Synergy: New Adult Romantic Suspense (U-District, #1) (10 page)

“Um, I guess by how big it is?”

“Very good. So let’s measure it.”

Jade once again ran to the den and grabbed the ruler from the top desk drawer. “Here you go. How big is it?”

“Write down two-and-a-quarter-inch wide. But look, this one is the same width.” Gran pointed to another cookie.

Jade looked at the cookie and grimaced. The brown edges meant it was crunchy. “Ick, it’s too thin.”

“Oh, so we need to measure the height too? Okay, so the perfect one is also a quarter-inch thick.”

When the timer went off, Jade ran to the oven. She stood on her tippy toes trying to look at the cookies when Gran took them out. “Ew, that one is almost burnt!”

“So which one looks like the perfect cookie?” Gran set the pan down on the counter.

“The third one.”

“Let’s measure it and see.” Gran measured it carefully, making sure she didn’t burn herself. “You’re right. It’s the perfect size. So how much cookie dough did we use on the third one?

Jade looked at her notes. “We used two tablespoons.”

“Good. Now let’s get another pan and put exactly two tablespoons to make six cookies.” While the cookies were in the oven, they each had one of the perfect cookies from the last two batches. “You’re right, Jade. These are the best. So what should we do with the defective ones?”

“We should throw them away?”

“How come?”

“Because I don’t want them, and you don’t want them, and we can’t fix them.”

“Should we ever give imperfect cookies to anyone else?”

“No, we should fix them or throw them away.”

“Exactly.” When the timer beeped again, Gran pulled out the third batch of cookies. “So how are we going to make sure they’re all perfect?”

“We have to measure them!”

“Exactly.”

When Gran finished measuring, Jade clapped her hands. “They’re all perfect, Gran!”

“So they are. Now what if we made one thousand cookies? Could we measure them all?”

“That would take forever!”

“Yes, it would. So what would we do?”

Jade thought about it while watching the cookies cool. “Could we just measure some of them?”

“That’s right. Let’s say we measure every tenth one. Would that be enough to tell us if they were all perfect cookies?”

“Yes.” Jade nodded.

“What if every tenth one wasn’t perfect?”

“Um… we would need to look at all the, what did you call them?”

“Quality controls.”

“Yeah, quality controls. We would check to see if the stuff we put in them was right, if they were measured right, if the temperature was right, and if two tablespoons were used.”

“Perfect.” Gran beamed. “Now you know how to make a perfect cookie every time. And when something goes wrong, you know how to fix them so they’re perfect the next time. And you wrote down what to do to make a perfect cookie so that anyone can make one.”

“Neat.” Jade grinned. “Now can I have my three perfect cookies?”

“Dig in.” Gran reached for her three perfect cookies too.

Jade could almost smell a hint of chocolate chip cookies as her muscles melted into the couch from Bryce’s massage. That experience among many with Gran had prepared her to handle the situation today. The vise grip along her temples was slowly releasing. She could do this. She had what it took to run this company. Not only did she have a quality college education, but she’d been trained by the best mentor of them all: Gran.

JOSHUA GREENBERG RAISED
an eyebrow when he stepped onto the forty-second floor of the classy high rise. Very nice. With the intellectual property this company held, he understood why Johansson Tek wanted to acquire Synergy Technologies. An acquisition this large would line his wallet rather nicely. The receptionist sent him up to the forty-second floor, where the executive secretary sat at a mahogany desk.

“May I help you?”

“Yes,”—he glanced down at the name plate—“Marge. I’m here to see Jade Buchanan.”

“Do you have an appointment, Mr…?”

“Greenberg, ma’am, and no I don’t. I was in the area and thought I’d see if Jade was available. The receptionist told me I should see you.”

“Let me check with Jade’s assistant.” She smiled graciously and picked up her phone. “Roz, Mr. Greenberg is here to see Miss Buchanan. He doesn’t have an appointment.” Marge’s forehead furrowed ever so slightly, but he caught it. “I see. Yes, he’s here at my desk now.”

“Mistah Greenberg.” A real looker in her early twenties walked up to him with one arm on her hip and smacking gum. Unlike Marge, who was dressed conventionally, this woman looked sexy as hell in a black miniskirt with mile-high heels and a low-cut emerald shirt. Flaming red curls haphazardly framed her freckled face. “I’m Roz, Jade’s assistant. Sorry, but Jade is busy and doesn’t have time to see ya. She said she’s not interested in your offah.”

Joshua’s eyebrows rose again. He reached for Roz’s hand and covered it in both of his. “Jade wouldn’t turn away someone who’s traveled across the country to see her, now would she?” He flashed his most charming of smiles, the one that disarmed women.

“She’s made it very cleah.” Roz left her hand in his. “She doesn’t want to—”

“I’ll make a call and get right back—” Jade stopped as she stepped out of an office. Her eyes grew wide. “Mr. Greenberg. What are you doing here?”

“Jade, it’s good to see you. I have something very important I need to discuss with you.”

“I’m sorry, I’m busy.” Jade glanced back into the office, then walked away.

Joshua followed. “You’ve offered me no alternative but to get on a plane and fly all the way out here. You’ve refused all my calls.”

Jade stopped outside another office. “There’s a reason for that. I told you. I’m not interested in selling.”

“I have new information that may make you re-evaluate.”

“And what new information is that?” She stepped into the office and sat down behind a large executive desk. This must be
her
office. He glanced around at the classy cherry furnishings and old books.
Must have been her grandmother’s.
He wasn’t fooled by Jade’s pantsuit, pearl necklace, and hair tied in a tight bun. The girl he’d seen in California wearing jean shorts, sandals, and four studs in her ears wouldn’t normally wear this ensemble.

