After I Stopped Loving Him (Isabella and Ethan) novel Chapter 40

Frank heard the knock and already knew it had to be Isabella. He wrapped up his call with Ethan and put his phone down.

“Come in,” he called out, his voice steady.

The door opened, and Eleanor, his secretary, stepped in first. Isabella followed, with Laura Charles right behind her.

“Mr. Adams, Isabella’s here,” Eleanor announced.

Frank waved her off, and she slipped out, closing the door quietly behind her. Isabella walked over with Laura and took a seat in front of his desk like she owned the place. Laura smiled politely.

“Isabella, what brings you by?” Frank asked, trying to sound friendly, though his smile didn’t quite reach his eyes. He glanced at Laura, then back at Isabella.

“I need a favor,” Isabella said. “Oh, and Frank, do you have any water? We’re really thirsty.”

Frank hesitated, then got up and poured two glasses of water for them. No matter what, Isabella was married to Ethan now. After setting the glasses on the desk, he went over to the sitting area, grabbed a fruit tray from the coffee table, and placed it in front of them.

“Help yourselves to some fruit,” he offered.

Laura smiled and said, “Thank you, that’s very kind,” but Isabella didn’t bother with formalities. She spotted her favorite fruit and started eating right away.

“That’s right,” Isabella replied, completely unfazed. “I don’t need your big-name stars. Just some of the newbies you recently signed. You’ve got lots of fresh faces but not enough opportunities for all of them. Let me use the ones you’re not planning to push right now. I’ll pay their salaries myself.”

“And I’ll need a young director, too. All the costs are on me. I’m thinking about starting a studio or a small company. If you could help me get it set up, that would be amazing. I don’t have any experience with this stuff.”

Frank just stared for a moment, honestly shocked by how bold she was.

After a long pause, he finally spoke. “Isabella, you really need to talk this over with Ethan first. He has to sign off on it. I might be in charge of this division, but I still answer to him.”

He hesitated, then added, “And, you know, you’re not just Ms. Lane anymore. You’re Mrs. Adams now. The women in our family usually focus on home and family, not business. Especially not something like short dramas. That’s not really what we do.”