Ka chuckled, the sound almost evil. "Oh, you know exactly why. That''s what you get for lying," she said, her tone dripping with satisfaction. Lisa''s eyes widened, but she quickly tried to y dumb, her mind racing. How much did Ka know? She couldn''t possibly have figured it all out, right?


    Ka crossed her arms and gave Lisa a look that screamed, "You can stop the act." With a smirk stered on her face, she leaned in a bit closer, her voice dripping with usation. "Everyone knows, Lisa. You''re the woman who attempted suicide." Lisa froze. The words hit her like a ton of bricks. How did they know? She had gone over that blurry picture a hundred times, and it was barely recognizable. Her pulse quickened as she slowly got to her feet, her anger bubbling up through the humiliation. "Why did you trip me?" Lisa demanded, her voice shaking slightly with rage.


    Ka shrugged, the picture of nonchnce. "Because you lied to me."


    "What lie?" Lisa asked, even though her heart was thumping hard in her chest. She was pretty sure she knew where this was going.


    Ka scoffed, clearly losing patience. She stepped closer, so close Lisa could feel her breath on her ear as she whispered, "You lied about Alex and ire."


    A shiver ran down Lisa''s spine. How in the world did Ka find out? Just two days ago, Ka had been eating up everything she said. Now this? Lisa stammered, trying to find the right words. "H-how did you...?"


    Ka raised an eyebrow, her smirk deepening. "Oh, so you are confirming it?" She then added in a mocking tone, "Don''t worry, everyone here just thinks you''re the one who tried to jump off Metacortex, not your rtionship with Alex." Ka''s smirk turned into a wicked grin. "ire Peterson told me everything."


    Of course, it was ire. She could feel the cafeteria walls closing in as the shame washed over her. Without another word, she stormed out of the cafeteria, her fists clenched so tight her knuckles were white. ire had sabotaged her wedding, and now she was going after her career, too? Unbelievable!


    Lisa dashed into the bathroom to clean herself up from the food earlier. She scrubbed her dress, but the stain wasn''t going anywhere, much like the sense of humiliation that was eating her alive. Her appetite gone, she headed back to her desk, simmering with anger. Just as she sat down, her manager''s voice crackled over the inte. "Lisa, my office. Now."Còntens bel0ngs to N?(v)elDr/a/ma.Org


    Great. Just what she needed.


    She dragged herself to his office, hoping against hope that this wasn''t going to be as bad as she thought. But as soon as she stepped in, his eyes immediately went to the giant stain on her dress. He frowned. "What happened to you?" "I, uh... tripped," Lisa mumbled, her eyes avoiding his.


    The manager didn''t seem convinced, but he moved on. "There''s something I need to discuss with you. I''ve been hearing some rumors."


    Lisa''s heart plummeted. She could feel beads of sweat forming on her forehead despite the cool st from the air conditioner. "Rumors?" she repeated, trying to keep her voice steady.


    "Yes, Lisa. Rumors about you... and some incidents at Metacortex. Something about an attempted suicide."


    Lisa felt her breath hitch. Her mind was racing, desperately trying to think of a way out of this mess, but she came up nk. The manager raised an eyebrow, clearly waiting for an exnation, but she had nothing. Nothing but panic. "The other employees seem pretty sure it''s you," he continued. "They say they got their information from a reliable source."


    Lisa''s mind immediately went to ire. Of course, it was her. Who else would do this? The manager sighed, breaking Lisa out of her thoughts. "Listen, Lisa. I''ve always admired your work, but we can''t have this kind of thing in thepany." Lisa''s eyes widened in fear. She knew where this was going, but she didn''t want to believe it. "What... what do you mean?"


    The manager sighed again, this time looking genuinely sorry. "I''m afraid we''re going to have to let you go."


    It felt like the floor had dropped out from under her. Lisa stood there, numb from head to toe. Fired? This couldn''t be happening. But it was. And there was only one person to me.


    Lisa''s hands balled into fists at her sides. She couldn''t feel anything except a red-hot fury building up inside her. This was it. ire had ruined her love life, and now she''d destroyed her career.


