CHAPTER ONE

      “MR. RYDER.” Standing in the foyer of Cyberworx’s state-of-the-art meeting facility, Jane Dawson couldn’t believe how steady her voice sounded when inside she felt like a coffee bean being ground into tiny bits. Still she managed to smile at the gray-haired businessman. “I would like to speak with you. For a minute. That is if you have time. Please.”

      Jane winced.

      So much for being smooth and collected, but this was different from speaking with customers while she managed the Hearth, a trendy coffee house in downtown Portland, Oregon. That job required patience, a smile and making sure the staff at the counter got the orders right, not cultured eloquence and grace.

      “You want to speak to me?” In spite of his tailored suit, he looked more like a doting grandfather than the successful CEO of a multinational hi-tech company. “Chase…Ryder?”

      He sounded surprised.

      Of course, he did. People like Jane, college drop-outs who brewed coffee all day, didn’t usually approach people like him. And normally she wouldn’t. Especially when picking up after a catering job. On her day off.

      But this wasn’t a normal situation.

      She’d jumped at the chance to set up and pick up the breakfast meeting buffet for thirty guests at the corporate headquarters though catering jobs weren’t her usual responsibility. Her boss, Zoe, had offered her the opportunity to meet Chase Ryder, and Jane wasn’t going to blow it.

      Act like you know what you’re doing. Saying. And think before you open your mouth. Zoe’s advice echoed in Jane’s head. She raised her chin. “Yes, I would, Mr. Ryder.”

      His grin deepened the lines around his mouth and eyes. “I’m more than happy to speak with you, miss.”

      Jane hadn’t felt this light, this hopeful in…well, years.

      “Unfortunately,” he continued, “I’m not Chase Ryder.”

      Her heart plummeted to her feet, as if two fifty-pound bags of Sumatra Gayo Mountain coffee beans had been dumped on each of her shoulders.

      Not Chase Ryder.

      How could she have made such a big mistake? Her assistant manager, Ally, had told Jane she couldn’t miss the Cyberworx’s head honcho. Tall, handsome and surrounded by people. She’d assumed the distinguished looking man had to be him. She’d assumed wrong.

      The man stared at her. “Are you okay?”

      No, she wasn’t okay. Jane needed Chase Ryder. She needed…a miracle. Or the fundraising benefit she wanted to throw was never going to happen.

      “Miss?”

      Whatever you do, do not cause a scene. Remembering Zoe’s final words made Jane force a smile. She wasn’t about to risk her job or future catering jobs for the Hearth over this.

      “I’m sorry,” she said. “Thank you for your time.”

      “No, thank you.” The man chuckled. “You made my day thinking I was Chase.”

      As the man sauntered away with a spring to his step, her shoulders slumped. She was in over her head and not qualified to do this, but she couldn’t get discouraged. She couldn’t give up. She still had to try.

      For Emma. For sweet, four-year-old Emma who loved to play with baby dolls and still had months of treatment left, Jane wouldn’t give up. Maybe she could still find Chase Ryder. It was only ten o’clock in the morning.