Never Mistake a Queen for a Lapdog novel Chapter 200

He really hasn't changed at all.

…

Two weeks later, SkyMind officially launched across every platform.

Noreen hadn't paid much attention to it. It was only when she was driving past the city's central square that she noticed SkyMind's ads rolling across the giant digital billboard.

That billboard was infamous for its staggering price tag.

Thirty thousand dollars a minute—five hundred a second.

Whoever was promoting SkyMind was sparing no expense.

This campaign had to be worth at least several million.

No sooner had Noreen arrived at the office than Sophia showed up, carrying a steaming flask of chicken and mushroom broth.

Sophia had been unusually diligent lately, bringing Noreen a different stomach-friendly soup every day.

Whether it was the soup or just good luck, Noreen's stomach had been behaving itself for once.

As she poured the broth into a mug, Sophia couldn't help but complain, "I can't imagine how much the Aurelion Group is burning on SkyMind's marketing. That ad is everywhere—subway stations, TV, even the main news sites. You can't take a step in Rivercrest without seeing SkyMind plastered somewhere."

Noreen sipped the broth, warmth spreading pleasantly through her stomach.

She couldn't help but think she'd underestimated them. The campaign budget probably wasn't just several million. It must've been close to ten million at least.

Thanks to a bottomless marketing budget, SkyMind shot to number one on the download charts within three days.

And that was just the beginning. The company had enlisted a swarm of influencers to promote it—three trending hashtags every single day.

Bianca, too, was basking in SkyMind's glory. She'd been invited onto several business talk shows and was suddenly the darling of the media.

Compared to that, Noreen's own side of things was a whirlwind of exhaustion and chaos.

Carman had already been pulling overtime for two weeks straight.

Every day after clocking out from Winrich, Noreen would drive over to Carman's studio to help out—doing anything, everything, whatever needed doing.

The more she did, the less Carman and the others had to shoulder.

By Friday, they were all working late into the night.

That evening, Carman warned her they'd probably be pulling an all-nighter.

Noreen volunteered to go out and pick up food and drinks for everyone.

It wasn't until she was heading back that she realized her car was out of gas.

By the time she finally drove home, it was well past one in the morning.

She'd barely finished showering when someone knocked at her door.

Who could it possibly be at this hour?

Noreen peered through the peephole, frowning.

Seth. Again.

She'd written him off so thoroughly, she might as well have imagined his grave overgrown with weeds by now—so why did he keep coming back from the dead?

Noreen had zero intention of opening the door.

But Seth must have guessed. He started pounding on the door, each knock harder than the last.

She could hear her neighbors stirring—someone was definitely awake now.

To avoid getting complaints, Noreen reluctantly unlocked the door.

Seth stood outside, looking darker and more menacing than she'd ever seen him.

He barely waited for the door to open before snapping, "What took you so long? Hiding someone in there?"