Single Mother of a Werewolf Baby
Chapter 57: NexaByte Technologies

Chapter 57: NexaByte Technologies

Teresa couldn’t take this sudden turn of events lightly. Her eyes narrowed slightly as she leaned forward, voice firm yet curious.

"From the looks of it, you were prepared to assign her as my assistant from the very beginning. Why?"

Eleanor sighed and leaned back, crossing her legs with a calm grace. "Yes, that’s correct. There were several reasons. First, you genuinely needed some assistance. Even though you have the support of an entire conglomerate, your personal workload has been growing exponentially. I had planned to assign more assistants to you, but so far, she is the only one I found fitting."

She paused, folding her hands neatly on her lap. "Second, she’s not just any employee. She’s an experienced lawyer with basic combat training. Her family background checks out... clean and trustworthy. And most importantly, she’s single. No personal distractions, no entanglements."

Teresa nodded slowly, absorbing the explanation as Eleanor continued.

"Third, I want you to focus on building the vision, not running every little detail. I’ve noticed you’ve been following up on every task yourself, and that’s a waste of your strategic potential. Your productivity will increase drastically if you have competent people running things and simply reporting back to you. And lastly... I will need more assistants in the future. What better way to train someone than under your direct supervision?"

Teresa gave a thoughtful nod, her expression softening. "Okay. I understand now."

"Don’t forget to bring her to the villa with you," Eleanor added, then shifted topics. "Speaking of which, when can we sign the documents for the villas?"

"Tomorrow morning," Teresa responded. "We’ll need to go to the property management office. I’ve already coordinated with the other villa owners. Everyone has agreed."

"What about the one who initially refused to sell?" Eleanor asked with a raised eyebrow.

Teresa smirked slightly. "He came around after speaking with the others. Peer pressure works wonders."

"Excellent," Eleanor replied with a pleased nod. "Now we can move forward with enclosing the entire area without any issues."

"I’ve already spoken with the property management team," Teresa added. "Tomorrow, they’ll show us the layout and proposals on how we can secure the villa area."

"That’s perfect. We’ll finalize everything then."

Eleanor then turned her attention to Maya. "Maya, do you have the report on Indian companies?"

"Yes," Maya said, straightening up slightly. "Teresa asked me to investigate Indian hardware and semiconductor production startups. I’ve shortlisted seven companies, all located in Taramani, Chennai, close to the seaport. These companies have initiated production but haven’t yet reached export-level capabilities. Right now, they mostly take subcontracting work from larger corporations. I’ve compiled the details here."

She pushed a thick folder toward Eleanor, which she had prepared in advance and placed on the table earlier.

Eleanor opened the folder and quietly reviewed the information inside. Her eyes scanned line after line of figures and notes until she finally closed the folder with a soft thud.

"The combined market value of these seven companies is only about 20 million dollars," she said thoughtfully. "Take 50 million from the U.S. companies and invest according to their current valuation. I want a controlling 70% stake in each company. Additionally, prepare another 5 million in cash as a goodwill offering for their shareholders. It’ll make the acquisition smoother."

"We won’t change any administrative positions, names, or outward appearance. Their companies will continue operating as usual... at least until they meet our performance targets. These are young startups. They might be defensive, so approach them gently."

Maya gasped. "Are we really going to acquire all seven of them?"

Eleanor replied calmly, "Yes. Since we’re entering the Indian market, why settle for anything less than domination?"

Everyone in the room instantly grasped her intent.

"Lily," Eleanor said, turning to the poised woman beside Maya. "Help her with the negotiations. I want this to happen quickly and cleanly."

"Okay, Boss," Lily and Maya said in unison.

Then Eleanor addressed Teresa again. "I want to quietly recruit Chinese engineers from the U.S. No official job posts... just spread a rumor through Silicon Valley that you, being of Chinese descent, prefer hiring your own people and provide them with exclusive benefits. The goal is to lure them."

She paused before adding, "If they’re willing to relocate to the Kingdom, we’ll offer full accommodations, transportation, and a host of other attractive perks. Prepare a detailed list of these benefits... something substantial enough to tip the scale in our favor. Also, let the rumor spread in such a way that interested candidates come directly to you before applying."

Eleanor’s expression darkened slightly. "The way things are going, Chinese citizens will face increasing difficulties in the U.S. I want to offer them refuge here... under our wing."

