Never Ever!

The group meeting had dragged on forever.

Two full hours of explanations, discussions, and brainstorming—and not one second of progress in Hugo's personal battle.

He had just finished giving his detailed breakdown of their project's next steps, his voice smooth and confident, his ideas solid.

Of course, this was all the thoughts of his trusty AI, but nobody needed to know that.

All they needed to know was that he was a smart, handsome and capable group leader.

And it was working!

Everyone in the group nodded along, even threw in a few "Good point, Hugo" or "Yeah, that makes sense."

Everyone except Loli.

Hugo sat back in his chair with a heavy sigh, resting his elbows on the table. His eyes flickered to Loli like a magnet he couldn't control.

She was scribbling something in her notebook, her face calm and focused, but she hadn't acknowledged him once.