“She spent five years as a housewife, and the moment she joined UME, Mr. Carlisle handed her a manager’s position. None of us who’ve put in years here ever got that kind of treatment.” 

Evangeline walked over and saw that it was Lily, the woman who sat beside her, doing the talking. 

With her back to the door, Lily hadn’t noticed Evangeline’s arrival and kept going, “But that’s not even the biggest thing. She just got lucky landing that investment–now Mr. Carlisle’s throwing a huge celebration like she’s some kind of hero. Let’s not forget, the Fawkes family was already planning to give us that funding. All she did was fix her own mess.” 

Two other women were sitting nearby. 

One of them nodded in emphatic agreement as Lily spoke. 

Then, with a dramatic sigh and a trace of envy, she added, “Well, what can you do? She’s pretty, so of course she gets to wrap Mr. Carlisle around her finger. It’s no surprise he goes out of his way to help her.” 

“Pretty? I think she’s just average, honestly,” Lily said, covering her mouth to stifle a laugh. 

The girl caught on to Lily’s teasing and played along, “Exactly, you’re far better looking than she is.” 

“Really?” Lily pretended to blush, touching her cheek shyly. When she saw the girl snickering, realization dawned, and she feigned annoyance, giving her friend a playful shove. “Oh, so you’re making fun of me now?” 

The two dissolved into laughter and gentle shoving. 

Finally, the third woman–who had stayed quiet until now–spoke up. “But I have to admit, I’m curious. I heard Fawkes Enterprises was furious when UME turned down their investment, and they’ve been making things difficult for us ever since. So how did she manage to land new funding under those circumstances?” 

Lily waved it off. “It was Finn Lockridge–the Lockridge family’s golden boy–who invested. And honestly, with a playboy like him, what other way could she have gotten it? She probably just-” 

She didn’t get to finish. The two women next to her suddenly went stiff, shooting urgent glances toward the doorway. 

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Chapter 120 

Oblivious, Lily barreled on, “I’m serious. I saw her heading into a hotel with some guy that night. Trust me, she isn’t as innocent as you all think. I bet she-” 

She was gesturing animatedly when she finally noticed Evangeline standing by the coffee machine. 

The subject of their gossip was right there. 

Lily froze, her words catching in her throat. 

“Bet I what?” Evangeline asked coolly, not even looking up from pouring her coffee. 

The other two girls stared guiltily at the floor, suddenly very interested in their 

shoes. 

Lily’s eyes darted around nervously, but she tried to recover, forcing a laugh. “Director Whitmore, we were just chatting. You wouldn’t get upset over a few silly comments, would you?” 

Evangeline let out a short, derisive laugh. 

She’d endured much worse over the last five years; nothing said here was worth getting angry about. 

Still, she issued a warning. “I’ll let it go this time. But next time, I’ll report you. I’m sure you know what slander and spreading false rumors can get you.” 

Lily pressed her lips together, then got up and hurried away, her confidence evaporated. 

The other two scrambled after her. 

Evangeline calmly went back to her own business. 

She’d already fulfilled the first promise she made to Theo–to secure the investment. Now came the second, and most crucial, task: developing a breakthrough technology. 

Since returning to UME, she’d analyzed the current robotics market. Most companies were using similar algorithms; the robots all performed about the same, and none offered much improvement in precision. 

The biggest hurdle remained the robots‘ perception. 

In terms of touch and vision, robots lagged far behind the subtlety of the human 

senses. 

That was why so many jobs still couldn’t be automated. 

12.12 

Chapter Izu 

It was an issue that had preoccupied her for years. If she could solve it, it wouldn’t just be a win for UME, but a leap forward for the whole industry–and for their future. 

For the rest of the day, Evangeline threw herself into figuring out how to bridge the gap between human and robotic perception. 

That evening, at the company’s celebratory dinner, she and Glenn made a point to leave separately, avoiding any unnecessary rumors, and returned to their 

apartment building one after another. 

As she was about to pull into the parking lot, she spotted Flora lingering near the entrance, glancing around nervously and looking suspiciously out of place. 

Puzzled, Evangeline pulled up beside her and rolled down the window. 

12:12