Later that evening, Evan Kimura slouched at the cluttered desk, eyes glued to a laptop screen. Lila Torres sat across, her braided hair loose from a long day, typing furiously on a secondhand keyboard, refining NeuraNest's neural net code.
The room felt smaller today, tension coiling beneath the surface like a wire about to snap.
"How's it going?" Evan asked her.
Lila exhaled tiredly. "It just feels like every time I get rid of one coding web, the spider creates a new one."
"Don't worry, you'll get it done. You always do. Just try to do it before tomorrow."
His laptop suddenly pinged, and he saw a new email flashing. He glanced at Lila, then angled the screen away, his jaw tightening as he read:
'From: Ryan Anders, Horizon Strategies and Investments. Subject: Opportunity for NeuraNest.'
The message was crisp, saying that Horizon Strategies had "re-reviewed" their demo, and was impressed by their "vision.'
