Page 8 of His Undercover Wolf

“Xavier, Detective Brooks is here for your meeting.”

I glanced at the clock on the wall, it showed three minutes to two. My respect for the detective rose, it was rare anyone arrived at meetings on time these days and they always seemed to have some pathetic excuse for their tardiness.

When had I become an arrogant bastard who picked fault with everything and everyone? Maybe after Panda was released, I’d take a holiday. I could go somewhere there was no internet, like a state park in maybe Alaska, where I could trek through the bush and reclaim my peace of mind.

“Bring her in please, Betty.”

While Betty was gone, I shrugged on the gray jacket of my suit, and rounded the desk to greet Otsana.

The woman who accompanied Betty knocked the breath from my lungs. I encountered beautiful women almost every day and on the rare occasions I accepted an invitation to a benefit—always alone or with Cillian, and they held no interest for me. My lack of dating, or a woman on my arm, had rumors circling that I was gay. The assumption, although false didn’t bother me, I’d been called worse.

The woman crossing my office with a smile on her face and one hand outstretched gave a whole new meaning to the saying—She was drop-dead gorgeous.

Otsana was tall, standing just a few inches shorter than my six feet three inches. She wore white pants that fit like a glove, black shirt, white jacket, and black pumps on her feet. Her unusual black hair, peppered with silvery-white threads was swept back from her face and I couldn’t see if it was in a bun, ponytail, or some kind of twist. Although her hair was unusual, it was her eyes that caught and held my attention. One was a bright shade of blue, the other…a rich chocolate brown.

“Mr. Bennett?”

Otsana stood, waiting for me to take her hand. When I did, a powerful jolt of…I had no fucking idea what it was, shot through my body with the same force a shooting star used to cross the sky.

We both jumped, snatched our hands from each other, and stepped back. Our eyes remained locked together, and the confusion I felt was mirrored in her orbs.

“Detective Inspector Brooks,” I answered when I located my voice that had temporarily fled like a criminal from a crime scene.

Cillian strode in and offered his hand to Otsana in greeting. He glanced my way with one eyebrow raised which was his way of telling me he was interested in the lady. I frowned but bit back the “hell no” that almost crossed my lips. I filed the jealous feelings aside to analyze later when I was alone.

“Otsana is fine, thank you, especially as we’ll be working closely together over the coming weeks.”

“Tea, coffee, juice…Detective?” Betty asked.

“I’ll have water if it’s not too much trouble please.”

Betty placed a mug of coffee in front of me, one for Cillian, and a glass of iced water for Otsana. A plate of macarons was set in the center of the table and lifting it, I offered the delicacies to Otsana. After she accepted one, Cillian helped himself, and I declined after having had a bear claw earlier in the day.

Otsana withdrew a small notebook, and sheet of paper which she unfolded and put on the table, along with a pen from the pocket of her jacket. I noted her name engraved along the length of the gold pen.

“Do you mind if I tell you what I know to this point?”

Why was I fixated on her plump, rosebud lips and the whiteness of her teeth?

I gave myself a mental slap upside the head to get my focus back on the reason for our meeting.

“No…Go ahead.”

"According to information provided to us by Evan Carmichael from the securities commission, the share price of public stock has spiked dramatically over the past fifteen years. It appears it does so between five and twelve days before the date of release for a new product is announced. Is it correct that a major innovative product is only released every five years?”

“It takes that long for Xavier’s ideas to be researched for viability, and then given to our developers to work up a model. Thorough testing needs to then take place before a release date is chosen and marketing is put in place,” Cillian, who managed all our ‘stuff’ explained.

Otsana took numerous notes as Cillian spoke before asking, “Why is your company on the exchange with only three and a half percent of stock available to the public for purchase?”]

I answered her question. “We’re a multi-billion-dollar company that I built from the ground up with Cillian’s guidance and help. I won’t allow any board of directors to overrule our decisions about the direction in which we take the company. I hold fifty-five percent of the stock, Cillian holds forty percent, and the public has three and a half percent as you said.”

Otsana frowned. “What about the other one and half percent?”

“My personal assistant, Betty, Cillian’s, Molly, and Pamela our movements coordinator and senior manager of shipping all hold half of one percent. The ladies were our first hires, and it is part of their employment package. They will retain their shares after they retire, and when they pass, they will revert to me. The public shareholders are invited to vote on anything to do with the company as long as it isn’t anything confidential where the information could be abused.”

“So in essence, their votes count for nothing, and they aren’t aware of any of the internal workings?”

“Exactly. They are sent a financial statement each year as required by law and dividends are paid in a timely manner.”

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