When Eleanor returned to the private dining room, she immediately sensed a shift in the atmosphere everyone now regarded her with newfound respect. It turned out that while she''d stepped out, Professor ke had spent the entire time extolling the value of her research to the others.


    A littleter, Faye reappeared, her expressionposed once more, as if nothing had happened.


    Dinner ran from six until half past eight, finally drawing to a close. Ian''s group had driven to the restaurant; it would take them nearly six hours to get back to Ashford City.


    They had brought three cars: one registered to Byron, another ton, and the third to Joel.


    Now, as they figured out who would ride with whom for the return trip,n nced at Eleanor. She turned to Joel and said, "Joel, I''ll ride with you."


    "I will, too," Faye chimed in quickly. She raised her voice just enough to be heard by everyone. "Well, since that''s decided, I''ll leave you three to it. I''ll ride with Mr. Goodwin."


    Byron''s car was already full, carrying his three engineers. On the way here, Faye had ridden with Joel, but now she was determined to keep her distance from Eleanor and just as deliberately, to remind Eleanor of how close she was withn.


    Once everyone had settled in, the caravan headed straight for the highway.


    Eleanor took the passenger seat in Joel''s car and struck up a conversation with him. After all, long drives were exhausting, and she didn''t want him to get drowsy behind the wheel.


    Joel turned out to be a steady, reliable driver. Even though Eleanor was tired herself, she made a conscious effort to keep him engaged and awake with conversation.


    Joel, for his part, seemed energized-especially with Eleanor sitting beside him. Drowsiness was thest thing on his mind.


    By the time Joel pulled into Ashford City, it was already two in the morning. He dropped Gwenda off first, then drove Eleanor home.


    "Drive safe, Joel. Get some rest when you get home," Eleanor reminded him gently as she got out.


    After saying goodbye, Eleanor headed upstairs, took a long shower, and finally allowed herself to copse into bed.


    She slept in until ten the next morning, waking up feeling significantly refreshed. She called her daughter, only to find the girl was having so much fun she didn''t want toe home yet. Gina promised to take her to school on Monday.


    That afternoon, Eleanor had a meeting scheduled with Ellington to prepare for the next day''s board meeting.


    They arranged to meet at a café. When Eleanor arrived, Ellington was already there, waiting. He handed her a list of the board members for tomorrow''s meeting.


    She scanned the names, pausing briefly when she saw thergest shareholder besides herself. She bit her lower lip, lost in thought.


    "Ms. Sutton, Mr. Goodwin won''t be able to attend tomorrow," Ellington informed her quietly.


    "That''s actually a relief," Eleanor replied with a small, wry smile.


    Ellington looked momentarily surprised, then chuckled.


    Monday morning.


    Eleanor arrived at the Vesper Joy Hotel''s executive conference hall, where Ellington stepped forward to greet her. "Ms. Sutton, wee."


    She nodded in acknowledgment. At one of the tables, five men sat waiting— middle-aged, worldly types who had flown in from all over the globe. Years ago, they had each made small investments in Eleanor''s eightpanies. Their shares weren''trge, but each was enough for a seat at the board.


    The reason none of them had withdrawn after Eleanor took over was simple: their trust wasn''t in Eleanor herself, but in the man behind hern.


    As long asn remained involved, thepanies under Eleanor''s name would continue to grow steadily.


    Since investing in Goodwin & Co., these men had grown used to a hands-off approach, content to let their money work for them. Eleanor''s exact role was secondary; what really mattered wasn''s stance.


    After all,n''s reputation and abilities were legendary in business circles, and these seasoned veterans knew it better than anyone.


    Ellington quickly made the introductions. Eleanor greeted each board member in turn, shaking hands politely. By ten o''clock, everyone had arrived.


    Right on schedule,n''s assistant, Gavin Young, appeared at the entrance.


    "What''s this? Mr. Goodwin isn''ting?" one of the shareholders asked, clearly surprised.


    "Mr. Goodwin has a priormitment and won''t be able to attend. I''ll be representing him today," Gavin replied smoothly, courteous but firm.


    The shareholders exchanged nces but didn''t press the issue.


    "Ms. Sutton, after you," one of them said, gesturing for Eleanor to take the lead.


    As she entered the conference room, Ellington naturally pulled out the chair at the head of the table for her.


    Once seated, Eleanor smiled and said calmly, "Let''s begin."


    She nodded to Ellington, signaling for him to start the report.


    Ellingtonunched into a detailed update on thepany''s progress, citing several key growth figures that had the shareholders nodding in approval.


    Halfway through, just as Ellington finished presenting the third quarter''s financials, Walden-the shareholder on her right-tapped his fingers on the table.


    "Ms. Sutton, if I may be frank," Walden said, adjusting his gold-rimmed sses. "All this growth rides on the foundation Mr. Goodwinid. I''d like to hear your own vision for thepany''s future. What do you bring to the table?”


    The room fell silent.


    Eleanor noticed the subtle nces exchanged among the board. Clearly, this challenge had been coordinated in advance.


    She closed her folder, calm and collected. "That''s a fair question, President Walden. In fact, I''ve already begun spearheading a smart hotel initiative. We''ve just reached a preliminary cooperation agreement with the Montir, a seven-star hotel."