Xavier noticed Eleanor''s subtle movement, his gaze drifting briefly toward the direction of the private dining room.


    Their meal arrived, and Xavier steered the conversation toward children, lightening the mood and making everyone feel at ease.


    An hourter, as they finished lunch, Xavier nced at his watch. "It''s still early. Want to grab a coffee somewhere?"


    Eleanor offered an apologetic smile. "I''m sorry, I have a meeting at theb this afternoon. I should get going."


    He wasn''t ready for their time together to end so soon, but seeing she had work to do, he respected her schedule.


    "I really enjoyed our lunch," Xavier said warmly. "I''ll be out of the country for a couple of weeks, so I probably won''t be back until after the eleventh. Let''s catch up then." His gaze lingered on Eleanor, thoughtful and deep.


    She smiled, nodding. "Of course. Focus on your work, and let''s meet when you''re back."


    Xavier had always admired Eleanor''s easy grace, but now it struck him more than ever that, in her eyes, he was only a friend. Since they''d met, this was probably the first time she''d ever reached out to him of her own ord; all their prior encounters had been thanks to his careful orchestration or chance meetings he''d engineered.


    Eleanor walked him to the restaurant entrance. Just then, Ellington appeared and greeted Xavier. "Mr. Vaughn, it''s been a while."


    "Looking for Ms. Sutton?" Xavier asked casually.


    "Yes, I have some business to discuss with her," Ellington replied with a pleasant smile.


    "I''ll leave you to it, then. I should get going." Xavier didn''t want to intrude on Eleanor''s work, so he turned to her and said, “Eleanor, I hope you''ll consider joining the National Research Team. It''s a great tform for your talents." "Thank you, I''ll think about it," Eleanor replied, giving him a grateful smile. Ellington''s assistant approached, holding a document for Eleanor to sign. She finished signing and, as she turned, she sawn emerging with several international guests.


    She frowned, turning to leave.


    "Can we talk?"n called from behind her. Eleanor ignored him and kept walking. Ellington greetedn. "Good afternoon, Mr. Goodwin."


    She reached the lobby outside the elevator banks whenn finally caught up, reaching out to block her path. "Are you really thinking of joining the national research team?" he asked.


    Eleanor lifted her chin, her clear gaze meeting his. "I don''t see how that''s any of your business."


    "If you want to join the team, I won''t stand in your way,"n said, his voice low and steady. "But the resources I can offer you personally will far exceed what you''ll find there."


    She knew he wasn''t exaggerating. At the national level, opportunities might be broad, but they wouldn''t be tailored to her. Withn''s investments in herb, every project she''d worked on had been at the cutting edge.


    Eleanor''s jaw set with determination. "I''ll be leaving theb in three months. As for where I go next, I don''t need to report to you."


    As Eleanor reached out to press the elevator button,n''s hand deliberately intercepted hers. His eyes darkened. "Meridian Dynamics is about tounch a major project—a neural interface initiative, bridging medicine and technology. If you''re interested, I hope you''ll consider it."


    Eleanor froze, surprised. This was the frontier of modern medicine, a door every researcher dreamed of opening. The fusion of medicine and technology promised miracles and the power to change countless lives.


    "No need to answer now. You have three months to think about it,"n said, then turned and walked away.


    Eleanor didn''t press the elevator button. Her mind wandered back to thest big experiment two years ago, in the Drexford undergroundb. That night, Joslyn had called, sayingn had gone home with his daughter—and that she''d seen another woman in his car.


    At that moment, Eleanor had set aside her work: an experiment with a monkey imnted with a neural chip. The animal had been struck by lightning in the wild and left paralyzed, but that night, against all odds, it had managed to sit up. Her mentor had called it a miracle.


    A monthter, the monkey died from illness. Eleanor left theb to focus on her family, and the research was abandoned due to the staggering costs.


    Yet in the medicalmunity, no one spoke of that night. The "miracle" was never mentioned again.


    Other fields had made progress, but none had captured the wonder of Eleanor''s experiment.


    Now,n was boldly pushing into that very frontier.


    When Eleanor finally snapped out of her reverie, she realized she''d been standing by the elevator for quite some time, her heart pounding with memories both painful and stirring.


    With Meridian Dynamics'' resources and ambition,n genuinely stood a chance of breaking new ground in neural medicine.


    Eleanor shook her head as if to clear it, pressed the elevator button, and headed to the underground parking garage. She started her car and drove toward theb.


    Meanwhile, at the entrance,n was deep in conversation with several foreign experts. One, a medical doctor from Drexford, remarked, "I heard rumors of a miracle at a Drexfordb—a paralyzed monkey that was able to walk again after a neural interface procedure. But the project was shut down, and I don''t think anyone ever spoke publicly about it."