My Husband Chose His Ex I Became His Regret novel Chapter 45

Chapter 45

Chapter 45

Lila

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The Lee Corporation headquarters is stunning, forty stories of glass and steel in Singapore’s financial district. We’re ushered into a conference room on the top floor. Floor-to-ceiling windows. Mahogany table. Leather

chairs.

Three men stand when we enter. Aidan makes introductions.

“William, James, Robert. Thank you for meeting with us. This is Lila Stark, Storm Industries’ Chief Strategy Officer.”

I shake hands with each of them. Firm grips. Assessing eyes.

William Lee is exactly as Aidan described, sixty, traditional, measuring us with every glance. James is younger, friendly. Robert is the skeptic, arms crossed, expression neutral.

We sit. Aidan leads the opening remarks. Professional. Confident. Commanding the room effortlessly.

Then he turns to me. “Lila will walk you through our integration strategy.”

My heart pounds. This is it.

I stand. Walk to the screen. Pull up the first slide.

And I start talking.

About synergies. About market opportunities. About how Storm Industries and Lee Corporation together could dominate Southeast Asian tech manufacturing.

I was nervous, my hands shook a little bit, but my voice was very steady.

I had my eye on Robert and could see when he changed from a state of skepticism to one of interest. He moved forward when I explained what our company’s quality control procedures were.

I answered all of their questions, William asked how long we thought it would take; I responded with confidence. James asked about the problems associated with combining our cultures; I said there would be challenges, I’ll provide solutions. Robert asked about our financial projections; I provided him with a detailed explanation of every number.

Aidan was not interrupting. Aidan was not stepping in to save me. He was just sitting there watching me do the presentation.

He believed in me.

After I finished, there was silence.

William smiled and said “Ms. Stark, you’ve done a very good job and have provided a lot of detailed information.”

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Chapter 45

I replied with, “Thank you Mr. Lee.”

“You have done a tremendous amount of research about our company.” Robert noted.

I said “I believe in being fully prepared.”

“You certainly did.” He looks at Aidan. “You’ve picked a fantastic team member Mr. Storm.”

“I did.” Aidan said while looking at me with such pride.

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For an additional hour, we continued with the meeting talking about how to set up the details, when would the timeline begin and what the next steps will be. I also contributed to the conversation, asking questions and holding my position. As we connect at last with a firm handshake and good-bye, I feel both physically and emotionally drained, as well as completely exhilarated.

On the drive back to the hotel, it’s completely quiet. I’m staring outside, thinking through everything that just happened.

“Lila, you were amazing,” Aidan finally says.

“I was scared,” I reply.

“No one else could tell that at all,” he smiles back at me. “Did you notice how impressed Robert was when you talked about doing a phased rollout?

“I did notice him reaction,” I turn to look straight at Aidan. “Did we actually receive the contract? The business partnership?”

“We are not signing official paperwork yet, but I believe we both know we will.” He leans back in his seat and sighs, “William wanted us to meet again tomorrow to put together the final details, but today was really what counts. They needed to see we were business-like… serious and knowledgeable about their business so they would have confidence moving forward with a possible partnership.”

“What did I do to provide that?”

“You provided them with everything they were looking for. You nailed it.”

Aidan’s pride in me fills my heart and makes me feel proud as well.

“Thank you so much for believing that I could do the job,” I say softly.

“Quit thanking me for recognizing the obvious,” Aidan tells me kindly and without sarcasm in his voice.

When we get to the hotel, we take the elevator to our floor together. Aidan walks me down the hall in front of

my room.

“Make sure you get some sleep tonight,” he tells me looking at me in the eye. “We have 8:00 dinner reservations to celebrate your success.”

“Dinner?”

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Chapter 45

“Unless you want to eat dinner alone?”

“NO! I would love to go to dinner with you!”

“Great,” Aidan turns to leave then turns back, “Lila?”

“Yes?”

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“I’m proud of you. Genuinely proud. You walked into that room and commanded it. That’s not something you can teach. That’s who you are.”

Tears prick my eyes. “Aidan…”

“See you at eight.”

He walks away. I let myself into my suite. Lean against the door.

He’s proud of me.

I take a shower, put on some comfortable clothes, and lie down to try and take a short nap, but I’m too wired. I feel energetic that I have four more days in Singapore with him. I will have four more days of almost connections, amazing silence moments, and pretending we are just here on business.

At 7:45 PM, I put on the dress that Margot packed for me, an emerald dress that brings out the green in my eyes; willing to wear my hair down in big waves, with very little make-up but polished.

I arrive in the lobby at 7:58 to meet Aidan, who is waiting for me by the entrance. He has his hands in his pockets and looks nice in black jeans & a white button up shirt, with the top button undone and tie off, with rolled up sleeves.

He looks like someone on vacation, instead of a CEO trying to close deals.

He looks gorgeous! He’s so hot!

“Are you ready?” he asks.

“Where are we going,” I say.

“You’ll see,” he says and takes my hand.

The restaurant is on the Singapore River, with outdoor seating, strings of lights overhead, and the river sparkling underneath. It is romantic, extremely romantic.

“This is not going to be a business dinner, is it?” I ask as we sit down.

Aidan orders a bottle of wine and says, “No, this is a celebration. You did an excellent job today, and you deserve to be celebrated.”

While we eat, drink, and talk about everything other than work, Aidan shares a story with me about his first time in Singapore at age twenty-three. I describe all the things I dreamed of before Mark, the places I wanted to see and the life I wanted to live, and he tells me that I can still have that life and see those places, and I am

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Chapter 45

beginning to believe him.

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He buys us dessert, and we share it, which is starting to be the norm, his fork and mine meeting in the middle of our sharing plate.

“Thanks for tonight,” I tell him, “for celebrating me.”

“Where else would I be?”

The question hangs between us. Loaded. Dangerous.

We walked back to the hotel, and it’s late, past midnight and the streets were deserted and he had his hand placed in the small of my back to guide and protect me.

When we got to the elevator, we were the only two people in it, too close to each other and too hyper aware of our proximity.

“What floor?” he asked.

“39,” I reply.

He hit the elevator button and we rode up in silence use with one another.

Once the doors opened he followed me out.

“I don’t need for you to walk me to my room…”

“I want to.”

When we made it to my door I pulled the key card out and turned to him.

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