Chapter 46
Chapter 46:
“This is…” One board member adjusted his glasses. “This is revolutionary p>
Elias leaned back in his chair at the head of the table. He was tapping his index finger on the wood. Tap. Tap. Tap. It was a sign of interest.
“Ms. Vance,” Elias spoke. His voice was deep, cutting through the room. “Explain the compression algorithm. How did you achieve that ratio without data loss p>
Aurora turned to him. She didn’t stutter. She didn’t hesitate. She answered instantly, matching his technical depth.
“I utilized a dynamic fractal compression method,” she said, locking eyes with him. “Instead of rendering the entire texture map, we render the mathematical seed. It reduces the packet size by 80 p>
Elias stopped tapping. He looked at her. Really looked at her.
“Brilliant,” he murmured.
Sterling stood up abruptly. He raised his right hand to slam the table in fury, but stopped mid-air as a jolt of pain shot through his broken finger. He awkwardly switched hands, pounding his left fist against the mahogany instead. The lack of force made the gesture look petulant rather than powerful.
“She stole it!” Sterling shouted, his voice cracking. “She memorized a script! She doesn’t know what she’s saying! She’s a fraud p>
Elias raised a hand. He didn’t even look at his nephew.
“Silence,” Elias said softly.
Sterling shut his mouth, his face turning a blotchy red. He looked at Aurora. He looked at the screen. For the first time, he realized the “secretary” was the one holding the gun.
The silence in the boardroom was absolute. Graves, Elias’s personal aide, stepped forward. He gathered the electronic voting results from the independent auditors present. He tapped the edges of the stack on the table to align them.
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Sterling leaned over to Isabella, whispering loudly enough for half the table to hear. “It’s fine. The board knows loyalty p>
Graves cleared his throat. He looked at the tally on his iPad. He looked up, his face impassive.
“The contract for the Q4 Flagship Project goes to p>
Sterling straightened his tie, a pre-emptive victory smile forming on his lips.
“Pulse Interactive p>
The air left the room. Sterling froze. His smile twitched, then died.
“What?” he choked out.
The room erupted in low murmurs. Board members were nodding at Victor and Aurora, ignoring the man at the head of the table.
Sterling kicked his chair back, the legs screeching against the floor.
“This is a mistake!” Sterling shouted. “Check the numbers! Pulse is a startup! They don’t have the capacity p>
Elias looked cold. He didn’t like being yelled at.
“The numbers are clear, Sterling. Pulse is 30% more efficient and 40% cheaper. It’s a unanimous decision p>
Elias stood up. The movement was fluid, commanding. It signaled the meeting was over. He walked past the Pulse team. He stopped in front of Aurora. He towered over her, but she didn’t shrink. She tilted her head up, meeting his gaze.