Faye was still reeling from the revtion that Mansfield Ellington held the rank of Major General. Before she could fully process it,n walked into the conference room. A bitter, mocking feeling welled up inside her there was Eleanor, openly flirting with another man in front of Mr. Goodwin.


    Clearly, as far asn was concerned, his ex-wife was nothing but fickle and untrustworthy.


    Back in Kingston, Faye had worried thatn might rekindle things with Eleanor. But seeing him now, she realized that, no matter how desperaten might be for femalepany, he''d never go back to her.


    And why would he, when he had the alluring Vanessa by his side? Next to Vanessa, Eleanor''s appeal didn''t even register on the same scale.


    The video call was still running in the conference room, casting an odd tension over the group.


    Eleanor could feeln''s gaze lingering on her for a few seconds, but she kept her eyes on the documents in front of her, focused and unfazed.


    After Garrison greetedn, he dove straight into the heart of the meeting. The discussion dragged on for nearly two hours before it finally wrapped up.


    Eleanor stayed absorbed in the meeting the whole time, never noticing whenn slipped out.


    At noon, Joel invited her to lunch.


    "So-first impressions of your new posting at Meridian Dynamics?" he asked as they settled in.


    "It''s a bit nerve-racking," Eleanor admitted, "like I could be thrown into battle at any moment. Nothing like the calm you get in ab."


    "Couldn''t agree more," Joel chuckled. "By the way, did Evelyn like the gift I broughtst night?"


    Eleanor''s face brightened. "She loved it. Thank you."


    Joel grinned, then asked with feigned casualness as he cut into his steak, "So, how exactly did you meet Major General Ellington?"


    Eleanor paused, surprised by the question, but she didn''t bother hiding anything. She told him the truth.


    A flicker of surprise crossed Joel''s eyes. "Seems like he''s quite taken with you. Maybe even nning to pursue you?"


    Eleanor''s knife paused mid-cut. She met his gaze. She couldn''t deny it.


    "He does seem to like me," she admitted. She could feel Mansfield Ellington''s enthusiasm—it wasn''t subtle.


    "And what about you?" Joel took a sip of water, watching her closely.


    Eleanor thought for a moment before answering honestly, "I''m so busy right now, I don''t have time for a rtionship. It''s just not on my mind."


    "Is that what you told Major General Ellington, too?" Joel asked, a teasing smile on his lips.


    Eleanor smiled and nodded. "Exactly that."


    Joel believed her. He also knew any man who cared for Eleanor would be willing to wait-she was worth a patient pursuit.


    Especially now: she''d juste out of a failed marriage, was raising a five-year- old on her own, and was throwing herself into her research. She barely had a moment to breathe, let alone date.


    After lunch, they returned to the Meridian Dynamics office. That afternoon, Byron had assembled his team of engineers for an internal meeting. They were running tests on the new algorithm, blue spectral data streams flickering across the screen everything had a distinct sense of cutting-edge technology.


    And all of it was built on Eleanor''s theoretical work.


    Every time Faye thought about it, she felt a pang of resentment. All their breakthroughs stemmed from Eleanor''s theory. She''d worked hard, too, had even put forward her own ideas before, but none had ever been epted.


    Now Eleanor''s theory had leapt from forms on a page to tangible, life-saving technology. How could Faye possibly feel content with that?


    The more sessful Meridian Dynamics became, the more it proved just how right Eleanor''s ideas were.


    "As we discussed with Dr. Bradley, our nanobot prototypes are ready to make their debut," Byron announced.


    As soon as he finished, the projector flickered to a new set of 3D molecr models. Eleanor''s eyes widened in astonishment; she stood up and strode quickly to the screen.


    "This structure—" her fingers brushed the disy, voice trembling with excitement, "you actually built my theoretical model?"


    Byron nodded, beaming. "Miss Sutton, using your self-assembly theory, our engineering team spent three months synthesizing the first batch of nanobot prototypes. We kept it under wraps until now-at Mr. Goodwin''s request."


    The room fellpletely silent. Everyone held their breath.


    Faye''s pen fell from her hand with a tter. She stared at the screen in disbelief- this was the very theory she''d once dismissed as unrealistic, impossible to achieve.


    Yet here it was, realized.


    Eleanor''s tion dimmed for a moment. Ian had kept Meridian Dynamics'' core developments hidden from her-was he still wary of her loyalty?


    After the incident with Xavier Labs, he''d started keeping his guard up around her. But this time, Eleanor was fullymitted to the military partnership; that was the only reason he''d allowed VP Chase to reveal this critical technology.


    Eleanor returned to her seat, listening as Byron continued to exin the nanobots'' capabilities, his excitement barely contained. "Even more impressive, they exhibit the ''collective intelligence'' predicted by Miss Sutton''s theory."


    "This could revolutionize the entire medical field," Byron said, looking at Eleanor with awe. "If this theory holds up, it could save millions of lives."


    A buzz of whispered conversation swept through the room.


    Faye''s expression soured. She bit her lip, then raised her hand. "Excuse me, but isn''t it risky to push such an untested technology into clinical trials?"


    All eyes turned toward her.


    Byron faltered for a moment, clearly irritated to be challenged at a moment of triumph.


    Eleanor looked over at Faye and replied calmly, "You''re right to be concerned. That''s why we''ll be following the military''s strict testing protocols-animal trials first, then carefully controlled clinical studies."