?Chapter 651:


    Frank’s face darkened a little, but he eventually just motioned for her to leave.


    Sandra and a few others followed her back to theb, giving her a thumbs-up. “Sylvia, that was epic! I wouldn’t have had the guts to stand up to Frank like that.”


    Ste justughed. Sure, seniors deserved respect, but not if it meant sacrificing her self-respect.


    Watching Frank back down instead of scolding Ste left Nina fuming. She was so mad, she nearly tore herb apart.


    Meanwhile, Frank had a quick word with Paul, then left the institute. He hade to back Nina up, but once he realized Ste wasn’t someone he could mess with, there was no point in sticking around.


    Later that afternoon, Nina’s grandfather, Karson Carter, called her. “I heard even Frank had nothing to say about that patent,” Karson said, sounding rather amused.


    He had chosen Frank for this job because of his high standards and blunt honesty. The fact that even he couldn’t criticize Ste’s work made Karson curious about this so-called troublemaker Nina disliked.


    Nina grew even more frustrated. “Grandpa, what are you even saying? I’m so mad right now!” she snapped.<fn751f> Th? link to the orig?n of this information r?sts ?n f?ndnovel</fn751f>


    Karsonughed, not bothered by Nina’s mood. “She must be amazing if even—”


    Frank couldn’t criticize her. “I’m curious now. Since I’ve got some time, maybe I’lle to Choria and meet her myself.”


    Nina’s face dropped. Thest thing she wanted was for her grandfather to take an interest in Ste. She had expected support, not admiration for her enemy. Hearing that note of curiosity in his voice only made her more anxious.


    “Grandpa, it was just a coincidence,” she said quickly. “Things are really hectic here at the institute. Maybe it’s better if you wait a little beforeing.”


    After quite a bit of convincing, she finally talked him out of visiting—for now. But the second she hung up, she swept everything off her desk in a rage. The loud tter echoed through the room.


    She was reaching her limit. Ste was proving to be a far tougher opponent than she had imagined.


    Elsewhere, William only found out about Frank’s visit after it had already happened.


    gα?ησν????s, where the best stories live


    Over in his office, Paul was enjoying his coffee as he recounted the story. “You should’ve seen Sylvia today. She was calm as ever and didn’t flinch in front of Frank.”


    William’s eyes lit up with interest. He could picture her standing there, confident and collected. He even imagined the exact tone she probably used.


    The thought made him chuckle under his breath.


    Paul raised an eyebrow. “Are you actually falling for her?”


    Love could be strange, but Paul always thought William wasn’t the type to care about romance.


    William didn’t answer thatment. Instead, he looked serious and said, “We need to talk about Nina’s future at the institute.”


    He knew Ste could handle herself, but he didn’t like watching Nina take shot after shot at her.


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