When Lily heard footsteps approaching outside the elevator, she quickly reshuffled the documents back into order and held them in her hands.
Her expression shifted, once again wearing the mask of pain she’d shown earlier.
Giselle handed her a piece of candy, concern etched on her face. “You’re drenched in sweat. Maybe I should take you to the urgent care center next door?”
ווי
be fine, really. I’m already feeling much better.” Lily popped the candy in her mouth, forcing an awkward smile. “I was planning to grab a coffee downstairs, but I guess that’s off the table now.”
Giselle didn’t suspect a thing. Without hesitation, she replied, “Don’t worry, I’ll bring you something later.”
Lily thanked her and stepped out of the elevator.
Once the doors slid shut behind her, Lily found herself thinking of Giselle–how she’d just told her to get some rest. A wave of mixed emotions washed over her.
It was almost too easy to fool someone fresh out of college.
Guilt gnawed at her; she couldn’t help but feel she’d crossed a line.
But then she pictured Frank, about to be named lead on the Fawkes Enterprises project, and the house they’d toured last year–the future they’d imagined together.
Gritting her teeth, Lily sent the message to Frank anyway.
That night, two bombshells exploded across the robotics community.
First, UME–the company that had made waves overseas and only recently returned stateside–announced a teaser for its new product, with a launch event set for the following week.
Second, the newly–minted Fawkes Enterprises, fresh to the robotics scene but already pouring in massive funds, released its own teaser for a new robot–an hour ahead of UME’s announcement, and scheduled its launch event a full three days earlier. Not only that, Fawkes Enterprises‘ website included detailed specs and features of their upcoming model.
The news set off a storm inside UME.
Because the robot Fawkes Enterprises just
Evangeline had developed not long ago.
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announced was the very same model
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The entire Tech Division was in an uproar.
Evangeline had been working on her speech for the upcoming launch when the news broke. Before she could even process what was happening, she was summoned to Theo’s office.
The moment she stepped inside, Theo hurled a file straight at her face.
She had no time to dodge; the sharp edge of the folder grazed her cheek.
“What the hell is going on, Evangeline? Explain yourself! Why is the robot Fawkes Enterprises just announced the exact one we’ve been working on? And how did they beat us to it?” Theo’s voice shook with fury.
Evangeline picked up the documents. They contained some specs and features. from Fawkes Enterprises‘ new robot.
Even though it was only a partial release, the underlying concepts and research clearly matched their own.
While many on the Tech Division team had contributed to the project, Evangeline had always worried something like this might happen. To minimize risk, she’d deliberately kept certain details compartmentalized.
The core algorithms and conceptual framework were stored separately; only she, Glenn, and Theo knew the entire picture.
Technical know–how alone wasn’t enough to control the whole project.
The omitted information was only present in the files she had given to the Public Relations Department.
Which meant the leak must have happened somewhere during Giselle’s handoff.
Evangeline exhaled slowly.
She knew Giselle–arrogant and willful, yes, but not reckless enough to commit outright corporate espionage. If there was a leak, there had to be someone else. involved.
She was starting to form a theory.
“I’ll get to the bottom of this,” Evangeline said.
“What’s the point now?” Theo shot back. “Public Relations already announced the
launch. What are you going to show everyone in seven days when it turns out Fawkes Enterprises beat us to the punch?”
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Theo was sweating bullets.
His only consolation was that the Public Relations team hadn’t revealed the robot’s core features.
But if Fawkes Enterprises unveiled their robot first, and people realized it was identical to UME’s, UME would be branded as copycats.
Fawkes Enterprises had a stellar reputation in Serenity City. If this got out, UME might never recover.
Chapter 155
