With My New Love, We Made My Ex Pay

Chapter 7 Our Meeting

Davina's POV:

That morning, I dropped Edie off at a familiar pet clinic. It was safer there than at home, especially with everything going on.

Once I made sure Edie was settled, I headed back to work.

The company was called LETLOVERUN, a name I brainstormed with my two partners, Sofia Loud and Scarlett White.

Sofia Loud was the heir to a vast fortune, the one who provided the startup capital for the company. She held 75% of the shares and acted as the company's CEO.

Scarlett's parents were immigrants, and she came from humble beginnings, but she's got a sharp business sense and an uncanny ability to package a brand and market it to the masses. She held 15% of the shares and was our head of marketing.

As for me, I was the head of product development, the one responsible for all things R&D. I own 8% of the company.

Not long after I arrived, Sofia and Scarlett came to my office.

Sofia was the first to speak, her voice full of urgency, "Davina, please believe me. Asking you to leave the company was never my idea. You know I can't lose you. Where am I going to find another product development manager as brilliant as you?"

She pushed Scarlett lightly on the shoulder, a silent plea for her to back her up.

Scarlett adjusted her glasses, guilt clouding her expression. "I'm so sorry, Davina. I suggested you leave to protect the company's interests, but I didn't consider how much this means to you. Please forgive me. I want you to stay and help us through this PR crisis."

I smiled softly, trying to ease their concern. "Sofia, Scarlett, I never planned on leaving. But this PR mess? That's on me. I'll take care of Landon. I'll make sure he stops encouraging people to drag our brand through the mud. And to make it up to you both, I've got some good news."

Sofia's eyes lit up. "What good news?"

Scarlett, on the other hand, watched me warily, her brow furrowed in cautious anticipation.

"I've met Xavier Francis. And after a lot of persistence, I finally convinced him to give us a shot. Our Redbreast series now has the opportunity to compete for a spot in Radiant Mall. Scarlett, his secretary, will be reaching out to you this morning!"

Sofia let out a laugh and turned to Scarlett with a mischievous grin. "Well, look at that. We all thought Davina was finished and that she would crumble after everything that happened. But instead, she went out and made a connection with Xavier. Created a huge opportunity for the company?"

She walked over to me, pulling me into a hug, then pulled back, her eyes wide with admiration. "But how on earth did you even meet Xavier? He's Xavier! Even I can't get close to him!"

I couldn't help but smile. "It's all thanks to Andrew. You see, Xavier never forgot my name after that ugly love triangle gossip. When Andrew abandoned Edie, Mr. Francis was the one who found her. I used that chance to bring it up to him, and he agreed to give us a shot..."

Scarlett raised an eyebrow, her tone dripping with disbelief. "Oh my God. What kind of luck is this? The circles I've been trying to break into for months, and your dog somehow gets you in there? Maybe Edie should be our new head of marketing and not me."

Sofia and I burst into laughter at Scarlett's exaggerated tone.

Seeing me laugh, Scarlett hesitated for a moment and then stepped towards me. "Davina... please forgive me."

"I already have, right?"

"No," Scarlett said, her voice breaking slightly, "that was the apology of a market manager. This is the apology of a friend."

"If you really considered me a friend, then why did you suggest I leave the company when I needed it the most? You don't know how desperate I was, like a train running me over, leaving nothing behind..."

My words were sharp, and I saw the guilt in Scarlett's eyes for a moment. Sensing the tension, Sofia quickly stepped forward and took our hands in hers, squeezing them tightly. "Sweetheart, I promise there won't be a next time," she said gently. "Before you came back to the company, we talked it through. I'm willing to transfer 5% of my shares to you, and Scarlett will give you 1%. That means you and Scarlett will both hold 14% now. And from now on, Scarlett will never be able to tell you to leave again."

"Thank you, but why are you doing this?" I asked, surprised.

"After you left yesterday, Sofia gave me a talking to. Davina," Scarlett said, her voice soft with sincerity, "you're the heart and soul of this company. Without you, we have nothing."

I was overwhelmed, more by the sentiment than the shares. The recognition felt more important than any stock transfer!

By 10 AM, just as expected, Scarlett received an invitation from Radiant Mall, inviting us to participate in a marketing competition one month before Valentine's Day.

We were all thrilled, and we decided to grab lunch together in celebration. But just as I was about to head out, I got a message from Andrew. He wanted to meet for lunch at the restaurant we used to go to.

I had so much I wanted to say to him, so I canceled my lunch plans with Sofia and Scarlett.

Andrew's message said he'd pick me up from the office, but then, just five minutes before I was about to leave, I received another message. Something had come up, and he couldn't pick me up. I should just head to the restaurant on my own.

Without thinking, I checked Landon's f*******: page and saw his latest post.

Landon's latest post read: b***h, keep your hands off my man. Keep your hands off his car!

Accompanying the post was a picture of Andrew and Landon in a passionate kiss inside a car.

Before seeing the photo of Andrew cheating, I had already suspected something was off.

At first, it was the little things. He misplaced our matching pajamas.

Then, during phone calls, I'd hear faint sounds of heavy breathing, and I couldn't ignore the fact that he was having s*x with Landon while talking to me.

While he'd been away on business and unreachable, I'd often seen his face popping up on Landon's f*******: page.

I'd tried to salvage things between us. The result? Andrew took Edie away from me.

*****

I was led to the private room in the restaurant, but Andrew was nowhere to be seen. He was late, something that never used to happen when we were together.

But I had a sinking feeling in my stomach. He was probably stuck with Landon and planned to stand me up.

Then, I waited for twenty minutes, already planning to leave, when finally, the door opened. Andrew showed up.