Page 21 of Boss Me

“What do you mean?” I rolled my eyes up to the skylight and thanked God for making the Chairman ask the question burning on my lips.

“He’s put in a Class A conversion notice.”

The Chairman didn’t say a word for a few seconds. “How much?”

“About a quarter.”

“Could be he needs the cash.”

“Could be. Or it could be a sign he’s done. Burned out. He wouldn’t be the first founder to become disillusioned with his company. To want to move on. Which supports the opportunity I told you about last week.”

“Have you talked to your contact?” the Chairman asked.

An opportunity? A contact? What was going on?

“If he sells another five percent, he and Jones will lose their voting bloc. Synergy becomes much more attractive.”

Attractive to whom? Customers? The market? What were they talking about? I’d gone so still I couldn’t feel my feet. I gripped the handset like a lifeline.

“That’s what I’m concerned about.” The Chairman’s voice rumbled in my ear. “What if there’s a hostile takeover? Gurusoft—”

“Charles, Charles,” Weston cooed. “I’ve got it handled. I worked with the compliance officer. The company is safe from unwanted advances.”

The Chairman was silent. I stared at my computer screen, unseeing. Weston said he had the situation handled. How? And would the shift in shares—and power—mean Jackson and Cooper would find it harder to resist Weston’s cost-cutting measures? Those measures directly impacted me.

If I got laid off, I’d be out on my ass again for the second time in less than a year. No tuition plan, no college degree. If Mimi lost her job, too, we’d both be homeless.

I hung up the handset. I didn’t need to hear anymore. I had to find Cooper, make sure he didn’t sell any more shares, and do whatever it took to make him come back.

8

BEN

Thursday, ten days since I’d seen Cooper, Marlee’s secret tracking method hadn’t turned up a single clue. And when she asked Jackson about where Cooper might be, he was just as confused as we were.

Cooper hadn’t called him, either.

Cooper’s phone was still unpingable, and his voice mailbox was full. I went back to his house, but his housekeeper stonewalled me again.

I went to class Thursday night, but I didn’t hear a word of the lecture, too busy worrying about the summer session. I couldn’t afford it if Weston cut the tuition program. And if I got laid off, I’d be that guy with another hole in his résumé, living on his sister’s couch, desperate enough to scramble for a minimum-wage job.

Friday, in the sixth-floor employee breakroom, I munched a bite of my turkey sandwich. I swallowed hard to get it past the lump in my throat. How many more lunches would I eat in Synergy’s office? How long until I had to deal with the unemployment office again?

Marlee burst into the breakroom, her cheeks as pink as her blouse. “I have news!”

I dropped my sandwich onto my napkin. “Good news?”

She shrugged. “Isn’t any news good at this point?”

“You’re right.” If we had a clue about where Cooper had gone, we were one step closer to getting him back. Leaving my lunch on the table, I followed Marlee to the nearest empty conference room.

She closed the door and leaned against it. In a low voice that vibrated with excitement, she said, “You know that island where he goes for vacation?”

“In the Caribbean, right?”

“Yeah. He’s there.” She slipped her hand into her skirt pocket and pulled out a sticky note. I took it from her. In her loopy handwriting was the name of a resort, a phone number, and an address.

A Caribbean island. He was on fucking vacation, sipping umbrella drinks and turning his skin that golden shade that looked so good on him. While all of us worried about him.

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