She stood up and walked toward the large window, gazing out at the skyline. "A global cyber war is inevitable. We need to be ready."

She turned back toward the others. "Launch a new high-end subscription plan for our cybersecurity services, exclusive to government and state-owned enterprises. Teresa, get in touch with our cybersecurity team and make this happen. Those who fall under this new category must either upgrade or find another service provider. No exceptions."

After some additional discussions on minor matters, the meeting ended. The others left the room, and Eleanor sat back down to review the files awaiting her. Despite delegating authority to her top executives, her workload remained daunting. Between her U.S. holdings and the new empire she was building in the Kingdom, her workload was increasing continuously.

Sometime later, Teresa entered her office to inform her, "The convoy is ready, Boss."

Eleanor nodded, rising from her chair. She headed to her private room to change into a fresh executive suit... a deep purple one that gave her an air of regal authority. She applied light makeup, keeping it natural yet refined, then joined her team to depart for NexaByte Technologies.

***

The sun hung high over the Manchester sky as nearly a hundred manager-level employees gathered in the spacious conference hall of NexaByte Technologies. The entire seventh floor of the ten-story building had been converted into a sleek, glass-walled conference area, bathed in sunlight streaming through the windows.

Chairs were arranged in neat rows, and the employees sat in small clusters, whispering among themselves.

"I saw our former chairman, Joseph Ingram, downstairs with Ava Martin," one employee murmured. "Isn’t she the new CEO?"

"Yeah," another nodded. "My friend in legal said Heimdall Technologies bought us out. One hundred percent shares. And Miss Martin was appointed as CEO by Heimdall."

"Then I guess Chairman Ingram’s here as a guest?"

"Possibly. I also heard that some of the previous directors were allowed to stay on."

"Right," another chimed in. "Heimdall’s bought more than ten companies already. They can’t manage all of them hands-on, so they’re keeping existing management in place for now."

"Then why did some of our colleagues resign?" someone else asked.

"They probably had better offers," came the reply. "Think about it... we’ve just been bought by a mysterious new player. Heimdall may be rich, but it’s still new. No one knows how they’ll run things. It’s a risk. Some people didn’t want to gamble."

"That’s fair. But you don’t throw that kind of money around unless you’ve got a plan," another said. "They must be confident about something."

"I heard Heimdall employees are paid more. A lot of their people came from the U.S., or were headhunted from top firms. Even Ava Martin used to be just a manager there."

"She was a manager?" someone repeated in disbelief. "Did you check her LinkedIn? She has a First Class Honours in Data Centre Leadership and Management from Anglia Ruskin. Won the Chancellor’s Award, the ARU Academic Prize, and got featured on the university’s website. Then she earned an MBA from Alliance Manchester Business School with distinction, Dean’s Commendation, everything. She worked at Equinix as a Data Center Manager before Heimdall."

"Damn!" "Whoa!" "She’s the real deal."

Phones came out as people began searching for her profile.

"I’m more curious about Heimdall’s owner," someone mused. "He might be an impressive man to get that kind of capital?"

A colleague whispered conspiratorially, "It’s not a he. My friend at Heimdall’s front desk swears the owner is a young woman... not even thirty. She’s only seen her from afar, Teresa Li was following her."

"She has no public records, no news articles, nothing," another added. "Only Teresa Li appears on the website."

"She could be from an ultra-wealthy family keeping a low profile," someone suggested. "Some elites hate public attention."

***

Outside the NexaByte building, rows of shiny black Range Rovers pulled up. Doors opened in unison as black-suited, armed guards stepped out. Some stood beside the vehicles; others fanned out around the perimeter.

Onlookers pulled out phones to film, only to be met with polite but firm requests to stop. The combination of cold expressions and visible weapons ensured compliance.

A few journalists, lurking nearby, tried to snap photos discreetly. But when the guards approached, they too backed off.

Once the area was secure, a guard approached the central vehicle. With a light knock, the door opened, and a striking Asian woman in a tailored black suit stepped out, radiating authority. She walked to the other side of the car.

From the building, Ava Martin approached with NexaByte’s current directors, including Joseph Ingram. A moment later, another door opened, and an elegant young woman appeared in her signature purple business suit.

Ava and the others greeted her in unison.

"Welcome to NexaByte, Miss Raynor."

Eleanor offered a polite nod. "Thank you. Please, lead the way."