Bones Learn To Listen When Silence Speaks by Ryn Miles 78

Chapter 78 

Jasper was desperate to make a name for himself, to finally earn some respect and put an end to all the jokes about him being a lost cause. 

So he circled the room a couple more times, but still came up empty–handed. 

Feeling pretty down, he overheard Aurelia and Tyson talking about a speech. 

Jasper couldn’t help but feel a spark of interest. 

‘Wait, did they make it onto the spotlight list, too? No way,‘ Jasper thought. 

At a summit this big, the spotlight list was basically rigged from the start. 

One either had big–shot connections, killer resources, and the guts to splurge on R&D, or one was ready to snatch up top talent with oversized paychecks. 

Even if the thing didn’t make waves at first, it’d always get another chance to make a comeback. 

There was no way Aurelia fit that bill. 

Jasper had heard all sorts of talk about Aurelia running all over Ashmont trying to fundraise. He’d even bumped into her a couple of times himself. 

Therefore, Jasper was dead certain she couldn’t meet those requirements. 

The only other ticket to that spotlight list was if one’s product absolutely blew everyone’s mind–next–level stuff. 

It was outstanding enough that the organizers would put the nobody product with zero connections or backing straight onto their spotlight list! 

Jasper scoffed at himself, ‘Seriously? How could that possibly happen? 

‘Wouldn’t be surprised if she used some crooked shortcut to get in. 

‘Yeah, that’s got to be it. 

To Jasper, Aurelia had always seemed like the type to play dirty for what she wanted. 

Jasper muttered darkly to himself, ‘Wasn’t it those underhanded tricks that let her cling to Cassian all these years? 

‘If Tessa and Gideon’s relationship hadn’t soured, and Cassian hadn’t finally gotten the chance to chase after Tessa, his dream girl, Aurelia might have gotten her way. 

‘Aurelia does know how to play the game. 

‘I shouldn’t have looked down on her. That’s on me. 

‘No way. I cannot let her bounce back. Jasper clenched his teeth, resolve hardening. I’ve got to come up with something to block her from this chance.’ 

Jasper lingered by the wall, eavesdropping. He soon learned that it was Tyson who’d be up on stage for the product showcase. 

Jasper dismissed the whole thing with a look of contempt. 

Jasper thought, smirking, ‘Looks like Aurelia doesn’t even trust her own work. She can’t muster up the confidence to get on 

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stage herself. 

“Tessa, on the other hand, always has the nerve to stand up there and do it herself. 

‘Aurelia can’t afford to be humiliated in public, can she? 

“Typical Aurelia, always got tricks up her sleeve. 

Aurelia was totally oblivious to Jasper lurking nearby. She was all in on polishing her speech. 

Aurelia comforted, voice warm and steady, “Don’t be nervous up there. 

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“If you start getting jittery, take a deep breath and picture everyone out there as the office plants. Pretend you’re presenting to your leafy coworkers instead.” 

“Seriously? That works?” Tyson blinked in surprise. 

“Yeah. Someone once taught me that trick,” Aurelia replied, a faint smile tugging at her lips. 

Tyson was about to ask who it was, but Aurelia’s expression clearly showed she didn’t want to go on, so he let it go. 

Aurelia had no intention of bringing it because that was the trick Cassian had taught her. 

Like she’d mentioned before, Cassian was actually a pretty solid boss if everything else was put aside. 

Cassian had a sharp eye for both projects and people. 

His success was basically inevitable. 

Of course, that was how Aurelia used to see Cassian. 

But as for Cassian now, playing favorites for Tessa and mixing business with pleasure… 

Honestly, Aurelia couldn’t decide whether to laugh or cringe at that. 

***** 

The order for the spotlight product presentations was decided by drawing lots. 

When Aurelia walked into the drawing lots ceremony, Tessa blinked in astonishment. 

However, it didn’t take long for her to brush it off. ‘No point wasting energy on Aurelia. She’s here either by dumb luck or by bending the rules,’ Tessa told herself, her expression settling back into cool indifference. 

Tessa did not doubt that Aurelia had definitely snuck her way in with something underhanded. 

Feeling a hint of cruel satisfaction, Tessa thought, ‘Works for me. Let her crash and burn in front of everyone. 

‘Once this goes down, Cassian won’t even look her way, Gideon? He won’t spare her a second glance either. 

Truth be told, Tessa was still bitter over Gideon backing Aurelia’s project in the first place. 

