61 Unseen ra, Praised Vivienne


    Vivienne Dubois leaned closer to Lennox as they sat at the tech expo dinner, her eyes flicking toward the far end of the table where ra Vance sat.


    “I’m surprised she even showed up, Vivienne remarked quietly. “But with Damien here, she wouldn’t dare cause a scene.”


    Lennox nodded, adjusting her elegant zer. “She knows better than to o jeopardize Julian’s business opportunities.”


    What they failed to notice was how deeply engaged ra was in conversation with Bryson Leonard, a brilliant systems engineer she’d met earlier at the expo. Unlike the strained politeness she’d maintained throughout the day, her expression now showed genuine interest.


    “Your approach to quantum processing is fascinating,” ra said, her voice animated despite keeping it low. “I’ve been working on simr integration issues with our emotional recognition algorithms.”


    Bryson’s eyes lit up. “The recursive functions you mentioned earlier could solve thetency problems we’ve been facing”


    “xactly,” ra replied, sketching a quick diagram on her napkin. “If you adjust the feedback loops here and here, the system bes self–correcting”


    Across the table, Vivienne tossed her glossy dark hair over her shoulder, drawing the attention of several executives nearby. She smiled at their admiring nces before turning back to Lennox.


    “What do you suppose she’s discussing so intensely with Bryson?” Vivienne asked, her tone suggesting she already knew the answer.


    Lennox nced over disinterestedly. “Probably just asking technical questions. You know how thesepanies work–always fishing for insider information.”


    The conversation around them shifted as Marcus Weber, CEO of a prominent venture capital firm, addressed Bryson.


    “Leonard, are you going to grace us with that famous scotch of yours after dinner?” he called out jovially.


    61 Unseen ra Praised Vivienne


    Bryson looked up from his conversation with ra, grinning. “Only If you promise not to talk about your golf handicap all night again.”


    The table crupted inughter, temporarily drawing everyone into a single conversation. ra sat back, her moment of connection broken as the attention shifted toward the more established figures in the room.


    “Speaking of technical brilliance,” Charles Paxon said, “Vivienne’s presentation on automated transportation systems today was remarkable. The neuralwork application you’ve developed could revolutionize the entire industry.”


    Vivienne epted the praise with a practiced modest smile. “Thank you, Charles. It’s been abor of love.”


    “And abor of extraordinary talent,” added Damien Thorne, his deep voicemanding attention as always. His hand rested casually on the back of Vivienne’s chair. “Her work is years ahead of ourpetitors.”


    ra kept her expression neutral as she reached for her water ss. She took a small sip, using the moment topose herself.


    <b>“</b>With Thorne Industries‘ backing and your brilliance, Vivienne, I expect we’ll see your systems implemented nationwide within five years, Charles continued.


    Vivienne’s smile widened. “Damien has been instrumental in elerating our timeline. His vision for integration with existing infrastructure solved problems we’d been struggling with for months.”


    Around the table, heads nodded appreciatively. The waitstaff began serving the main course<b>, </b>momentarily interrupting the conversation with the tter of tes and murmured acknowledgments.


    Damien nced at Vivienne’s te, then signaled a waiter. “She prefers her salmon. medium–rare, not well–done.”


    “Of course, sir,” the waiter said immediately, whisking the te away.


    Vivienne touched Damien’s arm appreciatively. When the correct dish arrived momentster, she made a show of serving Damien first, selecting the best portions and arranging them carefully on his te before serving herself.


    “Always taking care of each other,” Marcusmented with approval. “That’s what


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    61 Unseen ra Praised Vivienne


    makes a powerful team.”


    The conversation shifted to ra’s side of the table when Lennox <b>asked</b>, “And what exactly is your role at Croft Technologies, Ms. Vance? Are you mainly in


    administration?”


    ra looked up from her <b>te</b>. “I lead our Al development team. We’re focusing on emotional intelligence applications for autonomous systems.”


    “Oh, that’s right,” Lennox said, her tone suggesting she’d forgotten something trivial. *Julian mentioned you had a technical background.”


    Before ra could respond, Charles Paxon jumped in. “She’s the pretty one who works for Julian, right? I’ve heard some rumors about you two.”


    Julian, seated several ces away and engaged in another conversation, didn’t hear the


    *Julian and I are business partners,” ra rified calmly. “We’ve known each other since college.”


    “Such a shame to hide that lovely face behindputer screens all day,” Charles remarked with a patronizing smile. “Though I suppose someone has to handle the technical details while Julian manages the business end.”


    ra’s fingers tightened slightly around her fork. “Actually, I-‘


    *Speaking of future developments,” Vivienne interrupted smoothly, “has everyone seen the preview of next year’s expo exhibits? They’re expanding the autonomous vehicle section significantly.”


    The interruption effectively redirected everyone’s attention. As conversation flowed around her, ra noticed Bryson watching her with a look of quiet understanding. He gave her a small, sympathetic smile before being drawn into a discussion about manufacturing challenges.


    “The integration of AI with physical systems remains our greatest hurdle, someone was saying. “The software is advancing faster than hardware can keep up.”


    “That’s where Vivienne’s work is so groundbreaking,” Damien said. “She’s designed systems that optimize existing hardware rather than requiringplete recements.”


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    61 Unseen ra, Praised Vivienne


    “Cost–effective and brilliant,” another executivemented. “No wonder Thorne Industries is leading the market.”


    Vivienne epted the praise graciously, asionally touching Damien’s arm or shoulder as she spoke, marking her territory in subtle but unmistakable ways.


    ra focused on her meal, contributing asionally to technical discussions but finding herself repeatedly overlooked as conversation gravitated toward Vivienne’s aplishments and Damien’s business insights.


    As dessert was being served, Bradley Newman, who had been rtively quiet throughout dinner, suddenly addressed Damien directly.


    “Thorne, I’ve been meaning to ask–have you considered a coboration with Croft Technologies? Their intelligent traffic programmingnguage would pair extraordinarily well with your autonomous vehicle project.”


    The table fell silent. All eyes turned to Damien, then briefly to ra, before settling


    back on him<b>. </b>


    Damien’s expression remained impassive as he set down his fork. “That’s an interesting suggestion, Newman.”


    The silence stretched, pregnant with unasked questions and unspoken history. Everyone at the table knew of Damien and ra’s impending divorce, though it was never mentioned in professional settings.


    ra kept her gaze steady, waiting for Damien’s response with the rest of them, her heart beating a rapid rhythm against her ribs as the moment of truth approached.