Mr. Villain's Lovely Wife

Chapter 45

“What do you mean, Mr. Weiss?” Izzy asked, her expression calm though a hint of curiosity flickered in her eyes.

Calen stepped forward, a triumphant glint in his gaze. “The projected costs for the cultural center are disproportionately high, according to the preliminary budget breakdown included to your report,” he said, clicking his remote to display a slide he had prepared. It showed what he believed to be Izzy’s earlier data, with the cultural center’s costs seemingly dwarfing the casino’s revenue projections. “These numbers don’t align with realistic market estimates or even the government’s benchmarks for similar projects. I think it’s fair to ask for clarification.”

Izzy’s lips twitched into a faint smile as she glanced at the slide interesting,” she said, taking a step toward the screen. Let’s unpack this, shall we?”

Clicking her remote, Izzy brought up her actual data, which had been distributed in the board’s official reports. The numbers were starkly different from the ones Calen had displayed–precisely calibrated and well within industry standards. “Mr. Weiss, the figures you’re presenting don’t match the final budget in my report,” she said, turning to face him. “Would you mind telling me where you sourced this information?”

Calen faltered for a fraction of a second but quickly recovered. “It was included in an earlier draft,” he said. “Perhaps you failed to update all your materials”

Izzy nodded slowly, the faint smile still playing on her lips. “Ah, that must be it,” she said. “Let’s address that discrepancy.”

She clicked on her next slide, which displayed timestamps of her report revisions alongside a summary of the changes. The board murmured as they noticed the meticulous detail in her work. Izzy’s final draft clearly outlined the adjusted cukural center costs–streamlined and optimized without compromising quality

Seeing this, Calen’s expression turned ugly. Clearly, the numbers weren’t the ones he had seen. Did something happen! “You see,” Izzy began. “These revisions were made three weeks ago and presented last week to CEO Weiss. They were distributed to every member of this board and uploaded to the project’s central repository. However, I made a few changes this week. The changes was made in response to updated supplier negotiations and government feedback, reduced costs by, 15%. I ensured that all stakeholders had access to the latest figures. So, Mr. Weiss, I’m curious–why are you using outdated, numbers? Were you able to see the updated reports?”

Calen stiffened slightly, the flicker of unease in his posture betraying his confidence. “I must’ve been given incomplete data” he said, his voice tight. He was certain that those numbers were not the ones given to him. Changes? Monica didn’t mention,

changes! Even his team had

any

Izzy

mentioned any changes!

tilted her head slightly, her gaze sharp. “Incomplete? That’s odd, considering my team ensures synchronization across all documents.” She clicked on another slide, showing an internal email thread that verified the report’s dissemination. “And just to confirm, Mr. Weiss, you were ce’d on these updates, weren’t you?”

give Calen a chance to respond before continuing. “Of course, mistakes can happen,” she said. “But let me clarify the current numbers for everyone

center’s expenses were outlined alongside its expected revenue contributions, showing significant return on invesenient within three years. The accompanying notes detailed partnerships with local artisans and sponsorships from–global luxury

these partnerships and aligning with Macau’s vision,

board absorbed the data. Jørgen Lund broke the silence, his voice firm. “Miss Rossi, this is well- presented. Your revisions and

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887%.

Nielsen nodded in agreement. “I have to admit, I was skeptical about the costs, but this breakdown makes it clear. The phased

to the table as murmurs approval for Izzy’s work grew louder. He opened his mouth as if

final slide. It showed a detailed timeline of her report updates and the team members involved. “I’d like to address another concern. Over the past month, my team flagged suspicious access patterns to our internal documents–unauthorized views that didn’t align with our project permissions. To

addressing. however, were minor concerns flagged by the system. They weren’t significant, but handling

An employee from my team–someone who no longer works with us–attempted to access early drafts of

surprise to suspicion Calen’s composure visibly cracked, a flicker

let the silence linger for a moment before clicking back to her main presentation slide. “Of course, I trust that we all value the integrity of this process,” she said, her voice cool. “Which is why

to Calen, who looked like he wanted to melt into the floor. “Mr. Weiss,”

tight smile. “No,” he said after a long pause.

now my time to ask questions,” Izzy said, smiling at Calen. She took a step forward, her movements calculated as she addressed him directly. “Mr. Weiss, since you brought up questions

“Of course,” he said

from Macau’s regulatory guidelines regarding foreign investments in integrated resorts. Highlighted in bold was

mentioned in your presentation that the casino should take precedence, with cultural elements introduced later,” Izzy began, her tone calm but precise. “Could you explain how your phased approach ensures compliance with Macau’s Cultural Contribution Act? Specifically, Clause 8.3, which mandates cultural components to be operational at

for his remote, but he stopped himself. “Well, the Act allows for certain exceptions,” he began, but his

to my knowledge, Clause 8.3 has no exemptions for

Calen. He opened his mouth, but no words came out.

stumble further. “For context,” de said, clicking to another slide. “My team conducted a thorough review of the advisory board’s recent approvals. All projects with cultural components deferred to later phases faced either rejection or significant delays in licensing. That’s why my proposal

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