Filed To Story: Watch Out! She's a Mastermind Heiress (Isabella Patton) Book PDF Free
“No, I won’t join. You go ahead,” Isabella responded.
“Isabella, it’s your first day, too. You should appreciate the chance to have a nice dinner with Miss Patton,” Liza said. “Besides, we’re all in the same department. Don’t let us down.”
Isabella narrowed her eyes, gauging the mood of her colleagues. Some were eager, others not so much. Thinking for a while, Isabella said, “Alright then. I’ll come along.”
The atmosphere in the marketing department felt noticeably cliquish. As they made their way to the restaurant, a group showered Teresa with compliments. Once they arrived and settled into a private dining room, they insisted that Teresa place her order first.
“By the way, who’s covering the bill tonight?” Isabella asked nonchalantly. It was clear that the company wouldn’t be footing the bill for this welcome dinner.
“We’ll split the cost equally,” announced Liza.
The mood in the room shifted immediately. This restaurant was known for its steep prices, and if they divided the bill, each person would pay at least four or five hundred dollars. With that amount, they could treat themselves to a more enjoyable meal elsewhere.
“Liza, I just remembered I have something urgent to take care of at home. I’ll need to leave now,” one colleague said hesitantly.
“Liza, I just realized I still have some work to finish. I’ll need to excuse myself.”
Soon, several others followed suit, eager to leave.
Liza, the deputy director, felt annoyed as she looked at them. Were they really that clueless? Did they not understand who Teresa was? It was a rare privilege to have dinner with the president’s sister, yet they were acting so ungrateful.
“Hey, don’t go!” Liza was surprised to hear Isabella stepping in to stop the exodus.
Isabella flashed a smile and said, “Don’t forget who Teresa is. Do you really think she’ll let us pay the bill? For her, this is just pocket change.”
She turned to Teresa with a knowing look.
Teresa felt a cold shiver run down her spine. She glanced at the menu—each dish cost at least two hundred dollars. With so many people at the table, the total would easily run into the tens of thousands. She was just an ordinary woman, not some heiress with money to burn. How could she possibly afford such an extravagant meal? Isabella was such a snake! She was just trying to stir up trouble!
But Isabella’s words had already planted the idea in everyone’s minds. They might not have the money, but Teresa was different. After all, she was the president’s sister—surely this amount was nothing to her.
All eyes turned to Teresa, filled with expectation.
Isabella sipped her tea slowly, her eyes fixed on Teresa, waiting for her response. She knew full well that Teresa couldn’t afford the bill. Pretending to be the president’s sister was one thing, but this was a whole different level of bluff.
“It’s my treat,” Teresa finally declared.
Isabella was so shocked she nearly choked on her tea. Teresa had actually agreed!
Teresa forced herself to unclench her teeth, masking her anxiety with a haughty expression and a hint of disdain in her eyes. “It’s just a bit of money,” she said coolly. “I’ll cover the bill. Enjoy yourselves.”
The room erupted in applause and cheers. “Wow, Teresa, you’re amazing!”
“Thank you, Teresa!”
Liza, eager to impress, chimed in with over-the-top praise. “Teresa isn’t just beautiful; she’s incredibly generous too. We’re so lucky to have her in our department.”
Teresa waved off the compliments casually. “Enough with the flattery. Just order already,” she said, as if she were unbothered by the whole situation.
But Isabella noticed the subtle detail that the others missed—Teresa’s fingers were gripping the hem of her suit tightly, a silent indicator of the stress she was under.
The room buzzed with excitement again, everyone piling on the compliments. Teresa, despite the pressure, seemed to be soaking it all in.
Just then, Isabella’s phone buzzed with a message from Andrew.
“Aren’t we supposed to have dinner together this evening?”
Isabella quickly replied, “I wish we could, but I have to attend a last-minute dinner. I’m working at Edge Entertainment now, and they’ve called for a gathering.”
“Do you need me to pick you up afterward?” Andrew asked.
“That would be great,” Isabella responded. “I’ll let you know when it’s wrapping up.”
After sending the message, she put her phone away and smiled to herself.
As dinner was winding down, Liza suddenly pointed out, “Teresa, where’s your necklace?”
Teresa instinctively touched her neck, startled. “What? Maybe I left it in the restroom.”
“Don’t worry, Teresa, I’ll check for you,” one of the colleagues offered, hurrying off to the restroom. Moments later, she returned, her expression puzzled. “It’s not there, Teresa. Are you sure you didn’t leave it somewhere else?”
