Mr. Villain's Lovely Wife (Izzy)

Calen stormed into his office, slamning the door so hard that the sound echoed down the hallway. Monica, Simon, and Beth were already waiting inside, their expressions ranging from nervous to outright terrified. He threw his tablet onto the desk, the screen flickering as it skidded to a stop.

"What the hell was that?" Calen snarled, pacing the room like a caged animal. He stopped abruptly, fixing his glare on Monica" "You told me the data was accurate! That those number were final! You told me you reviewed them twelve fucking

Monica fidgeted, her hands clasped tightly in front of her. "It was accurate at the titor, Mr. Weiss. I swear! There must have been-

"Don't give me excuses!" Calen cut her off, his voice sharp. He pointed a finger at Simon and Beth. "And you two! You were supposed to ensure everything was aligned with her reports! How the hell did we miss those updates? How?

Simon cleared his throat, his posture stiff. "Sir, we didn't have access to the finalized reports. Miss Rossi didn't share those to her team members. Only her and her secretary-"

"That's your job!" Calen shouted, his hand slamming against the desk. "To get access! To know what's going on in her team! I pay you to ensure I'm not blindsided, and yet here I am, looking like an idiot in front of the entire board! You had a week to do it but you did nothing! Zero! Nada!"

Beth stepped forward cautiously, "Mr. Weiss, we tried. Miss-Miss Rossi's team has been unusually tight-lipped lately. It's possible they anticipated="

"Oh, so now it's my fault that you're incompetent?" Calen sneered, his eyes narrowing. "If her team anticipated something. then it's your job to out think them. That's what I hired you for! Do you think, I simply chose your because of your damn achievement?"

Monica took a step closer to him, her voice pleading. "Mr. Weiss, listen. Miss Rossi's good-better than we gave her credit for. But we can recover from this. We just need to-

"Recover?" Calen repeated, his tone dripping with mockery. "Recover from what, Monica? The board already sees her as the better candidate! Do you know what they're doing right now? Voting for her! Not for me, because my so-called team couldn't do one damn thing right!"

Simon tried again, his voice firmer this time. "Sir, we can still regroup. We still have leverage in other projects, and-"

"Regroup?" Calen's laughter was sharp and humorless. "Leverage? Are you out of your mind? This was the project that mattered. This was my chance to prove I could handle more than just the crumbs my father threw at me. And you," he jabbed a finger toward Simon, "you want to talk about leverage?

Beth spoke up. "Mr. Weiss, firing shots at your team won't fix thi We-"

"Firing shots?" Calen interrupted, his voice rising. "You're damn right I'll fire shots! In fact, if either of you talks back to me again, you'll be packing your desks before the end of the day. Is that clear?"

The room fell silent. Monica glanced nervously at Simon and Beth, but neither of them dared to speak.

Calen leaned against the edge of his desk, his hands gripping the surface tightly. He closed his eyes for a moment, trying to steady his breathing. When he opened them, the anger in his gaze hadn't dimmed. "I want every single piece of intel on Izzy and her secretary, Anna. Every update, every change, every whisper. If she so much as sneezes, I want to know about it. Is that understood?"

Simon nodded quickly, his face pale. "Understood, sir?

"And Monica," Calen said, his voice lower but no less menacing. If you ever feed me incomplete data again, I'll make sure

14

you never work in this industry again. Do you hear me?"

Monica nodded her face tight with barely concealed frustration, "Yes, sir"

Calen straightened, adjusting his tie with a sharp tug. "Good. Now get out of my sight. All of you."

Simon and Beth exchanged a glance before quickly leaving the room, their steps hurried Monica lingered for a moment as if she wanted to say something, but the warning in Calen's glare silenced her. She turned and left without another word.

As the door clicked shut behind them, Calen collapsed into his chair, his hands gripping his temples. The humiliation of the boardroom replayed in his mind, each moment stinging worse than the last. Izzy had outmaneuvered him-again. No matter how much he planned, no matter how many people he had working for him, she always seemed to be two steps

ahead.

He stared at the blank screen of his tablet, his jaw clenching. This wasn't over. Not by a long shot. He gritted his teeth as he thought of Izzy's smirk. That

woman...

