Chapter 195

Pamella crossed her legs and sipped her coffee as if she belonged. She hadn't knocked, hadn't even paused; she simply walked in as if the office bore her name. Her rain-wet heels left faint marks on the floor.

Izzy didn't bother hiding her annoyance. "Do you work here?"

Pamella smiled, leaning back in the chair opposite Izzy's desk. "I'm just here to talk. Since it's your last day, I thought we could have dinner. I mean... we were friends, in the past, right?"

"I don't remember us being friends," Izzy said.

"Come on. Didn't I invite you to my wedding and engagement party?"

"I can't make it to the engagement party," Izzy replied, returning to the documents on her desk.

Pamella's eyes narrowed slightly. "You said that already. Why? Still hung up on Calen?"

Izzy looked up briefly but remained silent.

Pamella took another sip, her lips twitching. "You know, no matter how much you tried to sabotage the company, Calen still saved it."

Izzy smirked, offering no reply. She'd heard enough Calen praise in the last twenty-four hours to last a year. Yesterday, news broke that the Macau Project was moving forward. People were calling Calen a genius again; he'd secured emergency funding from the Blackwell Group, and suddenly, the project was viable.

It looked too good on paper. The Blackwell Group had previously expressed interest in acquiring the company, even hinting at a complete takeover. Why offer money to help it survive now?

Izzy leaned back, tapping her pen. Something felt wrong. Blackwell didn't give handouts; they bought, dismantled, sold the profitable parts, and discarded the rest. Lending Calen money to save the company contradicted their past actions.

Unless… unless Blackwell wasn't finished playing. Perhaps they saw greater value in temporarily propping up Weiss Inc.—long enough to make it appear healthy. If the company stabilized, even artificially, its valuation would increase, allowing Blackwell to demand a higher return when the company inevitably defaulted. Or maybe Calen offered something in return: a board seat? Future merger rights? Access to internal technology?

Izzy narrowed her eyes. Or perhaps it wasn't Calen they wanted. Maybe someone at Blackwell saw how to better leverage Weiss Inc. with him in charge.

She didn't say any of this to Pamella. Instead, she shrugged. "Good for him."

Pamella blinked, waiting for more. Receiving none, she stood and adjusted her blouse as if brushing off dust.

"Well, I hope you find something new to do," Pamella said. "Maybe something less… challenging."

"Less challenging like using my trust fund to follow my boyfriend around?"

Pamella rolled her eyes. She knew Izzy was talking about her but, once again, largely disregarded Izzy's opinion. "You know…" she looked at Izzy, "I don't get it."

"Get what?" Izzy asked.

"Why not just join the party? It's your last day anyway."

Izzy looked at her without answering immediately. The plan had been simple—she and Liam would pretend to be fighting. For appearances, she moved out and stayed alone in one of her properties. That meant coming home to silence every night. No arguments. No conversations. Just quiet.

The days had felt long; the nights, worse. She was bored, frustrated, and—if she were honest—lonely. She hadn't expected to miss Liam this much.

"Fine," Izzy said.

"Huh?"

"I said, fine." Izzy smiled.

Pamella squinted. "What are you up to?"

Izzy smiled and leaned back. "You're the one who asked me to come. What's wrong with actually going? Or was that invitation just sarcasm?"

Pamella set down her coffee, the sound sharper than necessary. "What are you planning to do, Izzy?"

Izzy tilted her head. "I'm going to congratulate the hottest couple in town. Isn't that what guests do at engagement parties?"

Pamella folded her arms. "You can come. But don't mess everything up."

Izzy raised a brow, still smiling. "Mess what up exactly? It's just an engagement party. It's not like that means the wedding's actually going to happen, right?"

Pamella's expression froze. Her eyes widened, briefly.

But Izzy had already returned to her documents, picking up her pen and resuming reading as if the conversation hadn't happened.

Pamella stared for a moment, then scoffed quietly and grabbed her coffee. She walked out without another word, her heels clicking to the door.

Izzy didn't look up, not even when the door shut.

A few hours later, Anna stood near Izzy's office door, shifting her weight. "Miss Rossi… are you sure this is fine?"

Izzy didn't look up immediately. "What are you talking about?"

Anna hesitated. "It's just… it's our last day. I figured I'd be honest. I mean… I thought it was hilarious that you'd actually show up to Mr. Weiss and Miss Johnson's engagement party."

Izzy leaned back. "And?"

"Well," Anna continued, "I just don't know if it's good for your image. People might assume things. Like you're going there to cause a scene."

Izzy raised an eyebrow. "Really? I thought the hilarious part was them sending me an invitation and expecting I wouldn't show up."

She stood and smoothed her outfit. She wore a sharp, all-white pantsuit tailored to her frame. The jacket hugged her waist and flared slightly at the hips; the pants were fitted and stopped just above her heels. Her makeup was clean and understated—muted lip tones and just enough eyeliner. Her hair was pulled into a sleek bun.

Izzy picked up her bag. "Wait for me in the car."

Anna nodded and stepped out.

Just as Izzy was about to follow, her phone buzzed. Atty. Alcaraz.

She answered. "Maria?"

"Have you seen the news?" María asked.

"What news?" Izzy replied, grabbing her iPad.

"The tabloids. It's about Liam."

Izzy's fingers paused before she opened her browser. Within seconds, she found it: a headline splashed across the entertainment section.

LIAM HORVATH & A-LIST ACTRESS SPARK DATING RUMORS – NEW POWER COUPLE ALERT?

Beneath it was a picture. Liam. And someone who wasn't Izzy.