entrance as he hurried past into the elevator.
Bright windows overlooking Silicon Valley greeted him when he got out. His secretary saw him walking down the hallway and opened the door to the largest conference room they had when he came closer. He’d missed the first quarter of the meeting.
When he stepped in, all heads turned.
“Nice of you to join us,” Sheldon Michaels, the VP of sales, said, shaking his head. Everybody else avoided him.
Tyler nodded in response, silently moving toward the middle of the table, where he found a couple empty chairs.
Qiang Li, the VP of research, was in the middle of presenting her latest test results. She nodded at him and blinked several times as her bangs got into her eyes. She had called him the night before to tell him the news, so the grim expressions around the table did not surprise him.
“As I was saying, we’re getting closer, but we’re not there yet,” Qiang said, tapping the table. When everybody was looking back at her, she moved on to the next slide.
Before she could start explaining the changes in the research, Sheldon interrupted her. “Qiang, isn’t this the same information you presented in the last Exec meeting?”
Qiang sucked in her cheeks and blinked again.
“What am I missing?” he pushed.
“It’s not the same. I just described the progress we’ve made—”
“All I see is more ‘close but not quite,’ and let me tell you, there’s no way to sell this bullshit.” Before she could respond, Sheldon turned to Tyler. “This is not good enough. I don’t need to tell you that if we don’t come up with something we can generate buzz about ASAP, we may as well start selling off our assets to pay the rent.”
“We’ve assembled one of the most talented teams in the medical research industry,” Tyler said. “You need to give them enough time to do their jobs.”
“That may be the case,” said Dolores Fabruko, VP of finance, “but Sheldon’s right. We’re running out of money fast.” She pushed her Fendi glasses up the bridge of her nose. “If we don’t get a viable product for trials soon, we woun’t generate enough interest for a third round of VC funding.” She looked around the room to make sure she had everybody’s attention. “We’ll go under.”
They all started talking at the same time. Tyler just watched but didn’t listen. He knew Qiang was really close to finding out what the issue with the first cure was. Once they solved that, and he managed to take care of the other glitch, they would have no problem finding VC backing.
CHAPTER 25
C aptain Virago entered the room. Her stride was more determined than usual. She marched past Darcy’s desk and stopped in front of his whiteboard. Darcy watched her but didn’t disturb her concentration.
“I see that you’re finally bonding with Sorensen,” she said, her eyes still glued to the board.
“Nah. I’m just smart enough to know a good idea when I see one.”
Virago looked at him. Her expression was unreadable, but her eyes were warm. “Call it what you wish.” She sat on the corner of his desk after moving a few files out of the way. “What was that about you showing up at the crime scene yesterday?”
“I was at McGee’s with Sorensen when your call came in. I had nothing better to do with my evening, so I offered to come along. He didn’t object too loudly, so I went.”
“So you’re bonding.” Only the left side of her mouth rose a little.
Darcy ignored her smirk. He wondered where she was going with the conversation. She passed her hand over her mouth as if she were trying to hide the smile.
“If what you’re worrying about is me intruding in Sorensen’s cases, there’s no need to worry about that. Sorensen made the boundaries very clear last night.”
She started saying something, paused, and moved on. “Tell me about your cases.”
“I don’t have a lot to go on with Pritchard’s. The poor woman was going to die anyway in a few
Bright windows overlooking Silicon Valley greeted him when he got out. His secretary saw him walking down the hallway and opened the door to the largest conference room they had when he came closer. He’d missed the first quarter of the meeting.
When he stepped in, all heads turned.
“Nice of you to join us,” Sheldon Michaels, the VP of sales, said, shaking his head. Everybody else avoided him.
Tyler nodded in response, silently moving toward the middle of the table, where he found a couple empty chairs.
Qiang Li, the VP of research, was in the middle of presenting her latest test results. She nodded at him and blinked several times as her bangs got into her eyes. She had called him the night before to tell him the news, so the grim expressions around the table did not surprise him.
“As I was saying, we’re getting closer, but we’re not there yet,” Qiang said, tapping the table. When everybody was looking back at her, she moved on to the next slide.
Before she could start explaining the changes in the research, Sheldon interrupted her. “Qiang, isn’t this the same information you presented in the last Exec meeting?”
Qiang sucked in her cheeks and blinked again.
“What am I missing?” he pushed.
“It’s not the same. I just described the progress we’ve made—”
“All I see is more ‘close but not quite,’ and let me tell you, there’s no way to sell this bullshit.” Before she could respond, Sheldon turned to Tyler. “This is not good enough. I don’t need to tell you that if we don’t come up with something we can generate buzz about ASAP, we may as well start selling off our assets to pay the rent.”
“We’ve assembled one of the most talented teams in the medical research industry,” Tyler said. “You need to give them enough time to do their jobs.”
“That may be the case,” said Dolores Fabruko, VP of finance, “but Sheldon’s right. We’re running out of money fast.” She pushed her Fendi glasses up the bridge of her nose. “If we don’t get a viable product for trials soon, we woun’t generate enough interest for a third round of VC funding.” She looked around the room to make sure she had everybody’s attention. “We’ll go under.”
They all started talking at the same time. Tyler just watched but didn’t listen. He knew Qiang was really close to finding out what the issue with the first cure was. Once they solved that, and he managed to take care of the other glitch, they would have no problem finding VC backing.
CHAPTER 25
C aptain Virago entered the room. Her stride was more determined than usual. She marched past Darcy’s desk and stopped in front of his whiteboard. Darcy watched her but didn’t disturb her concentration.
“I see that you’re finally bonding with Sorensen,” she said, her eyes still glued to the board.
“Nah. I’m just smart enough to know a good idea when I see one.”
Virago looked at him. Her expression was unreadable, but her eyes were warm. “Call it what you wish.” She sat on the corner of his desk after moving a few files out of the way. “What was that about you showing up at the crime scene yesterday?”
“I was at McGee’s with Sorensen when your call came in. I had nothing better to do with my evening, so I offered to come along. He didn’t object too loudly, so I went.”
“So you’re bonding.” Only the left side of her mouth rose a little.
Darcy ignored her smirk. He wondered where she was going with the conversation. She passed her hand over her mouth as if she were trying to hide the smile.
“If what you’re worrying about is me intruding in Sorensen’s cases, there’s no need to worry about that. Sorensen made the boundaries very clear last night.”
She started saying something, paused, and moved on. “Tell me about your cases.”
“I don’t have a lot to go on with Pritchard’s. The poor woman was going to die anyway in a few
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