    Lisa walked out of the manager''s office in a daze, her mind swirling with thoughts of revenge. ire had gone too far this time. There was only one thing left to do.


    She would kill ire for sure this time.


    Two weeks had flown by since the robot designpetition ended, and ire was knee-deep in the


    aftermath. She was sprawled out on her office floor, surrounded by heaps of paper, each one boasting a unique robot design from the


    participants. There were around 100 submissions, and ire was starting to get cross-eyed from staring at them. Each design had something special, and choosing a winner felt like trying to pick her favorite star in the night sky-pretty much


    impossible.


    As she was squinting at yet another design, the door to her office creaked open, and Matthew strolled in. He paused, blinking at the sight of ire amidst what looked like a paper explosion. "What in the world are you doing down there?" he asked, half-amused, half- concerned. Without looking up, ire waved a dismissive hand in his direction. "Picking a winner," she said.


    Matthew leaned casually against her desk, watching her with a smirk. "Is this thatpetition you hosted?"


    "Yup," ire responded, her eyes still glued to the design in front of her as if it held the secrets of the universe.


    "You know," Matthew began, tilting his head, "you could do all this on yourptop. Just saying."


    Finally, ire tore her gaze away from the paper to stare at him. "This is easier," she dered, waving at the mess around her. "I canpare them better this way. It''s like... a visual buffet."


    Matthew chuckled and shook his head before pushing himself off the desk and squatting down next to her. He peered at the designs, then turned to ire with a mischievous look. "You''re not gonna get Alex involved in this?"


    ire''s hand hovered above a paper,


    hesitating for a moment before she


    picked it up. ll show him the


    options I like best," she replied, trying to sound nonchnt. But in truth, she really didn''t want to work too closely with Alex after that


    nov


    conversation they had a few days


    ago. She figured it was best to keep


    her distance-strictly business.


    Matthew raised an eyebrow, catching the undertone of her words. "Uh-huh, keeping it professional, I see."


    "Exactly," ire said, nodding as if to convince herself more than him. Then she turned to Matthew with a sudden idea. "Oh, by the way, you''re going to the final meeting for Cortex 2.0 on my behalf." Matthew pointed at himself, his eyebrows shooting up. "Me?"


    "No, the other Matthew in the room," ire said, rolling her eyes with a grin. "Of course, you!"


    "But you''re the important one," Matthew protested, a bit flustered.


    ire gestured to the mountain of papers around her. "I''m busy, as you can see. I want to get this done today because once Alex gives the green light, I need to contact the robotCompany in Japan. Building these robots will take ages, and the hotel''s supposed to open in eight months. No pressure or anything."


    Matthew sighed dramatically, but there was a hint of a smile on his face. "Fine, I''ll go. But you owe me, ire."


    ire chuckled, her eyes sparkling with amusement. "Of course. I''ll even throw in a free coffee."


    Matthew got to his feet, shaking his head as he headed for the door. "Better be the fancy stuff," he called over his shoulder.


    "Only the best for you!" ire shouted back,ughing to herself.


    As the door clicked shut behind him, ire let out a deep breath and refocused on the task at hand. She meticulously sorted through the designs, her mind whirring like one of the very robots she was trying to bring to life.


    Hours passed, and it wasn''t until the sky outside had turned a deep shade of purple that ire finally stretched and looked up. She had narrowed it down to three designs-three robots that she believed not only stood out but also perfectly matched the vibe of the hotel. Each one was sleek and modern.


    "Finally," ire muttered to herself, feeling a wave of relief wash over her as she surveyed the mess she''d created in her office. Just as she was about to lean back and take a much-needed breather, her phone buzzed on the desk.


    It was a message from Matthew.


    Software''s good to go. The team''s testing it tomorrow. Also, you still owe me that fancy coffee.


    You''ll get your coffee, don''t worry. And maybe a cookie if I''m feeling generous.


    You spoil me, Boss.


    Shaking her head with a smile she stood up, stretching out her stiff muscles.


    "Alright," she said to herself, surveying the mess onest time. "Time to clean up this disaster zone."