Billionaire Villainess (Unedited)

Back To Work

Judith walked into the group's new workspace, a smile still lingering from last night's date. Zayden entered just after her, flashing her a quick grin before setting his bag down. The others were already there, laptops open and coffee cups scattered around the table as they prepared to resume work on the Metube project.

Liam, Charles, and Xavier exchanged glances, noticing something different about Judith and Zayden. They kept giving each other shy looks, and Judith's face turned pink each time their eyes met.

Liam leaned back in his chair, folding his arms. "Okay, what's going on with you two?"

Judith blinked, trying to play it off. "What do you mean?"

Charles smirked, not buying it. "Don't play dumb. You and Zayden have been making eyes at each other since you walked in."

Xavier chimed in, raising an eyebrow. "And your face is so red. So, spill the beans."

Judith glanced at Zayden, who gave her an encouraging nod. She took a breath before admitting, "Alright, fine. Zayden and I... we started dating."

For a moment, there was silence, then a loud whoop from Liam. "I knew it!" he exclaimed, fist-pumping the air. "Congrats, guys!"

Charles laughed, clapping Zayden on the back. "It's about time. You've both been dancing around each other for a while."

Xavier shook his head, grinning. "Seriously, it's like we've been waiting for this forever."

Judith felt her face heat up even more, but she smiled, feeling warmth not just from Zayden but from her friends' genuine excitement. Zayden laughed too, rubbing the back of his neck. "Yeah, it just kind of... happened."

"About time," Liam repeated, then winked at Judith. "We're happy for you guys."

Judith relaxed, the initial tension of sharing their news fading. It felt good to have the support of their friends. They had been through a lot together working on the project, and now this was just another step in their evolving friendships.

"Alright, enough of that," Charles said, playfully waving his hand. "Let's get back to business. This Metube thing won't finish itself."

Zayden pulled up a chair next to Judith, their shoulders brushing as they both opened their laptops. The group settled into their usual rhythm, but the energy in the room was lighter, their banter flowing naturally as they worked.

In another location on campus, Gabriel sat at the head of the table, tapping his pen against his notebook as the tension in the room grew thicker. His friends — Hollister, Jericho, and Marko — all stared at their laptops, frustration etched on their faces. The VidVerse project, Gabriel's brainchild to rival Judith's Metube, was not going as smoothly as they had hoped.

"What's the problem?" Hollister finally grumbled, rubbing his temples as if he could massage the stress away. "We copied half their damn design when we snuck into the computer club! Why is this so hard?"

"Because," Jericho said with a sigh, "we didn't get everything we needed. A few stolen blueprints and lines of code aren't enough to make a whole platform. There are gaps we can't fill."

Marko leaned back in his chair, folding his arms. "Yeah, and trying to work around those gaps is like building a house with half the bricks missing."

Gabriel listened in silence, his mind churning. He knew they were right. Even though they had swiped some valuable designs and technical info, it wasn't enough to create the seamless, competitive platform they envisioned. Judith's team seemed to have a deeper understanding of the coding language. Their group was playing catch-up with little more than stolen ideas and good intentions.