The Billionaire's Pretend Wife (Isabella)
Chapter 59 Fifty Nine

Isabelle reached for the ring and held it in her fingers, amazed at how beautiful it looked. Beautiful, and expensive. The band was platinum, with a princess cut diamond sitting prettily at the top. It looked like something that Isabelle would have chosen for herself. Simple yet stunning. That was if she could stand the price tag, of course.

When she had told Jacob to get her a normal ring, she had assumed he would get a simple wedding band. Definitely not one that looked like it had cost a fortune. What if she lost it? "It's not a real diamond," Jacob told her, as if he could read her mind. "But it's beautiful, isn't it?"

"It is," she agreed, studying the stone closely. It looked real. But then again, you can't sell fake diamond rings if you couldn't make them look real, right? Jacob seemed to have a real knack for replaceing counterfeit items that could pass as real.

Jacob looked on as Isabelle examined the ring, hoping she wouldn't catch on to his lie. After all, she was a jewellery designer with plenty of experience with the finest gems. Even if it was just for show and they were still a pretend couple, he had wanted to get her a pretty ring.

He released a sigh of relief when she placed the box on the counter and slipped the ring onto her finger. She raised her hand, giving him a good look at it. It looked stunning on her.

"It's so beautiful," she said, smiling. She turned her face towards him, but couldn't quite look at him as he was pressed so closely to her. "Thank you."

"You're welcome," he told her, and then, unable to resist, bent his head and nipped her neck gently.

Isabelle stiffened when she felt Jacob's breath on her sin and seconds later, he nipped her skin with his teeth. "Please stop," she requested, her stomach swarming with butterflies. She had silently enjoyed his proximity until that moment, but now she wasn't so sure it had been a good idea to indulge him. What if he tried to force a kiss on her like that night?

"Sorry," he said, instantly taking a step away. "I got carried away."

She nodded, avoiding looking at him directly. Not when her heart was beating erratically and heat was rising up her neck. The man was very capable of stealing her breath, and now that they were back on good terms, she didn't trust her body around him.

"Need help?" he asked from behind her.

She blinked. "With what?"

He stepped up beside her and looked at the sandwiches she had been preparing. "Preparing breakfast," he said.

"Oh." She had all but forgotten about them. With him holding her the way he had been, everything else had faded to the background. She picked up the knife that had cluttered to the counter earlier on. "I'm almost done. You should go get ready."

"Don't start without me," he warned in a light tone. "Let's have breakfast together today."

"Depends on how fast you can get ready," she teased, giving him a once-over. He looked like he had already taken a shower, since his hair was damp, but he wasn't dressed for work.

"Fast enough," he replied, brushing a hand against her arm as he walked away.

When he was gone, she shut her eyes for a moment and took a big calming breath. She could get used to this.

***

When Isabelle got to the office that morning, she found everybody in an excited and busy mood. Three of her coworkers were gathered at the desk nearest to hers, and she enquired what was going on. "There is a new project," one of them supplied, pointing to the bulletin board near the entrance to the department. "The new design director wants every designer to provide a plan for the project." "Oh, really?" Isabelle asked, getting excited too. A new project meant another opportunity to submit a design. She hurried to the bulletin board to check the requirements.

The project was a collaboration between the Larson Group and the Green Leaf Company. Every designer was required to submit a plan, after which the design director would select the best one for the project. There was a four-day period for submissions. After that, the designer with the chosen plan would start working on the project.

Isabelle went back to her desk, feeling newly energised. No wonder everyone was excited and busy.

This was a good opportunity to earn more and improve her reputation as a designer. She vowed to do her best to fight for the chance to work with Green Leaf Company. Whatever bonuses she would earn would definitely help towards paying for Ruth's surgery.

She spent most of the next several days working on her ideas, and managed to submit her plan before the deadline given by Grace, the new design director.

Grace had replaced Ike, much to Isabelle's relief. She hadn't wanted to imagine how it would be like if the man had somehow found his way back to the company.

A week after the project had been introduced, Grace announced that Isabelle's design had been chosen. She was elated to get another project so soon after her other design was chosen for the exhibition. Grace let her know that they had forwarded her plan to Green Leaf Company for their approval to kick off the project.

Since the design director had chosen her plan, Isabelle was confident that it would be approved soon and she would start working right away.

However, a few days later, Grace called her to her office and told her that she needed to redo her design for the Green Leaf project. Apparently, the client had rejected it and wanted her to redesign it.