My Husband Chose His Ex I Became His Regret novel Chapter 44

Chapter 44

Chapter 44

Lila

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If I don’t hurry and leave for breakfast with Aidan, I’m going to be late because Singapore hotels have showers that are way too good to rush through! I check my phone, it’s showing 8:43 a.m. I have 17 minutes to get dressed, attempt to style my hair, create the correct professional look without seeming as though I’m trying too hard, and get upstairs.

Seventeen minutes till I pretend I didn’t spend half the night replaying that almost-moment in Aidan’s suite. How his thumb traced my mouth, the way he looked at me like I was someone he desired but shouldn’t and how we both knew we were going to cross a line but got saved by room service.

Focus on your presentation, Lila. It is only 6 hours before it happens.

Quickly drying my hair and putting it into a bun, professional makeup, wearing that burgundy dress Margot packed for me specifically for this meeting – it fits perfectly to just above my knee. I’ll look competent and confident while wearing that dress, but right now I don’t feel either of those things.

Check my reflection one more time.

You can do this. You’ve been preparing for weeks. You know this material backward and forward. Aidan believes in you.

The ride in the elevator from the 41st floor seems to take me longer than it took to fly from New York City to Singapore! I rap on Suite 4105 right at the start of the workday. At the very same moment, Aidan answers the door with his phone still to his ear and gestures for me to enter while he is talking away.

“No…tell them the offer is good through Friday and no longer.” He pauses to listen. “Marcus, I do not care what they want. Friday or the deal is off!”

He hangs the phone up and then turns to me. “Good morning!”

“Good morning.” At this point, I put all my stuff down. “Is everything ok?”

“I have been busy putting out the fires from back home.” He is dressed for the meeting in a charcoal suit, a bright white shirt with a bright blue tie that make him look like he stepped out of a straight up magazine! “The follow-up with Nakamura has gotten complicated, and it is a Marcus problem today, we will focus today on Lee Corporation.”

The breakfast spread on his dining room table is insane. There is dim sum, congee, fresh fruit, pastries, and different kinds of eggs.

“You ordered off of the whole breakfast menu,” I stated.

“Because I said that I would.” He pushes my chair out for me. “Eat, you will need your energy this afternoon.”

I sit down; he sits across from me; he pours me a cup of tea, a tea that is poured exactly how I like my tea to be.

10:09 Wed, May 13 N

Chapter 44

55 vou

Bad, couldn’t stop thinking about you, what almost happened and what could possibly still happen

“I slept fine; jet lag wasn’t that bad,” I said, lying.

We eat, and he continues to show me our schedule for today. “The car picks us up at 1:15 pm for our twenty- minute drive to their office.”We’re going to be having a meeting with William Lee and his two brothers. James and Robert. William will lead the meeting, however keep an eye out for Robert as he is the most doubtful of the three brothers. If we can persuade him, we will also persuade his brother William.

“If we can’t?”

We will make adjustments based upon our observations in the room.

At that point, Aidan put his chopsticks down, looked directly at me and said: “Lila, you’re going to do so well today. You know that, right?”

At that moment, I felt sick. I was really nervous that I was going to screw this all up.

Aidan said, “You’re not going to screw it up.”

“You can’t know that.”

“I do know that, because I have been by your side for the past two weeks while you have prepared. I have witnessed your ability to take in information, almost absorb it into you, plus the way you approach needs with a strategic mindset. I’ve seen how you develop relationships with people. Today is not about performing perfectly; it is about being focused and present while being your true self. That’s all that the Lee brothers want to see.”

“But what if my true self isn’t enough?”

“It will be more than enough.” He put his hand over mine on the table. “Trust me Lila. You’ll be just fine.”

I looked at our hands. He was rubbing circles on my wrist with his thumb.

“Aidan….”

“We should probably go over the presentation one more time,” Aidan said pulling his hand away from mine creating space between us. “We need to make sure we are on the same page.”

Right. Work. That’s why we are here.

We spent the next 2 hours going over every single slide, speaking points, and answering every question that he could think of. He is very thorough, very tough, and pushes me to think 3 steps ahead on every single slide.

“William will ask about our manufacturing timeline,” he says. “What do you tell him?”

“Eighteen months to full integration, with phased rollouts starting at month six.”

“And if he pushes for faster?”

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10:10 Wed, May 13 N

Chapter 44

“We explain that quality control requires time. Rushing compromises both parties.”

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