The Billionaire's Pretend Wife (Isabella)

That morning, Isabelle's department had a meeting, but her mind was barely in the room as various teams presented their reports.

She was busy trying to untangle the puzzle that the previous night had left in her mind. No matter how hard she tried to urge herself to not think about it, it didn't take long before her thoughts slid back to that territory.

What had she been thinking? She had asked herself that question about a hundred times since she left the house in the morning, but she still had no answer. So she settled on the only one reason that made sense: the alcohol. It was the alcohol that was to blame for her behaviour. Otherwise, she never would have dreamed of clinging to Jacob the way she had, leave alone kiss him.

It was true that he was a handsome man, and she thought he was attractive, and maybe he was totally her type, but she was in no position to be lusting after him. Or acting on that lust. The alcohol had done away with not only her sense of propriety, but also her sanity, and that was the only reason she crossed the boundaries they had drawn.

From now on, she would be careful to not go anywhere near him drunk. Or to drink, at all. That was if she grew past her embarrassment and could face him after the little show she had pulled that morning. Every time she thought of how she had accused him of taking advantage of her, she felt her face flame with shame. She would have to get over it at some point, and she hoped he too would let it go. Otherwise, living under the same roof was going to be a lot more tricky than it had ever been.

Someone nudged her arm and she jolted out of her mind trip and looked to the side. It was one of her coworkers, who was giving her a curious gaze. "You zoned out," she said, "Mr Grayson is about to announce the design that has been selected for the autumn and winter exhibition."

"Oh, thanks," she told her colleague, switching her attention to Mr Grayson, who was seated at the head of the conference table. Everybody's eyes were on him as they awaited the announcement. Having your design selected for the exhibition was a big deal, and while Isabelle had submitted one, but she didn't have high hopes of getting selected. When she joined the company, everybody else had already been working on their designs. She hadn't had as much time to work on hers, so she was positive others had done a better job.

Which was why it caught her by surprise when Mr Grayson said, "The design that has been selected for the autumn and winter series exhibition was submitted by Ms Cruz."

Isabelle blinked, feeling like she was dreaming. But as everybody's attention turned to her, it sank in. her design had really been chosen.

"Congratulations, Ms Cruz," Mr Grayson said, beaming at her. "You haven't been with us for long, but you've already proven to be an important part of this department. Keep up the good work."

"Thank you, sir," she said humbly, not knowing what else to say. She hadn't expected anything like this. Everything seemed to be working in her favour, and she was grateful. Just last week she had landed the client who had paid fifty thousand dollars for a necklace, and now, her design had been selected for the next series exhibition. She had known joining the Larson Group would be good for her career, and so far, so good.

"The rest of you," Mr Grayson said, turning to the others, "you'll need to work harder if you still want to be part of this department. Having worked for our company longer than Ms Cruz, I would have expected you all to have something better to offer. If she wasn't here, I don't think we would have gotten a design to exhibit from our department for this series. Learn from her if its what it takes you to do better."

As the department head lectured everyone, Isabelle felt a little uncomfortable. She was glad that her design was chosen, but she felt awkward that he was implying that her seniors should learn from her. It wasn't the kind of spotlight she wanted. Most of them offered her congratulations, and many sounded sincere.

But of course there were those who were not happy about it. One, in particular, didn't bother hiding her contempt. Her name was Claudia, and she snickered loud enough for Isabelle to hear, followed by a mumble that included the words 'boss's new pet'.

Isabelle pretended she didn't hear that.

When the meeting was over, Mr Grayson asked Isabelle to accompany him to his office. She went, feeling a little uncomfortable because she could still remember how he had behaved the first time she was in the office alone with him. But hopefully, this time round he would be professional.

"Your design is really good," he told her when they walked into his office and he offered her a seat. "It was one of the best I've seen this year. You are very talented."

"Thank you, sir," she replied, wondering whether he had called her into the office to heap more praises on her design.

He waved a hand in dismissal. "You can call me Ted," he told her. "There's no need to be so formal when it's just the two of us."

Isabelle blinked, not sure about that. He was her boss, how could she just call him by his first name?

"So, about your design," he said, clasping his hands on top of his desk and swiping his tongue over his bottom lip in a move that almost made her gag. "It's very good, but there's still space for improvement. With a few tweaks here and there, it'll steal the spotlight at the exhibition. If you need any help with the design, you can come to me for help."

Isabelle would have been extremely naive to not understand the meaning of his words, but she wasn't, and she understood very well. The tell was in the way he licked his lips and leaned over the desk, his eyes constantly moving between her face and her chest area.

As much as it disgusted her, she mustered up a small smile and thanked him for the offer. She had absolutely no intention of asking for his help. Apparently, that was all he had called her into his office for, so after another word of thanks, she left the office.

As Isabelle left the office, Ted Grayson licked his lips again and leaned back into his chair. He had worked with many talented designers, but it had been a while since he had come across one he was so strongly attracted to. Whatever he took, he was determined to get her into his bed one of these days.

When Isabelle walked out of Mr Grayson's office, she saw Claudia walk out of a corner, but no attention to her.

The other woman, however, was anything but indifferent as she watched her walk away. Curious about what the department director had needed to tell Isabelle in private, she had followed them and stayed outside the door, eavesdropping.

She knew enough about office politics to know that Mr Grayson wasn't actually offering Isabelle help with her design. No wonder her design had been chosen, she thought scornfully. The woman turned out to just be a shameless vixen who had seduced the department head.