“I’d love some tea, thank you, Rita.” Annika smiled warmly. “But first, would you mind telling me where it’d be best to plug in my laptop?”

By the time Annika finished plugging her laptop into the only available outlet beside the stage, the other tech entrepreneurs had arrived. One was a tall Korean American man and the other a short bespectacled white man. Rita made the introductions as they stood by the refreshments table and then walked off to welcome the first of the arriving high schoolers.

Hudson shook the other two men’s hands, and then said, “If you’ll excuse me. I have the first presentation, so I want to make sure the AV setup’s all good.”

Annika watched him go and then turned to the Korean American man, whose name was Tom. “I’m next, and I think you’re third?” Tom nodded. “Well,” Annika continued, “I hope your presentation goes well. I think the three of us”—here she included the white guy, Gavin—“are going to really blow this away.”

Gavin took a bite of a chocolate-glazed doughnut. “Oh, I don’t know. Break Up is pretty good. I think they might steal the show.”

Annika laughed. “They’re all smoke and no fire, Gavin. I wouldn’t worry too much.”

“It’s not a competition, though, is it?” Tom pulled at his collar, looking nervous. “I thought this was just a presentation to benefit the kids. No one told me we were supposed to compete.”

Annika looked at Hudson, who was fiddling with the mic onstage, and narrowed her eyes. “Oh, it’s always a competition.”

She had to hand it to Hudson: He had great timing. His presentation was short, funny, and timed down to the second. He was done at seven minutes exactly, with three minutes left for the Q&A. It was just too bad she hadn’t had time to plan some sabotage.

Annika stood by the refreshments table and watched as the high school kids, all of whom had been quiet aside from laughing at the appropriate times, shot their hands in the air when he asked if they had questions.

“I saw online that Break Up was in the top twenty most downloaded dating apps this month. So, what does success mean to someone like you?” a short Black boy with a full, curly head of hair asked in a rush.