Negotiations with Teague went off without a hitch.


    Two dayster, both parties had signed the contract. Teague had othermitments and left PrimeStar.


    After a long day, Charlene and Stewart headed back to the conference room, picked up some drinks, and took a moment to rx. Just then, Chester walked in and dumped a thick stack of invitations on the table. "Here are the invitations for the end-of-year parties we''ve gotten over thest few days," he announced.


    There were at least twenty or thirty invitations stacked up.


    Invitations from Dalton, Granger, The Henderson Group, and Neural Nexus Tech were among them.


    Charlene and Stewart sifted through the pile and noticed that the Hawkins family had also sent an invitation.


    What caught their attention was that the invitation from the Hawkins family was addressed to both Stewart and Charlene.


    Leaning casually against the conference table, Stewart held the Hawkins family invitation, chuckling. "Seems like ourpany has quite the charm."


    It wasn''t so much the charm of theirpany as it was the allure of theirtest two projects and CUAP that had the Hawkins family hooked.


    So much so that the Hawkins family was willing to humble themselves by including Charlene''s name on the


    invitation.


    Little did they know, the coveted technology at PrimeStar wasn''t Stewart''s doing at all...


    With that thought, a sly smile deepened in Stewart''s eyes.


    In fact, it wasn''t just the Hawkins family. The Ramirez Group, Neural Nexus Tech, and The Henderson Group all had the foresight to include Charlene''s name on their invitations as well. Only Granger was different.


    They sent two separate invitations, one for each of them.


    Stewart nced at them and said with a click of his tongue, "Granger''s got it right."


    Thest time Charlene met Granger was the morning he asked if she was a student of her famous mentor.


    Hearing Stewart''sment, Charlene remained silent.


    Looking at the invitations, Stewart suggested, "Let''s skip The Ramirez Group, Neural Nexus Tech, The Henderson Group, and the Hawkins family. We''ll only attend the parties ofpanies like The Harden Group, where our coborations have been pleasant." As for The Ramirez Group and others, a simple gift would suffice to keep up appearances.


    And as for The Henderson Group, Neural Nexus Tech, and the Hawkins family, they didn''t even warrant that. Cutting off ties would be best!


    "Agreed."


    Charlene was on the same page.


    She and Stewart were not only managing the core affairs of thepany but also dedicating most of their energy to going through the materials their mentor had recently provided. So, apart from necessary engagements, they had no desire to waste time mingling with unnecessary folks.


    PrimeStar was preparing its own party as well.


    But given how busy they were, the invitations would have to wait a couple more days before going out.


    312


    15:19


    Chapter


    With the year-end approaching, it was crucial to follow up on business with Neural Nexus Tech before the holidays.


    The next day, Charlene, along with Patton and a few others, headed to Neural Nexus Tech.


    Upon arriving, Charlene ran into Vesta.


    They exchanged no nces, each absorbed in their own tasks.


    While busy, Charlene felt someone''s gaze on her. Looking up, she found it was Jacques.


    Once she saw him, she quickly returned to her work.


    Jacques had been in Starfall for three or four days.


    After exploring for a couple of days, he found staying home boring and, learning that his sister was working at his future brother-inw''spany, decided to drop by out of curiosity.


    He didn''t expect to see Charlene as soon as he walked into Neural Nexus Tech.


    He assumed Charlene was an employee there.


    Seeing her nce at him briefly before returning to her work, he curiously asked the person who brought him in, "What are they busy with?"


    The person replied, "Different department, so I''m not sure, but it''s probably something to do with thenguage system maintenance."


    "Oh..."


    Jacques was tempted to take a closer look, but seeing how busy Charlene seemed, he didn''t want to intrude. Instead, he asked, "Where''s my sister?"


    The person smiled and said, "Director Hawkins is in a meeting. Would you like to go in and see her?"


    Jacques followed them to the meeting room.


    A momentter, he noticed everyone inside was intently focused on his sister as she discussed work-rted topics.


    He remarked, "Everyone seems to really respect my sister."