Chapter 123 One Hundred & Twenty Three
The meeting finally ended nearly an hour later.
Executives gathered their files quickly, murmuring among themselves as they filed out of the boardroom. The tension in the room had been thick the entire time, and most of them were eager to escape it.
Izzy calmly closed her folder and slid it into her bag.
Dominic was still standing near the screen, speaking quietly with two board members.
She stood, preparing to leave.
“Mrs. Valenti.”
Miranda's voice cut sharply across the room.
Izzy paused.
Slowly, she turned back.
Miranda was standing at the far end of the table, her posture rigid, her expression tight with something that was barely disguised hostility.
“I believe we need to talk,” Miranda said.
Izzy glanced toward the door where the last executives were leaving.
“About business?” she asked evenly.
Miranda’s lips pressed into a thin line. “Privately.”
Izzy studied her for a second, then nodded slightly.
“Of course.”
The door closed behind the last board member.
Now the room held only four people.
Izzy.
Miranda.
Dominic.
And Mr. Laurent, who awkwardly gathered his documents.
“I’ll… leave you to it,” he said carefully before slipping out.
The silence that followed was heavy.
Miranda walked slowly around the table, stopping a few feet from Izzy.
“You have a lot of nerve,” she said coldly.
Izzy raised an eyebrow.
“Excuse me?”
“Walking in here like you own the place,” Miranda continued, her voice dripping with disdain. “After everything.”
Izzy didn’t move.
Didn’t react.
“Everything?” she repeated calmly.
Miranda scoffed. “Don’t pretend you’ve forgotten. Six years ago you took my money and disappeared.”
Izzy tilted her head slightly.
“Yes,” she said. “I remember.”
Dominic shifted slightly near the window but said nothing.
Miranda’s eyes narrowed.
“And now you come back pretending to be some powerful investor. You desperate whore”
Izzy let out a small breath, almost amused.
“Pretending?”
She reached into her folder and slid a thick document across the table toward Miranda.
Miranda frowned but picked it up.
Her eyes moved across the numbers.
And then her expression changed.
Just slightly.
Because the financial report in front of her showed exactly how Izzy had built her empire.
Investments.
Acquisitions.
Assets.
A net worth that made even the Steele Group look cautious.
Izzy watched her calmly.
“You didn’t ‘give’ me anything, Mrs. Steele,” she said coolly. “You invested. And if I were you I would watch my tongue.”
Miranda’s jaw tightened.
“And clearly,” Izzy added, “it paid off.”
Miranda dropped the report onto the table.
“You were never good enough for my son.”
The words were meant to wound.
But Izzy only gave a small, calm smile.
“That’s funny,” she said.
Miranda frowned. “What?”
Izzy leaned slightly against the table.
“Because if I remember correctly,” she said softly, “you paid twenty-five million dollars to leave him.”
The room went still.
Miranda’s eyes flashed.
Dominic’s head snapped toward his mother.
Izzy continued calmly.
“That’s a very large amount of money to pay someone who wasn’t a threat.”
Miranda stepped closer, her voice lowering dangerously.
“You were a distraction.”
Izzy met her gaze without flinching.
“And now?”
Miranda didn’t answer.
Izzy smiled faintly.
“Now you’re asking that same ‘distraction’ for a trillion-dollar investment. Wow how ironic”
Miranda’s face hardened.
“You think money makes you powerful.”
Izzy straightened slightly.
“No,” she replied calmly.
“Power makes you powerful.”
She picked up her bag.
“And right now,” she added evenly, “you’re asking for mine.”
Miranda’s hands curled into fists.
“You haven’t changed,” she snapped.
Izzy paused at the door.
Then she turned slightly, her gaze sharp.
“Oh, I have.”
Her eyes flicked briefly to Dominic before returning to Miranda.
“Six years ago you controlled the board.”
A small pause.
“Now I control the deal.”
She opened the door.
But before leaving, she added one last thing.
