ire sighed as she leaned back in her chair, taking a brief break from her never-ending pile of work. She hadn''t been able to visit Adrian because of the hordes of journalists lurking outside her building and the hospital.


    It was like they had all decided to turn her life into the world''s most public spectacle, and thest thing she wanted was to drag Adrian into it. So, instead of seeing each other in person, they had settled on Face Timing whenever they could. Her phone buzzed, and Adrian''s name popped up on the screen. She smiled, swiping to answer the video call. Adrian''s face appeared, a little pale but smiling, as always. "Hey, how''re you holding up?" he asked, his voice gentle but filled with concern. ire waved him off with a casual shrug, trying to look nonchnt. "Everything''s fine. You know, just dealing with work stuff." She said it like it was no big deal, but Adrian could tell. She wasn''t fooling him, not one bit.


    "Uh-huh, sure," Adrian said, narrowing his eyes at her through the screen. "You''re really gonna sit there and act like everything''s peachy? I heard what happened with you and Matthew. Finding a body in a car trunk? ire, that''s not fine." ire groaned, resting her head in her hand. "Ugh, don''t even mention it. It makes me sick just thinking about it." She shot him a look, but there was no real heat behind it-she was too tired to be mad.


    "I''m worried about you," Adrian said softly, his expression serious now.


    "You''re worried about me?" ire scoffed, leaning closer to the screen. "You''re the one who''s in the hospital, Adrian. I''m fine. You should be worried about yourself, not me."


    Adrian smiled a little, but his eyes still held that worried look. "I wish I could be there with you, you know. Give you some support, at least."


    ire softened, her eyes meeting his. "Hey, just hearing your voice is enough for me. Knowing you care... that''s all I need right now." She was about to say more when she suddenly heard a door open on Adrian''s end, followed by a loud, cheerful voice. "Adriaaaan!" The shout was so loud that ire winced, frowning as she tried to figure out who the voice belonged to. Before she could ask, a familiar pair of eyes popped onto the screen, grinning mischievously.


    "Edward," ire said with a yful eye roll. "Why am I not surprised?"


    Edward waved enthusiastically at ire, his grin wide as ever. "Hey, ire! Miss me?"


    "Not even a little," ire teased back. "Have you gotten any better with your flirting, or are you still terrible at it?"


    Before Edward could respond, a deep chuckle came from the background. "Better give it up, man," Henry''s voice said, clearly amused.


    Edward pouted dramatically. "I didn''t even do anything this time! And, hey, for the record, I didn''t interrupt anything, right, Adrian?"


    Adrian just shook his head, trying not tough as he watched the two of them banter. "You kinda did, Edward."


    Edward shot ire a mock re, then looked back at Adrian with a smirk. "You guys can''t live without each other for five minutes, can you?"


    ire grinned, not even pretending to argue. "Adrian, I''ll call you backter. I''ve got a meeting I need to get to."


    "Alright," Adrian said with a soft smile. "But don''t work too hard, okay? Take care of yourself."


    ire nodded, giving Edward and Henry a quick wave. "Keep an eye on him for me, you two."


    "You got it!" Edward replied with a mock salute, while Henry gave a more serious nod of agreement.


    With that, the call ended, and ire stood up, stretching her arms before heading out of her office. She had a shareholder''s meeting to attend, and as much as she would''ve loved to stay and chat with Adrian, duty called.


    Meanwhile, at Venus AMD, the robot


    trials were in full swing. Frank and


    Robert stood at the back of the room, watching intently as the workers prepared for the next test. The air was thick with tension. Everyone knew that Frank wasn''t in the best of moods-especially not after thest few failures.


    The robot powered on, its metallic limbs moving smoothly at first. Frank''s intense gaze followed every movement as if wishing the machine to behave. For a few moments, everything seemed fine... and then, it happened. The robot''s arm jerked, its movements bing erratic. Another malfunction.


    Frank''s face twisted in frustration,


    and before anyone could even react, he was already shouting. ""his is the fourth time! The fourth time it malfunctioned!" His voice boomed across the room, and the workers flinched. "I''m paying you to fix these things, not stand around like a bunch of essories to the


    One of the workers tried to stammer out a response, but the words seemed to die in his throat under Frank''s re. Others simply stared down at their shoes, too afraid to even look at Frank.


    "I''m giving you one more chance," Frank said, his voice like ice now. "One more. If this happens again, you''re all fired."


    With that, Frank stormed out of the room, leaving the workers scrambling to figure out what had gone wrong. Robert, who had been quietly watching from the side, stepped forward, shaking his head slightly.


    "Don''t just stand there," Robert said in a much calmer voice than Frank''s. "Get back to work."


    The workers hurriedly returned to their tasks, trying to avoid further wrath. Robert followed Frank out of the room, catching up with him in the hallway.


    "Frank, you''ve gotta be patient with them," Robert said, trying to soothe his friend''s temper. "They''re working hard, you know. This kind of stuff takes time."


    "Time?" Frank turned to him, disbelief written all over his face. "Robert, if they were working hard, we''d have results by now! This is ridiculous. If they were really capable, we wouldn''t be having these malfunctions every five minutes." Robert sighed, knowing Frank wouldn''t be easy to calm down. "Look, I get it. But shouting at them isn''t going to help. They''re nervous enough as it is."


    Frank grumbled, running a hand


    through his hair. "I need results, Robert. We''re running out of time. Metacortex is miles ahead of us, and with ire Peterson caught up in some Scandal, this is the perfect time to strike. But how can we do that when our own employees can''t even get a robot to function


    properly?"


    Robert nodded, thinking for a moment. "You''re right about the opportunity. But firing everyone won''t solve the problem. Maybe we should look for some outside talent, someone who can help us get things moving faster." Frank''s eyes lit up at the suggestion. "Exactly! That''s what I''ve been saying. If you find someone more capable than this lot, don''t hesitate. Bring them in. We need the best if we''re going to take down Metacortex." "Alright, I''ll see what I can do," Robert said, though he wasn''t entirely sure where he''d find this miracle worker Frank was hoping for.


    "Good," Frank replied, his frustration still simmering beneath the surface. "Because we''re not going to get another chance like this. If we don''t act now, we''ll lose everything."


    As Robert watched Frank storm off again, he couldn''t help but feel the pressure mounting. Venus AMD had to seed. They couldn''t afford another failure-not with thepetition as fierce as it was.