Nyra hated losing.
But today, ValeTech had shaken her equilibrium.
A few minor mistakes had been noticed. Just tiny oversights, missed optimizations, a late report. Enough for whispers to start in the break room.
"Did you see Nyra's debug yesterday?" one intern muttered. "Sloppy. Not like her."
"She's letting something distract her," another added.
Nyra didn't react. She had always ignored chatter. She never gave rumors power.
The next morning, Mrs. Vale, Adrian's mother, happened to be at the office for a meeting. She noticed the whispers and, with a razor-sharp smile, addressed the team.
"Nyra, your work is… excellent," she said slowly, the words carrying both praise and scrutiny. "But consistency is key. ValeTech expects perfection."
Nyra's jaw tightened ever so slightly. She didn't flinch. She nodded politely.
Adrian, standing beside her, intervened smoothly.
"She's handling her responsibilities exactly as required," he said. "And she's already ahead on her project timelines. I trust her judgment completely."
Mrs. Vale's eyebrows lifted. Adrian's quiet defense was firm, professional, and without exaggeration.
Nyra's lips twitched in the corner of a smile she didn't need to speak. Adrian's words had done enough.
By lunch, the whispers had shifted:
"Adrian Vale actually defended her?"
"Wow. That's bold."
"She must be something else if he trusts her like that."
Nyra didn't care about the gossip. She never did. But a faint spark of satisfaction flickered inside. She didn't need validation the fact that she was noticed on merit alone was enough.
Later that day, at her desk, she refocused. Code ran clean. Numbers aligned. Systems optimized. Rumors might fly, but her work spoke louder than anyone's whispers.
Adrian watched her from across the office, not interfering, just observing. She handled it exactly the way she wanted proud, professional, unshaken. And that, he realized quietly, was rarer than any perfection he'd ever seen.