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

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.
     

     
    HE MUTTERED A CURSE. The computer was gone. Last night, the laptop had been sitting in the computer room on the workbench. The crypto-lock on the door had been the only thing standing between him and what he needed. He’d tried every four-digit combination he could think of to no avail and had studied the keypad looking for signs of wear on the heavily used buttons. None had stood out. And now it was too late. I should have just broken the window.
    The room wasn’t tied to an alarm system. It was unlikely anyone would have heard him break the window that late at night. Still, it would have raised suspicions this morning, and that he didn’t need right now.
    He pulled his cell phone out of its holster. By the sixth ring he was about to hang up.
    “Yeah?”
    “I think Jade’s got the laptop.”
    “What? Where is it?”
    “I don’t know.”
    “Find out and call me back.” The line went dead.
    He hustled back to his desk. Breathing hard, he looked around, grabbed a contract, and headed straight to Jade’s office. He needed an excuse to be in there if anyone caught him. After six p.m., the forty-second floor was quiet. To his good fortune, her office door was open.
    Jade shouldn’t be so careless. Gloria always locked up when she left for the day.
    He latched the door behind him. Her desk was void of any papers, and most of the drawers were locked. Jade wasn’t careless after all.
    The unlocked middle drawer held pens, paper clips, and office supplies. He searched for a key… nothing. He pulled out a letter opener, tried to jimmy the locks on the drawers, but the blade of the opener was too thick to be effective. Out of desperation, he jiggled her mouse. The screen came alive and asked for a password. The desk calendar showed nothing.
    Next, he stopped at Roz’s desk. There was no sign of a calendar, and the computer had been shut down. A noise came from around the corner. His breath hitched. Grabbing a sticky pad and a pen, he pretended he was writing a note.
    He listened over his racing heart.
    Finally, the footsteps sounded like they were heading to the break room. He set down the notepad. Time to get out of there.
    Wait, what was that?
    At this angle, he could faintly see that Roz had scribbled something on the notepad. He peeled off three pink pages, stuck them in his file, then headed back to his office. He turned on the desk