The Billionaire's Pretend Wife (Isabella)

The next day, Grace called Isabelle to her office. When the director told her that her design had been re-adopted by the Green Leaf Company, she couldn't believe it.

Yesterday, when Naomi left, she threatened that she would ask her boyfriend to cancel the collaboration with the Larson Group.

Isabelle had thought that the CEO of Green Leaf would do as his girlfriend requested. She knew how much Naomi would like to have her way after the way Jason had humiliated her before the entire department.

"I'm so happy to hear that," she thanked Grace. "I didn't think the project would be going on anymore."

"Mr Del Mundo talked to the chairman of the group of companies Green Leaf belongs to, and he handled the matter. The chairman demoted Green Leaf's CEO for the mishandling of the project and for involving his girlfriend. So he is no longer involved in the decision making, and most importantly, neither is she."

"That's great," Isabelle said, surprised at how everything had been handled. From the vice president storming into the meeting and asking Naomi to leave, to him having her CEO boyfriend demoted. How had he gotten wind of the matter in the first place? Maybe Grace had told him what happened after they went to the Green Leaf Company the other day.

But Isabelle couldn't remember Naomi mentioning that Arnold was her boyfriend that day. So, even if Grace had expressed her concerns about Green Leaf's demands, how had Jason Del Mundo found out tha Naomi was just a girlfriend of the CEO, and did not have a position at the company? Because he must have known before storming the meeting.

"Thank you," she told the director, "if it were not for you, this matter would not have been resolved."

"What do you mean?" Grace asked her. "I would love to say I had a hand in this, but I didn't. It was the vice president who found out about that woman's true identity. Had I known she was just an imposter from the beginning, I would have dealt with it earlier."

Isabelle frowned. "So, it wasn't you who told Mr Del Mundo about what happened at the company?"

Grace shook her head. "No. Actually, I was going to ask you if you knew the vice president personally before you entered the Larson Group. He seemed very concerned about the matter, and did everything he could to punish that CEO and get your rightful place back on the project."

Isabelle shook her head, feeling even more confused. "No, I didn't."

If the department director had not told Jason about what happened, how did he find out about it, then?

Grace nodded and gave her a smile. "Well, it's all in the past now. What's important is that we can now go on with this project without any unnecessary drama. You can now go back to work."

"Thank you, director," Isabelle thanked her once more and left her office.

After that short meeting, she couldn't put the matter of how Jason had handled the case out of her mind.

Green Leaf were within their rights to approve or reject whichever drafts they received from the Larson Group. After all, it was their product in development, and they had the final say. The Larson Group was simply their designing partner. That was why Grace had given in to their demands and sent a draft she didn't approve.

So, unless Jason personally knew about her sister's scheme with the CEO, there was no way he would have interfered with their handling of the project.

So, how had he come to find out? Was he keeping an eye on her? Like, paying attention to what she did? The same way that Mr Grayson had?

She shuddered at the thought. No. She was overthinking. He must have an assistant or subordinate who kept an extra eye out on the happenings regarding company workers.

Or maybe he had heard from someone about how Green Leaf had rejected a draft from the Larson Group-something that never happened-got curious, and fished around for information. That made sense.

But, no matter how hard she tried convincing herself that was the case, she couldn't get rid of the suspicion that Jason had a personal interest in her.

Later, she ran into one of her coworkers, Britney, in the break room. Britney always had the latest scoop in company gossip, and knew something about everybody who mattered in the Larson Group. "Hey, I heard that your draft got re-adopted for the project," Britney said to her as she walked over. "Congratulations!"

"Thank you," Isabelle said, looking for a way to bring the vice president's love life into the conversation. She didn't want to give Britney the wrong idea.

"Mr Del Mundo was amazing yesterday, right?" Britney gushed. "I loved how he put that woman in her place. How dare she say those horrible things about you?" She rolled her eyes. "It would have been horrible working with her."

"Yeah," Isabelle agreed. "He stood up for the team."

"I know, right? Like a man should."

"Does he have a girlfriend? She must be so lucky."

"Mr Del Mundo? I'm pretty sure he has more than one."

Isabelle's heart sank into her stomach. Oh no. If he was a womaniser, that meant there was a high chance that he had the same traits as Mr Grayson.

After parting with Britney, Isabelle thought of all the times the vice president had come to her assistance.

It began with her interview when she was trying to get a job with the company. He was the one who had handled the issue with Anne. He was also the one who brought the police officers to arrest Mr Grayson. And now, he had gotten a CEO demoted and made sure her design was re-adopted for the design.

Were those all coincidences, or was he paying special attention to her? If it was the latter, it would be only a matter of time before he started making advances like her former director.

After thinking deeply about it, she decided to find out the truth once and for all. If it turned out that Jason liked her, she would have no choice but to leave the Larson Group. If the vice president himself started harassing her, she couldn't think of a way out.

She sent him an email asking if he had time to talk. She was surprised when he replied soon after, saying that she could see him in his office.

She found it odd that as a vice president of such a large company, he would quickly accept her impromptu request to see him. She would have expected him to tell her to go through his secretary or something. Him replying so quickly and positively only added to her suspicions.

By the time she made her way to the elevator and went upstairs towards the floor where his office was, she was a bundle of nerves. His secretary ushered her into his office right away, and she found him waiting behind his desk.

"Have a seat, Ms Cruz," he invited her, smiling cordially. "You said that you wanted to talk to me. Is anything the matter?"

Isabelle took a seat and clasped her hands on her lap. "First, sir, I would like to thank you for your help with the Green Leaf project."

Jason waved his hand dismissively. "There's no need for that. I was just doing my job. If you run across any other problem with the project, don't hesitate to seek my help if necessary."

She nodded. "Okay, sir." Mr Grayson had also offered to help her with her project.

"So, what did you want to talk about?" he asked.

Taking a deep breath, she gathered her courage and asked the important question. "Do you have a crush on me, sir?"