Mr. Villain's Lovely Wife

Chapter 199 lan adjusted his chair and glanced around the table. "Now that introductions are done, let's proceed to the real agenda of the meeting. We'll begin with the most recent quarterly reports." His assistant, a young man with neat hair and a sharp suit, moved from chair to chair, placing a folder in front of each board member. When he reached Izzy, he hesitated for half a second before setting the file in front of her. She opened it.

Izzy scanned the pages. Profit margins, operational expenses, overseas revenue. She hadn't seen any of these figures yet. As far as she knew, the quarterly meeting was scheduled for the following month. These numbers weren't supposed to be on the table yet.

She glanced at Anna, who was standing near the corner of the room, tablet in hand. Anna shook her head slightly. She didn't know about it either.

lan leaned forward. "This isn't the official quarterly meeting, of course. That's still set for next month. But since you're here, Ms. Rossi, we thought it might be useful to show you what the company's been working on recently. Consider this a preview." Gregory Vasili flipped open his folder with both hands, scanning the pages. "It's not much of a preview if we're going through the entire report." "Not the entire report," lan said. "Just the highlights." Linda Keating adjusted her glasses. "I assthese numbers were reviewed by internal audit?" lan nodded. "Yes. We had them validated last week." Izzy continued reading. Sof the projections looked optimistic. Too optimistic. The manufacturing costs for the Munich facility were listed as lower than expected. The Southeast Asia logistics report excluded the delays she had heard about in a private memo two weeks ago.

"Why isn't the supply chain issue in here?" Izzy asked, looking up. Her eyes moved across the table, landing on lan.

lan didn't answer immediately. He looked toward Frank Dorsey, who was already leaning back in his chair.

"You mean the Port of Manila delays?" Frank said. "We didn't think they were material enough to be included in this version." "They stalled shipments for two and a half weeks," Izzy said. "That's not material?" Frank shrugged. "That's subjective." "Not when you're the one covering the penalties," she replied.

Marla DuPont turned a page in her folder. "We also left out the litigation updates. I thought that was intentional?" lan cleared his throat. "This is a courtesy briefing. Not everything is finalized." "Then don't call it a report," Izzy said. She closed her folder. "Call it what it is. A controlled summary." Gregory looked at her, then at lan. "She has a point." lan kept his expression neutral. "Noted." Izzy pushed the folder slightly away. "Letknow when the real data's ready. I'm not here to read PR." Silence stretched for a moment. Then lan turned to the assistant and gave a small nod. The assistant stepped out of the 1/3 Fit 75% Chapter 199 room.

"Fine," lan said. "We'll get the full set of numbers to your office this week." +58 Izzy gave a short nod. She didn't say anything else. Meanwhile Gregory continued watching her, his fingers lightly drumming on the surface of the folder. Across the table, Linda had already returned to her tablet, as if she were expecting this.

The meeting continued, but the tone had shifted. No one questioned who held the most power in the room anymore.

"The woman that was in your reports was a meek, stupid woman who had been working tirelessly for another company because of a man," Gregory said, his hands clasped behind his back as he stared out at the skyline.

He turned slowly, his expression sharp. "But that's not the woman I saw today. Isabella Rossi wasn't afraid to show her potential. She sat in that room and tore through our projections like she'd been doing this for decades." Frederik stood still. His eyes dropped slightly. "I didn't expect—" "No," Gregory cut him off. "You didn't. And now, unless you plan to actually do something, she's going to take over the entire company. Not through force. Not through scandal. But because she's smarter. Faster. And more prepared." Frederik's mouth opened slightly, but he said nothing. The sting in his chest had nothing to do with his grandfather's words -it was the truth behind them. He'd underestimated her.

He had been so sure she'd be overwhelmed. First tmeeting the board. No formal corporate background. The file he read said she had spent the last two years being carted around the globe under Weiss Inc., working long hours for someone else's dream. She was supposed to be burnt out. Distracted. Reeling from her public fallout with Calen Weiss. And apparently, her relationship with Liam Horvath wasn't exactly picture-perfect either.

All of that should have worked in his favor.

Yet, not only had she kept her composure, she had embarrassed Frank, corrected the reports, and exposed flaws no one else had noticed. Even Gregory hadn't known about the Manila delay. Frederik only found out from the secretary an hour ago, who mentioned Izzy's sharp tone and the way she shut down every weak explanation without raising her voice once.

He didn't show it, but Frederik was irritated. She wasn't supposed to win this round. Not today.

On the outside, he nodded. "I understand." Gregory stepped closer. "Do you?" he asked. "Because right now, I see a woman with fifty-two percent of the voting power and a boy with excuses." Frederik didn't flinch. He kept his voice even. "I'll handle it." "You said that the last time." Frederik looked up. "I'll get her shares." Gregory stared at him for a moment longer, then turned away again. "Leave."

Frederik hesitated for half a second, m then gave a short nod and stepped ve out of the office, not saying a word.

He closed the door behind him and walked down the quiet corridor.

He wasn't angry at his grandfather.

y at himself, for om He was angry at misreading her. For assuming her experience—or lack of it -meant anything. He had let a dozen

reports and rumors shape his expectations. And now, d now, she was m sitting in a boardroom that used to fear Gregory... and making it her own.

2/3 10:08 Mon, 14 Apr A.

Chapter 199 He walked faster.

If he wanted to win this, he'd have to change tactics. Fast.

And next time, he wouldn't underestimate her.

93% (+58) When he reached his car, he quickly took his phone. "I need you to do something for me," he said the moment the person on the other line answered his call.

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