Chapter 62

Chapter 62

Isabella looked up at Amelia, speaking word by word.

"However, I will keep my distance from Mr. Brown. I won't have any inappropriate thoughts, and I definitely won't affect your relationship with him. If Ms. Martinez still isn't satisfied with that, then I don't mind telling Mr. Brown right now what you've been doing."

Amelia frowned, displeasure clearly flashing in her eyes.

Although this bitch Isabella only said she'd keep her distance from William, at least everything was still under her control.

If this bitch tried to seduce William later, she could deal with her then.

After all, she couldn't act rashly now, or if William really found out, he would only hate her more.

"I hope you remember what you said today. If you can't do it, don't blame me for not being nice to you!"

Amelia made good on her threat, got in her car, and sped off.

Isabella stood there for a long time, unable to snap out of it.

She just wanted to live a peaceful life, but why couldn't even such a simple wish come true?

Although she did have feelings for William, she didn't care at all about whatever was going on between William and Amelia.

But every time, she had to endure these things, with Amelia making them even more difficult for her.

Isabella hung her head in dejection, turned around, and went upstairs back home.

Because she was so exhausted, she fell asleep as soon as she lay down on the bed.

Near dusk, she was woken up by her phone ringing.

Isabella groggily opened her eyes and looked at her phone screen. It was a call from her college classmate, Azalea Gray.

Azalea was her college classmate and roommate. They had a pretty good relationship in school, but after graduation, they each got busy with their own lives and gradually lost touch.

Unexpectedly, half a month ago, Azalea suddenly reached out to her, her tone overly enthusiastic.

At first, they just caught up on old times, but then the conversation gradually shifted, and Azalea couldn't go three sentences without mentioning investments, projects, and making quick money.

And today's call: Azalea directly asked to meet in person, saying there was a once-in-a-lifetime money-making opportunity she had to discuss face-to-face.

Isabella felt vaguely uneasy.

Having worked at the Brown Group for so long, she'd seen too many legitimate capital operations and heard about countless money-grabbing scams.

The project Azalea described - low investment, high returns, zero risk - the more perfect it sounded, the more wrong it seemed.

Isabella didn't want to go, but Azalea kept pestering her, and in the end, Isabella couldn't bring herself to refuse and agreed to meet.

The meeting place was at a chain restaurant in a shopping district - not fancy, but clean enough.

Azalea was already waiting at a table. As soon as she saw Isabella come in, she waved enthusiastically, her face full of forced smiles.

"Isabella, over here!"

Isabella walked over, pulled out a chair, and sat down, showing a polite smile.

"What exactly did you want to see me about?"

Azalea leaned forward, deliberately lowering her voice, her eyes showing an almost fanatical excitement.

"Let me tell you, I recently got access to an insider project. Just invest money, and you'll break even in three months, double your money in half a year! So many of my friends have already invested, but I'm not the kind of person who forgets her friends - when I got this opportunity, you were the first person I thought of!"

Isabella blinked, listening quietly without any reaction, her fingertips lightly resting on her water glass, not interrupting Azalea.

"Isabella, you're the secretary to the CEO of the Brown Group now. Your salary must be pretty good - taking out eighty thousand dollars should be easy for you!"

Azalea seemed oblivious to Isabella's calm expression. Instead, she grew more and more excited, a hint of greed faintly showing in her eyes.

"Once we make money, we won't have to work so hard anymore!"

Finally, her pitch ended.

Isabella rubbed her eyes and sighed softly, looking at her somewhat helplessly.

"Azalea, I understand what you mean, but what you're describing is way too vague. Where's the project contract? The supervised fund account? And what exactly is the profit model? You haven't explained any of these clearly."

The smile on Azalea's face froze. She clearly hadn't expected Isabella to ask such professional questions.

In school, although Isabella had always been at the top of her class, most people's impression of her was just a pretty woman without much brains.

Azalea's impression of her naturally stayed in their college days, but after Isabella joined the Brown Group, she'd learned a lot - enough to crush what Azalea had just said completely.

Azalea was stunned for a moment, then awkwardly laughed and picked up her coffee, hiding her embarrassment.

"These are all handled by insiders. It's not that complicated."

Azalea spoke vaguely, her eyes constantly dodging.

"Anyway, we're friends. You need to trust me. Would I really scam you?"

"It's precisely because we're friends that I can't just invest randomly."

Isabella stared at her quietly, her tone showing no emotion but carrying an undeniable firmness.

"This project has no formal contract, no third-party supervision, and the profit model is all verbal description. The risk is too high. I won't participate. Sorry, Azalea, I have to disappoint you."

Azalea's expression immediately darkened.

"Risk? What risk is more important than making money?"

Her voice suddenly rose several notches, immediately drawing looks from nearby tables.

"Isabella, now that you're working with Mr. Brown, you've gotten so high and mighty that you look down on me, right? You think what I'm doing now isn't good enough, afraid I'll drag you down?"

She'd always disliked Isabella's holier-than-thou attitude back in school, and now she was kindly introducing Isabella to a business opportunity. Still, Isabella was slapping her in the face like this.

Basically, Isabella couldn't stand to see her doing well, could she?

Isabella looked at Azalea's suddenly sharp and mean appearance, feeling quite disappointed.

Whatever friendship she and Azalea had in college had long been diluted by time. This reunion had been purposeful from the start, so there was no need for her to explain herself, much less compromise to please her.

"If that's how you want to see it, then I have nothing more to say."

Isabella stood up expressionlessly, picked up her coat from the back of the chair, her movements clean and decisive.

"I have things to do. I'm leaving."

"Isabella! Stop right there!" Azalea reached out, her eyes full of rage, to grab her.

"Who said you could leave? You need to make yourself clear today! Who do you think you're looking down on! You really think just because you got into the Brown Group, you can marry into a rich family? Dream on!"

Isabella smoothly dodged to the side, not even sparing her an extra glance, and walked straight out.

The restaurant door closed behind her, completely shutting out Azalea's accusations and resentment.

Isabella let out a soft breath, feeling extremely regretful.

She really shouldn't have come, or she wouldn't have wasted so much of her rest time.

Isabella quickly hailed a cab to go back. On the way home, she suddenly thought of the scene when William had confessed to her before.