Mr. Villain's Lovely Wife

Lovely wife 213 I Get What I CFor "Mr. Nakamura is ready," Mondo said from the front seat.

Izzy nodded. "Thanks." She stepped out of the car, adjusting her coat as she looked up at the sleek glass building in front of her.

Inside the elevator, she watched the numbers climb steadily toward the top floor. Her mind wasn't focused on the view. It was focused on Liam- or at least she was doing her best not to focus on him.

All of this-every file, every email, every flagged transaction-had cfrom his network. It was Mondo who delivered them, but it didn't take much to figure out the trail. Liam had these documents long before her crash probably long before their marriage. Maybe he was planning to use them against his father when the tcame. Maybe not. He never told her. But that didn't matter now.

What mattered was that she had them. And she wasn't about to waste the opportunity.

Klaus Reinhardt had already been convinced. Another executive-Martine Duroc- followed shortly after. But Nakamura... he would be different. Younger. Quieter. And, according to Mondo, harder to read.

The elevator opened with a soft chime.

A woman in a charcoal-gray uniform stood waiting, her hair pulled into a neat bun. She bowed slightly, then gestured for Izzy to follow without a word.

They walked down a long, quiet hallway. The floors were polished black marble, and the walls were lined with white paneling and glass. There was no artwork, no logos, nothing to suggest this was one of Horvath Holdings' most powerful regional offices. Just silence and space. Minimalist. Efficient.

They stopped at a tall, matte-black door. The woman knocked once, opened it, and stepped aside.

Inside, the office stretched wide, with floor-to-ceiling windows behind a desk that was too clean to be used often. A young man stood by the window, looking out. He turned as Izzy entered.

"Isabella Rossi," she said, stepping forward and offering a hand.

"Tim Nakamura," he replied, shaking it. "You can just callTim." She nodded once. "Mr. Nakamura-" He cut in. "Only my father/likes that title. And he's in Tokyo." Izzy waited.

"My mother's American," he added, walking over to the desk. "So technically, I'm a hybrid. Very modern. Very global. Coffee?" "No, thank you." 1/3 I Get What I CFor He poured himself a cup anyway and took a seat, gesturing for her to do the same. "So Isabella Rossi, or Rossi Group. Almost died last week. And now, walking around alone with a bandage on her head and a mission. I don't know why you would suddenly schedule a meeting with me, considering I never had dealings with Rossi Group." Izzy sat. "You've done your research." "I was told to be thorough." She didn't react. "Then you probably know why I'm here." Tim leaned back in his chair. "That depends. Is this personal, business, or revenge?" Izzy met his eyes. "All three." "I'm here," Izzy said, "because I'm hoping you'll vote for Liam Horvath in tomorrow's session." Tim's cup paused just before reaching his lips. He set it back down.

"You're here for Liam, and here I thought you were here for me." He leaned back, crossing one leg over the other. "Interesting. That's a bold thing to admit, considering you're not wearing a badge that says 'Horvath Holdings' on it." "I'm not here in an official capacity," she said.

"So you're just... what? A concerned citizen? A fan of corporate stability?" "I'm here because I think he's the only one in that room who isn't trying to bleed the company dry." Tim chuckled, then let his gaze slide downward, slow and deliberate. His eyes dropped from her face to her coat, then to the edge of her dress where her crossed legs were exposed. He didn't look away when she shifted slightly in her seat.

"Maybe I'd consider it," he said. "If you gavesomething worthwhile." Izzy's expression didn't change. Tim tilted his head. "You know, this is a private office. No assistants. No cameras. Just two people talking. We could have a... longer conversation. If you want." Izzy's hand rested calmly on the arm of the chair.

Tim leaned forward again. "Liam's a tough sell. He has a reputation. Cold. Controlling. Ssay unstable. But you... you walked in here, bandaged up and sharp as hell, askingfor a favor. That tellsthere's something else going on. Something. between you and Liam that no one else knows about." Izzy stayed silent. Tim Nakamura had a reputation for being... someone who likes women. She knew what the man was implying, but decided to ignore it.

Tim watched her carefully. "So the question is... what are you offering?" Izzy smiled and leaned back in her chair. She crossed her legs the other way- slow, 273 I Get What I CFor deliberate, but not in the way he was hoping for.

"I can help you with something," she said. "Something you've been circling for a while now." Tim raised an eyebrow. "That so?" She reached into her bag and pulled out a thin folder. It wasn't thick-just a single page inside-but the logo on the corner was enough to shift his attention. Nakamura's hand paused mid-reach for his coffee again.

"You've heard of AvraTech," she said.

He didn't answer, but his eyes were already on the folder.

"They've been blocking you from entry in the European region. You've tried three times to get licensing approva Nthrough your Singapore branch. Denied every time. Not enough local leverage. Not enough internal pull." She slid the folder across the desk.

Tim opened it. Inside was a short memo-dated, signed, and marked internal. It outlined a pending acquisition offer from one of Rossi Group's dormant tech subsidiaries. That acquisition would give controlling interest in the German-based shell that owned thirty-seven percent of AvraTech's licensing rights in Central Europe. "Rossi Group's backing this?" he asked. "No," Izzy said. "I am. Personally." Tim kept reading. "And you're offeringwhat, exactly?"

"You want clean entry into the European automation sector. can Ifactor give it to you. If authorize the deal tomorrow, your nwill be on it by next quarter. Publicly." Tim looked at the memo again. "Why?" "Because I don't have tto convince you about character. I have one vote left to secure. And I know what you really value." Tim didn't speak.

"You get what you want," Izzy added. "And I get what I cfor." He folded the memo and placed it inside his desk drawer.

"And you're not going to tell Liam?" Izzy stood. "I'm not doing this for Liam." She walked toward the door. Just before opening it, she looked back once.

"I'm doing this for me." 3/3