Chapter 4 Give Me the Shares

When Jane came to the tech department earlier, everyone was still whispering and discussing.

As I followed William into the office, the chatter in the work area stopped abruptly. Everyone sat back at their desks pretending to work, but their ears were perked up straight.

William walked over slowly, closed the door, and pulled down the smart blinds.

I stood at the doorway, staring at him, trying to find a crack in his expression.

He explained calmly with a composed look: "She's been in a bad mood lately. I'm worried she'll get stuck in her emotions and can't get out, so doing some work will help distract her."

He didn't answer my question.

What exactly was he explaining?

With William's status, there are so many companies out there. Finding Jane a decent job - which company CEO wouldn't do him that favor?

He could even have the company create a separate business, run it as a subsidiary, and let her be the boss directly. So why did she have to come to Stellar Innovations, and worst of all, become my supervisor and take my position?

I said flatly: "Other departments would work too."

The way those two exchanged glances and played off each other, anyone could tell they were close.

Everyone in the office were sharp; by the end of the day, the relationship between Jane and William would be written into a novel and spread through the company's private chat groups.

His eyes lowered slightly. He clearly understood what I was thinking and sighed: "I'm not comfortable with that."

"You built the tech department from scratch. The R&D expertise and authority are all with you. The team definitely listens to you. Her COO title is just an empty shell - you're the one with the real power."

William walked to my side, grabbed my hand, and whispered near my earlobe: "It's better than her staying home alone overthinking things. Just do what you normally do. From now on, look after her a bit. Jane is young and naive - don't let her get caught up in office politics and get bullied."

My sensitive earlobe tingled.

A wave of nausea suddenly rose, uncontrolled and surging out.

I slapped his hand away and dodged half a step back.

"What do you mean? Shouldn't this COO position have been mine in the first place? Why did she parachute in as my boss? Am I supposed to take care of her or serve her?"

William looked stunned.

This was the first time I'd seen him with that expression. He'd never even frowned through all the ups and downs in business.

Honestly, even I was surprised by what I said.

In four years of marriage, I'd tried my best to play the role of a good wife.

He spoke gently, and I treated him with respect. We'd never had a single argument or fight.

I love him.

But maybe he saw me as a woman who would tolerate and bear everything for marriage and love.

If so, he was dead wrong.

I keep my marriage and career completely separate. At the company, I've never slacked off at work just because William is my husband.

If someone parachuted in was an industry expert we'd hired at great expense, someone, far more capable than me, I'd have no complaints and would learn humbly.

But the person taking my position is Jane, who has zero work experience, and I wasn't even told beforehand.

Did he think I was a pushover?

His eyes brightened again, a knowing smile curved at the corner of his mouth, and he said with relaxed brows: "Eleanor, so you..."

"You think this is a small matter?"

I cut him off.

I work hard, lead the team to overcome technical challenges, and just the other day, closed a 300 million deal with Apex Technologies Group.

Don't I deserve recognition and rewards?

His arm wrapped around my waist again - gentle, but with an undeniable force - pulling me into his embrace. He affectionately patted my head, coaxing me like a child in a warm voice: "Silly girl, what's a COO position? All of Stellar Innovations is yours."

"That's the Spencer family's business."

I felt wronged.

Stellar Innovations was originally a small internet company. After he took over, we caught the AI wave, and together we built it into a national leader.

Before going public, to gain more control, I accepted his suggestion to keep our marriage secret.

But in the end, I seemed to have gotten nothing.

Even the position within my reach was taken by someone else.

He turned me around to face him, gave me a light kiss on the lips, and said seriously: "You are my wife. What's mine is yours."

"Really? Then give me company shares."

I said it casually with a smile, not sure if it was sarcasm or self-mockery.

"Name your number."

He didn't hesitate for a second, responding immediately, like a child admitting his mistake.

"5%."

For a company this size, 5% of shares would be worth about a billion or more.

The board member with the largest stake only has 4%.

I said this more out of spite.

"Too little. 20%, plus partner status. Start the equity transfer right away."

From requesting agreeing took just a few seconds, without any hesitation.

As soon as he finished speaking, he was already calling his secretary to arrange the equity transfer.

He holds 45% of shares, which means he's giving me nearly half of his stake. I'd become the company's second-largest shareholder in one leap.

Very unexpected.

I slowly moved closer, looked up with a smile, and said: "Really willing to do that? Not worried the board members will figure out we're married?"

He smiled: "Fire them all. I've been annoyed with them anyway. At the meeting the other day, they were nagging about my heir, telling me to hurry up and get married and have kids."

I remembered I hadn't told him about the pregnancy yet, and my heart stirred: "So what do you think about that?"

"That depends on you."

He leaned down and whispered in my ear: "From now on, during the day, everyone at the company will work hard for you."

"What about you?"

"Me? Not just during the day - I have to work even harder at night when we get home."

"What have you been learning from Michael?"

I scolded him playfully, my face heating up, not daring to meet his eyes.

He usually has that cold, unapproachable look, but out of nowhere, he'll say something inappropriate that catches you completely off guard.

"What about Jane?"

I still had lingering concerns and needed more certainty.

"What?"

"What if she asks you for shares too?"

He pressed his lips together, was silent for a moment, then looked up and said firmly: "She's not you. She only has the COO position."

"For her mother's sake."

He added.

I beamed with joy - no need to pretend in front of the person you love.

I had to admit, the most direct way to see if a man was sincere about you was money.

The gloom in my heart swept away completely. I stood on my tiptoes and kissed him: "I'll tell you some good news tonight."

Since he'd already clearly expressed his position between Jane and me, I wouldn't hesitate anymore and decided to tell him about the pregnancy.

"What good news?"

Curiosity is in a man's nature. His eyes lit up, looking like he wouldn't leave unless I told him.

"Men who are too curious aren't attractive. Don't you have a meeting this afternoon? Go get busy."

I laughed and ran out of his embrace, pushing him toward the office door.

His hands were already getting frisky, but I didn't want to get intimate with him in the office.

"By the way, Christmas is coming up. Let's have dinner at Grandma's house tonight. We'll go together."

"Okay, whatever you say."