to do with Gage.
Well, the broken heart he’d left her with had driven her for a long time. But she’d succeeded by her own merit, not because he’d mentored her.
If anyone decided to sell the formula, it would be because it made sound business sense. Like she’d told him. She squared her shoulders and went to her meeting in the large, sunny room at the end of the hall.
The other three women in the C-suite ringed the conference table as the governing forces of the company they’d dubbed Fyra, from the Swedish word for four. Alex Meer ran the numbers as the chief financial officer, Dr. Harper Livingston cooked up formulas in her lab as the chief science officer, Trinity Forrester convinced consumers to buy as the chief marketing officer and Cass held the reins.
All three of her friends looked up as she entered, faces bright with expectation.
“He’s gone. Let’s get started.” Cass set down her phone and tablet, then slid into her customary chair.
“Not so fast,” Trinity said succinctly. “We’ve been sitting here patiently waiting for juicy details, remember?”
They’d all been friends a long time. Juicy details meant they wanted to know how she felt about seeing Gage again. Whether she wanted to punch him or just go in the corner and cry. What was he up to and had they talked about their personal lives?
She didn’t have the luxury of burdening her friends with any of that because they were also her business partners. There was no room at this conference table for her emotional upheaval.
“He wants to buy Formula-47. Offered one hundred million,” she said bluntly. Better to get it out on the table. “I told him it wasn’t for sale. That’s the extent of it.”
Harper’s grin slipped as she wound her strawberry blond ponytail around one finger, an absent gesture that meant her brilliant mind was blazing away. “That’s hardly the extent. What’s the damage? Did he hear about my formula from the trade article?”
“No.” Cass hated to have to be the bearer of bad news, but they had to know. “His information was much more detailed. Which means the leak is worse than we thought.”
Hearing her own words echo in her head was almost as bad as a physical blow.
“What’s wrong?” Trinity asked immediately, her dark head bent at an angle as she evaluated Cass. “Did Gage get to you?”
Dang it. It had taken all of fourteen seconds for the woman who’d been Cass’s best friend since eleventh grade to clue in on the undercurrents. That man had put a hitch in her stride and it was unforgivable.
“I’m concerned about the leak. That’s it. Forget about Gage. I already have,” she lied.
Trinity’s eyes narrowed but she didn’t push, thank God. Gage’s timing was horrific. Why had he waltzed back into her life during such a huge professional catastrophe?
Alex, the consummate tomboy in a pair of jeans and a T-shirt, fiddled with her ever-present pen, tapping it against the legal pad on the conference table in front of her. “A hundred million is worth considering, don’t you think?”
Instantly, Harper shook her head so hard, her ponytail flipped over her shoulder. Trinity and Cass scowled at Alex, who shrank under the heat of their gazes, but didn’t recant her traitorous statement.
“Worth considering?” Cass’s stomach contracted sharply as she took in the seriousness of Alex’s expression. How could she be talking about selling so coolly? To Cass, it would be like selling her own child. “Are you out of your mind?”
“Shouldn’t we consider a lucrative income stream when it’s presented?” Alex argued. “We can’t categorically dismiss that kind of paycheck.”
They could when it was coming out of the bank account of the man who had destroyed Cass. Didn’t that matter?
“Wait just a darn minute, Ms. Moneybags.” Harper rounded on Alex, who shrank a bit under the redhead’s scowl. “Formula-47 is my baby, not yours. I spent two years of my life perfecting it on the premise that we’d hinge our entire future strategy around the products we can create from the technology. If we sell it, we’re giving up rights to it forever for a lump sum. That’s not smart.”
Alex tapped her pen faster against the legal pad. “Not if we retain rights and structure the deal—”
“No one is structuring deals,” Cass broke in. “I only mentioned it because you needed to know. Gage’s offer will vanish instantly if the leak shares the formula’s recipe. And since we still don’t know who it is, we have to focus on that first.”
Alex firmed her mouth and nodded. “That’s true.”
“What did our lawyer say?” Trinity asked, raising her eyebrows as Cass blinked at her. “Didn’t you just come back from Mike’s office?”
“God, I’m sorry.” Cass slid down in her chair an inch in mortification. Gage had wiped that entire meeting out of her head. “Mike doesn’t think we can involve the police yet. The article didn’t contain enough detail and wouldn’t stand up in court as proprietary information. He advised us to file for FDA approval immediately, in hopes that will stem future information from being released prematurely. Until we find the leak, we can’t be too careful.”
She had to regain control now. Gage wasn’t a factor. Period.
“I’m not ready.” Harper shook her head mulishly. Careful and thorough might as well be tattooed on her forehead alongside her credentials, a valuable trait in a scientist who created the products with Fyra’s label on them. “This is our first product that requires FDA approval. We can’t rush it.”
“So our lawyer gave us advice we don’t plan to take.” Pradas flat on the ground, Trinity leaned on the table. “What else do we have on the agenda that we need to get busy shooting down?”
“The leak is the only thing on the agenda,” Cass said firmly.
Alex zeroed in on her. “What’s your plan for fixing this problem, then?”
“I’m still working on it.”
“You’re working on it.” Alex’s sarcastic tone couldn’t have conveyed her disbelief any more clearly. “You mean you don’t have something laid out already?”
Cass froze her muscles, a trick she’d perfected over the years. She refused to let on that Alex’s words had pierced her through the chest.
Alex’s point wasn’t lost on her. Cass should have a plan. But didn’t, which was the last thing she’d admit to these women who were looking to her for leadership. “I’ve got some ideas. Things in the works.”
“Things?” Trinity repeated incredulously.
Trinity and Alex glanced at each other and foreboding slid down Cass’s spine. She was losing her edge. And everyone knew she didn’t have a blessed clue how to handle this problem.
“I said I’ll take care of it,” Cass snapped and then immediately murmured an apology.
She couldn’t believe how the
