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Crazy scenarios zip through my head. Did she witness a car accident on her way down the street? Did her taxi driver try to kidnap her? Was it aliens?
“We have a problem, Adam,” Nova cries, her voice edging on a tone I’ve never heard from her before.
I stare at her, waiting for her to reveal what’s got her so shaken up.
“I just got a call from our lawyers. We’ve been served with a suit.” She pauses and takes a deep breath. “They’re accusing you of plagiarism.”
CHAPTER7
THE MAGIC LUNCH BAG
NOVA
I stalk sharplythrough the doors of my office, dressed in yesterday’s clothes, my hair scraped back into as professional a bun as I could make it with only my fingers and water from the bathroom sink to smooth the coils.
Too many people stampede into my office behind me, crowding me with their frightened eyes and their desperation for answers that I don’t have.
“Alright. Alright.” I grip the back of my chair because there’s no way I can sit down right now. My body’s too full of restless energy and I’d probably bounce right up again like a spring. “One by one. Go.”
The PR director starts first. “Articles about the plagiarism accusation have already begun circulating online. It’s gaining ground on social media.”
“So fast?”
“Because we made such a splash in the news yesterday, Mr. Harrison is a hot topic. It’s catching fire faster than we can put it out.”
I jut my chin down sharply, trying to remain calm.
At least on the outside.
On the inside, I’m as chaotic as the goo that was crawling out of the lab yesterday.
The clean-up crew still haven’t scraped all the foam out, which is yet another problem on my docket. It’s lower on the rung, but I still can’t forget about it.
“Next,” I order.
Roberts whips his laptop out and shows me a bunch of lines. “Our stocks are dropping. Fast. People don’t want to be anywhere near Vision Tech’s products and it’s chomping down on the bottom line like a tyrant.”
I process that information and then wave my hand. “Next.”
“Some of the participants at this year’s convention are calling for Mr. Harrison to be stripped of his rank before the second round of the competition.”
I glance up harshly at the HR manager. “They haven’t even waited for verification of the story.”
“We think they’re capitalizing on the bad press in order to take Mr. Harrison down. They’re a small group, but they’re making a lot of noise.”
I lower my head and let a breath out slowly through my nostrils. I’ve known about the group of disgruntled participants for a while. They’re mostly sore losers who feel it’s unfair for a Vision Tech inventor to win every year.
I wonder how they would react if they found out that not only is Adam the best inventor in Vision Tech, he owns the whole thing.
“Anything else?” I call loudly.
The room falls silent.
I glance up, my eyes cutting through the crowd.
Rochelle, the office assistant, raises her hand. “Mr. Hall is on line four.”
I nod, glad that our lawyer can get back to us so soon. At least we’re not paying through the nose for nothing.
