ire stepped out of the buffet room, her stomachfortably full of the ridiculous spread of food. As she made her way toward the exit, lost in thought about the ridiculousness of the whole press release event, she collided with someone. Someone all too familiar. "Robert," ire said, her voice dripping with fake sweetness, as she stered a smile on her face. "What a surprise, running into you here. Congrattions on your little ''brilliant'' robot project. It was genius of you to propose that to Venus. Really, I''m impressed." Robert, standing in front of her, scowled. His eyes narrowed, and ire could practically feel the heating off him. "Earlier, that malfunction with the robot? That was an error. Don''t get too carried away," he grumbled, crossing his arms tightly.


    ire raised an eyebrow, never letting her smile waver. "Oh, of course. An error. How could I have been so na?ve? You''re right, mistakes happen." She paused, leaning a little closer. "I just hope you, you know, actually contributed to the building of the robot. Or were you just barking orders like you did at Metacortex?"


    Robert''s jaw tightened, and he shot her a re sharp enough to cut ss. "Funny," he said, his voice cold. "You keep bringing up the past. It''s almost like you''re still holding on to it."


    ire rolled her eyes dramatically, crossing her arms over her chest. "Oh, I''m sorry, was I supposed to forget that you stole Metacortex''s ideas? You''re the one who made sure everything fell apart, Robert. I''m just wondering if you actually did any of the work this time, instead of sitting behind a desk and letting others do it for you."


    A silence fell between them. Robert''s face turned an rming shade of red. "You haven''t heard thest of me, ire. This isn''t thest time we''ll meet."


    ire simply smiled, her expression calm, her eyes glinting with amusement. "You''re starting to sound more and more like Frank. That''s exactly what he said earlier. I''m sure you two would get along famously." She turned on her heel, walking past him without a second nce, leaving Robert standing there, his fists clenched at his sides.


    As ire walked away, she could feel Robert''s eyes burning into her back. She didn''t even have to look back to know he was standing there fuming. She was sure he promised himself that he''d find a way to get back at her, but ire wasn''t worried. Let him try. ire walked briskly through the hall, Matthew close behind. The press, as always, were relentless. A few of the journalists who''d been hanging around waiting for ire''s exit immediately surrounded her, firing off questions faster than she could process them. "ire! Why did you help Venus during the robot malfunction?" one journalist asked, holding up a microphone.


    ire smiled, her tone polite but firm. "Well, the robot was out of control, wasn''t it? Someone had to step in before it caused any damage. I couldn''t just stand by and let people get hurt, could I?"


    Another journalist, eager to dig deeper, shot another question. "What do you think of Venus AMD''s robot,pared to Metacortex''s design? It seems like they''re copying you."


    ire raised an eyebrow, ncing sideways at Matthew before answering. "It was a little surprising to me, to be honest. Venus managed to put something together in a month, so I''ll give them credit for that. But it''s not as groundbreaking as they''d like to think. Anyone can create a robot, especially with the technology out there."


    They weren''t done with her yet, though. A third journalist piped up, "Metacortex was the first to do a robot press release, and then Venus followed suit. Do you think they''re copying your ideas?"


    ire chuckled softly, a mischievous glint in her eye. "Maybe they just had the same schedule. It''s not like I own robots, right? Everyone''s free to try their hand at it."


    The questions kepting, but ire didn''t seem fazed at all. "And what about Frank, constantly putting Metacortex down? How do you feel about that?"


    ire''s smile widened, a little


    arrogance creeping into her


    expression. “Oh, Frank can say


    whateve he likes. The audience will


    decide which press release went


    better. But hey, let''s be


    reat everyone knows who''s been


    doing this longer."


    Matthew, standing next to her, gave her an amused look. She just shrugged, making her way toward the exit, but the journalists weren''t about to let her off the hook so easily. They kept asking, shouting questions at her as she walked away. Matthew stepped up beside her, signaling for the journalists to give them space. "We should go," he muttered, guiding her toward the car.


    "Agreed," ire replied, sounding both amused and slightly tired of the whole thing.


    Once they were safely in the backseat of the car, ire rxed, leaning back against the plush seat. Matthew sat next to her, both of them letting out a simultaneous breath of relief.


    "And that''s how you handle the press." Said ire, feeling satisfied and entertained.


    Matthew chuckled beside her. "Seems like you had it all prepared with your words, huh?"


    "To be honest, I kinda knew this would happen. I meane on...let''s be honest who even made a robot in just one month?"


    He raised his brows. "You did."


    "I know but mine''s different. I have all the software, the brains and all I need is the body but Venus, seems like they tried to make it from zero. I apud Frank''s confidence but looks like he really wanted to show the world that Venus AMD is much better than Metacortex."


    The ride back to thepany was afortable silence, save for the soft hum of the engine and the asional mutter from Matthew about the press.


    Back at his house, Eligos sat in front of hisputer, watching the live stream of the press event. He swirled a ss of wine in his hand, a small smile ying on his lips as he observed ire. She seemed... too calm. Much too calm.


    "She''s forgotten about the issues with Cryptonic and Metacortex," Eligos mused aloud, his eyes never leaving the screen. "But that''s not like her. Not at all."


    He leaned back in his chair, twirling a strand of his dark hair as his mind raced through his ns. What was ire really up to? Could she possibly know more than she was letting on?


    Eligos smirked, his thoughts moving in a new direction. "She thinks she''s untouchable. But there''s someone dangerous trailing her every move, and she doesn''t even know it. How long can she stay calm with that hanging over her head?"


    He leaned forward, tapping his


    fingers against the desk. He''d


    already roped Cindy and Andrea into


    his scheme, but there was still a piece missing. Something to really make his nplete. Maybe it We to use Andrea as his little


    cherry on top-his surprise. And Cindy... well, she could serve as the main appetizer, couldn''t she? But how exactly would he use her? That was the question.


    A slow grin spread across his face as he thought of the possibilities. "Soon enough, ire. You won''t see iting."