he takes my place?”

“No! Oooh, I bet he’s out for your blood.”

“Oh, he is. I have no doubt.”

“Well, that’s a bummer.”

“What is?”

“That Mr. Stud Muffin isn’t into you. So, can I like ask him out?”

“What?” Jade’s brows rose. “What happened to Kyle?”

“I’m totally kidding.” Aleks buttered her bread. “Kyle was a no-show and since I don’t know his last name or his number—”

“You can’t contact him.”

“Nope. So when are you going to make your move on Bryce?”

“Aleks, you know I can’t. I’m his boss now. I’m pretty sure Gran set it up that way on purpose.”

Aleks sat back and looked her in the eyes. “Hello. You’re the CEO. You run the place. I thought you were done letting your grandmother tell you what to do.”

“I am, I mean…” Jade’s lips curved into a wide smile. “You’re right. I do own the company. It’s not like they can fire me or anything.”

“Damn straight. Go for it, girl.”

Jade leaned back, her grin so wide it hurt. She wanted Bryce in a bad way. So now the question was, how did she get him to feel the same?

STAN WAS IN DIRE NEED OF AN IRISH COFFEE
. He opened his desk drawer and poured a shot of scotch in his cup. It wasn’t the best combination in the world, but it hit the spot. He hated that he’d become reliant on booze. The past two years had been hell, and things were only getting worse. What was he going to do with this mess of financial reports in front of him? Twenty-eight years he’d put into this company, and look where it had gotten him. Gloria was gone, and she’d made Jade CEO. If it weren’t for Bryce, the whole operation would fail.

When Jade knocked on his door, Stan smiled and stood. “How’s my girl?”

Jade sat in the oversized leather chair opposite him. It made her appear small, like the young girl he used to give lollipops to. “You know what still bothers me? I never had a chance to say goodbye to Gran.” There was a tremor in her voice. “The last time we spoke we argued.”

“I think Gloria did what she thought was best for you. She was aware she was sick.”

“How could she do that to me?”

“She wanted you to finish school, and she believed you’d refuse if you knew she had cancer. You’d have wanted to be there for her and wouldn’t have cared about anything else.”

“She robbed me of saying goodbye, of being with her when she died.”

“Gloria loved you. I don’t think she meant to hurt you in any way.”

“I know,” Jade whispered.

Stan sipped his coffee and let the burn of the scotch warm his insides. He couldn’t talk about Gloria any longer. The thought of her brought back memories he couldn’t bear. “So, what brings you to my neck of the woods?”

“I’ve been going through my email and noticed one today from Jethro Air that was forwarded from you and addressed to my grandmother.”

“Ah, yes. We’re expecting them to renew their contract with us this quarter. Does that concern you? I normally review your grandmother’s email to take care of the financial matters.”

“Yeah, well, of course you do. If you don’t mind, I would like to read my email first. If I find anything financially related, I’ll forward it to you right away.”

Stan’s stomach soured. He didn’t care for Jade’s questioning of his methods, and right now with the money situation, if they lost a large contract and profits fell any further, the banks could demand an audit, and then he’d lose everything he’d worked for. Who did Jade think she was, with zero years of CEO experience?

He leaned back in his chair and folded his hands behind his head. “It’s not a matter of if I mind, Jade. Some of this email is time-sensitive. We don’t want to lose a contract because you didn’t have time to read through your email, now do we?”

“No, of course not. I would never—”

“That’s what I thought. Why don’t you let me do what I do best? I’ve been running things around here for your grandmother a very long time.”

She frowned. “I know, but—”

“You’re young, beautiful, and intelligent. Don’t worry about this stuff. We’ve got it under control.” Stan leaned forward and looked her in the eye. He really needed her to pay attention to what he was saying and stop trying to make decisions until she understood the consequences. “Watch how we do things. You’ll learn in time, and I’m here to help you.”

“Yes, but—”

He wasn’t going to let her argue. “I have something I need to talk to you about as well.”

Jade’s shoulders sagged.

“It’s come to my attention you’ve given Marge a raise without speaking to me.”

“Yes.” She crossed her arms.

“We aren’t in a position to give anyone a raise right now. You must speak to me before making a decision like that.”

“I’m the CEO. That’s my decision to make.”

Stan wanted to point his finger at her and lecture her like a child. He held back. “Not without speaking to me. I make the financial decisions, Jade. That’s what I’m here for.”

She opened her mouth and then shut it again.

“Good, now that that’s settled, let’s talk about you. I still see bags under those beautiful eyes. How are you feeling? We don’t want you to pass out on us again.”

“I’m still not sleeping well. The doctor gave me some pills, but I don’t like taking them.”

“I understand. This came as a shock to us all. Gloria shouldn’t have thrown such a burden on you. You should take some time off. We can handle things here.”

Jade made a feeble attempt to smile. “That’s what Mom says. But I like being busy and I feel closer to Gran here.” She stood to leave.

That blank look meant Jade’s mind was wandering elsewhere already. Good. He didn’t need her going off half-cocked and making decisions he’d have to undo.

TEETH CLENCHED, JADE STALKED
back to her office. Could Stan have been any more patronizing? She was surprised he hadn’t pointed a finger at her and waved it up and down like her father used to do when she was little.

