Several minutes later, Laura suddenly raised her head to glance around.
She had been so immersed in what she was doing that she lost consciousness of her surrounding.
Her eyes landed on Kelsie who had her eyes lowered slightly.
Because of how she angled her body and shielded herself with Zoe and their computers, it was difficult for Laura to see what she was doing.
But given that she only had one hand on the desk, Laura naturally assumed she was still on her phone and sneered in her heart.
Then she raised her eyes to the one-way glass above them before shifting her gaze to the silent audience.
There were people taking pictures of the contest and video recording it. While some were jotting down things.
She reckoned these were media outlets and reporters.
She then shifted her eyes to a corner where it landed on Bryan Baker.
His eyes were blood-shot and he was visibly seething in rage as he pinned his eyes on Kelsie.
Clearly, he was still reeling from the humiliation she made him go through a moment ago.
Laura was instantly delighted and cockily tilted her head to the side, mocking him in her heart.
Didn't you say you no longer want to marry me? Do you dare to still say that now that you've seen how useless your so-called new fiancée is?
The one thing she has which I don't is that annoyingly pretty face. In terms of everything else, I'm way better!
For the next one minute, Laura compared herself with Kelsie using the meager knowledge she had of her.
When she finished, she felt much better and her mood improved. She really had it all and Kelsie could never catch up to her no matter how hard she tried.
With this thought, she raised her eyes to to the one-way glass once more and smiled faintly before lowering her eyes down to her computer again.
Upstairs, the contest's sponsors had already begun to place their bets on which team they thought would perform well in the task.
"Serbian Howard's team will definitely pass this task and every task that will be presented, that shouldn't be a debate."
"Like you need to say it twice. My money is on his team too. Even if everyone fails this task, I'm rest assured he wouldn't."
"You're making it sound like it's not only right that he passes. I mean, his family's legacy is literally this. If he doesn't even do well at such a small contest, what right does he have to be the heir to the Howard family?"
"If you know that, why does it sound like you don't believe he'll pass the task?"
"When did I say that? I'm just trying to say that Serbian Howard isn't the only one there. They are at least ten people who would pass the task."
"I agree with you. If he was so good, why didn't he come first runner-up in the hacking competition hosted last year? He may be good, but he's not the best."
"That was a year ago. I hear he humiliated the Howard family by coming in second in Silicon Valley and 5th in the nation that they flew in better coaches and had him continuously hone his skills in solitude."
"Whatever you say, but my bet is on the girl. I believe her name was Laura Sutton."
"Laura Sutton? Didn't she come 3rd place in Silicone Valley and 7th place nationwide?"
"You're right. I hear she's also very good. I mean, she has to be to be ranked so high in the country. Since everyone's betting on Serbian Howard, I'll take the risk and bet on Laura Sutton."
"What about you, Mr. Adler? Which of them do you think will perform better; Serbian Howard or Laura Sutton?"
Upon hearing his name, Jett raised his eyes and swept it across the teams. He was silent for a moment before he pointed at an unexpected team.
The group of people immediately burst into an amused laughter when they saw the team he at.
"Mr. Adler, I didn't know you were one to tell such a humorous joke."
"And he tells a good joke too. Who would've thought."
"Now, stop playing around and be serious with us. Which of these two teams will you be placing your bet on?"
Jett wasn't taking the bet any seriously and had only placed his bet on a whim.
Furthermore, he didn't want to foster any sort of relationship with these men which was why he decided to bet on the team none of them bet on.
But upon hearing the person, he turned to him with a blank expression and said seriously, "I already told you the team I'm betting on."
The sponsors were slightly taken aback before someone scoffed.
"You're really serious? Out of all 15 groups you choose to bet on the most hopeless group?"
Jett feigned ignorance and leaned back, "I don't see it that way."
He seemed so oblivious to this 'failure' of a team he was betting on that a few of the sponsors tried to talk him out of it.
"Merely looking at them, you can tell they're here so this would count as a contest they were a part of."
"This task usually takes days to finish for amateurs and about three hours for experienced ones, which is why most of the teams have given up."
"To be honest, no one really expects Serbian Howard or Laura Sutton and those who are as experienced as them to finish the task on time. No matter how good they are, they are too short on time to do so."
Jett paid a deaf ear to them, clasped his palms together and leaned forward.
"How about this? If the team I bet on ends up finishing the task, everything you all bet will be given to me."
"And what if they don't?" The sponsors naturally asked, their interest piqued.
Jett reached into his suit jacket and took out a blank cheque.
"I will triple your bet."
The group of people burst into laughter again and began thanking him in advance for the money they felt they were about to rake in.
"In that case, thank you in advance for the free money."
"I never knew today would be such a lucky day."
"I'll be sure to treat you out once this is over."
Just then, the timer on the screen hit zero.