Husband By Error

"Watch where you're going next time."

The voice was deep, cold, and commanding.

Isabella looked up, frowning-just in time to see the back of a tall man in an elegant black suit walking away without even glancing at her.

"What? You should be the one watching where you're going!" she snapped, but he had already vanished into the crowd.

She sighed heavily. "Great. Just great. Can this day get any worse?" she muttered under her breath.

Bending down, she gathered the scattered documents across the lobby floor. "I stayed up all night organizing these files for today's presentation, and now this happens..." she grumbled, brushing the dust off a folder.

Unbelievable. He bumps into me, and I get the blame.

Once everything was back in order, Isabella hurried inside, clocked in, and half-ran up the stairs toward the second-floor meeting room.

The moment she opened the door, her heart stopped. Everyone was already seated-her manager, Mr. Luiz, and several important clients.

"Good morning. I'm terribly sorry for being a little late," she said politely, bowing slightly to hide her panic.

"Why not just come at noon while you're at it?"

That cold voice again. Isabella froze.

She turned toward the speaker-and her blood ran cold.

No way. It was him.

The man from the lobby.

Oh, God. Don't tell me he's our client?!

Her face drained of color. She bit her lower lip unconsciously.

"Isabella, why are you still standing there? Sit down. The meeting's about to start," Mr. Luiz reminded her.

"This is Mr. Maximilian Martez, our client. He's entrusted our firm to design the cover for his new product line."

Maximilian Martez. So that's his name.

Isabella forced a polite smile and quickly sat down. Inside, she was silently praying he wouldn't recognize her. But luck clearly wasn't on her side.

"Do you always behave like this?" Maximilian's cold voice cut through the air.

"I-excuse me?" she stammered.

"What time did you leave home this morning?"

"Seven twenty, sir."

He arched a brow. "So you gave yourself ten minutes to get here? If you worked for me, I would've fired you already."

Isabella swallowed hard. You've got to be kidding me. I was late because of you!

"I'm sorry, sir. There was a small... accident downstairs."

"Oh? So now you're making excuses?" Maximilian replied flatly. "If everyone used that logic, the world would stop working."

Sharp tongue, perfect suit. What a delightful combination, Isabella cursed silently, lowering her head further.

Mr. Luiz quickly stepped in. "Mr. Martez, we apologize for the delay. Shall we continue with the presentation?"

Maximilian was silent for a moment before answering coolly, "Go ahead. Out of respect for you, I'll give you twenty minutes."

"Thank you, Mr. Martez."

Isabella inhaled deeply. Twenty minutes? Fine. Watch me impress you.

She turned on the projector and began her presentation. Her voice trembled at first, but soon steadied. She explained each of the seven design concepts confidently.

When she finished, the room fell silent.

Then Mr.