"Joel, were you waiting here just for us?" Gwenda asked.


    Joel smiled and nodded. "Yes."


    He led Eleanor and Gwenda upstairs to a private dining room. By now, everyone from Meridian Dynamics had arrived, but only a department head from the Royal College of Medical Sciences was present to greet them.


    Noticing thatn hadn''t shown up yet, Eleanor took her seat. Just then, someone returning from the restroom caught sight of her and instantly looked displeased.


    Faye Yeaton hadn''t expected that while she was gone, two more people had joined the table-one of whom she couldn''t stand.


    "Faye," Gwenda called out, greeting her.


    Faye sat down beside Gwenda, ncing at her in confusion. "What brings you two here?"


    Gwenda leaned over and quietly exined that Eleanor was filling in for Dr. Lyman at the evening''s lecture.


    Faye''s expression darkened. She''d been stationed at the Meridian Dynamics officetely and hadn''t kept up with the goings-on in theb. She hadn''t expected Eleanor to have the credentials to step in for Dr. Lyman-just being asked put Eleanor on a higher rung.


    Faye pressed for details, and Gwenda quietly filled her in. When Faye heard thatn himself had invited Eleanor to the dinner after the lecture, a bitterness crept in.


    Suddenly, the door to the private room swung open.


    He scanned the room, his gaze briefly lingering on Eleanor before moving on.


    Principal Weber beamed at her. "Miss Sutton, your lecture today was absolutely brilliant! Our faculty and students learned so much."


    "Thank you, Principal Weber. That''s very kind of you," Eleanor responded modestly.


    Byron then stood up and introduced his team, including Faye and the others.


    In moments like this, everyone''s status was on full disy.


    Faye watched asn personally introduced Eleanor, while she herself went unmentioned. The sting of it made her heart sink.


    It didn''t help that Principal Weber and the others shook hands and offered effusive praise only for Eleanor.


    The servers began bringing out dinner, and the conversation gradually warmed.n and Principal Weber discussed potential coborations, asionally turning to Byron and Joel for their expertise.


    Each time, Faye''s face grew a shade darker.


    "When ites to the theoretical side of Al cell research, Eleanor is our resident expert,”n said, tapping his fingers lightly on the table and ncing around before fixing his gaze on Eleanor. "Eleanor, would you borate for us?"


    Eleanor had been quietly eating, but at his prompt, she set down her silverware and lifted her head. Meeting the attentive eyes of Principal Weber and the others, she spoke with calm confidence about the relevant theories.


    Principal Weber''s eyes lit up. "Miss Sutton, you''re truly an authority."


    "That''s not all,”n added, suddenly turning to a middle-aged man with gold- rimmed sses. "Professor ke, I recall you once mentioned an article in *Nature* about this very field-it was Eleanor''s work."


    Professor ke looked at Eleanor in surprise. "You wrote that paper on Al nano- robots? I''ve been wanting to meet the author!"