Moreover, that damn golden potho bonsai… It was like a splinter buried under Tessa’s skin. 

She could pretend it wasn’t there, but every time it crossed her mind, it gnawed at her, which was impossible to ignore. 

Tessa had to pull it out, once and for all. 

Whether it was pure chance or some kind of messed–up fate, Aurelia and Tessa somehow ended up with back–to–back slots 

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for their presentations. 

Tessa was slotted to go first, with Aurelia right on her heels. 

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Tessa felt a surge of smug satisfaction. She gloated inwardly, “This is even better. Now Cassian gets a front–row seat to witness how far ahead I am of Aurelia.‘ 

She was hell–bent on making damn sure everyone knew Aurelia couldn’t measure up to her. 

Whether it came to academic background or ability, Aurelia was no match for her. 

Just having that PhD in Economics from Whitvale School of Management was a whole world above anything Aurelia could ever hope to achieve. 

Aurelia wasn’t caught up in all that drama. 

Honestly, she hardly even noticed Tessa was around. She was way too focused on figuring out how Tyson could stay chill when it came time to present. 

Typical tech nerds were totally obsessed with their own projects and loved their quiet time. They were always deep in their thoughts and not exactly social butterflies. 

“We’ve got a full ten minutes, and your speech only takes about eight, so we’re totally set on time. Even if nerves get to you and you flub a line, you’ve got plenty of room to fix it,” Aurelia said, her voice calm and encouraging. 

Aurelia was helping Tyson break things down, calm and practical. 

“Looks like you drank a bunch of water. Better hit the bathroom before you go up,” Aurelia reminded him. 

“Good idea,” Tyson said, impressed by how practical Aurelia was about everything. 

“I’ll scout out how the other speakers do it. Maybe we can snag a few pointers,” Aurelia added. 

Soon enough, the spotlight product showcase officially kicked off. 

The presentations were impressively diverse, a whole mix of concepts and innovations up on display. 

Everyone who made it that far was basically a leader in their industry. 

Tessa was up fifth. When she took the stage solo, Aurelia couldn’t help but blink in surprise. 

Logically, people expected tech specialists to be the ones breaking down technical stuff. 

However, Tessa was up there herself, which meant she was seriously confident in her work. 

Back during that dinner up in Northvale with Nolan Flynn, Tessa talked about her project. 

Nolan thought it was still a bit rough around the edges at the time. 

However, who knew? Maybe they had tweaked things or made some upgrades lately. 

Aurelia heard that they’d been throwing big money around recently, even poaching a few of InquireMind’s star engineers. 

With Cassian throwing money around like it was nothing, maybe they did manage to pull it off. 

Aurelia kept an eye on the clock while paying close attention to Tessa’s presentation. 

When Tessa introduced herself, she made sure to drop her academic credentials, which instantly got a wave of impressive gasps from the crowd. 

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A PhD in Economics from Whitvale School of Management was definitely something to brag about, though it had nothing to do with Artificial Intelligence. 

Then, Tessa started her product demo. 

Tyson still hadn’t come back, so Aurelia glanced over at the bathroom. 

No movement over there. 

There was still plenty of time left, so Aurelia looked back toward the stage. 

Then, Aurelia’s eyebrows went up in surprise. 

‘Wait, why does this look so familiar?‘ Aurelia thought, a flicker of recognition crossing her mind. 

Tessa was up there, energy radiating as she spoke, throwing herself into the presentation. 

She was drop–dead gorgeous, and her academic credentials were next–level, one in a million. 

So, the crowd was eating it up, totally hyped. 

Aurelia spotted a familiar figure in the crowd. 

He was staring at Tessa on the stage, totally absorbed. 

His look reminded Aurelia of herself, back in the day. 

‘I used to look at Cassian like that, didn’t I?‘ Aurelia reflected, a hint of nostalgia flickering through her thoughts. 

However, that was then. Now, Aurelia didn’t hesitate to pull her gaze away, lifting her hand to recheck the time. 

Only three minutes left, and Tyson still hadn’t come back. 

‘What’s taking him so long?‘ Aurelia thought, impatience starting to bubble up inside. 

Aurelia frantically called Tyson, urging him to hurry back. 

Strangely enough, the call went through, but no one answered for a long time. 

Dread settled in Aurelia’s gut. There was only one minute left. No way she could even try to find Tyson. 

Staff called Aurelia over. It was time to wait backstage. 

Aurelia bit the bullet, braced herself, and headed up on stage.