Mr. Villain's Lovely Wife

Lovely wife 213

I Get What I Came For

"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 come from 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 time came. 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 call me Tim."

She nodded once. "Mr. Nakamura-"

He cut in. "Only my father/likes that title. And he's in Tokyo."

Izzy waited.

walking over to the desk. "So technically, I'm a hybrid. Very modern. Very global.

"No, thank you."

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Get What I

a seat, gesturing for her to

head and a mission. I don't know why you would suddenly schedule a meeting with me, considering I never had

sat. "You've done your

was told

"Then you probably

his chair. "That depends. Is this personal, business, or

his eyes. "All

Izzy said, "because I'm hoping you'll vote for Liam Horvath

his lips. He

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

in an official capacity," she

concerned citizen? A fan of

in that room who isn't trying to

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

it," he said. "If you gave me something worthwhile." Izzy's expression didn't

office. No assistants. No

hand rested calmly on

again. "Liam's a tough sell. He has a reputation. Cold. Controlling. Some say unstable. But you... you walked in here, bandaged up and sharp as hell, asking me for a favor. That tells me there's something else

had a reputation for being... someone who likes women. She knew what the man was implying, but decided to ignore

watched her carefully. "So the question is... what are

in her chair. She crossed her legs

273

What I Came

the way

help you with something," she said. "Something you've been

an eyebrow. "That

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