Teresa felt a flicker of confusion. She went to the restroom herself to double-check, but the necklace was nowhere to be found.
But she shrugged it off. “It’s fine. No big deal.”
It wasn’t a genuine item anyway—just a well-crafted replica.
But Liza wasn’t about to let it go that easily. “Teresa, I know that necklace. It’s a limited edition, practically one-of-a-kind. How could you let it go when you lost something so valuable?”
“Well…” Teresa began, but before she could think of an excuse, someone else piped up. “I saw Isabella head to the restroom right after Teresa.”
Everyone’s eyes shifted to Isabella.
Unfazed, she continued eating, deliberately slow under their watchful stares. Finally, she set down her fork and looked up. “I didn’t see anything,” she said calmly.
Liza, her tone dripping with disdain, shot back, “Don’t lie. You were the only one who went to the restroom after Teresa. How dare you lie like that?” Her voice grew more accusatory. “You must’ve realized how valuable Teresa’s necklace is and decided to steal it. Isn’t that right, Isabella? I suggest you hand it over now. A necklace like that could land you in jail for years.”
Isabella’s eyes flickered with amusement as she caught Teresa’s gaze. “Really?” she replied, her voice laced with irony. A fake necklace could land her in jail? The idea was absurd. With a faint smile, she added, “Even if I did take it, I doubt I’d be seeing the inside of a jail cell. Isn’t that right, Teresa?”
Teresa felt uneasy as Isabella’s piercing gaze bored into her. It was as if Isabella could see straight through her. Then, in a sudden, almost theatrical moment, the man sitting next to Isabella reached into her pocket and pulled something out with a triumphant shout, “I found it!”
The man held up a delicate necklace, its pendant catching the light, and all the people in the room seemed to collectively hold their breath. Everyone recognized it instantly—it was the very necklace Teresa had been wearing today.
“Isabella, it really was you!” Liza’s voice rang out, full of righteous accusation. “You’ve only just started working with us, and you’re already stealing? Unbelievable! Teresa, what are we going to do about her?”
Teresa was stunned at first, but her shock quickly turned into amusement. It turned out Isabella really did steal her necklace.
Teresa was amused. Isabella, always pretending to be so indifferent to everything, was actually jealous of her, wasn’t she? It was just like how she had been jealous of Isabella in high school.
Teresa could almost feel her own pride inflating, filling the room like a balloon about to burst. She fixed Isabella with a scornful glare, her lips curling into a mocking smile. “Isabella, I can’t believe you’d stoop so low. But, considering we are now colleagues, I’ll let this slide if you just kneel down and apologize. If not, I’ll have to call the police, and then… Well, let’s just say your future might not look so bright.”
“Teresa’s being more than fair. Just apologize!” The crowd turned on Isabella, their eyes filled with disdain.
“You want to call the police? Fine by me. In fact, let me call them right now.” Completely unfazed, Isabella reached for her phone and started to punch in the emergency hotline.
Teresa’s heart skipped a beat, panic flashing in her eyes. If the police really got involved, it would only be a matter of time before it was discovered that the necklace was fake! And then, Isabella would walk away scot-free.
Desperation seized her, and without thinking, she grabbed Isabella’s arm and tried to mask her fear with arrogance. “Oh, forget it,” she snapped. “I know how much your reputation means to you. For the sake of our history together, I’ll let this go.”
The tension in the room instantly dissipated.
“Teresa, you’re so kind!” someone praised.
“Isabella, you should be thanking her!” another echoed.
Isabella pursed her lips in exasperation. Were these people stupid? She was the one who wanted to call the police in the first place!
Just then, a waiter entered the room, holding up another identical necklace. “Excuse me. We found this in the restroom. Does it belong to one of you?”
The room fell into a stunned silence, every eye locked on the necklace dangling from the waiter’s hand.
“Isn’t that Teresa’s necklace?” someone whispered incredulously.
“What’s going on here?” another voice murmured in disbelief. “So, Isabella didn’t steal it?”
“But I thought that necklace was a limited edition. How could Isabella have the exact same one?” The confusion spread like wildfire through the room.
Teresa, who had been basking in the attention just moments ago, hadn’t anticipated this turn of events. She snatched the necklace from the waiter’s hand and said to Isabella, “Isabella, you’re ridiculous! You must have bought a fake!”