Mr. Villain's Lovely Wife

Chapter 461

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 toldthe data was accurate! That those number were final! You toldyou reviewed

them twelve fucking

Monica fidgeted, her hands clasped tightly in front of her. “It was accurate at the titor, Mr. Weiss. | swear! There

must have been-

“Don’t giveexcuses!” 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! | pay you to ensure I'm not blindsided, and yet here | 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 | hired you for! Do you think, | 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 | 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 toagain, 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, | 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 feedincomplete data again, I'll

make sure

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10:43 Sat, Jan 4

Chapter 461

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 sdinner? 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 splan. Some

surprise somewhere.

A soft knock interrupted his stupor. “Cin,” 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 cto 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 | 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 stor 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 stand resources, this wouldn't have even been a contesti

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.