<b>Chapter </b><b>212 </b>
<b>It </b><b>was </b>Bianca herself who popped the champagne. Amid a flurry of apuse<b>, </b><b>she </b><b>poured </b><b>the </b>sparkling wine, filling ss after ss as <b>it </b>cascaded down the <b>crystal </b>tower.
<b>The </b>top ss<b>, </b>of course, was hers.
<b>The </b>rest were distributed by the event hostess to the crowd below.
Only when everyone held their sses did Bianca raise hers high, her eyes shining.
She thanked the guests foring, and with the poise of a victor, announced the unveiling <b>of </b>SkyMind’stest user data.
This was the moment she’d been waiting for–the moment she’d designed herself. She wanted <b>to </b>reveal SkyMind’stest download numbers right here at theunch party, in front of everyone.
SkyMind hadunched with a major publicity push, and Bianca’s confidence was unshakeable. She could already envision the thunderous apuse she’d receive.
But the instant she revealed the leaderboard, the energy in the room copsed. Instead of excitement, a suffocating silence filled the air.
It was so quiet, it was almost eerie.
Bianca hesitated. Had everyone been stunned by SkyMind’s numbers? Not impossible–SkyMind had shot to the top of the app charts just three days afterunch. She checked the data every day. That was why she was so sure.
“Let’s raise our sses, everyone,” she called out again, trying to rally the room.
But below her, the crowd looked at one another. No one so much as lifted their ss.
Bianca finally realized something was wrong. She spun around to look at the projection screen.
When she saw the name at the top of the leaderboard, her face drained of color.
How could InnoCore be number one?
Her hand began to shake; champagne sloshed over the rim of her ss.
Seth, ever quick on the uptake, rushed to cut the feed and switched the screen.
But the damage was done, right there in front of the crowd and the assembled media.
Bianca had no choice but to feignposure, improvising as best she could. “SkyMind has been live for ten days now, and has held the top spot for seven days straight. The download numbers are impressive-<b>” </b>
She didn’t even finish before a reporter shouldered his camera and bolted <i>for </i><b>the </b>exit.
“Move, move! Let’s get over there! We’re going to miss it <b>if </b>we’rete!”
“What’s going on?” someone else asked.
“Word is, a bunch of big names have just shown <b>up </b><b>at </b>the InnoCore press conference <b>next </b>door! We’d better get over there!”
17:37 D
“Who’s there?”
“Wade, president of the Rivercrest Chamber of Commerce–the whole board is there, actually. And
Mr. Jed, the vice chairman of the Al Society, brought his entire team.”
“I heard some government officials are attending too.”
“Hurry up! If we miss this scoop, we’ll regret it for the rest of our lives!”
The media rushed out in a frantic stampede, desperate to be the first to cover the story.
Even the guests began murmuring among themselves.
“That InnoCoreunch–is that the same InnoCore that just topped the download charts?”
“It is! I just checked. InnoCore’s only been out for three hours and it’s already number one! SkyMind took three days to get there. And InnoCore barely did any publicity–just word–of–mouth in the Almunity. Those numbers are the real deal!”
“I always thought SkyMind’s numbers were inted–must have spent a fortune…”
“Shhh, keep it down…”
“Isn’t this a bit like popping the champagne halfway through the game? What a waste of good wine.” In the midst of it all, the Forrests sat in the front row, catching every word of the guests‘ chatter.
Yvonne’s expression darkened. She’d been so eager to show off her daughter’s achievements–she’d already let slip in her social circle that Bianca was behind a major new project. The other women were envious, wishing their daughters were half as talented.
She’d even arranged a small private celebration for Bianca, invitations sent, waiting only for this event <i>to </i><i>end </i>before making their grand entrance.
17:37