Eleanor paused, just for a heartbeat, then nodded with a gentle smile. "Alright."


    The meeting officially began. The chairperson announced the agenda while Eleanor focused on flipping through her speech notes.


    Soon, it was her turn to take the stage.


    She drew a quiet breath. With so many public speaking engagements under her belt, she walked up to the podium with unhurried confidence.


    The spotlight found her in that moment.


    She lifted her chin and smiled, embodying every bit of grace, poise, and beauty.


    In the audience, Mansfield Ellington''s heart seemed to skip a few beats. Watching her on stage, he raised his phone to capture this moment of her radiance.


    Eleanor''s voice rang out, clear and strong. “Ladies and gentlemen, today I''m here to share thetest research on gene-edited T-cells in the treatment of leukemia.....”


    She exined the experimental data with crisp logic, outlined the technical breakthroughs, and painted a vivid picture of future applications. Murmurs of amazement and rounds of apuse broke out from the crowd.


    When her talk ended, Eleanor bowed politely to thank the audience.


    Thunderous apuse erupted again. Principal Maxwell leaned towardn and said warmly, n, Eleanor is a rare talent-yourb really struck gold this time!"


    Returning to her seat, Eleanor unscrewed her water bottle and took a sip. Momentster, her phone screen lit up with a silent message—it was from Mansfield Ellington.


    "Your expertise is impressive. Truly remarkable."


    Eleanor didn''t reply. Instead, she nced back in his direction. He was already looking at her, wearing that easy, expectant smile.


    She gave him a quick smile in return, then turned her attention back to the stage as the next speaker took over. The evening wasn''t just about presentations; there was also an awards ceremony scheduled.


    The main screen in the conference hall began showing profiles of the attending schrs.


    Next to Eleanor''s official photo, the caption read, "Breakthroughs in Targeted Leukemia Therapy." Below, her affiliation: Goodwin & Co. Biomedical Research Center.


    "And now, we move on to several important awards."


    After a few medical professionals epted their prizes, the host''s booming voice filled the hall once more. "The next award is for the year''s most groundbreaking medical research. The recipient is-Eleanor."


    Eleanor froze for a second, genuinely surprised. She hadn''t expected a personal award tonight.


    Still, she rose withposure and made her way to the stage. After shaking hands with the host, she heard, "Presenting this award to Miss Sutton will be Mr.n, President of Goodwin & Co. Please wee him."


    Eleanor''s smile faltered for a split second. Out of the corner of her eye, she sawn standing and walking toward the stage.


    She tucked a strand of hair behind her ear, a small nervous gesture. Ian took the crystal trophy from the usher and extended his hand. "Congrattions."


    Eleanor had no choice but to reach out and shake his hand for a few perfunctory seconds.


    After posing for a brief photo together, they each left the stage.


    In the fourth row, Vanessa had been idly scrolling through her phone for a while, growing increasingly bored-especially every time Eleanor was in the spotlight, which grated on her nerves.


    Two rows back, Faye looked toward Eleanor with barely concealed jealousy. She''d been working in theb for ages and hadn''t brought home so much as a que—while Eleanor had already snagged two major awards.


    Both Faye and Gwenda had noticed the officer who''d greeted Eleanor earlier. Gwenda had been eyeing him all evening. He sat in one of the front rows, posture immacte, with a chiseled profile that made her heart flutter.


    He was, hands down, the most handsome officer she''d ever seen.


    Unable to resist, she leaned closer to Faye. "Faye, do you know who he is?"


    Faye nced at Mansfield Ellington''s uniformed figure and shook her head. "No idea."


    "He seems pretty close with Eleanor." Gwenda''s curiosity only deepened. "Come on, ask your sister! Maybe she knows."


    Faye was intrigued too. She picked up her phone and sent a message to Vanessa: "Do you know the guy in uniform? He seems familiar with Eleanor."


    Vanessa ncedzily at her screen, but her eyes paused. She turned to look at Mansfield Ellington.


    Even seated, he cut an imposing figure-upright, with an air of quiet authority.


    She narrowed her eyes and replied, "I saw him at the mayor''s g. He''s probably from a military family."


    A momentter, Vanessa added, "Are you interested in him?"


    Faye read the reply and handed her phone to Gwenda.


    Gwenda''s heart skipped faster as she read the words "military family."


    She couldn''t help but steal another nce at Mansfield Ellington, her cheeks flushing pink. “He''s just so handsome-wonder if he has a girlfriend."


    Faye smirked inwardly. Even if he didn''t, she thought, you wouldn''t stand a chance.


    But she kept her thoughts to herself, lowering her voice. "Didn''t you notice he was watching Eleanor the whole time?"


    Gwenda instantly deted, withdrawing her gaze with a sigh. "Why does Eleanor get all the luck?"


    Atst, at nine-thirty, the host gave the closing remarks, and the event drew to a perfect close.


    Eleanor remained seated for a while, not in a hurry to leave, when Mansfield Ellington—immacte in his uniform-made his way over and took the seat beside her.


    Vanessa, meanwhile, hade down from the back and waited by the door for<pn.