Joshua sat in one of the chairs in front of her desk. “It’s come to my attention that your company is in financial trouble.”

Jade’s eyes narrowed. “Who told you that?”

“I don’t divulge my sources.” He had an inside board member of Synergy Technologies already working the other board members to get a consensus to sell.

She clamped her hands on her desk and pursed her lips. “I can assure you, it’s none of your business.”

“Perhaps it is, and perhaps it isn’t. I’ve been approved to extend our original offer for your company. If you wait too long and the company goes into distress, you’ll only be able to sell it for pennies on the dollar.”

“I’ve told you before. I’m not interested in selling.”

“Please be reasonable, Jade. This is a huge offer.”

“And you stand to make a huge commission. This conversation is over.” Jade stood and pointed out the doorway.

“The offer is worth millions, Jade.”

“She said get out.” A man’s voice, one he recognized, came from behind him.

Joshua stood. “Mr. Radisson, it’s good to see you.” He held his hand out to Synergy’s COO.

Bryce didn’t remove his hands from his pockets. “It’s time for you to leave.”

“If you would let me explain.”

“I’ve heard enough.”

Heat flashed in Joshua’s gut. So Bryce thought he could just dismiss him? “Well, I’ll see myself out. If either of you change your mind, you do know how to reach me.” Joshua inclined his head to Jade and left the room. Roz wasn’t at her desk, so he stopped to listen.

“He knows we’re having financial trouble.” Jade said.

“He must have an inside source. You planning on selling?” Bryce actually sounded concerned.

“No… you?”

“No.”

We’ll see about that.
Joshua peeked around the doorway.

“You okay?” Bryce walked to Jade and put one hand on her waist and a finger under her chin. “You look pale. Feeling lightheaded again?”

“No, Greenberg just creeps me out. I thought he was a stalker the first time I met him. He followed me to all of my classes just so he could make me an offer before anyone else could.”

“He’s a slimeball. Just ignore him.” Bryce tucked a piece of loose hair behind her ear.

Jade didn’t pull away. “It’s hard to ignore him when he just shows up like that.”

“Next time he does—”

“Need somethin’?” Roz stood behind Joshua with one hand on her hip and the fingers of the other drumming against her leg.

“I was just waiting for you.” Joshua flashed an innocent smile. “I fly out tomorrow. Why don’t you have dinner with me tonight?”

Roz smacked her gum. “I don’t think that would be such a good idea.”

“You have my number if you change your mind.” He finished the conversation with one of his disarming smiles, then headed to the elevator.

Roz had picked a damn bad time to show up. He’d like to know what Bryce had been about to say to Jade. Bryce had played the part he’d expected, but there seemed to be something going on between the two of them. That could derail everything he’d been working on. Bryce couldn’t sell his shares without giving Jade right of first refusal. What better way for Bryce to gain control of the company than to develop a relationship with Jade, and then convince her to step down so he could take controlling interest?

Perhaps it was time to play hardball.

JADE WAITED ANXIOUSLY
for the laptop she’d be dropping off with her old finance professor in the morning. Finally, she was going to get some answers.

The hot-pink sticky note at the top of her monitor reminded her not to be late for her pickup. Roz had stuck it on with extra tape to make sure it didn’t fall off. Jade looked up just as her buddy Zach from IT walked in with the laptop.

“Sorry it took so long. The software just finished encrypting the hard drive.”

“Good timing, I’m just about to leave.” She fished her purse out of the bottom drawer of her desk.

Zach handed Jade the laptop bag. “I set up a local account to give Professor Murti read access to the entire financial database. Here’s the password.” He handed Jade the sealed envelope. “Keep it in your purse until you deliver it to him. For security, you don’t want the password with the laptop. You know, in case it’s lost or stolen. It will prompt him to change the password after the first time he logs in.”

“Thanks. I hope he can analyze our finances and make recommendations for improvement.”

“Yeah, Stan wasn’t very happy about it.”

Tough.

She’d always thought of Stan as a sort of secondary grandfather. Now he was starting to remind her of Gran, never allowing her to make her own decisions or learn from her mistakes. She got that he was just trying to protect her in his own way, but there were better ways to do it than constantly putting up roadblocks and undermining her authority.

Roz poked her head in the door. “You betta get goin’, boss. I don’t wanna have your mom givin’ me the third degree ’cause you were late.”

“Thanks, I’m leaving.” Jade sent an apologetic smile to Zach. “Sorry. It’s my dad’s birthday. I have to pick up his favorite cake, and they close in twenty minutes.” With rush-hour traffic, she would barely make it in time. Jade shoved the pink sticky note in her purse along with the envelope Zach had given her. She grabbed the laptop bag and headed out.

Zach followed Jade as she raced to the elevator. “No biggie. Have the professor call me if he needs anything.”

“I will. Thanks for setting it up so fast.” Jade tapped the side of her leg, willing the elevator to speed up.

“When do you plan to see the professor?”

“I’ll drop it off tomorrow morning on my way in.”

“What’s his favorite?”

“Favorite? Oh, my dad… chocolate Grand Marnier coffeecake.” Jade barely got the words out before the elevator arrived.

As soon as the doors opened to the parking garage, Jade raced to her car, shoved the laptop and purse onto the seat next to her, fumbled getting the key into the ignition, threw the car into reverse, and took off. Turning onto Third Avenue brought her to a dead halt.
Dammit
. Traffic was a nightmare this time of evening.

Jade glanced at the clock. It would be a miracle if she made it on time. There was no way she could miss getting Dad’s favorite cake. She already felt guilty enough that she’d stayed in California on her breaks just so she didn’t have to deal with Gran. Wrecking Dad’s birthday too? Unacceptable.