Synergy: New Adult Romantic Suspense (U-District, #1) by Jodi Ashland Page A

Synergy Technologies. She shouldn’t be worrying that she wasn’t running the day-to-day operations and feeling insignificant as a result. Bryce had that job, and the company was in good hands.
    I should be creating a vision and setting the strategic direction for the company. I should be spending time identifying ways to make changes to move the company in a new direction.
    Class discussions, case studies, research papers, and books she’d read flooded her memory.
    I need to get a better understanding of each of the business areas and work with those teams to improve their processes and help them drive their business decisions based on the strategy. The biggest problem will be getting the managers on board.
    After receiving a rather annoyed look from Whiskers for waking him up, Jade rubbed his furry chin until he purred in feline bliss.
    Her spirits lifted. For the first time since becoming CEO, she had a purpose.
     

     
    AT FIRST LIGHT, Jade bounded out of bed. This morning, she’d see Professor Murti, then she’d start to strategize. Since he wouldn’t be in until nine, she had a leisurely breakfast, something she rarely had time for. She even set out a bowl of warm milk for Whiskers before heading to her car.
    If the professor isn’t in when I get there, I’ll walk the campus on this beautiful sunny day. The one nice thing about being CEO, no one will question my schedule. Well, no one but Bryce.
    The memory of Bryce’s hands kneading her sore muscles and the feel of his warm breath on her exposed neck sent a tingling sensation from her head to her toes. His eyes had lingered on her lips. She was ninety-nine percent sure he’d wanted to bridge the distance between them, but he hadn’t made a move. She wanted to feel his hands on her again. No, she needed to feel his hands on her again. So how to make it happen?
    Jade forgot why she was standing by her car. Bryce always had a way of hijacking her thoughts. She opened the door to grab the laptop. It wasn’t there. She glanced on the floor, no sign of it. She didn’t remember putting it in the trunk, but it would have been the smart thing to do. Taking her key fob, she popped open the trunk. No laptop.
    What did I do with it? Did I leave it at Mom and Dad’s? No, my hands were full with the cake and Dad’s present.
    She took a slow breath and brought back the image of the laptop. Yup, she’d put it in the front seat. Did she lock her door when she ran into the bakery? Nope.
    It’s gone.
    Jade’s stomach churned as she got in her car, called Zack, and waited for him to pick up. “Hey, Zach I have some bad news. I left my car unlocked when I ran into the bakery and—”
    “The laptop was stolen.” His voice was laced with irritation.
    “Yeah. Should I call the police?”
    “Yes, for insurance reasons. It’s a good thing I encrypted the data. Tell me you still have the password.”
    “I do.”
    “Good. No one will get the data without it.”
    “I feel so stupid. Are you sure our financial information is safe?”
    “As safe as it could possibly be under the circumstances. It was a strong password and the software is designed to freeze up after five failed login attempts. It would be hard to brute-force attack it to crack the password. Most people will just reformat the hard drive and start over.”
    “When can you get me another laptop?”
    “I placed an order for two more yesterday. They usually take about two weeks to get in. I didn’t pay for rush delivery. Do you want me to change it? My boss isn’t going to like this one bit.”
    “No, don’t rush it.” As much as she wanted answers to her questions, they needed to be smart with their money. “Just tell Timothy it’s my fault, and let me know when you have another laptop ready.”
    “Will do. Bye.”
    Jade cringed at Zach’s terse goodbye. It wasn’t like him to get so irritated with her, even though this was bad. And Stan, Jade rolled her eyes, Stan was just going to use this as