After the Fall A Leap into a Stranger's Arms novel Chapter 55

On the 28th floor, everyone in R&D Department One had already heard the news. They were all waiting, curiosity buzzing in the air, for their new boss to arrive.

As soon as Catherine stepped out of the elevator, the room went silent. Every head turned. People had heard the new chief engineer was young, but no one expected her to be this young, or this stunning.

“Good morning, everyone. I’m Catherine. Starting today, I’ll be your Chief Engineer,” she said, her voice steady and self-assured as she looked around at her new team.

A man in his early thirties raised his hand, his tone a little doubtful. “Catherine, could you share what kind of projects you’ve worked on before?”

Catherine glanced at his name badge. Manuel, Senior Engineer.

She smiled politely. “I majored in AI algorithms and neural network science. I’ve worked on autonomous driving and smart healthcare projects.” She kept it simple, leaving out the fact that she was the developer behind Resonance AI. With the Nexus Dynamics lawsuit still under wraps, no one would believe her anyway, and Shirley’s name was already making waves in the tech world.

An older engineer started clapping, breaking the tension. “Let’s welcome our new chief engineer.” The others joined in, some more enthusiastic than others. No one wanted to get on her bad side. Manuel spoke up again, giving her a look. “We’re about to have a meeting. Care to join us, Catherine? I’m sure we could all learn from your experience.”

She could tell he was testing her, but she just nodded, flashing a relaxed smile. “Sure, which room?”

“Room Three,” Manuel replied.

The crowd drifted away, and Catherine made her way to her new office. She opened the door, hardly had a chance to look around before her eyes landed on a gorgeous bouquet of roses sitting on her desk.

Who would send her flowers on her first day?

She walked over and picked up the card tucked beneath the bouquet. When she saw the name, she couldn’t help but smile.

“If you need anything at work, just let me know,” Lawrence said quietly.

She laughed softly, full of confidence. “I’ll be fine. I can handle it.”

“I know you can.” He ended the call.

Catherine checked the time, grabbed her laptop, and headed to the meeting.

In Conference Room Three, the main team had already gathered. Manuel was presenting the project’s progress, but as soon as Catherine walked in, he raised his voice, clearly putting her on the spot. “Our voice recognition system hasn’t improved in weeks. The breakthrough’s overdue. Now that Catherine’s here, maybe she’ll help us finally crack it.”

Every engineer in the room turned to look at her, their faces full of doubt. The whole team had been stuck on this for weeks. Could this young woman really be the one to fix it?