Chapter 158

Chapter 158
After the brief commotion died down, Noreen finally spoke up again. “If possible, could you play Miss Lowell’s presentation one more time?”
Jude didn’t bother hiding his scorn now and snorted loud enough for everyone to hear. “Is she not embarrassed? If I were her, I’d want the ground to swallow me up.”
Even Seth couldn’t help but laugh this time.
Bianca watched them, the corner of her mouth curling into a faint smirk.
She realized now how foolish she’d been to consider Noreen a rival. It had only cheapened herself and flattered Noreen far too much. Jude was right: Noreen was never even in her league.
So Bianca turned to Seth with a teasing lilt. “Didn’t the folks at Aurelion Group say she was some kind of prodigy? Is this the best she can do? Seth, maybe your eye for talent needs a little work.”
Seth didn’t reply, just let out a soft, dismissive chuckle.
Jude jumped in, grinning, “His taste has improved lately, hasn’t it?”
Bianca caught his meaning immediately, lifting her chin with practiced pride.
Meanwhile, Jude sent the video he’d just recorded to their group chat, tagging everyone to make sure they didn’t miss the spectacle.
“Wasn’t Noreen supposed to be pretty sharp? What’s going on?” someone messaged, confused.
People who’d worked with Noreen before remembered her as capable.
Jude scoffed, “Capable? Please. That was all Seth’s doing. She just rode his coattails–she never brought anything to the table herself!”
But not everyone was focused on the presentation..
“Did Noreen and Mr. Harcourt really break up? If they did, I might just make my move!” one person joked, clearly more interested in Noreen’s looks than her work.
Of course, there were a few who cared about the event itself.
“Noreen really went up there and embarrassed herself? Lucky for Aurelion Group she’s not with them anymore–otherwise, she’d be dragging Mr. Harcourt’s name through the mud!”
Jude grinned. This was exactly the reaction he wanted.
“Just sit back and enjoy the show, everyone,” he typed, tagging someone in particular.
Dylan.
Since this was their usual circle’s chat, Dylan was in it too. Jude wanted Dylan to see Noreen’s ‘real‘ abilities–so he wouldn’t be fooled by her looks or that reputation she’d built at Aurelion Group.
But Dylan never replied. Probably busy.
No matter. He’d see it when he had time. Jude would keep recording every awkward moment of Noreen’s downfall, ready to send another clip for everyone’s entertainment whenever he wanted.
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10:03
Chapter 158
Meanwhile, the staff brought up the presentation Bianca had played earlier. Noreen flipped through a few slides before she began to speak.
“During our closed beta, our product received consistently positive feedback from users–especially for our ‘Drill–through Analysis‘ feature. For example, the presentation Miss Lowell just showed actually used a lot of our product’s advanced capabilities. But unlike SkyMind, our solution is based on a reasoning–driven model, not just a command–based one.”
“Our company calls it a ‘full–powered modern Sherlock Holmes.‘ Its powerful analytical and deductive skills make it exceptional across fields.”
“That’s the heart of our philosophy: democratizing computing power.”
“Democratizing computing means every organization–and every person–can build their own Al model, without the privacy concerns that used to hold people back.”
“Our product is called InnoCore.”
Before she had even finished, applause broke out from the audience.
Some of the more distinguished guests even stood to give Noreen a standing ovation.
The thunderous applause silenced Jude completely.
Meanwhile, the group chat was blowing up–everyone urging him to post the next video, refusing to be left hanging.
Beside him, Bianca’s confident smile faltered, her expression growing stiff.
10:03