Then again, Stan was suffering, just as she was. His once salt and pepper hair was almost entirely white now, and his face had aged ten years in the last few weeks. That still didn’t give him the right to read her email without her permission.

“You okay?” Roz followed Jade into her office.

“It’s nothing.” Jade waved a hand in dismissal and then sighed. “No, it’s not nothing.” She really needed someone she could talk to. “Stan’s been reading my email.”

“Kinda creepy having someone read through your stuff, huh?”

“Yeah. And I should be able to give anyone a raise anytime I want.”

“You’d think.” Roz nodded.

“Well, I’m going to call Zach and have him rectify the email situation, whether Stan likes it or not.”

“You are the CEO… Speakin’ of… don’t you think it’s about time you start going to the management meetings?”

Jade stared at Roz. She’d forgotten her grandmother had a standing weekly meeting. She’d missed two of them already. Yet no one had mentioned it. “What time does it start?”

“Ten.”

Jade glanced at the clock. She had less than twenty minutes. “I’ll be there.”

When Roz left her office, Jade checked her makeup in her compact mirror and added more lipstick. Bryce would be in the meeting, and she wasn’t going to look like a sniveling schoolgirl anymore. He’d seen her at her worst. It was time to change that. She reached for a pad and a pen, then headed to the conference room.

Mt. Rainier filled the south-facing window of the conference room bearing its name, and the snowcapped glacier suffused the space with its splendor. The normal lack of cloudless skies in Seattle made it a real treat to see the mountain in its full glory. Backed by the deep blue sky, Rainier looked like a giant vanilla ice cream cone. Jade breathed in the spectacular view and tried to relax.

It had been years since she’d been here with her grandmother. The black leather chair had made her feel important when she’d sat in it as a child. She’d loved the oval cherry table that seated ten, and the attention her grandmother had drawn from everyone who sat around it.

Timothy, her Operations manager, was the first to arrive. “You’re looking good, Jade.” He reached for a loose piece of hair that had slid out of her bun and let it glide through his fingertips. “I know you’re new to all of this.” He stepped in closer. “So if you need help, any help at all, I’m here for you.”

Jade wanted to step back, but held her ground. Timothy was the company flirt. Even at forty-something, he’d hit on any female who walked by. His tailored suits, blond hair, and striking blue eyes probably scored him a lot of women, but he wouldn’t be scoring her. She didn’t go for men her father’s age, and she definitely preferred the clichéd tall, dark, and handsome.

Speaking of…

Bryce walked in and shot a dark, piercing glare at Timothy.

Was that on my account?

Timothy ignored him. “I’m going sailing this weekend and thought you might want to join me.” His focus was on Jade’s lips. “How about I take you out to dinner after work and fill you in on things?”

Jade crossed her arms. He was too darned close. “I think I can figure out
things
on my own.”

“Suit yourself.” He frowned and backed away.

“Jade, I wasn’t expecting you.” Bryce was by her side in an instant. “Did you get an agenda?”

“No.” She savored the flutters in her stomach and the warmth that spread through her body whenever Bryce was near. She took the paper he held out and skimmed her fingers along his. “Thank you.”

Time seemed to slow; her fingers lingered on his, and he didn’t pull away. Tilting her head to expose her neck, she considered him through her lashes. The gold flecks in his eyes disappeared as the deep green around the edges intensified. Her lips parted and his gaze followed.

Bryce cleared his throat. “I, uh, need to set up for the presentation.”

Jade glanced at Timothy.
Did he catch that?
She reviewed the agenda to give herself something to do other than watch Bryce’s fingers fly over the keyboard and wonder how they’d feel gliding over her skin. She didn’t need the managers seeing her lust after him.

She jotted down the date on the tablet and underlined it a few times above and below to appear busy. A small imprint at the bottom of the page caught her attention. She’d long ago torn out the pages and thrown them away, but circular indents remained that reminded her of Gran’s doodling. Her lips curved into a smile.

Jade turned her attention to the managers filtering into the room. Bryce stood with the PowerPoint remote in his hand and a smile on his face. Was he smiling because she was?

“Let us know when you’re ready.” Stan motioned to Bryce.

“Can you cut the lights, Timothy?” Bryce clicked the remote. “Thanks. I want to go over my sales projections for the next quarter.”

Jade’s irritation with Stan grew.
This is my meeting. Stan should have let me start.
It was something else she would have to talk to him about. Later.

Her mood shifted during the presentation. She was pleased to see the new sales Bryce was bringing in, and damn if his ass didn’t look fantastic in those slacks.

Bryce wrapped up his presentation. “I’m putting the finishing touches on the JND contract this week. I need to go over a few things with Stan and Jade before we can sign off on it.”

“Your projections look great, Bryce,” Stan said. “That should help balance out the reduced profits this month. Any capital requests?”

Jade’s focus returned to Stan. She clasped her hands together.
He did it again.

“Mike wanted me to bring up the pick-and-place machine,” Timothy said.

“Not that again.” Stan turned to Timothy. “How are we supposed to purchase a quarter-million dollars’ worth of equipment when we have the banks breathing down our necks?”

A tingle of unease rippled through Jade’s belly. “What do you mean the banks are breathing down our necks?”

Bryce filled her in. “Our profit margins are declining, and they’re worried we won’t be able to pay off our loans.”

“Declining? That was just for this month, right?”