?Chapter 445:


    Was William the only person in the entire institute who knew anything?


    Sandra scratched at her neck, unsure. “I mean, yeah, technically we could. But I don’t know if they’d even have time to look at something this basic.” Even though William owned the ce, he always acted like one of them. No power trips. Always willing to help. That was why everyone went to him with questions.


    He actually took the time to assist.


    “You can hand me the data,” Ste said. “I’ll take it to Lainey. She can check.” Lainey had been working here way longer and was more than qualified. No need to drag William into it.


    Sandra shrugged. Fine by her.


    Ste grabbed the report and headed to Lainey’s office—only to freeze when she saw who was already inside. William.


    She blinked, her heart skipping. What was he doing here? For a second, her mind spiraled—was he feeding Lainey the same lines? Was he ying her too? Did he tell her he liked her and wanted her to be his mistress?


    Was that his thing? Just stringing women along?


    She leaned against the wall and tried to eavesdrop.


    “Don’t worry. I’ll handle this for you, no problem,” Lainey was saying.


    William nodded. “Thank you very much.”


    Lainey smiled. “No need to thank me. We’re all colleagues here.” Then her eyes flicked up—straight at the door.


    “Sylvia! You scared me half to death standing there like that. Come in already!” Lainey waved her in.


    Ste hesitated but eventually walked in and took a seat.


    She half-expected William to take the hint and leave—but nope. He just sat there, calm as ever, like he had all the time in the world.


    Whatever. Ste ced the papers on Lainey’s desk. “Here’s our group’s time data. Can you check it over?”


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    Lainey, ever helpful, turned to William. “William’s right here. Why not let him take a look?”


    She picked up the papers to hand to him.


    Before he could even reach, Ste reached over and snatched them back. “No thanks. I’d prefer if you looked at it. I trust you more.”


    Lainey raised an eyebrow.


    What was that tone? Why was she acting so stiff with William?


    She gave William a quick nce but didn’t argue. She started flipping through the pages herself.


    William didn’t react—just stared at Ste for a few seconds, then said, “Come with meter.”


    Ste didn’t even hesitate. “Can’t. I’ve got experiments to run,” she shot back.


    Lainey’s ears perked up at that. Her eyes darted between the two of them.


    Wait a second… were they arguing?


    The tension was loud and clear.


    William kept his voice calm. “Ms. Gilbert, you can separate work from personal stuff, right?”


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