As Vanessa drew closer, she caught the lingering scent of tobo on his clothes and narrowed her eyes. Ian only ever smoked for one reason-when something was weighing on him.


    Eleanor had shown up at Xavier''s father''s funeral, though by all rights, she had no reason to be there.


    So why had shee? There could only be one exnation: to get undern''s skin.


    Even though Eleanor''s car was long gone, Vanessa nced in that direction a few more times, her expression tinged with frustration. Ever since the divorce, Eleanor refused to fade quietly into the background; she always found a way to rattlen. Was she trying to prove a point?


    Just then, Henry walked over ton. "Most of the guests have left. Let''s go pay our respects to Mr. Vaughn."


    Vanessa turned to Henry. "That was... Eleanor, wasn''t it? What was she doing here?"


    Henry nodded. "Yeah, she stopped in to pay her respects and left right after." Vanessa frowned in thought. "You don''t think Xavier introduced Eleanor to his parents in private, do you?"


    Her voice wasn''t particrly loud, but it was just enough forn to catch the words. His brow furrowed, and he quickened his pace almost imperceptibly.


    Henry considered it. "It''s possible. Mr. Vaughn''sst wish was to see Xavier bring home a girlfriend."


    "So, Eleanor helped him fulfill thatst wish?" Vanessa''s lips curled in a smirk as she hurried aftern.


    Henry followed after them, his gaze lingering before he too headed into the chapel.


    Meanwhile, Eleanor rushed through the halls and managed to slip into the conference room with just two minutes to spare.


    Byron let out a breath of relief. For some reason, whenever Eleanor was present at these meetings, he felt a sense of calm. The tough questions thrown out by the military reps never seemed to faze her; she always had an answer ready, keeping the discussion from stalling.


    Faye bit her lip, watching Eleanor stride in dressed head to toe in ck. For a moment, she wondered if Eleanor had juste from a funeral-she wasn''t wrong.


    Joel was surprised too. The cool, dark outfit gave Eleanor an air of effortless confidence aloof, striking, and captivating all at once.


    The review meeting went off without a hitch.


    Garrison, the military liaison, expressed his satisfaction with Meridian Dynamics'' technical proposal, especially the module Eleanor had spearheaded.


    After the meeting, Byron offered a rarepliment. "You did well in there."


    Back at her office, Eleanor barely had time to settle in before a new email popped up—there was a routine meeting that afternoon.


    A knock sounded at her door. Joel peeked in. "Eleanor, grab yourptop and meet me in Conference Room Three in two minutes."


    "I''ll be right there," she replied.


    Meridian Dynamics was moving toward a more coborative, group-based workflow to encourage closer cooperation between departments.


    At lunch, Eleanor and Joel sat across from each other in the cafeteria. Joel eyed


    her outfit with curiosity. "Don''t often see you in all ck."


    Eleanor looked up. "I went to Xavier''s father''s funeral this morning."


    Joel raised his eyebrows. "Did you know his father?"