Faye felt her cheeks flush as she nced at Eleanor. “Eleanor, have you ever considered that your theory might be wed?"


    Her words cut straight to the point.


    Joel''s expression darkened. "Faye-"


    Faye arched an eyebrow. "If her theory is wrong from the start, then all the work we''ve done has been for nothing. I just think if we''re heading in the wrong direction, it''s better to cut our losses now."


    Byron''s face took on a grave look. He was the one who''d originally proposed this project, and he had unwavering faith in Eleanor''s theory. Now, though, things had ground to a halt at a critical juncture-and with the militarying on board next year, any misstep could be disastrous.


    At that moment, Eleanor could feel every pair of eyes in the room fixed on her. She furrowed her brow, stepped up to the holo-disy, and began inspecting the torrent of data.


    Meanwhile, Faye thought to herself, So what if this project tanks? Meridian Dynamics has more than enough in reserves; the next project will offer even more chances for me to shine.


    She''d never been happy working on this team-Eleanor''s shadow always seemed to loom over her, ready to eclipse her at any moment.


    "Can I have a few minutes alone?" Eleanor asked Byron quietly.


    Joel spoke up in his low voice. "I''ll stay with you."


    Byron gave a nod and called out to the others, "Everyone, take a break outside."


    Faye eyed Eleanor''s slender figure, narrowing her gaze. Eleanor won''te up with anything useful-she''s just wasting everyone''s time.


    With that, Faye turned and left.


    Byron had barely made it back to his office when his assistant appeared. "Mr. Chase, Mr. Goodwin has arrived. He''s waiting in Conference Room One."


    Byron''s heart skipped a beat. He stood and made his way to the conference


    room.


    Inside,n stood by the floor-to-ceiling windows, tall andposed. At the sound of the door opening, he turned slowly, his deep gaze settling on Byron.


    "Mr. Goodwin, I wasn''t expecting you in person," Byron said, surprised.


    "I heard the project''s hit a bottleneck,"n replied, his voice cool and level, betraying nothing.


    It was rare forn to involve himself in project details.


    Beads of sweat formed on Byron''s brow. He sighed. "Yes, sir. Right now, we can''t seem to break through the efficiency ceiling in the Al simtions. We''re working on a solution."


    "Is Eleanor here as well?”n asked suddenly.


    Byron paused, then nodded. "Yes. Dr. Sutton is in theb reviewing data."


    Byron hurried to fetch the files, feeling a knot of confusion. Mr. Goodwin had always cared about results, not details-so why the sudden scrutiny?


    Ten minutester,n made his way toward theb. Faye was loitering at the door, and when she saw him, a thrill shot through her.


    Now Eleanor''s really in trouble, she thought. Forn himself to get involved-after all, this investment was worth at least a billion. If Eleanor''s project burned through all that money for nothing,n would never trust her again.


    "Mr. Goodwin," Faye greeted him sweetly.


    Byron caught up. "Mr. Goodwin, would you like to see inside?"


    Inside, Eleanor''s slender fingers danced over the touchscreen, pulling up key parameters.


    Just then, the door opened, and she turned to seen and Byron enter one after the other.


    Eleanor''s gaze chilled. Ian hade himself-was he here to hold her ountable?


    "Dr. Sutton, don''t worry-Mr. Goodwin''s just here to observe," Byron exined hastily.


    "Thank you for your hard work,"n said.


    Eleanor looked back at the screen, folding her arms as she sank into thought.


    Her earlier train of thought had beenpletely derailed by this man''s arrival. She turned coldly and asked, "Could you please leave?"


    a lead researcher, butn Goodwin was the CEO.


    "Of course."n actually agreed, but as he turned to leave, he paused and said to her, "This project means a great deal to Meridian Dynamics. Please, don''t give up on it."


    With that,n stepped out. Byron followed after.


    Joel came over and patted Eleanor on the shoulder. "We''ll figure this out, Eleanor. We still have time."


    She shook her head, frustrated. The breakthrough she''d almost reached had vanished whenn interrupted her.


    "I''m fine. I just need a moment," she said, pulling up two more streams of data.


    "Joel, look here—and here," Eleanor pointed to two nodes on the schematic. "Everyone''s been ignoring the dy variable from quantum tunneling in the transmission."


    Joel''s eyes lit up. "No wonder the simtion always misses the mark by five percent! That''s the gap right there."


    A wave of relief washed over him, and he nearly threw his arms around Eleanor in excitement. "You''re amazing, Eleanor. You''re my hero."


    Joel rushed out of theb and called to the assistant outside, "Get Mr. Chase over here!"


    Byron was about to suggest thatn take a break when his assistant hurried over. "Mr. Chase, Dr. Kingsley needs you in theb right away-they think they''ve found something."


    Byron''s face broke into a grin. "Really?" He turned ton, "Mr. Goodwin, would you like to join us?"


    Byron hesitated for a second—was it because Eleanor had just givenn the cold shoulder?


    He nodded and hurried toward theb. Faye saw him approach and her expression shifted. Had Eleanor really found something?