Chapter 78:


    Daron yelped, forced to bend at the waist to keep his arm from snapping. He was suddenly bowing to her.


    “Don’t touch me,” Isolde whispered in his ear. “I am not in the mood.”


    She released him. He stumbled back, rubbing his wrist, his face crimson.


    Belle gasped, clutching her pearls. “You… you’re violent!”


    Isolde ignored her. She pulled the ck key card from her pocket and tapped it against the sensor of the private elevator.


    Beep. ess Granted: Level 40 — Executive R&D.


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    The doors slid open. Isolde stepped inside and turned to face them as the doors began to close.


    “Enjoy the lobby,” she said.


    The doors shut, cutting off Belle’s stunned expression.


    When the elevator opened on the top floor, And Roth was waiting.


    “Security said there was an incident,” And said, raising an eyebrow.


    Isolde straightened her jacket. “Just taking out the trash.”


    And smiled. “Wee home, Valkyrie.”


    He led her down the hall to a ss-walled office. On the door, etched in frosted ss: Chief Engineer.


    Isolde pressed her fingertips against the ss.


    It was real.


    Two floors below, in a generic conference room, Belle was sweating.


    She stood in front of a projection screen, clicking through a PowerPoint presentation filled with stock photos of space stations. This wasn’t a pitch for funding but a presentation at an exclusive, closed-door industry symposium Orbital was hosting — an opportunity for rivals to posture and showcase conceptual work.


    “And so,” Belle said, her voice trembling slightly, “the synergy of the ecosystem will create a paradigm shift in… habitation.”


    The three engineers from Orbital sat across the table. They looked bored.


    The lead engineer, a woman with sharp eyes named Dr. Wu, raised a hand.


    “Ms. Escobar,” Dr. Wu said. “This is very… pretty. But where are the specifications? What is the oxygen scrub rate? What is the radiation shielding material?”


    Belle froze. “Well… those are details we are still refining. This is a conceptual overview.”


    Dr. Wu closed her folder. “Orbital deals in physics, not poetry. This presentation is concluded.”


    Belle felt the tears prick her eyes. “But… Grayson Lancaster supports this project!”


    “Then Mr. Lancaster can enjoy the concept,” Dr. Wu said, rising from her seat. “Good day.”


    Belle ran out of the room and dialed Grayson immediately.


    “Gray!” she sobbed into the phone. “They were so mean! They rejected me! That woman was sexist!”


    Grayson, sitting in his office across town, sighed. He was already buried in the PR fallout from the school incident, but Belle’s tears had always worked on him.


    “Don’t cry, baby,” Grayson said. “Orbital is small time. I’ll make a call. I’ll get you a fellowship at The Institute. I’ll make a donation sorge that even a purist like Professor Nelson can’t refuse.”


    “The Institute?” Belle sniffled. “Really?”


    “Yes. Senator Miller owes me a favor. You’ll be a fellow by Monday.”


    Upstairs, in the ss office, Isolde was reviewing schematics. And walked in.


    “You heard?” And asked. “Belle bombed her presentation.”


    Isolde didn’t look up. “I assumed.”


    “Grayson is pulling strings,” And said. “He’s getting her into The Institute.”


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