Was she doing this because he forgot some dinner? Or was this his father's plan? He narrowed his eyes. That's right. His father must be in on it! He must have known about the data and knew where to hit Calen. There is no way that he would let Izzy just embarrass his own son in front of the board. There must be some plan. Some surprise somewhere.

A soft knock interrupted his stupor. "Come in," he said. Almost immediately, his face changed when Monica walked in. "Why are you here?"

Monica stepped cautiously into Calen's office, her hands clasped in front of her as the door clicked shut behind her. She stood a few feet away from his desk, her posture hesitant.

"What do you want?" Calen asked sharply, not even bothering to look up from the tablet he was gripping like a lifeline "I came to apologize," Monica began. "For the mishaps during the presentation."

Calen finally glanced up, his eyes narrowing. "You already apologized. What else is there to say?"

Monica took a deep breath, her gaze steady. "I stayed because I wanted to tell you something. Something you might not want to hear."

Calen leaned back in his chair. "Speak your mind. Make it quick

Monica hesitated, but only for a moment. "Izzy has been working on this project for months, Calen. She's been involved in every stage-negotiating with partners, refining the plans, and adapting to the regulatory requirements. It's only natural she'd know every detail inside and out"

Calen's frown deepened, his jaw tightening. "And your point?"

"My point," Monica said, stepping a little closer to his desk. "Is that it's not a fair comparison. You've only been on this project for a week. You didn't have the same time or exposure to the details that Izzy did. She's been living and breathing this project since it began."

Calen's eyes flicked to the side as he processed her words. He hated to admit it, but she wasn't entirely wrong. Izzy's seamless command of the details, her ability to anticipate every question-it wasn't just skill-It was preparation. Months of preparation

Monica seemed to sense she was getting through to him. "You're not lacking, Calen," she said carefully, her tone almost soothing. "You just didn't have enough time. If you'd been involved from the start, you would've matched her point for point or even outshone her

Calen's shoulders relaxed slightly, the tension in his jaw easing as he absorbed her words. He sat straighter in his chair, a flicker of confidence returning. Yes, that was it. Time. That's all he needed. He wasn't less capable than 1zzy-he'd simply been set up to fail by circumstance.

hapter 461

Alomica took another step forward as she continued. "You've proven your ability on other projects. If you'd been given the same time and resources, this wouldn't have even been a contestinoveldrama

Calen's lips twitched into a faint smirk as he nodded, her words bolstering his ego. He leaned back, the anger in his expression giving way to a calculated confidence. "You're right," he said, more to himself than to Monica. "This wasn't about competence. It was timing." Was that the lesson that his father wanted him to learn?

Monica hesitated again, her hands tightening slightly. "I didn't want to bring this up," she said carefully. "But maybe there's another reason Izzy was so determined to outshine you today"

Calen's eyes snapped to her, his expression sharpening. "What are you talking about?"

Monica chose her words with care. "It's possible Izzy wanted to make a point-to your father. She's worked on this project for months. Maybe she wanted to show him how indispensable she is,"

Calen stiffened, his smirk vanishing. "Stop," he said, his voice low and firm. "Don't accusé Izzy of something like that.”

Monica raised her hands slightly, as if to placate him. “I'm not accusing her of anything. I'm just saying she knows your father values results. Maybe she felt she had something to prove

Calen's glare deepened, but he didn't respond immediately. Monica took a step back, sensing she'd pushed as far as she could

"I've said my piece," she said quietly. "I'll leave you to it"

She turned and left the office without another word, closing the door softly behind

her.

Then Calen shook his head. There's no way that Izzy was after his promotion. Izzy loved him. If he was right. Izzy would still make him lead this project. She knew what Calen was capable of She might be angry right now, but she's logical

She knew exactly how much effort Calen had poured into this proposal-how much it meant for his promotion, for his future. This was what Calen wanted, what he had worked so tirelessly for. Yes, that had to be it Izzy wanted to secure the proposal, but she would still hand it over to him, let him take charge, let him lead. That was the Izzy he knew-the Izzy he trusted. His Izzy wouldn't do anything

less.