Chapter 14 As he said that, everyone looked expectantly at the stage.
âMs. Bonitaâs going to show up any time now, Ivor!â Ged could hardly contain the excitement in his voice.
Ivor looked calm, but his gaze betrayed his true feelings.
Trina palmed her chest. âIâm nervous, mom! My greatest idol is about to appear.â
Veraâs hand started to sweat as she anxiously tightened her Bonnieâs wrist.
âStay calm. Weâll go talk to her after sheâs done.â
Bonnie tried to her wrist from her motherâs hand. âI need to go to the restroom.â
âWhat? Ms. Bonita is about to go on stage and you want to go to the restroom ?
âI really need to go.
âYouâre going nowhere, young lady.â
A minute passed, but Ms. Bonita still didnât show up.
âWhatâs going on? Whereâs Ms. Bonita?â
The crowd whispered among themselves.
The host sweated profusely. Just as he was about to go backstage to ask about Bonnie he spotted her sitting among the attendees.
What on earth?
What was she sitting there for?
Bonnie frowned and glanced at Vera, who holding onto her tightly.
The host caught on and quickly arranged for someone to help her.
Very , an elderly professor walked toward the family.
âHello, Iâm Professor Terry. Iâm a researcher working for Ms. Bonita.â
Gresham and Vera were surprised he would come over to talk to them.
âItâs an honor to you, Professor Terry. What can we do for you?â
The couple were excited, but they kept their cool.
Professor Terry wasnât as esteemed as Ms. Bonita in Arvandor, but he a heavyweight in the academic world.
Someone like him wouldnât just come over to talk to them for nothing.
Chapter 14 âIâm here forâ¦â Professor Terry looked at Bonnie.
Trina was standing next to Bonnie, so the couple thought he was referring to their adopted daughter and felt proud.
âYouâre here because of Trina, arenât you? Sheâs famous at her college, but we didnât expect you to have heard about her as well.â
âItâs Trinaâs dream to work for you. Sheâs planning to apply for an internship at the research institute during her junior year. We hope youâll look out for her when the comes.â
âUh, is she? She needs to work hard thenâ¦â
Professor Terry cleared his throat and tried to play along.
In her eagerness to talk about Trina, Vera had forgotten all about Bonnie.
Bonnie seized the opportunity to head backstage.
The host sighed in relief. âSorry about that. Without further ado, letâs give a warm welcome to Ms. Bonitalâ
Bonnie took stage in a surgical mask and hat.
She took the microphone and deepened her voice as she said, âThis breakthrough in the new nanomaterial was the result of the collective effort of the whole team. So , give each and every one of them your warmest applause.
Bonnie looked at a group of professors sitting in the front row and started introducing them one by one.
âProfessor Jamie Harper.
âProfessor Riley Chambers.
âProfessor Charlie Knowlesâ¦â
The crowd applauded as they were introduced.
The old professors were moved to tears as they received Ms. Bonitaâs gratitude.
âDonât you think Ms. Bonita looks like Bonnie, Ivor?â Ged asked, puzzled.
Ivor shook his head and said, âYouâre imaginative, Iâll give you .â
Ged chuckled. âAnyway, Bonnie said they would announce their collaboration with The Knight Group. Sheâs so full of shit.â
Just as he finished saying that, Bonnie continued. âNext, Iâm going to announce something important.
Curious, everyone listened attentively.
Bonnie looked at Ivor.
âHmm?â Ivor noticed her gaze and was puzzled.
âWhatâs the matter, Ivor?â Ged looked over his shoulder and asked.
âMs. Bonita seems to be looking at meâ¦!
âIâm glad you havenât lost your sense of humor.â Ged chuckled.
Ivor frowned. Could he have been mistaken?
Bonnie continued, âI know many of you have come here to secure the rights the new nanomaterial, but Iâve already decided which company weâre going to work with A commotion broke out.
âWhat? Sheâs already decided? I wonder who that lucky sonâofâaâbitch is!â
âI tried to get as much funding as I could just so the research institute would choose my company. I guess all my efforts were useless!â
âDonât keep us in suspense, Ms. Bonita. Tell us which company youâre going with Bonnie announced, âIâll be working with the Knight Group.â
Ivor was stunned.
Scenes of Bonnie showing off flashed across his mind.
âHoly shit! Did I just hear that? Thatâs⦠thatâsâ¦â Ged was stupefied.
âIt looks like thereâs more to Bonnie than meets the eye, Ivor!â Ged did not think that this was a coincidence.
Bonnie had been right about the date of the press conference.
And now the research institute had announced their collaboration with the Knight Group just as she said they would!
Ivor was a smart man, and he Gedâs opinion.
When the press conference ended Ivor noticed the Shepards were all present except for Bonnie.
He grew thoughtful.
Suddenly, he got up and walked toward the stage.
Bonnie was mobbed by the crowd as soon as she left the stage.
The security guards tried to hold them back in vain.
âStop ! Get more guards over here to protect Ms. Bonita!â
â
, what do you plan to research next?â
Chapter 14 âMs. Bonita, our TV network would like to invite you for an exclusive interview. Could you spare us some time? It wonât take long.â
âCare for dinner with , Ms. Bonita?â
The situation started growing out of control as everyone tried to get to her.
âGet out of the way! I want an autograph.â
Bonnie was a good fighter there was nothing she could do in a situation like this.
Suddenly, something unexpected happened!
A camera that was thrust upward tipped her hat, and her long hair fell out.
Bonnieâs mask was nudged off her face too.