Noreen wrapped her arms around him in return. “I knew you could do it!”
“I really believe our product is going to shine at the Al Summit!”
Noreen agreed wholeheartedly.
“So, Ms. Gilmore, don’t you think it’s time we gave our product a proper name?” Carman asked her, his tone sincere and respectful.
Noreen smiled. “You poured your heart and soul into this project. The honor of naming it should be yours.”
But Carman insisted, “If it weren’t for your support, we wouldn’t have made it this far. You deserve just as much credit.”
Noreen opened her mouth to reply, but before she could speak, Sophia piped up, her voice light and teasing. “Oh,e on, you two! The way I see it, you’re both like the product’s parents–one brought it to life, the other nurtured it. You both deserve the credit!”
As soon as she said that, the whole team burst outughing and started to tease them.
Carman turned bright red, whether from embarrassment or something else, and stumbled over his words as he tried to shush everyone.
Noreen, on the other hand, took it all in stride. “Jokes aside, let’s settle on a name for our product first. We still need tounch it before the Summit, after all.”
With a few simple words, she steered everyone back on track.
After some discussion, they finally settled on a name.
InnoCore.
Everything InnoCore
Noreen remembered a quote she’d once read: “In today’s world, everything is InnoCore–no need to ask for help.”
<b>1/3 </b>
<b>09:14 </b>
It was this phrase that had seen <b>her </b>through countless sleepless <b>nights</b>.
<b>On </b>those long, lonely hours before dawn, she’d sit up and have <b>quiet </b>conversations with herself.
Gently asking herself to let go of certain things.
When the day came for InnoCore’sunch, Carman invited the entirepany out for dinner.
He turned to Noreen and asked if they should invite the investors as well.
Noreen agreed, and personally called Jennifer and Dn.
Jennifer was out of town and couldn’t make it.
Dn, on the other hand, epted right away, promising to be there on
time.
Just as Noreen arrived at the restaurant, her phone rang.
The contact name on her screen made her pause for a couple of seconds before she remembered who it was.
Sex partner.
Seth.
Why was he calling?
But…
Who cared why?
Noreen ignored the call and walked straight into the restaurant.
Seth, who was usually impatient, seemed to have all the patience in the world this time. When she didn’t answer, he called again.
She still didn’t pick up. No matter how many times he called, she had no intention of answering.
Then Seth sent a text.
Noreen saw the notification but didn’t bother to open it.
<b>2/3 </b>
<b>09:14 </b>
<b>After </b>a while, <b>the </b>phone finally went quiet.
<b>Most </b><b>of </b>the guests had arrived by then, so Noreen called Dn <b>to </b>check where he was.
Dn said, “I might be a littlete–something came up at thest minute.”
“That’s all right. Take care of what you need to, just let me know when <b>you </b>get here.”
“Will do.”
After hanging up, Dn turned to the man lying in the hospital bed. “Mr. Harcourt, how are you feeling?”
Wade replied, “No worries, you go handle your business. Don’t worry about me.”
“Take care of yourself,” Dn said, rising to his feet.
Seth walked him out. Once they were in the hallway, he asked, “Was that Noreen on the phone just now?”
Dn didn’t try to hide it. “Yeah. Herpany’s having a dinner for the team, and they invited me as an investor.”
Seth was still holding his phone.
Before Dn answered Noreen’s call, Seth had been calling her nonstop.
She hadn’t answered once, nor had she replied to his messages.
Yet, she’d called Dn personally to invite him to dinner.
When Seth returned to the hospital room, his expression was dark and stormy, his eyes cold and distant.
Evelyn looked up at him. “When is Secretary Gilmoreing?”