Lover Uncloaked (Stealth Guardians #1) Read Free Page B

shareholder visited you.”
    “Yes. It appears Mr. Zoltan has purchased a large amount of our shares when the market dipped. He now owns 36% of our stock, and while that doesn’t give him absolute control over the company, it makes him the largest individual shareholder—”
    Leila lifted her hand from her lap. “Uh, Mr. Patten, as you know, I’m not involved in that side of the company. My research—”
    “I’m getting to it, Dr. Cruickshank.”
    She nodded quickly, not wanting to upset him any further. Something clearly had rattled him today, and she wasn’t interested in getting hit in the crossfire. It was better to keep her mouth shut and let him talk. Maybe he simply needed to vent to somebody, and apart from Jane and the security guard in the lobby, she was the only one left in the building.
    Leila sighed inwardly. Great! Now her boss was offloading some useless stuff on her when she could utilize the time much better and finish analyzing the data that she hadn’t gotten to yet.
    “As I said, Mr. Zoltan now owns a vast amount of this company and that gives him certain powers. You probably understand that it would be unwise to anger such a man and deny him what he wishes.” Mr. Patten wiped a bead of sweat off his brow before he continued, “He could force a vote and practically reshuffle the board, boot me out … uh, as you see, I really don’t have much choice in the matter.”
    His eyes glanced at her nervously. In turn, the same nervousness spread to her, making her skin tingle with unease and her palms turn damp. On edge, she shifted in her seat but refrained from saying anything, realizing that he wasn’t done talking.
    “He is merely making sure his investment is safe, you see. It’s not any different from a new owner inspecting his factory and watching over the production process. Right, that’s how we have to look at this.”
    Watching over the production process? Was he saying what she thought he was saying? He couldn’t possibly allow … no, that would never happen.
    “Mr. Patten, I … I,” she stammered, her mind in too much uproar to be able to form a coherent sentence.
    “Mr. Zoltan will be returning on Monday to sit in with you.”
    “Sit in?”
    Patten nodded, avoiding her gaze, and instead stared at the darkness beyond his window. “He’s requested to learn about your research. My understanding is that he has a medical degree as well and wants to assess the viability of the product you’re working on.”
    Leila jumped up. “You can’t allow that. My research … it’s secret. No outsider can—”
    “Mr. Zoltan isn’t an outsider. He practically owns this company.”
    Disbelief welled up in her, making her knees wobble. “But you said he only owns 36% of the shares, that doesn’t mean he owns us.”
    “In the corporate world that gives him sufficient power over us to force practically anything he wants. We don’t even know what other resources he has at his disposal. For all we know, he can buy another fifteen percent, giving him full control.”
    Leila leaned over the desk. “Please, Mr. Patten, you have to stop this. I can’t have a stranger looking over my shoulder. This is sensitive work. If somebody gets hold of my formula, they can steal it. It’s not safe to have somebody in the lab who might—”
    “I understand your feelings, Dr. Cruickshank, but I have no choice. My hands are tied. Your research belongs to this company. It’s not your property. If I tell you that you have to allow someone access to it, then you’ll do as I say,” he ground out between clenched teeth. “Do we understand each other?”
    Leila pulled back, disappointment running in her veins. “I understand.” Her jaw tightened. “Is that all for tonight?”
    He nodded, a tired look crossing his features. “Go home, Dr. Cruickshank. You’ll eventually see that things aren’t as bad as you might think.”
    She turned without another word and walked back to her lab, holding back