Never Again Yours (Isadora and Magnus) novel Chapter 72

Isadora, it seemed, was no fool.

On the contrary, she understood business operations better than most of them.

Valery, on the other hand, had just been called out by Isadora in front of everyone. Her face flushed an ugly shade of purple, the kind that only comes from stifled humiliation.

Valery wasn’t just some ordinary employee—she was a senior figure, one of the founding members of the Vaughan Group. Isadora, who hadn’t even been in the business as long as Valery had been alive, actually had the nerve to question her competence.

Valery’s brows knit together, her voice tight with anger.

“Ms. Vaughan, what makes you so sure we haven’t made an effort? If every store performed this poorly and we bailed them out each time, do you think the mall would survive? Why don’t you stick to shuffling papers in your office and leave the on-the-ground management to those of us who’ve been around a while?”

Her words were a not-so-subtle dig, implying that Isadora was just an armchair executive with no real experience, and she ought to stop meddling.

Isadora gave a cold, dismissive laugh, her gaze sweeping over Valery with icy indifference.

“Fine,” she replied. “In that case, Director Valery, please prepare a detailed spreadsheet of this year’s promotional activities and exactly which stores received support. I expect it on my desk by tomorrow morning.”

Now it was Valery’s turn to be speechless.

Because the truth was, M Boutique hadn’t been included in any of the mall’s events this year. In fact, it hadn’t been for several years running. All the coveted slots for special promotions had gone to brands who’d slipped her a little something extra under the table.

If Isadora saw that report, she’d immediately realize how unfairly resources had been distributed. It was obvious—Isadora was targeting her, and she wasn’t even the head of the Vaughan Group yet. If she ever took over for real, what would happen to the old guard like Valery?

Valery clenched her jaw. She couldn’t let Isadora become the new master of the Vaughan Group. No matter what.

After that, Isadora didn’t spare her another glance. She headed off with the other managers to continue their walk-through of the next section of the mall.