The others had already moved on to a new topic by the time Vesta finally opened the video of The Henderson Group''s press conference.


    The event began with wide shots of the stage, where the host and Charlene were seated, as well as the audience and media below. Vesta spotted Thorne almost immediately. She knew he was attending, but she was surprised to see him in the audience rather than on the stage. Though the camera only swept past him for a moment, she could tell he was in an excellent mood. And maybe it was her imagination, but she felt that whenever he looked toward the stage, his eyes were fixed on Charlene.


    Vesta''s fingers tightened around her mouse.


    After the host''s opening remarks, the spotlight shifted to the stars of the show: Charlene and her team. Leah had said the press conference felt like Charlene''s personal stage, and after watching for a few minutes, Vesta had to agree. Charlene was the undeniable center of attention, fielding every technical question from the reporters with an easy, confident grace. Coupled with her striking looks, Vesta had to admit that Charlene was incredibly captivating at that moment.


    She had the livements streaming alongside the video, and they were filled with praise for Charlene''s beauty and intelligence, with many specting about her background.


    [Is this woman really the key figure behind The Henderson Group''s technical breakthrough? Damn, she ''s brilliant and gorgeous? With looks like that, she could be a celebrity! It''s just unfair!]


    [Seriously, who is she? She looks so young to be leading a project at a majorpany like PrimeStar. She must have some serious connections, right?]


    Then, ament provided some answers: [I don''t know all the details about Charlene Ross, but what I do know is impressive: she skipped three grades, made it into MIT, and graduated at 18 with a wless academic record. I''ve never understood why she didn''t continue to grad school. I actually confided to a friend once that I was afraid she''d stalled out after such a bright start. Seeing her doing so well now, it really makes me happy.]


    [Whoa, graduated from MIT at 18? That''s insane! No wonder she''s leading projects for giants like The Henderson Group and PrimeStar at her age!]


    [I heard she''s also Mr. Ferguson''s girlfriend. A paper she published a while back caused a huge stir, and supposedly, big names from international firms came to


    лаал


    PrimeStar trying to poach her. But she''s Mr. Ferguson''s gipfifend so of course they couldn''t lure her away, haha~]


    [Damn, brilliant, beautiful, and a boyfriend who''s just as impressive. She''s totally winning at life! So cool!]


    Vesta watched for a long time, right


    until the press conference was drawing to a close. As it ended, the


    camera once again panned to


    Wag


    Thorne He was still smiling it was only then that it fully registered: though Thorne had attended, the


    host had never once mentioned his name. He didn''t actually need to be there. But he hade anyway.


    Why? Was it because the project was that important to him? Or was he simply happy about thepany''s breakthrough?


    It could have been both, or perhaps... he was just there to see Charlene.


    The thought made Vesta''s heart clench.


    Just then, her phone buzzed with a new message. It was from Thorne.


    [Moran wants to know if you want to get dinner. Are you free in a bit?]


    ???


    Vesta stared at the text, her eyes flickering between the screen and Thorne''s face in the video. After a I''m


    long moment she typed bac free.] Cantent