"Noreen, after InnoCore goes public, let''s go out for a proper dinner."


    The timing, he thought, would be perfect.


    Noreen considered it for a moment, then nodded. "Okay."


    A wave of relief and happiness washed over Dn. "It''s a date, then! Don''t you forget it."


    After he left, Noreen took a shower. Two days of running around had finally paid off, and she could finally breathe a little. A message from Sophia popped up on her phone, warning her to close her windows because of a thunderstorm forecast for that night. Noreen shut herptop and went to the window. The wind was already picking up outside. From her top-floor apartment, she had a clear view of the trees below, their crowns swaying wildly. She could just make out a ck sedan parked under one of them. *Anyone who parks under a tree in this weather is a brave soul,* she thought idly. She didn''t give it another thought as she drew the curtains and went to bed.


    On the same day that Everstill signed its contract with PerseTech, Noreen finalized a partnership with Auspice ounting. In their circle, news traveled fast. Bianca heard about it while she was at a spa with Yvonne Laurent. The moment she saw the message in their group chat, she sat bolt upright on the massage table, staring at her phone in disbelief.


    "How is that possible?"


    Her shock was understandable. Auspice was the top ounting firm in the industry, a giant that even Everstill looked up to. It was a partnership Bianca wouldn''t have even dared to dream of, yet Noreen had secured it.


    When she told Yvonne, she was equally stunned. "How did Noreen even get a meeting with Auspice?"


    Bianca immediately thought of Halley. One of his former students had founded Auspice. Noreen must have gotten to them through him. Which meant that, in the end, it was Dn who had helped her. Had he really be so infatuated that he''d lost all sense?


    "Don''t worry," Yvonne said, her eyes narrowing. "I have a way to make all of Noreen''s efforts go to waste."<fn7875> Readplete version only at F?nd-Novel</fn7875>


    ...


    Noreen went to Halley''s to deliver


    the second course of his medication


    and a new physical therapy device As she parked, she didn''t notice Henry sitting in a car across the street. He watched with cold eyes as she carried the bags into the Joyner residence. Hemy had also heard about the Auspice deal and hade to ask Halley about it, but the old man had refused to say a word. He''d been leaving empty-handed when he saw her arrive.


    So this was how she did it. By fawning and ttering, she''d gotten Halley to pull


    strings for her. *Still taking shortcuts,* Henry thought with disgust.


    Noreen, oblivious to Henry''s presence, walked in and noticed the chessboard. "It seems your opponent''s mind was elsewhere," shemented.


    "An impatient young man," Halley huffed. "How about a game?"


    "Alright." She had a rare moment of free time, so she sat down to y.


    After a few moves, a pleased expression spread across Halley''s face. "It seems you haven''t lost your touch."


    "I''ve had some practice," Noreen


    admitted. "InnoCore recently


    partnered with apany that developed an Al Go program. They


    used me as a test subject, so


    ле


    yed a few games against the bot.


    It was good training."


    "Sounds interesting. Send me the link, I''ll give it a try," Halley said, his interest piqued.


    “I will,” Noreen promised, “but be prepared. After its quantitative training, the Al


    has reasoning and foresight beyond human capability. It''s basically impossible to


    win."


    Their conversation shifted from the


    game to the future of Al. After listening to her insights, Halley nodded in approval. "So that''s why you saw the potential in Innocore right away. You have remarkable foresight in business."


    ***