The Fish I Couldn’t Eat At Home, The Fish He Ate With Her Chapter 08

The Fish I Couldn’t Eat At Home, The Fish He Ate With Her Chapter 08

Julian’s research laboratory had previously held contracts with several major corporations.

After the university fired him, all of those research projects were terminated. Worse, he was now

facing breach–of–contract claims.

With nowhere else to turn, Julian decided to sell the house we had shared and use the money to pay

off his debts.

But my divorce attorney immediately filed for a lis pendens with the court, placing a legal cloud

over the property and warning Julian that selling it would amount to an improper transfer of

marital assets.

Julian was completely out of options.

He even dropped to his knees in front of my father and begged him to buy a plane ticket so he could fly to Europe and find me.

My father refused.

Julian wouldn’t take no for an answer.

Eventually, the situation reached me at the company’s London headquarters.

I called my father.

“Tell him. Tell him I’m in London. If he wants to see me, he can come here.”

I wasn’t feeling sorry for Julian.

I simply didn’t want him harassing my father anymore.

When I learned Julian was coming to London, I felt nothing.

Adjusting to life in a foreign country had been difficult at first, but I adapted quickly.

I had always been good at handling pressure, and I soon adjusted to the demanding pace of my new

job.

It helped that my direct supervisor, Sebastian Prescott, was an alumnus from my university and

had studied in the same field I had.

He was the CEO of one of the world’s Fortune 500 companies, and he took an unusual interest in

mentoring me.

He often looked genuinely impressed whenever I presented a new idea or proposed a strategy.

Sometimes, he would tease me.

“Vivian, if you’d decided to start a company with me ten years ago, you wouldn’t be one of my top

executives today. You’d be sitting across the table from me as my business partner.”

He had also told me more than once:

“Vivian, you’re talented. You should build something of your own.”

I’d originally returned to the workforce because I needed something to help me heal from the

wreckage of my marriage.

But before long, I discovered that I actually loved the ruthless competition of the business world.

I loved walking into a problem, figuring out what the other side was trying to do, and turning the

entire situation to my advantage.

For the first time in years, I felt like I was in control of my own life.

And Sebastian’s unwavering support helped me regain the confidence I’d lost.

In less than a year, my career took off like a rocket.

Meanwhile, Julian’s application for an ETA kept getting rejected.

For the entire year, he never managed to appear in front of me.

He tried countless ways to contact me.

He reached out through mutual friends. He sent messages through international contacts.

Every single time, he wanted one of two things.

He wanted to apologize.

Or he wanted me to give our marriage another chance.

But why would I ever go back?

I was no longer the Vivian Harrington who sat at home waiting for her husband to throw her a little

affection.

I loved my new life.

I loved walking into negotiations and figuring out exactly what the other side was hiding.

I loved dismantling their strategies one by one.

And I loved winning contract after contract.

Then, one afternoon, Sebastian placed an employment contract in front of me.

“The company is expanding its North American operations. We’re establishing a new subsidiary in the United States.”

He looked at me with a smile.

“Given your outstanding performance over the past year, the board has appointed you CEO of the new subsidiary.”

I stared at the contract.

“You’ll have a six–month probationary period. If you meet the performance targets; the Board of

Directors will make an exception and grant you a permanent seat at the executive level.”

It was exactly the kind of challenge I wanted.

I signed.

And just like that, I was on a plane back to the United States.

My father was waiting for me at the airport when I landed.

The moment he saw me, he waved with a huge smile.

I walked over and gave him a light hug.

He looked me up and down, taking in my tailored suit, cropped haircut, and sunglasses.

Then he laughed.

“Look at you. When did my little girl become such a big shot? If I passed you on the street, I wouldn’t even recognize you.”

I laughed and shot back a couple of playful comments.

Then I headed straight to my new company and officially took over as CEO.

The moment I walked through the doors, employees greeted me one after another.

“Good morning, Ms. Harrington.”

I gave them a small nod and went straight to my office.

I reviewed the company’s financials, examined the latest performance reports, and immediately started drafting my strategic plan.

Around lunchtime, my phone suddenly started buzzing with a string of urgent messages.

[Vivian, you came back to the States, didn’t you?]

[I heard you were back.]

[Can we meet? We haven’t gotten divorced yet. You’re still my wife!]

To me, they were nothing more than spam.

I glanced at the screen and was about to delete the messages.

Then a voice beside me spoke, sounding distinctly annoyed.

“I thought it was some kind of business emergency. Turns out someone was begging for another

chance.”

I looked up.

Sebastian, who should have been back at the London headquarters, was standing right in front of

me.
An executive ID badge hung from his suit jacket.

Executive Vice President.

I stared at him in confusion.

“Mr. Prescott, what are you doing here?”

Sebastian gave me a mysterious smile.

“I came to work for you.”

He paused.

“And maybe help you swat away a few flies while I’m here.”

The implication wasn’t exactly subtle.

I thought about how attentive he’d been to me throughout the past year.

A small laugh escaped me.

“You like me, don’t you?”

Sebastian froze.

Apparently, he’d expected me to be a little less direct.

But he recovered quickly.

He let out an amused laugh.

that a problem?”