Noah did a double-take when he saw the na.
"Rayne Weston, huh? What an interesting coincidence!" said Noah, almost laughing out loud.
"Dr. Weston's daughter has her father's sharp and creative mind!"
Noah then placed Rayne's design on top of the 'accept' pile. He picked up the three winning designs and signaled to his assistant that he was ready to announce the results.
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The guests gathered in the main hall, making predictions about who the winner would be.
"I bet that Fabiano will win! He's been featured in so many magazines this past year, and I hear that he's been booked a year out to design company buildings!" gossiped a middle-aged man.
"Yes, I agree. Fabiano is like a celebrity to us designers," replied a woman with sharp features.
Rayne walked around the hall with Ella, listening in on everyone's gossip.
"Do you think you'll win?" Rayne asked Ella as they reached the table with the drinks.
"Hmm, I'm not sure. I've never thought about designing a bunker, so I'm sure there were many aspects of the design I missed," she replied quietly.
"Yeah, I was honestly expecting them to say the subject would be sothing like a hotel, or office building. Maybe even a hospital," replied Rayne.
Rayne picked up a glass of champagne from the table, sipping on it slowly.
"Ladies and Gentlen! I have the much-anticipated results for today's fun competition!
Allow to reiterate that there will be three winners! Second and third place will both win an exclusive contract with REN Corp to design the next set of office buildings for their ever-growing company!
And the lucrative first-place prize will be an exclusive contract for a top-secret project! I am sure this one will pay very well!" announced the MC.
The chatter in the hall quieted down as everyone was excited to hear who the lucky three were.
"Starting in third place! The third-place winner is Fabiano! The judges praised his creative modular approach!"
The crowd clapped and cheered. Many people were shocked that Fabiano was only a third-place winner.
"No way! How did Fabiano only get third place? I wonder who beat him!!" a few people whispered among themselves.
"Next up, we have the second-place winner! The winner is... Ella Soto! The judges said that her design had a feature that no one else had," announced the MC.
Once again, everyone in the room clapped. Ella's father, Reginald, was being complinted by his old buddies on having such a talented daughter.
A few of them even tried setting up a blind date with their sons.
"Oh my goodness, Ella! You won second place!! You're amazing!" Rayne said excitedly! She was very happy that her friend had won such an honor!
Having this exclusive contract with REN Corp had just sent Ella from a low-key designer to soone the rest of the world would know!
"I can't believe it! I truly didn't expect to win!" replied Ella. Tears of joy were welling up in her eyes.
"Up next is the winner who takes first place!" said the MC.
The hall imdiately quieted down. Everyone was very eager to hear who the winner was.
"And the winner is... Rayne Weston! Her design took every little situation into account. Not only were there creative elents, but she also designed a one-of-a-kind ventilation system that's never been seen before!"
The crowd clapped, but many people were wondering who she was.
"Who is Rayne Weston? I don't think I've ever heard of her before," one lady asked a group of won.
Everyone shrugged, indicating that they also had never heard of her before.
"Oh, I know her! We went to university together. I taught her everything she knows!" boasted the sa man who was angry about not being selected for the competition.
The crowd looked over at him, shaking their heads. How could soone who didn't even pass the initial selection claim that they taught the winner of the competition?
"Rayne!!!! Oh my goodness!!" squealed Ella! She jumped up to hug Rayne.
Rayne stood frozen in place! She couldn't believe that she had won! She was doing this just for fun, but she ended up winning the top prize!
Ella dragged Rayne toward the stage to join Fabiano. As Rayne stood up, many people couldn't help but comnt on how beautiful she was:
"Oh, so she's Rayne Weston? She's very elegant; just look at the way she carries herself."
"I wonder what studio she works at?"
Once they got to the stage, Fabiano moved over so that Rayne could stand in the middle. The three winners waved at the crowd, smiling.
The MC walked over, followed by Noah.
"Congratulations to the three of you. We were very impressed by the designs you ca up with on such short notice and within the ti limit. This should speak volus about how talented each of you are," said Noah.
He grabbed three golden envelopes from his assistant and handed them to each of the winners.
"Here is a placeholder prize. It's an invitation to our company headquarters where we will distribute the actual contracts. Congratulations one more ti!" explained Noah.
When he handed the envelope to Rayne, Noah couldn't help but take a few more looks. She looked very different from the photo he had received from the hospital.
He couldn't help but feel like he'd seen her sowhere before, but couldn't think of where.
When Rayne reached out to accept the envelope, she looked up at Noah and said, "Hello, Secretary Mathews! I'm pretty sure you've never heard of , but your company's charity organization helped out a lot after I was hospitalized."
Noah looked at her and smiled. "Actually, I do know of you. Dr. Weston helped our research and developnt team a few tis over the years."
Rayne was surprised! She knew that her father was a research chemist, but she didn't know he was involved with REN Corporation!
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Dillon had just gotten dressed in his typical 'playboy' attire.
Earlier in the day, he had received a text ssage from an unknown number telling him to et at a bar to deliver the package he'd been holding on to.
"Fucking finally, I didn't think it would take this long," he complained as he got ready.
The ssage said to et at 11 pm, but Dillon was feeling impatient and left about an hour early.
He'd been in a rather bad mood recently because Krissy had picked up overti hours at work and hadn't been to 'entertain' him as often as he wanted.
He was also broke and hadn't been able to go out drinking, only adding to his bored and shitty mood.
It was Dillon's first ti at this bar since it was downtown and farther from his apartnt. He walked in and marveled at how nice it was.
"This is definitely where the young masters of this city's rich families co to hang out," mumbled Dillon while checking out the interior.
He was greeted by a beautiful woman at the entrance. "Hello, sir, welco in! Tonight, we are having a special event with exotic dancers! Feel free to sit anywhere you like."
Dillon looked around and saw a stage set up with all sorts of vibrant fabrics hanging from the ceiling.
The thought of seeing beautiful won got him excited! Maybe after he was paid tonight, he could have so much-needed fun.
He found a seat that had a good view of the stage but was still slightly more private than a regular table.
A few minutes later, a sexy woman wearing exotic clothing ca over to him.
Her top was like a bikini top made from gold chains and tassels. Her skirt was made from a sheer, see-through material, with tiny gold chains covering only the most important parts.
She leaned over slightly, putting all of her goods on display in front of Dillon.
"Hey there, you look a little thirsty. May I interest you in a bottle of champagne?" she said seductively.
Dillon didn't hesitate and imdiately agreed, causing the woman to smile.
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After the awards were handed out, the closing events began while the guests slowly trickled out of the hall.
Both Rayne and Ella were in a great mood and laughed while walking toward the exit.
"How do you feel about going out to celebrate sowhere? I don't normally go to bars or clubs, but I'm feeling like I need to celebrate our victory. Plus, we still have a lot to catch up on!" suggested Ella, holding Rayne's arm.
Rayne agreed without hesitation. "Yes! That's a great idea!"
"Okay, great! I believe there's a decent bar across the street. Let's go there!" said Ella.
Rayne agreed, and they both made their way over to the bar.
When they walked into the bar, they were greeted by a beautiful woman.
"Hello, ladies, welco in! Tonight, we are having an event with exotic dancers, please enjoy!"
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(A/N: Hi all! Thank you for reading up to this point!
We are now 20 chapters in, and I would ask that if you are enjoying the story please rate my book or leave a comnt.
It would help very much!
Power stones and gifts are also always appreciated!!
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