The anticipation inside the grand auditorium was palpable. Reporters leaned forward, with their cameras flashing occasionally. Investors exchanged hushed whispers the glow of the stage reflecting in their eager eyes. All of them looked at Daniel Storm, knowing well there was a higher chance of him walking away with the trophy that day.
They both arranged themselves, both Elara and Madeline sitting in the rows assigned for their respective employers. It turned out, they were at adjacent rows and they were besides each other. They both exchanged smiles as the MC took to stage.
"Welcome everyone to the energy revolution contestant. I need to remind you all how important this project is. Electricity and energy run every vessel, every business, every household, every hospital, every sector in the government.
This project is beneficial not only to the government, but also to the general public. And that means, we are going to check every section and ensure that the company assigned the project can meet with the market demand.
That being said, I welcome the Helios group on stage." The man waved and walked to sit.
Daniel knew he got an upper hand, and if he impressed the government first, he would definitely bang it. He had gone ahead and bribed them so he could come first. He proudly stood up and walked on stage.
Sandy turned to look at Elara before turning back. Daniel was likeable in appearance. He wore a navy-blue suit and black leather shoes. Everyone cheered and everyone knew the Helios will definitely win. They were gurus in that sector and the Orion stepped in few years ago. But Helios remained on the top list.
The lights dimmed, and Daniel stepped into the center of the stage. His presence commanded the room. He adjusted his jacket, cleared his throat, and began to speak smoothly with confidence and every word delivered with practiced weight. "Thank you for this chance." He took the microphone.
"He's gorgeous." the secretaries immediately started the gossips. "I wonder who the lucky lady is."
Knowing he had stolen the spotlight, he looked directly at Elara and flashed a smile. He had been bewitched by her, or so he thought. Because at every single moment, he thought of her.
His IT team was already in place as they set up the projector. he was sitting below operating the laptop.
"They're well prepared." Madeline said seriously.
Even Edward Monroe was tensed up because there was no guarantee that theirs was better or even the information they had used to counter their competitor was valid. He shifted and looked at his future brother in law.
"Maxwell, did you do a follow up?" Edward asked. "That would work in our favor. You have the influence, and the connection to get us this without having to go through all that!"
Maxwell sighed but didn't say anything.
"Edward, calm down. It shall be okay. Why don't you just calm down and let's see what your competitor has?" Bianca smiled at her brother and gently held on his hand assuring him. She was seated between her brother, and her fiancée.
"And Maddie, do you know the lady who is close to my boss? That's Bianca. Did you say she is the lucky lady to Mr. Ranveer?"
"Of course, I know who Bianca is. She has appeared in several fashion magazines it's so hard not to know her. She is rumored to be Mr. Ranveer's fiancée." Madeline replied while stealing a glance at Bianca. She was in a silver gown that outlined her perfect figure and her face was full of anticipation as she switched her gazes frequently from the stoic Maxwell Ranveer and then back to her brother.
"Why are you interested in them so much?" Madeline turned to look at her, raising an eyebrow.
"Maddie, don't overthink. Anyone would be curious why Bianca is seated in between her brother and Mr. Ranveer. I am just curious. Does it sound suspicious?" Elara asked. "I mean nothing personal."
"You deserve to be happy, I won't stop you." Madeline felt maybe Elara would be holding back because she was a sister to her late fiancée.
"Ooh Maddie, stop already! Let me just concentrate on that wicked motherfucker on stage." Elara turned to look at Daniel.
His shadow was tall on the wall as he patiently explained the outline while waiting for the IT guy to get all the details on the board while at the same time wondering why it was taking so long. The projector then lit up.
We went ahead to start explaining his codes and plans. Perfect images showing on the screen. Just then, there was a flicker.
"What's happening?" everyone started asked.
Minutes of the IT guy trying to correct it, the images became distorted. Daniel cursed inwardly as he threw a glare at the guy who clearly didn't understand what was happening.
There was a hushing sound and instead of the program to run normally it was restarting itself after every three minutes. Everyone was shocked. The Helios company was always perfect, what was happening?
"What's going on? We went through everything yesterday and finalized. It was working just right!" Daniel became confused. Sandy was shocked as she watched her man's face change from anticipation, to shock, and to anger.
"What is this?" Daniel muttered, his composure crashed.
Cameras flashed, capturing the fallout as Daniel's skin gleamed with sweat under the spotlight
His right-hand man, Sam, could feel the pressure. He quickly went to whisper something to the IT guy before walking up to Daniel.
"Sir, he doesn't know what's going on!" he whispered.
"Get him a new laptop! Right now!" he commanded.
A new laptop was brought and the IT guy plugged in the drive.
"Sorry for the little problem. The computer must be having a problem that we didn't notice at first." He explained. Everyone sighed. It seemed they didn't expect him to fail.
The project was back but the problem kept coming back as the code kept restarting. Daniel almost died of anger as he went over to the IT guy.
"What, in the name of God is going on?" he shouted. Everyone now looked at them with frowns. "What the f*ck? I told you to be well prepared!"
The MC walked over and leaned to Daniel. "I'll let the Orion group present themselves. You can come back once you sort your problem out." He said politely before motioning Edward Monroe.
Daniel dragged the IT guy out and had him look through all the code well. He was loosing his patient when the IT guy looked up with shock.
"Someone altered the code!"
"Impossible!"