CHAPTER 4

OLIVIA'S POV

The morning sun gleamed against the polished hood of my Mustang as I turned into the parking lot, gripping the steering wheel tighter than necessary. Today was my first day as CEO of Nexus —a position that my father had given me despite the fact that I had zero working experience.

I could still picture the smug look on his face when he had offered me the job. I knew he was expecting me to fail in the business world, so that he could quickly marry me off to Ryan, and that had been my biggest motivation.

I had spent the weekend buried in spreadsheets and reports, memorizing every detail about the company to ensure I wouldn’t be caught off guard. This wasn’t just a job; it was my chance to prove to everyone—and to myself—that I wasn’t a failure, that I could stand on my own.

As I stepped out of the car, smoothing my tailored blazer, my gaze automatically swept over the parking lot and just then, a familiar figure caught my eye.

Lucas.

He stood casually by his sleek black Audi, dressed in his signature perfectly tailored suit. His secretary was with him, giggling at something he’d said, as her hand brushed playfully against his arm. My stomach churned in a mixture of anger and hurt. He was laughing so heartily now. That could only mean that he had quickly moved on, that everything we built together didn’t matter to him as much as I thought.

For a split second, his eyes met mine. The carefree smile slipped from his face, and it was instantly replaced by an expression I couldn’t quite understand. Surprise, perhaps? Shock? Whatever it was, he quickly masked It, and turned his attention back to his secretary.

I tilted my chin up and walked past him without a word. My heels clicked against the pavement as I headed toward the building.

“Morning,” Ethan greeted me at the entrance. “Saw your darling husband outside. What’s he doing here?”

“No idea,” I muttered.

Ethan looked like he wanted to press the matter, but I cut him off with a pointed glance. “Let’s just get to work, Ethan.”

He held up his hands in mock surrender. “Fine. But if he so much as looks at you wrong—”

“I can handle Lucas,” I said firmly, my jaw tightening. “Trust me.”

Ethan shrugged but he didn’t say another word about it as we made our way to the boardroom. When we finally got to the door, he stopped me.

“Are you ready?”

I heaved a deep sigh and nodded.

He pushed the door open and together, we stepped in. The boardroom exuded power and I was almost intimidated at the sight of the advanced men sitting at the oak table.  I had barely even had the time to settle down when the murmurs started.

“She’s too young for this.”

“Another one of Ethan’s whores as the CEO of this company.”

“Bet she won’t last a month.”

Their remarks stung, but I forced myself to ignore them. I had anticipated the resistance—after all, I was an outsider, stepping into a role that others had likely vied for. But they didn’t know me, and I wasn’t going to let their negative comments derail me.

I walked to the head of the table with confidence, and looked up to meet their steely gaze.

“Good morning,” I began, my voice calm but commanding. “I’m Olivia Smith, and I’ll be stepping in as CEO of NEXUS.”

The murmurs grew louder, some of the older board members exchanging looks of disdain.

“This company values experience,” one man said, his voice laced with venom. “What exactly do you bring to the table, Ms. Smith?”

I turned to him, my expression cool and composed.

“Experience is valuable, yes. But so is vision, adaptability, and innovation. I suggest you wait to see what I bring to the table before making assumptions.”

His lips pressed into a thin line, but he said nothing more.

“And if anyone among you here is reluctant to work under my leadership,” I added, gesturing toward the door, “You’re welcome to leave. I won’t hold it against you.”

The boardroom fell silent immediately and I smiled to myself.

“I’ll take that as a vote of confidence,” I said.

Just then, the doors swung open and my secretary, Natalia walked in.

“Good morning, Mrs. Olivia,” She muttered. “The CEO from the other firm is here for the meeting.”

I heaved a deep breath and stared into space. If there was one thing I knew about father’s business strategy, it was the fact that he preferred to do business with the older CEO’s – veterans in the business world. No matter how rich you were or how exciting your business proposal seemed to be, you rarely stood a chance as a young CEO.

Hence, I knew what I was expecting to see – a bald headed and pot bellied pervert whose concentration would be on my body rather than the important details of the meeting.

The mere thought of it made me nervous and I didn’t realize that I had not given Natalya an answer yet.

“Mrs. Olivia?”

“Yes,” I nodded. “Kindly invite him in.”

I turned to Ethan who was sitting beside me and he linked his fingers in mine, underneath the table.

It was enough to quell the storm that was brewing beneath my chest, but it was something.

After what seemed like an eternity, the door finally swung open. And when he walked in, my breath hitched in my throat.

Lucas. Lucas Preston. He was the CEO I was having a meeting with on the first day of work.

I turned to Ethan and glared hard at him, but I could see the same anger in his eyes. Of course, he was not aware of this.

It was then that the realization hit me. It was Father. He had set me up to fail, and what better way to do it than to throw me in a meeting with an ex husband I had barely gotten over.