Is this destiny?

"You already got everything figured out.", Mishi voiced his thoughts when Aiden ended his presentation.

Sarah didn't deny it. "We are working on this for a while, and we consulted number of experts in business and legal areas (aka Jeff and Sophia) while coming up with this plan. We will do this with or without you. But we would prefer to have our new company in the hands of the people we can trust. A bonus is that you can stay close and keep an eye on each other if needed and a relocation will be good to keep you out of Nick's reach."

Emir chuckled. "Another bonus: meetings of Sigma army will not be an issue."

They all laughed. He is right.

"You didn't mention compensation.", Mishi said with a smirk.

He already imagined a lot of zeros as a CEO. Ah, maybe he can get a new sailboat. Or a motorcycle. Mishi vent to the Motorcycle Show in Vancouver few months back and his eyes were gravitating toward the Ducati V4R Panigale and the BMW S1000RR didn't look bad either.

Sarah glanced at Aiden and smiled. She told Aiden that Mishi will ask about the money and benefits. After all, he always enjoyed fine things in life, and he knows that those fine things cost money. 

Sarah answered Mishi's inquiry: "I can assure you that you will be happy with your base salary and each of you will get a percentage of ownership. As a standard, every employee will get an annual bonus based on the performance, favorable options for retirement and savings accounts, a private life and health insurance for you and your family members, vacation and sick days. On top of that, for the six of you, two bedroom apartment on the property is included and you can enjoy the benefits of a fully staffed house and a stocked fridge. Other than the cafeteria, there will be a chef in the castle, so you will not lack food and there will be a number of cars in the garage which you can use anytime."

Petar widened his eyes. "All that? And no catch?"

"I don't know if this is a catch or not, but if you quit your job in less than five years, you will lose any ownership that you have. And whenever you quit, we will expect you to move out." Sarah responded. 

"All the information about the company, available positions, benefits and the castle is provided on the share. Review it and decide if you are in or not. You have one week.", Aiden informed them. "In the meantime, you are welcome to ask any questions you might have that we didn't cover."

"One week?", Marija asked. "What happens after that?"

Aiden answered: "If we don't hear back by then, we will assume that you are not interested, and we will hire someone else. If you confirm your interest, we will negotiate the position and salary and see if we can come to an agreement."

"Ceresc Solutions?", Emir asked. He was already reading through the files about the company.

Sarah smiled and confirmed. "Yes. That is the name of the company."

Few questions later, they ended the meeting because it was time for lunch.

"Let's meet in about ten minutes in the dining room…", Sarah told them before she and Aiden left the conference room.

"Do you think they are onboard?", Aiden asked Sarah when they returned into their bedroom.

She understood that he is talking about the company. "I think that Lucija and Petar are in. They didn't have many questions, but they will get to do what they like, get a raise and move in together. Mishi also looked interested. With a child on its way, I'm sure that a role of a CEO sounds very appealing. Emir was always eager to work with Sigma army and Tereza was concerned about her safety so I believe that they will accept as well… but these are only my guesses. In few days we will know what they decided."

Aiden didn't want to ask about that because he knows that Sarah does not have definite answers and they will find out soon, but he wanted to distract Sarah from thinking about Oni. He can see that Sarah is worried and the fact that she named each of them, except for Marija, confirmed to Aiden that she is not over what happened last night.

'Damnit, Jesse!', Aiden cursed internally. If Jesse is nearby, Aiden would punch him few times, just to let out some steam.

…

Over lunch they talked about Ceresc Solutions.

Mishi told Eliza that he will be the CEO and she had difficulty believing it.

Emir and Petar looked at the company structure and decided that they will be directors of something (they still didn't pick a specific position), and they saw themselves in suits and neckties.

"What do you think, Lucy…", Petar addressed Lucija. "Will I be dashing in a suit?"

"Yes, you will. And the next day you will go back to your jeans and a t-shirt.", she responded with a grin. "What about me? Will a pencil skirt and a jacket make me look smart? I can tie my hair up in a bun and wear high heels…"

Petar frowned. "You just wear your jeans and a t-shirt. What high heels and skirts? So that others look at you?"

Lucija laughed.

Emir's eyes were full of stars. "If we handle advertising, does that mean that there will be models?"

Sarah stifled a laugh. "I don't know. If you are director of advertising… you tell me."

Emir nodded while big grin appeared on his face. "Yes. There WILL be models."

Based on the chatter, Sarah concluded that Mishi, Lucija, Petar and Emir are in. Just as she suspected.

Tereza didn't have any questions, but she was intently reading the files on her tablet during lunch.

Marija threw occasional glances toward Sarah, but Sarah did her best to ignore her because few times when their eyes met, Sarah remembered Oni's appearance from the previous night, and her mood dropped.

Sarah found out that Eliza is pregnant and due in September. She is about six months along and they are expecting a boy.

"Wow! Both of my sisters are also pregnant!", Sarah said louder than she intended and then mumbled: "Everyone around me is pregnant…"

"Maybe we should work on it also…", Aiden said softly, only for Sarah to hear.

Sarah shoot him a side-glance. She wanted to say how her getting pregnant is not the point of her comment, but she didn't want to talk about it. Not in front of all these people. And not in private either because she is not ready to have baby-talks with Aiden.

Sarah remembered how before the incident in October they talked about marriage and babies and she even remembers imagining several toddlers running around the house and she wondered if they would be more like her or more like Aiden. And after October things changed… she changed. One bad event made her think about pregnancy like it's something scary, maybe even unpleasant.

Sarah sighed while her thoughts drifted toward Oni again. Is Oni going to see love and affection in a negative way after last night? There is a possibility.

Sarah thinks how it's a pity that Oni who soldiered through so many bad things in life finally got a chance to enjoy innocent love, like any other teenager, and that image of romance was ruined before she experienced how comforting it is when a man you love holds your hand and assures you that he will be there for you, or the sweetness of that kiss on the forehead after a date. Truly a pity.

Sarah hopes that Oni meets a young man who will be devoted to Oni and shower her with love and affection until all the unpleasant experiences are washed away because Oni deserves a man like that by her side.

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