BRIANNA

It was already time for the meeting, and Mr. Adrian and I made our way to the meeting room, with him walking a few feet ahead of me. I noticed staff lingering in the hallway, casting curious—and sometimes judgmental—glances in my direction, whispering their opinions about my dress.

“My gosh, what on earth is she wearing?”

“Does she even know the difference between work clothes and other outfits?”

“The dress is too big on her.”

“Well… it doesn’t look that bad on her, actually.”

The comments didn’t bother me. Let them talk—it wouldn’t take money out of my account (not that there’s much in there anyway). I’d turned a deaf ear to opinions like these ages ago.

Mr. Adrian stepped into the meeting room, and I followed behind him. This time, I felt no nervousness, unlike the first time I’d been in here. I’d gotten over that initial anxiety.

The people in the room rose to acknowledge Mr. Adrian’s presence. He nodded, took his seat at the head of the table, and the others followed suit. I settled into my seat to his right, aware of the glances that came my way, as if it was the first time they’d seen a woman in an oversized dress.

Suppressing a chuckle, I looked around, wondering if Lewis was in attendance, but he wasn’t. Maybe he wasn’t needed for this meeting. Mr. Adrian scanned the room, then cleared his throat.

“Let’s begin the meeting.” His voice cut through the silence, transforming the atmosphere into something professional. As if on cue, the whispers ceased, and he began.

“As you all know, today’s purpose is to assess the progress our inventors have made with the robot. Unlike last time, where we only saw sketches, today we’ll see a demonstration of the robot in action.” He paused, gauging everyone’s reaction. “Where is Miss Santiago?”

Just then, a young woman, probably in her mid-twenties, entered, pushing a wheelchair draped with a large piece of cloth. Four other people followed, each carrying various cleaning supplies: a broom with a dustpan, a vacuum cleaner, a mop and a bucket, and a trashcan filled with garbage. It was clear she was the team leader.

Miss Santiago cleared her throat and addressed the room.

“Good day, everyone. I’m Amelia Santiago, and these are the members of my team.” She gestured behind her. “Apologies for the wait; we were just finalizing preparations.”

Mr. Adrian gave a small nod. “No problem. Let’s get started, Miss Santiago.”

“Thank you, sir. I know some of you are probably wondering about the cleaning equipment and what’s under this cloth. I promise it’ll make sense in a moment.” She reached over, pulling the cloth off the wheelchair to reveal a robot that looked… half-finished. Wires and metal joints were visible; the skeleton of the machine seemed exposed. The robot’s head drooped forward, appearing almost lifeless.

“As you can see, the robot isn’t powered on yet. To activate it, simply press the power button on top of its head.” She demonstrated, and as soon as she pressed it, the robot’s head lifted. Its eyes flickered to life with a bright yellow glow as it rose from the wheelchair.

Then it spoke.

“Hello, Master,” it greeted, looking directly at Miss Santiago. “I’m ready to carry out your orders.”

Gasps rippled through the room. Everyone was transfixed.

“The robot is activated now,” Miss Santiago continued, “and ready to demonstrate its cleaning abilities. Let me show you.” She took the small bucket of water from one of her team members and glanced at Mr. Adrian. “Sir, I’ll pour this water here, and the robot will mop it up.”

Mr. Adrian nodded his approval, and she splashed a small amount of water on the floor before addressing the robot.

“Robot, please mop up the water,” she ordered, handing it the mop.

The robot took the mop and swiftly got to work, efficiently mopping the puddle in seconds. Murmurs of amazement echoed in the room as people whispered, “Wow,” and “Incredible!”

“I’m done, Master,” the robot announced once the floor was dry, and Miss Santiago nodded, a proud smile on her face.

“Impressive, right? But that’s just one of its functions. There’s more.” She gestured to one of her team members holding the trashcan. “Owen, please scatter some of the garbage on the floor.”

Owen complied, littering the floor with bits of paper and debris. Miss Santiago then instructed another team member to give the robot the broom and dustpan.

“Robot, sweep the floor and dispose of the garbage in the trashcan,” she commanded.

In under three minutes, the robot had gathered all the trash and disposed of it properly, earning an enthusiastic round of applause from everyone—everyone except Mr. Adrian, though I could see from his expression that he was impressed.

“This isn’t all it can do,” Miss Santiago continued confidently.

|TWENTY MINUTES LATER|

“…And that’s the full range of functions for now. Next, we’ll be adding features that enable it to operate a washing machine and wash dishes,” Miss Santiago concluded.

She and her team received a round of applause. Mr. Adrian nodded approvingly. “Miss Santiago, you and your team have done a fantastic job. I’m very impressed.”

“Thank you, sir.”

“I’ll give you two weeks to complete the robot’s additional functions so we can start marketing it. Will that be enough time?”

“Yes, sir, more than enough,” she replied with a nod.

Mr. Adrian stood. “That concludes the meeting. You’re all dismissed.”

As everyone began filing out, I rose with Mr. Adrian, following him out of the room.

Once we were in the hall, he glanced at me. “Did you take any notes during the presentation?”

I hesitated. “I… didn’t. I got a bit carried away with the demonstration.”

He raised an eyebrow. “Alright. Just don’t let it happen again.”

I nodded. “Understood, sir.”

He continued walking in silence for a moment before finally adding, “And about your outfit—seems like it’s caused quite a stir. I don’t want us going out with you dressed like this again; it might give the wrong impression.”

I looked at him in surprise. “Are you serious, sir?”

“Yes. But please avoid anything too revealing.” He gave me a small nod.

A huge grin spread across my face. “Thank you, sir. I wasn’t too comfortable in this anyway.”

“Good,” he said. “Now, head back to your office. I’ll call if I need you.”

With a grateful nod, I watched him walk away, practically fist-pumping the air when he turned the corner.

“Back to my old style,” I muttered happily.