Chapter 331
Keith's heart skipped a beat. Everyone in the meeting room turned to look in the direction of the voice, and when they saw who it was, they were all shocked.
"Mr. Reynolds!" Charles's face was full of respect as he rushed over to greet him, "We didn't expect you. Please forgive the lack of hospitality."
Wearing a stylish charcoal gray suit, Sean stood with an air of flamboyance, his arms crossed and a faint smile on his face. "No need for formalities, Mr. Gordon. Your team member, Ms. Shakira Nelson, has been more than accommodating." After pausing briefly, Sean added with emphasis, "In fact, it's been an experience of unparalleled hospitality. Quite the personal touch!"
Shakira silently sighed, thinking, 'Could you be any more dramatic?'
George grinned, playing along, "Thank you for your kind words, Mr. Reynolds. Shakira is one of our own. It's an honor for our team to have her hosting you."
Taking a deep breath, Shakira stepped forward and said, "Mr. Sean Reynolds is in charge of Virmo. This is Ms. Caroline Goodman, the sole software engineer behind Virmo."
Everyone finally noticed the girl standing behind Sean and Shakira, wearing a short dress. Following Shakira's introduction, the room collectively gasped in realization.
"What? Virmo was created by Yonder Digital?"
"And the sole software engineer is a young girl? She looks kind of familiar..."
"Oh my gosh, Caroline Goodman. Isn't she that famous fortune-teller who became an online sensation with her accurate predictions?"
"Yeah, exactly! Her predictions were spot on! I even followed her for a while, and everything she said came true. But then she stopped streaming for a long time, and I thought she went offline. Turns out she switched to software development?"
"She went from a top-tier fortune-teller to a software engineer whose creation has been dominating the charts for months. It's like the universe is feeding her success with a silver spoon."
"Shakira is amazing! She managed to bring in Yonder Digital's president."
"Rumor had it that Team Two used to look down on Team Four, thinking they had an edge with the Nelson family's daughter. Bet' they didn't see this coming-Shakira's got some powerful connections too."
"Didn't Shakira win some big design competition before? That contest was hosted by Sean Reynolds. She may not rely on her family, but she definitely made an impression with her talent."
"Wait a minute, so Shakira brought in the two big bosses behind Virmo? Then what about Yvette's guy..."
Yvette's face stiffened, her forced smile barely holding.
She thought, 'Damn it. Caroline, that witch, was the one who went online saying the Smith residence had terrible juju, causing Lago's downfall and making everyone avoid him. It's all Shakira's plot-they're all in on it! "That witch! Trying to sabotage my plans and steal my credit? No way!"
Standing behind the stunned Keith, Yvette gritted her teeth. "Didn't you say there was no chance another person could emerge claiming to be behind Virmo?"
14.25 Sun,
Keith snapped out of hits daze, stuttering, "Our team definitely didn't have anyone else. I'm not aware of who the big boss is: we were in touch with a coordinator."
Yvette was fuming. She thought, "This useless fool doesn't know anything! "You don't know the big boss, but what about the software engineer? Is it really Caroline?" Yvette pressed anxiously
Keith hesitated, "When the platform was being built, the genius herself spoke to me. I never saw her face, but the vibe she gave off is completely different from this girl.
He looked Caroline up and down several times.
Suddenly, he spoke up, "No, it can't be her. I had a video call with the genius once. I didn't see her face, but I distinctly remember her hands-they were slender and clean, not decorated with garish nail polish. Yvette's eyes narrowed. "Are you sure?"
Keith nodded confidently, "Absolutely. I won't mistake that. She is definitely not the genius!"
Yvette's lips curled into a sly smile. She thought, 'Not the real person? That makes things easier?
Charles and the others were still reeling from the shock of Sean's involvement with their project.
As Charles was pondering what to say, Yvette strode over with Keith. Keith declared firmly, "I don't know these people. They are not part of the Virmo team."novelbin
Charles was taken aback. "What, you don't recognize them?"
Keith shook his head. "Nope, not at all!"
Sean almost burst out laughing. "Whether or not you recognize me, I sure recognize you, Keith. Now I get why you suddenly resigned; you got poached by the Lopez Group." Sean's steely gaze swept over to Yvette, filled with scorn. "Originally, I hoped you'd have a better future. But seeing who you've decided to work for, I take back my well-wishes."
Seeing Keith rendered speechless by Sean's words, Yvette put on a face of aggrieved innocence while continuing to sling mud. "Mr. Reynolds, I apologize for any negative impression you might have had of me due to unavoidable circumstances. "However, that's a separate matter. Bringing people here to impersonate the Virmo team, even though Mr. Reynolds and Shakira are on good terms, is quite a clumsy tactic, isn't it?"
Shakira let out a short, incredulous laugh. "Yvette, your skill at twisting the truth is as impressive as ever."
Yvette sighed dramatically, "Shakira, I know you don't want to lose to me, but facts are facts and cannot be distorted by anyone."
As she spoke, she produced the resignation notice Keith had received the previous day, clearly stamped with the Virmo seal, which was undeniably authentic.
She made sure everyone had a good look at it before turning back to Shakira, adopting a patronizing tone. "Shakira, let's not make this any worse than it already is. It benefits neither the company nor us.
"And how could you bear to drag Mr. Reynolds into this nonsense? Just tell everyone the truth. I'm willing to let bygones be bygones and pretend none of this ever happened, so you don't have to face any awkward consequences."
Seeing Yvette act so magnanimous and forgiving, the previously confused crowd began to shift their stance. "Wow, so Shakira is really that desperate to save face, she'd even go as far as faking this? That's disgusting!"
"And dragging the Yonder Digital boss into it too. Could Shakira actually be a Yonder Digital plant in Lopez Group? The
Sun, vec o
more you think about it, the scarier it gets."
10468%-
"It could be true! Yonder Digital and Lopez Group have always kept to their own lanes. Suddenly, as soon as Shakira starts her internship, Mr. Reynolds keeps dropping by the Lopez Group..."
"I thought it was odd Mr. Reynolds showed up out of nowhere. Virmo really belonged to Yonder Digital, do you think they wouldn't promote it aggressively?"
"These business war tactics are so low-level."
"You don't get it. Sometimes the simplest tricks are the most effective. Other companies steal lucky charms or water money trees with boiling water. Just the other day, a car company boss called out a competitor directly on social media." Yvette truly shows the class of someone from a big family. She knows how to put the bigger picture first."
"Exactly. Collaborating with outsiders for personal gain and lying to everyone-if this gets out, how humiliating would that be? Not to mention the other departments in our own company will laugh at us for a whole year."
"Ugh! These kinds of dirty tactics to climb the corporate ladder are really sickening!"
The meeting room was buzzing with discussions. Just as Charles's expression showed slight hesitation and George looked pale and defeated, Shakira's calm yet powerful voice rang out once more. "Why don't we just have a test to see who the real Virmo engineer is?"