Chapter 258
Tala said, “Mes. Lucia Writed, I’m only giving this opportunity out of respect for the Winifred family
When she tumed to Lucia, her tone softened and a smile appeared on her face. “Wer all, Stellar Core is going to come out on top at today’s expo”
Lucia frowned, “Even if you take first place, that doesn’t mean Audrey’s company won’t stand a chance.”
As she said that, she glanced back at Audrey and gave her a look that said, “Don’t worry I’ve got your back”
Lucia continued, “The top five teams today will all qualify for the smart tech program. Ebelieve in Audrey.”
Talia nodded with a smile, saying, “I know you’re fond of Ms. Henderson and probably se
y see her through rose colored glasses, but smart technolog about skill, not favoritism.
“If FlexTech Group merges with my company, once I secure the development rights, I can subcontract some of the programming to you, Ms. Henderson
“Otherwise, FlexiTech Group will lose its eligibility for this project. I doubt you would want to drag the company down just after joining. Right, Mc Henderson?”
Talia hadn’t found any records showing a change in FlexiTech Group’s ownership, s so she assumed Audrey had only joined as part of the project team.
She deliberately made that remark with the Flex Tech Group team listening, hoping they would form a blased view of Audrey Flex Tech Group lost out this round, the blame would land squarely on Audrey.
Sure enough, the moment Talia finished speaking, two of the lead engineers nearby shot Audrey a look of clear annoyance
Lucia’s expression flickered with confusion for a moment, but her gaze quickly sharpened with resolve, “Whatever Audrey wants to do, I’ll support her
Ms. Price, I’d appreciate it if you didn’t interfere with her prep.”
Talia looked past Lucia and locked eyes with Audrey, clearly waiting for her to respond.
Thank you for the offer, Ms. Price, but I have full confidence in Flexi Tech Group.” Audrey tapped her fingers lightly on the table. “That said, if Stellar Core is looking to merge into FlexiTech, I can always ask the boss what he thinks,”
A sharp glint flashed in Talla’s eyes, and she smiled mockingly, “Since you’re set on doing things your own way, Ms. Henderson, all I can do is wish you luck.
“Just don’t go around saying I never offered you a helping hand if your team doesn’t make the cut.”
With that, Talia turned and walked off, her entire team trailing behind her in a wave.
Audrey leaned over and whispered something to the engineers beside her. The two men then headed off to the side–most likely to call their boss and relay Talia’s offer.
Lucia lowered her voice, asking, “Audrey, how confident are you about this?”
“Ty fitty,” Audrey replied. She pulled out her phone and started searching for something, but the moment her browser loaded, the sc “What the… charged this before I left.”
Lucia’s heartbeat picked up out of nowhere, and she asked cautiously, “They’ve got power banks for rent over there. Want me to get you one?
“I’ll check if they brought one first” Audrey got up and walked over to the two engineers, leaving her laptop behind on the table.
Lucia reached into her backpack and quickly found the USB drive, thinking, ‘This is my last shot”
ent black
She glanced around before sliding into Audrey’s seat and plugging the USB drive into the laptop. As if on cue, the screen began scrolling automatically, even without any user input.
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Lucia’s pulse hammered in her threat and sweat prickled across her palms. The progress bar was down to just ten percent when Audrey returned with a
power bank in hand.
Right then, Keith approached. “How’s everything going, Audrey!”
“Not bad.” Audrey stopped right where she was, Keith unknowingly blocking her view. “Didn’t expect to see you here. You’re part of today’s expo too?”
Keith gave a sheepishl
h laugh and scratched the back of his neck. “No. I was just passing through and figured since you’re here, I’d come say h
Audrey smiled, saying nothing. Her gaze lingered on him, unreadable but amused.
Keith gestured off to the side, adding, “And, uh, I figured I’d also check in on Talla while I was here. Her mom and mine are pretty close, so my mom insisted I stop by.
“But hey, don’t worry. I’ve got your back. Just say the word if you need anything I’m all in.”
The progress bar finally reached the end, and the laptop screen suddenly went dark, Luca yanked out the USB drive and jumped to her feat. She moved so fast that her chair let out a loud squeak.
Keith whipped around, and Audrey looked over too. For a split second, both of them just stared at Lucia in surprise.
Caught in their stares, Lucia didn’t know what to do with her hands. “U–uh, my stomach is acting up,” she stammered. “So, I just sat for a bit. I. I should head to the bathroom now.”
Worried Audrey might notice something
hing was off, Lucia didn’t wait for her to say anything and hurried out of the room.
Keith had been about to check the laptop but then thought better of it. The projects today were each company’s top work, and the risk of leaking something wasn’t worth it,
“I’ll go take a look around. Call me if anything comes up,” he said, gesturing a phone call toward Audrey before turning to leave.
Audrey sat back down and continued prepping
About half an hour later, the p
r, the presentation officially began, and all the teams filed into the main hall in an orderly fashion.
FlexiTech Group had originally been scheduled ahead of StellarCord, but when Audrey’s laptop unexpectedly crashed, they had to switch places. Taha then took the stage on behalf of StellarCore, and her company’s project was projected onto the big screen for everyone to see.
One of the FlexiTech engineers was the first to spot the issue. “Hey, that code is ours. StellarCore copied it!”
Tala tumed to Audrey and frowned, “Unless you can show concrete proof, I will absolutely take legal action. Randy was someone my grandfather personally scouted, Back when he wasn’t even part of FlexiTech, he visited my grandfather,
“So maybe he saw that code while he was at my grandfather’s, tweaked it, and used it in your project. If there’s plagiarism going on here, maybe you stole it from us.”
It was widely known in the industry that Edmund had discovered Randy’s talent. For a long time, people assumed Randy would join Talia’s StellarCore- no one expected him to end up at FlexiTech Group instead.
So, if the code really was plagiarized, it wouldn’t be easy to determine who copied whom.
The event organizer stepped in. “Let’s continue for now. If the
only issue is identical code, we’ll sort it out after the event
Talia resumed her presentation, speaking with polish and confidence. Her gaze held the kind of unwavering certainty that said she had this in the bag. Whenever Talia stopped for a breath, she would glance over at Audrey. Sering Audrey’s face darken only fueled her excitement, making her even more.
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spirited.
tters just as much as the tech itself. Without fresh ideas, every so–called
Talia addressed the audience. “When it comes to smart technology, creativity matters ‘smart search‘ ends up bland and forgettable.”
When her presentation ended, she gave a graceful nod and thanked the audience.
Suddenly, one of FlexiTech Group’s engineers stood up. “StellarCore has been ripping us off for years. This whole presentation is nothing but stolen ideas and direction!”
Talia didn’t back down. “Then please present your evidence, sir, Otherwise, I’ll have no choice but to take legal action,” she replied firmly. She even threw Audrey a pointed look, edged with challenge.
The moment Talia heard Audrey’s laptop had crashed, she knew the virus planted on the USB drive had done its job. Without access to those files, Audrey wouldn’t be able to back anything up with proof. It’d just be her word against theirs.
And even if Audrey managed to fix the laptop and recover the original data, by then, StellarCore would’ve already secured their spot. It’d be too late for anything to change.
At first, Talia just wanted to destroy the files on Audrey’s laptop. But the specialist she brought in noticed how impressive the company’s design was and advised her to borrow some of its best features for her own project.
That was how Talia ended up giving the presentation she did.
Audrey rose to her feet. “I have proof”