“Careful how you speak to the person deciding whether your company survives its next expansion.”
And with that…
Izzy walked out.
Leaving Miranda furious.
The afternoon sun filtered through the tall glass windows of Izzy’s temporary office across the street from Steele Group headquarters.
Her assistant had just finished summarizing the meeting notes when there was a soft knock.
“Mrs. Valenti,” the assistant said, stepping in slightly. “You have a visitor.”
Izzy looked up from her tablet. “Who?”
The assistant smiled faintly.
“Your husband.”
Izzy blinked, surprised.
“Send him in.”
A second later, Steven walked into the room, looking effortlessly relaxed in a navy suit. His tie was slightly loose like he’d rushed over.
Izzy couldn’t help smiling.
“What are you doing here?”
Steven lifted a small paper bag. “Lunch rescue mission.”
She laughed softly. “You drove all the way here for that?”
“I figured after that meeting you’d either need food or bail money.”
Izzy stood and walked toward him.
“Food will do.”
Steven kissed her cheek briefly, then glanced around the office. “Nice setup.”
“It’s temporary.”
“Well,” he said lightly, “it still looks intimidating.”
Izzy rolled her eyes. “That’s the goal.”
Before she could say more, the office door opened again.
Dominic stepped inside.
He had clearly come straight from another meeting.…sleeves rolled slightly, jacket hanging open, expression sharp and focused.
But the moment he saw Steven standing beside Izzy…
He stopped.
For a brief second, the room went still.
Steven noticed him immediately.
His posture didn’t change, but his eyes sharpened slightly.
Izzy broke the silence.
“Dominic.”
Her voice was calm.
Professional.
“This is my husband.”
A small pause.
“Steven Valenti.”
Steven stepped forward naturally and extended his hand.
“Nice to finally meet you.”
Dominic looked at the hand.
For a moment, he didn’t move.
Because standing in front of him was the man who had taken the woman that once belonged to him.
The man who now wears Izzy’s smile comfortably beside him.
Dominic’s jaw tightened.
But after a brief hesitation…
He reached out and shook Steven’s hand.
Firm.
Controlled.
“Dominic Steele.”
Steven nodded. “I know.”
The handshake lasted just a second too long.
Then they let go.
Izzy crossed her arms lightly.
“Steven came to kidnap me for lunch.”
Steven smiled. “I wouldn’t call it kidnapping. More like saving her from corporate warfare.”
Dominic’s gaze flicked briefly to Izzy.
“She’s handling it fine.”
Steven glanced at her with a faint grin. “I never doubted that.”
Another quiet tension filled the room.
Dominic finally spoke.
“You guys are now staying in New York permanently? I did my findings”
Steven nodded. “For the next few months. Izzy has a few projects in the city.”
Dominic’s expression remained unreadable.
His eyes moved briefly between them.
Comfortable.
Familiar.
Married.
Then he looked back at Izzy.
“Tomorrow we’ll continue reviewing the expansion routes.”
Izzy nodded. “Okay.”
Steven lightly placed a hand on the small of her back.
“Ready to go?”
Izzy grabbed her bag.
“Yes.”
She looked back at Dominic briefly.
“See you tomorrow, Mr. Steele.”
Dominic inclined his head slightly.
“Mrs. Valenti.”
Steven gave him one last polite nod before guiding Izzy toward the door.
But just before they stepped out…
Dominic’s voice came again.
“Steven.”
They both paused.
Steven turned slightly.
Dominic’s gaze held his.
“You’re a lucky man.”
The words sounded neutral.
But something darker sat underneath them.
Steven didn’t flinch.
Instead, he smiled calmly.
“I know.”
Then he placed his hand gently on Izzy’s back again and walked out with her.
Leaving Dominic alone in the office.
Staring at the door that had just closed.
And realizing something he hadn’t wanted to admit since the fundraiser.
Izzy hadn’t just moved on.
She had built an entire life without him.