After the Fall A Leap into a Stranger's Arms novel Chapter 77

Lawrence watched Catherine on stage, her calm presence slowly dissolving the tension in his face. He trusted her. She had this under control.

Waldo couldn’t take his eyes off her. He knew exactly what she’d been up to these last five years—floral arrangements, tea ceremonies, a brief obsession with painting and design. She hadn’t touched tech, not once. The industry moved fast, too. She had to be out of the loop by now.

He didn’t want to see her embarrassed, but at the same time, he thought she kind of deserved it. Maybe a little public failure would remind her how tough the real world could be.

Magee noticed Lawrence’s subtle nod and held back his initial urge to step in for Catherine.

At the demonstration table, Catherine took a marker from a colleague and brought up the diagram of the core technology. Her voice was steady and bright as she began, “The heart of this technology is the multimodal fusion algorithm…”

She moved through the technical details, breaking down each complicated concept so clearly that even the most difficult parts suddenly made sense. Her confidence filled the room.

Shirley’s face went from smug to shocked, and then to something almost sour.

How could this be possible? Catherine was brand new at Nexus Dynamics. How did she know this stuff so well?

Waldo’s expression grew more complicated. Watching Catherine speak with such ease, it was like looking at a completely different person than the one he remembered.

Reporters leaned in, fully absorbed. People from the industry nodded, clearly impressed.

Suddenly, Shirley bit her lip and cut in. “Catherine, you mentioned algorithm optimization. I’m curious—how does it solve the mimicry problem in traditional models?”

There was a flicker of smugness back in Shirley’s eyes as she asked. This was cutting-edge, a problem only recently solved. Surely Catherine couldn’t answer.

Shirley forced a smile. “No, I’m good.”

A reporter immediately jumped in. “Shirley, could you tell us what it’s like to be the mother of Resonance AI?”

The phrase hit Catherine, her eyes narrowing just a little.

Shirley’s smile grew, her gaze locking onto Catherine’s. “Resonance AI really took a lot out of me. I put my heart into it, so seeing it recognized in the industry means a lot.”

No matter how well Catherine had done just now, as soon as Shirley played the “mother of Resonance AI” card, it was meant to push Catherine right back into the shadows.