My Husband Chose His Ex I Became His Regret novel Chapter 13

Chapter 13

Chapter 13

Aidan

A

My alarm doesn’t wake me because I didn’t sleep because I was working on some things that needed my

attention..

I’m already in the gym on the forty-second floor of Storm Tower by six, running through my routine with mechanical precision. Weights. Cardio. Ice bath. The cold is the only thing that quiets my mind,

85

By seven. I’m showered and in my office, Loro Piana suit, Tom Ford tie, Patek Philippe watch-armor for the business battlefield. My assistant has already stacked the morning’s briefs on my desk: quarterly reports, merger documents, three acquisition targets that need evaluation.

“Coffee, Mr.Storm.” Marcus arrives with my usual, plain black coffee.

“Did Lila Stark accept the hotel relocation?”

“She flat-out refused me to rebook the hotel. I convinced her to change by stating the hotel she was staying at had an infestation and her room is being taken care of until further notice. She is set to check into The Ritz at 10am.”

I smile at the great length and effort that Marcus will go through to make me happy. “Nicely done.”

“I have my moments.” Marcus adjusts his glasses. “Your 8:00 appointment Nakamura of Zenith Corp is here.”

“Give me five minutes.”

I dismiss him, open Lila Stark’s file and began reading it. My team and I started on this 3 months ago, as soon as I recognized Lila would be the ideal candidate to be used as leverage.

Lila Marie Stark. Father: Riley Stark who owns a construction company. Her mother died at age 7 of cancer. Dad remarried within 1 year of losing her to Patrica Carmichael socialite with two kids from her first marriage, (Natalie 25, and James 23). The stark contrast of how the kids were treated was easily found through photos of events my investigators collected There were photos of Natalie at her big sixteen birthday bash. James’s high school graduation party was held with a live band present along with all of James’s friends from school since they all graduated at the same time; however, Lila’s birthdays were very different, if Lila had a birthday party, she sat alone at the table with a cake from the grocery store.

When Lila was 21 years old, Stark Construction was almost bankrupt; Riley was desperate. Mark’s father, Richard, offered Riley financial assistance, Capital injection, connections, contracts. All for the low price of… introducing his son to Robert’s eldest daughter.

Lila met Mark Knight at a gallery opening in her senior year. Except it wasn’t chance, It was orchestrated. She was twenty-two, waiting tables to pay for her last semester at UCLA while her step-siblings drove BMWs bought with her father’s borrowed money. Mark was twenty-eight, already taking over his father’s company. He pursued her relentlessly, not because he loved her, but because she was malleable. Grateful. Easy to

control.

They married six months later. Small ceremony. His family came. Hers did 100. Robert walked her down the aisle with Patricia beaming, Natalie as a bridesmaid. They got their money. Lila got sold.

Chapter 13

For two years, Lala tried to play her part as a wife to Mark She hard to represent Mark at all his parties, in all family photographs, and eventually made herself smaller until she was invisible

I have photograplys collected of 1 ila from the first two years of marriage, and they show her at the beginning of the year having light in her eves, but that light began to dimm until it was non existent

According to the bank records my team pulled, Riley stopped receiving “consulting fees” from Knight Group three months ago. Right around when Mark started publicly dating Sienna.

I guarantee Riley Stark is panicking. His golden goose just got divorced, and now his favorite son-in-law is cutting him off.

Good

Let him panic.

My intercom buzzes: “Hey, Mr. Storm? Mr. Nakamura is getting anxious.”

I close the file on my desk and stand up, buttoning my jacket; it’s time to be the CEO everybody thinks I am

now.

8:03 a.m.

“Mr. Nakamura,” I said, extending my hand. “It is a pleasure to meet you. Thank you for coming to see us.”

Hiroshi Nakamura is an older, traditional and conservative man, approximately sixty years old and very smart. He has an established electronics manufacturing business; he is considering selling that company, and, of course, I want to acquire that company. I want to acquire it not because I necessarily want it, but rather because my “friend” Mark wants that company, and I am absolutely going to burn everything that Mark wants right in front of him.

“Storm-san,” he says while slightly bowing; I reciprocate the bow with the same vigor. I believe there is a language of respect.

Nakamura and I both take our seats. My assistant Marcus is handing out briefing packets that will provide all the intelligence and war room strategies I have put together in preparation for this meeting and give me zero chance of losing.

“To be ambitious is how one builds an empire, Nakamura-san. You built Zenith from nothing, and I have the utmost respect for that; you also have the right to want your legacy protected. I can assure you that Knight Group will come in, strip your company of its assets, lay off 70 percent of your workforce, and then ship it off to China within 6 months of acquiring it. I, on the other hand, intend to utilize the business you have built to grow the business and keep every employee you have trained over the past 30 years.”

Nakamura said, “How do you know how Knight Group intends to run the company?”

“I have been around Mark long enough that I can tell you exactly how he thinks. Mark views every business transaction as an isolated transaction from other transactions he is currently involved in: I view every business transaction as part of a larger ecosystem. You just received a copy of a second set of documents that will provide you with all the information you need regarding both our companies. The following is my projection document: a five-year growth plan, an employee retention incentive program, and a research and development budget three times larger than what Knight is offering.

15:18 Tue, May 12

Chapter 13

As Nakamura reads, his face changes from donbiful, to pensive, to curious,

“What will it cost?”

“Fifteen percent higher than Knight’s price

“That is .. a huge difference.”

“My commitment to you in honoring what you created is just as large!”

85

$ your here

He is quiet for a moment before he puts his folder away. “I will take your proposal into serious consideration,

Storm-san.”

It’s not a yes, but it’s not a no. In business, that’s called progress.

We shake hands. Marcus escorts him out. The moment the door closes, I’m already moving to the next thing in my schedule.

1 have an 8-member board meeting, all of whom are older than myself.

“Gentlemen and ladies,” I said as I stood in front of the board chair at the table, holding a presentation remote. “I will present Q3 financial results to you.”

I started with revenue growth (up 18%); I then showed a market share gain in three major sectors, two successful acquisitions, and the stock price at an all-time high.

“Do you have any questions?”

Wilson, the most vocal critic, clears his throat. “What’s this rumor about a hostile takeover of Knight Group?”

I don’t blink. “Not a rumor. A strategic plan in development.”

The room erupts. Exactly as I expected.

“That’s aggressive…”

“Knight Group is a competitor…”

“The optics alone…”

I hold up one hand. Silence falls.

“Knight Group is hemorrhaging value due to mismanagement and short-sighted leadership. Their stock is down twenty-three percent year-over-year. Their board is fractured. And…” I click the remote, displaying a detailed analysis, “their CEO is about to face a very public scandal that will crater their remaining credibility.”

“What scandal?” Wilson asks.

I smile. “The kind that makes shareholders panic and stock prices plummet. The kind that creates opportunities for those prepared to act.”

15:18 Tue, May 12

Chapter 13

5 your fer

VERIFYCAPTCHA_LABELVerify