Synergy: New Adult Romantic Suspense (U-District, #1) Read Online Free Page B

offer.”
    “The company is not for sale. If I decide differently, you’ll be the first to know. Please stop calling me.” She hung up and threw the phone back in her purse.
    You can take your fancy suit and yellow tie and shove it.
    Ugh. There was no point in delaying any longer. She walked to the elevator, her heels creating an eerie echo against the concrete floor of the parking garage. She’d been here so many times with Gran. The building was always full of people going in every direction with a definite purpose on their faces. They had something to do, someone to see, somewhere to be. When she was young, she couldn’t wait to be one of those important people.
    This isn’t the way it was supposed to be. I was going to work my way up the organization and learn from you, Gran.
    Fate apparently had other plans.
    She paused at the elevator. Jade’s reflection showed a younger version of her grandmother, wearing a black pantsuit with her hair pulled into a tight bun and single pearl earrings. She sighed. The lip gloss and eyeliner didn’t mask her swollen eyes and pale skin.
    All she wanted to do was get back in her car and drive home.
    But if she didn’t push the button to the elevator and take the seat behind her grandmother’s desk, the company Jade dearly loved would be sold. Her hand trembled when she stepped into the elevator and reached for the button. She was no longer the eager child who watched the numbers speed past until the elevator reached the forty-second level.
    When the doors opened, Jade’s stomach dropped to the floor below. Hesitating, she walked into the dark empty hallway and flinched when motion sensors automatically turned on the lights.
    Jeez, get a grip already.
    She took a deep breath to steady her nerves, then turned the corner to the executive hallway and stopped at Marge’s desk right outside Gran’s office.
    “Good morning, Miss Buchanan. How are you today?”
    Jade wasn’t surprised Marge was in this early. She’d been her grandmother’s secretary for over twenty years. Short silver hair framed Marge’s round face, and she wore a traditional tweed blazer with a knee-length skirt and low black heels. “I’ve been better.”
    Jade stopped at the door to her grandmother’s office, pausing with her hand on the knob.
    Marge stopped typing. “Would you like me to bring you anything?”
    She shook her head. “No, I’m fine.” Even she heard the tremble in her own voice. “Can you make sure no one interrupts me?”
    “Of course. You have nothing on your calendar. The team is going to Bryce for now.”
    Jade returned her focus to the door, turned the handle, and stepped inside the office.
    Her breath caught in her throat.
    The smell of worn business books, mingled with Gran’s gardenia perfume, brought tears to her eyes. She’d never be able to take back her harsh words, to mend their relationship. She’d been too stubborn, thought she’d have more time.
    With each step toward the floor-to-ceiling window, she took a shallow breath, afraid the scent of Gran’s favorite fragrance would make her break down completely. The view of Puget Sound did nothing to ease her pain.
    Pulling a fragile glass figurine from her purse, she placed the pink cat gently on the solid cherry desk. Gran had bought it for her during their trip to the Chihuly Glass Museum when Jade was nine.
    Her purse slipped from her fingers and dropped to the floor as she sat in the executive chair. “Why did you do this to me, Gran?” Jade whispered aloud. “How can you expect me to take your place?”
    “You’re perfectly capable of running this business,” she imagined her grandmother saying to her. “Why do you think I’ve been training you all these years?”
    She envisioned her grandmother standing next to her, Gran’s white hair pulled into a tight bun that accentuated her high cheekbones, every detail as clear as if Gran were real.
    “I’m only twenty-two. No one’s going to take me