When They Beg, I Rise!

The meeting room was expressly quiet.

It wasn't just Lemira who was shell-shocked; Orion hadn't expected to see her there either.

Thaddeus cleared his throat purposely, "Well, isn't this a full house? Heard there was a snag with the firewall, so I thought I'd pop in to check."

His initial plan was to stir up some trouble, but he hadn't banked on Lemira being the one to crack the code. That put a wrench in his plans.

The manager stood up, offering a respectful reply, "Indeed, just a moment ago, Ms. Langston here ran some tests on the software. Everything's ticking along nicely now. Anything else you reckon needs looking at?" Thaddeus, feigning interest, grabbed the report and flipped through it without really seeing anything.

After all, the firewall fiasco was nothing but a fabricated flaw, a strategic move to put the Langston Group in the hot seat.

After a cursory glance, Thaddeus turned to Orion, "What's your take on this?"

It all hinged on Orion's verdict now.

shot a surprised look at Lemira, "You sorted this out on

nodded, "Yeah, it's a

for a loop was discovering this company was Thaddeus'. So, all those late

of a mental block. In her past life, she'd spent a good chunk of time pinpointing the crux of the issue, which was why she could fix it in a snap this time around. Orion's tone was laced with casualty,

expected Orion to be in the mix, looking every bit the silent partner if not

"Because Lemmy was part of the

be told, he'd never pegged Lemira

that pivotal, huh? Young as she is, dabbling in software development, you should've nurtured that talent.

too, but frankly, she was out of her

quiet upon hearing it. To cover his awkwardness, he reached for a glass of water, but accidentally choked on a gulp. He had never thought things

the words;

moment, he launched into

you hamstrung your own flesh and blood, a

glass faltered. His voice was hoarse,