My Husband Chose His Ex I Became His Regret novel Chapter 31

Chapter 31

Chapter 31

Lila

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I have been up since 5am for the last few hours in anticipation of negotiating with a man who has done billions of dollars worth of transactions.

The car shows up at exactly 10:30; as always Aidan’s on time. Today I’m wearing what Margot advised me to wear today-a pair of tailored cream trousers, a sil topped with gold, and a blazer. I look professional and appear as if I’m someone who understands how much they bring to this world, that’s a woman who knows her value in the world.

I suppose it is true; I will fake my way through this until I actually find out what I am worth.

I don’t know, however, what my worth is.

Earlier today I googled to find salary averages for Chief Security Officers (CSO). They range between $200,000 and $800,000 per annum, depending upon the company.

What type of salary would be offered for someone of my experience? Which was not existent.

This is now where I work?

I am still having trouble accepting this as my reality.

“Ms. Stark, Mr. Storm is expecting you in Conference Room B; on the 40th floor.”

Not as an office, but for a conference; therefore it is going to be a formal meeting.

My stomach turns.

The elevator ride feels much longer than it really is. I continually watch the indicators to see the elevator advance to the 40th floor; as I ride, I am trying to slow down my breathing because this is a simple meeting to complete for paperwork to be completed and executed for the terms of employment that have previously been agreed upon.

Why does it feel like my soul is about to be signed away? I’m being escorted by Marcus through the 40th floor of the building, right below Aidan’s office. Marcus walks down a hallway that has many glass-walled conference rooms and some have teams that work on Saturdays.

“Here,” says

Marcus opening up one of the doors. “Can I get you anything, like coffee or water?”

“No thanks, I’m good,” is what I answer back with. He exits the room and closes the door.

It was not as big it was a conference room for 6 people. Two chairs were evenly spaced out from each end of the table and had documents all laid out in front of them.

“You are on time” Aidan states as he walks into the conference room. I stop breathing when I see him walk in because for whatever reason, that happens to me every time I see Aidan.

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He is wearing a charcoal-grey suit that fits perfectly; the only thing is that he does not have on a tie, and his top button is undone. Aidan’s hair looks like he has run his hands through it and is probably slightly messed up. He also looks tired from the dark circles around his eyes and the way his jaw is clenched.

Did he not sleep any better than I did?

“I was only five minutes early,” I tell Aidan.”You taught me that being on time is to respect others, right?”

“Did I say that?”

“You said it the day of the 2 p.m meeting on Thursday with Nakamura. You told me that being there on time sends the message that you care about someone else’s time.”

At the same time that something flickers in his eyes, he also looks at me with concern, but in a masculine way. “You were listening to me.”

“I always listen to what you’re saying, that’s why you hired me, isn’t it?”

“Of course.” I look back out towards the window.

“That’s what my job is to listen, learn, and become an asset.”

“You are already an asset to me, Lila.” When he says my name with softness and almost affection it warms my heart, but I tell myself to stop thinking about him in that way. I will be professional about this; after all, this is business.

“Let’s start with this.” He gestures towards the documents he brought. I sit down and he sits down three feet away, too close but not close enough; focus. He gives me the first document.

“This is your official employment contract,” He says as he slides me the first document. “Twenty pages of legal language that essentially says you are employed by Storm Industries as Chief Strategy Officer and report directly to me.”

I pull it closer to me then look at the first page, which is nothing but huge paragraphs with wording that has a lot of big words such as: ‘whereas’, ‘hereto, and ‘party of the 1st part.

“Before you sign this document, I would recommend having an attorney review it,” Aidan replies. “It is customary to do so; if you don’t have an attorney, I can give you an independent person to contact.”

“I don’t have an attorney. I have nothing; remember? No attorney, no savings; nothing.”

His jaw tightens and he lowers his voice, “You will have everything you need by the time this meeting is over!”

“Here is your compensation package,” Aidan says; placing another document in front of me. “You will receive $500,000 per year. I look down at the bottom of the page; my breath stops.

“This is insane. I can’t possibly be worth…”

“You’re worth more,” he interrupts.

“But we’re going to take a low-key approach to get you started because you’re just beginning this job. Once

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you’ve successfully completed your first year in this position and achieved your performance metrics, we’ll look at giving consideration to a salary increase. Additionally, there is also your bonus plan.”

He points out another part of my offer letter. “The annual bonus paid based upon the company’s performance and your contributions is up to 40% of salary; you will also receive stock options that will be vested over a four years period as well as health insurance benefits.”

I am transfixed on these numbers as they float around on the page in front of me.

$500,000. Plus bonuses. Plus stock options..

“Aidan, that’s too much.”

“That is considered the market rate for a Chief Strategy Officer (CSO) at a company of this size.” He sounded adamant. “In fact, it could be argued that it is even a bit below the market rate, however I am considering your learning curve in terms of the job. After year 1, providing you are a successful performer which I know you will be, we will renegotiate your compensation upwards.”

“But I don’t have the experience or knowledge to be a CSO.”

“You will gain the knowledge and experience during the next 6 months while you are training, shadowing, and experiencing everything you can about this company.” Aidan leans forward and says, ” Lila, look me in the eye.”

I look at him. He has extremely intense grey eyes.

“I do not hire people out of pity and I certainly do not pay someone $500,000 per year to help them out.”I am offering this to you because I think you are capable of doing this job. I have seen your ability to absorb and learn as much information as possible this week. I have also seen you walk into the gala and command the room of everyone there, who has been doing this for many, many years now. You have instincts, intelligence, and potential. I am going to invest in that potential.”

“Or you’re investing in revenge,” I say quietly. “In having Mark Knight’s ex-wife on your payroll to destroy him.”

He doesn’t deny it. “Both things can be true. I want revenge. And I think you’re brilliant. Those aren’t mutually

exclusive.”

I now look back at the contract and see numbers that could literally change my entire life.

“What if I fail,” I whisper “If I take this money, invest it into a venture that I am not good at and let you down.”

“We will figure something out.” He says with conviction. “This is not something you will ever fail at.” He is saying this with such confidence that it’s impossible to believe that failure is even an option. “Lila, sign the contract before you let your self-doubt get the best of you.”

All I can hear is Patricia saying over and over again: “You deserve to take up space”

I take the expensive, heavy pen Aidan left on the table and I wrote my name on every sheet of paper that had a little piece of flag at the top. As I wrote my name my confidence in my name got stronger on every page.

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After I write my name on the last page, Aidan gathers the pages and puts them inside of a folder. “You are set.” “You are now officially employed by Storm Industries. Congratulations!”

“That’s it? Just like that?”

“Just like that.” He takes out another file folder and continues on with his list of things business related. “Now, housing.”

“The Ritz is OK…”

“You need a residence to call your own, not just a hotel. I’ve had our real estate team prepare several options.”

He showed me his tablet and scrolled through a selection of luxury apartments with shiny kitchens, spa bathrooms and floor-to-ceiling windows, all located in neighbourhoods I’ve only driven past while on my way to anywhere else.

“All of these apartments will be within a twenty minute commute from our office,” Aidan states as he continues on to explain that there were two or three bedrooms in each unit. They all had full amenities and security. Some even had rooftop access, a gym and concierge services.

I browsed through the apartments and all it took was one more to confirm they all looked like they had meshes of luxury in them that most people could not afford. However, my question was how much is the rent?

“Storm Industries covers your rent for the first year as part of the relocation package, and with your salary, you will be able to afford rent from then on.”

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