The thing was, someone had tipped off a local reporter that we were developing an artificial pancreas despite the fact that Jacob had publicly denied it multiple times. How word got out was anyone’s guess. The project was top secret. Only five people knew about it. Me. Jacob. Two biomedical engineers. And a computer programmer. And I trusted those people with every fiber of my being. We’d worked together since the beginning. And I went to college with Tito, the programmer. These were my brothers, my friends. I knew they would never leak anything about the device. But someone had, and I needed to find out who it was before the leak destroyed everything we’d worked so hard on.
We couldn’t have reporters nosing around. Not yet. Corporate espionage was a real threat. This sort of technology was worth billions in a market that was growing every day. If another company got ahold of our plans before the patent was in place, we could kiss the device and everything we’d put into it goodbye. But it wasn’t just about the money to me. It was personal. This was why I’d gone into business with Jacob, why I’d devoted the last five years of my life to developing the device. If we lost it now just as we were about to cross the finish line, it would be devastating. I couldn’t let that happen.
That’s why I’d gone to Ruben Garcia. Everyone said he was the best when it came to corporate security. And he promised that he and his company would keep word of the device from getting out before the patent was secured. I had to believe that.
And it didn’t hurt that his delectable daughter was a part of the deal.
I just hoped she didn’t become an obstacle rather than a solution.
Chapter 4
Adrienne
“How did it go last night?”
I looked up from my disorganized desk and watched as my father lumbered into the room, his clothes dirty and his eyes heavy with lack of sleep. He’d been on a stakeout, watching some rich CEO’s house to make sure his stalker didn’t show up again. It was the third time this week he’d had to take the stakeout because Bennie, the investigator who normally handled stakeouts, was on another case and I was busy with this biomedical case.
“You should go home and get some sleep, Poppy.”
He brushed off my concern with a wave of his hand. “How did it go? Was he too heavy handed?”
“It was fine. I handled myself, thank you very much.”
“Oh, I know you can take care of yourself. I’m just concerned about this guy getting a little too touchy feely and you forgetting you’re playing a role and taking his head off.”
“It’s fine,” I repeated, aware that a blush was spreading over my cheeks as I spoke. I simply turned and focused on my laptop, pretending there was some important email that needed my attention more than my father.
He sat heavily in a chair in front of my small desk. “Did you get a good feel of the brother? Do you think he might be capable of something like this?”
“I doubt it. The company is the only thing this guy has going for him right now. His wife kicked him out and filed for divorce a month ago. He has no children, no close friends as far as I can tell. He has no one in his life but his family, especially his brother. And his company.”
“Yeah, well, people have done stranger things when offered an insane amount of money.” My father rubbed his face, digging the heels of his hands into his eyes. “I asked around. A patent like this one would be worth more than a few billion dollars. If it’s really everything Mr. Montgomery says it is, it would be absolutely priceless. Millions of patients would require it, and they would likely pay almost any price for it.”
I nodded slowly. “Yeah. I was reading about these devices. It does seem to be very valuable to a lot of people.”
“If I were the brother, I might not care too much about brotherly love if someone offered me a billion dollars to steal it. Besides, aren’t they stepbrothers or something?”
“Yeah. Jacob is a product of his father’s first marriage, and Lucien is the son of Callahan’s third wife’s first marriage.”
“Confusing.”
“A little. But what it boils down to is that they aren’t really related, and Jacob is eleven years older than Lucien, so they didn’t really grow up together. They act close, but it could be just that. An act.”
“Okay.” My father stood and stretched, a huge yawn threatening to dislocate his jaw. “Stay close to Mr. Montgomery, and keep an eye on Mr. Callahan. I’ve got Sara and Mercedes checking out the other three names Montgomery gave us. If any red flags come up, they’ll call you.”
“I’m actually due to meet Lucien at his office at two.”
“Like that?”
I looked down at myself. I was wearing my typical office attire: jeans and a vintage t-shirt. I was not a skirt and heels kind of girl. I’d always been more comfortable in jeans, the result, likely, of the fact that my father raised me on his own after my mother died in a car accident when I was nine. My mother and my younger sister, Amelia. He never was one to learn how to do pigtails or to shop for prom dresses. So I wasn’t either. And then there was the military. Not exactly a feminine atmosphere there, either. The dress I’d worn last night? Borrowed from Theresa, our receptionist. And the makeup? A saleswoman at the local Dillard’s applied it and sold me everything I’d need to do it again. The only thing was, I wasn’t sure I could repeat what she’d done.
“I’ll change.”