After the Fall A Leap into a Stranger's Arms novel Chapter 76

The female host’s voice echoed through the auditorium, announcing Magee as the next speaker. Catherine took a steadying breath, then started walking with Lawrence toward the Nexus Dynamics team.

On stage, Magee looked every bit the leader, confident and polished. As Vice President of Nexus Dynamics, he was someone people listened to and respected.

But down in the crowd, people were already whispering. “Weird how the founder of Nexus Dynamics never shows up, right? It’s always Magee talking for them. Maybe the founder’s too ugly to face the public.”

“Ugly is one thing. I bet they’re paralyzed or something.”

“Probably. And no one even knows their name. Super shady.”

Catherine heard every word. She frowned, annoyed at how casually people could say such nasty things about someone they didn’t even know. Did they have to be so mean?

Lawrence glanced around at the gossiping crowd, his expression turning cold.

Meanwhile, Magee wrapped up his speech. It was short and sharp, and he left the stage to a round of polite applause.

Over at the Nexus Dynamics booth, Catherine’s team was already in action, demonstrating one of their newest core technologies. Reporters crowded around, snapping photos and murmuring in amazement. That’s when Waldo and Shirley showed up. Without missing a beat, Waldo turned to Magee, his voice loud enough for everyone to hear.

“Magee, a lot of us aren’t experts here. Could you break down the key points of this technology for us?”

Before Magee could answer, Shirley chimed in, her voice ringing out, “Actually, Catherine, with your background and your reputation, I’m sure you could explain it even better, right?”

On the surface, Shirley was propping Catherine up, but everyone knew the real game. If Catherine’s answer fell short, she’d end up embarrassed in front of her peers and the press.

Lawrence caught Magee’s eye. Magee adjusted his glasses, clearly ready to step in and save Catherine if things went south.

But Catherine just smiled. “Sure. Since Shirley asked, I’d be happy to explain.”

She walked calmly to the demo table, her eyes bright and steady as she looked around at the crowd. There wasn’t a hint of nerves in her posture.

Shirley folded her arms, ready to watch the drama unfold. In her mind, it didn’t matter if Catherine had earned her PhD five years ago—she’d been out of tech for ages, and she was new at Nexus Dynamics. There was no way she’d be able to handle the pressure. Shirley was sure of it.