Noreen stepped in smoothly, her voice calm. “There’s someone causing a


    scene.”


    The security guard, a seasoned professional, took one look at the chaos and immediately understood what was happening. Without waiting for an exnation, he escorted Jude out.


    Finally, a little peace and quiet.


    Noreen quickly tidied up the space just as Carman returned with the projection equipment he’d gone off to find.


    But thanks to Jude’s outburst, they’d wasted precious time. The crowd had already thinned out before they even got a chance to present.


    Carman felt a pang of guilt.


    Noreen, on the other hand, seemed unfazed. She even tried tofort him, assuring him there’d be another opportunity.


    “You’ve got such a good attitude,” Carman said, genuinely impressed.


    She smiled. “Honestly, it’s just experience from the working world. I’ve dealt with much worse than this–this is nothing.”


    Whenever she talked about the hardships she’d faced, it was always with a lightness in her tone, as if none of it had ever gotten to her.


    But hearing it, Carman only felt more sympathy for her.


    He knew exactly how tough it was for women to survive in the professional world. That knowledge made it sting all the more.


    Noreen kept arranging their booth,pletely unaware of Carman’s silent thoughts. Her mind, however, drifted as she answered his questions.


    The only reason she could handle setbacks so calmly now was because of Seth’s indifference in the past. She’d learned to survive like a wildflower–toughened by storms, not pampered in a greenhouse where the slightest breeze could break her.


    733


    07:30 T


    Her gaze drifted over to Bianca’s booth.


    Seth was still there, hovering beside Bianca like a personal bodyguard, always ready to shield her from the slightest trouble.


    As if on cue, Seth looked up and their eyes met for a split second across


    the room.


    Neither lingered; they looked away almost immediately.


    Jude reappeared, having changed clothes but still fuming. “The security here is unbelievable! They said I was the troublemaker–almost threw me out! Lucky for me, my dad knows someone, or I’d really have been in trouble.”


    When he saw that Bianca’s gifts had nearly all been handed out, he felt a bit better. After all, Noreen’s team hadn’t even had the chance to present.


    “By the way, I couldn’t find InnoCore anywhere,” Jude grumbled, but he hadn’t forgotten what mattered most.


    “No luck?” Bianca echoed, surprised.


    “No. I even asked around, but no one seemed to notice them,” Jude said, an anxious edge in his voice.


    Whether he could turn his luck around all depended on getting in front of


    InnoCore.


    Bianca reassured him. “Don’t worry, you’ll get your chance. InnoCore is based in Rivercrest City, so we’ll have more opportunities than anyone


    else.”


    But right now, she had something bigger to focus on.


    She’d just been notified that her product had made it onto the shortlist. She’d have ten minutes on stage to present.


    She was already working on her speech, determined to deliver it herself. She even asked Seth to look it over.


    Seth studied her draft seriously. “It’s too in,” he said, “and not technical


    07:30 1


    enough.”


    He even took the time to help her revise and polish it.


    Jude watched, his envy barely concealed. “Seth, when I make it big and have to give a speech, will you help me out too?”


    “Don’t hold your breath,” Seth shot back without missing a beat.


    Jude was left speechless.


    Favoritism, in and simple.


    But then, this was Bianca–Seth’s long–lost muse. Of course, she was the only one who’d ever get this kind of help from him.


    Comparisons really were infuriating.


    So, was Noreen’s calm and collected act just that–an act? Maybe she was just barely holding it together.


    She sure could put on a show.