Byron smiled and waved her in. "It''s fine,e on in!"


    Faye''s eyes widened in disbelief, unable to process that the person they''d all been waiting for-kept waiting for more than ten minutes, no less-was actually Eleanor.


    What on earth was she doing here?


    Joel, on the other hand, looked both surprised and delighted. The moment he saw Eleanor, he seemed to guess why she''d shown up.


    Eleanor nodded politely to Joel. Byron nced around at everyone gathered for the meeting. "I''m sure you''re all familiar with Dr. Eleanor Sutton. Starting today, she''ll be stepping in as lead researcher for Meridian Dynamics'' neural interface project."


    Joel was the first to p, rising to his feet. "Eleanor, wee aboard."


    The rest of the team quickly joined in, standing to greet her. Faye, however, remained seated, herplexion turning ghostly pale. She stared at Eleanor, jealousy flickering in her eyes.


    She''s actually shameless enough to stay? And not only that-she''s joined the neural interface team? As lead researcher?


    Faye shot to her feet, unable to contain herself. She turned straight to Eleanor. "Eleanor, didn''t Professor Langley say you were headed to Dr. Windsor''sb? Why are you suddenly at Meridian Dynamics?"


    Byron stepped in smoothly. "This was Mr. Goodwin''s decision."


    For a moment, Faye''s face froze. Was this reallyn''s arrangement? Or had Eleanor simply regretted leaving ande up with any excuse to stay? With her talent, all she had to do was ask andn would have found a way to keep her-so in the end, this was just Eleanor shamelessly clinging to the project, desperate for a slice of the glory.


    Byron began going over the project status. Since things were only just getting started, the core team consisted of himself as lead engineer, Joel and Eleanor as principal researchers, with Faye serving as their deputy.


    He outlined theunch n: theb would remain at the main facility, with state- of-the-art equipment and top-tier resources secured for every aspect of the work.


    After the meeting, Joel lingered to chat with Eleanor. He exhaled in relief. "Honestly, I''ve wanted to ask you to stay for ages. I can''t tell you how happy I am you decided not to leave."


    Eleanor smiled, d to be working with him again. She nodded. "Let''s give this our best shot."


    Back in her office, Eleanor had barely settled in before her door swung open- Faye barged in without so much as a knock.


    Eleanor looked up, already guessing what wasing.


    "What exactly are you ying at, Eleanor?" Faye''s tone dripped with sarcasm. "First you put on a show about resigning, and now you''re back here, brazenly grabbing Joel''s project? Do you think Meridian Dynamics is your personal yground?"


    Eleanor let out a coldugh. "If you have a problem, take it up withn. Don''te whining to me."


    Faye snorted, as though Eleanor had just told a joke. It was almostical-she was talking as ifn had begged her to stay, when in fact, it was clear Eleanor simply couldn''t bear to leave. But Faye wasn''t finished. "Don''t hide behind Mr. Goodwin. You just didn''t want to give up your spot. But don''t get too cocky-when ites to neural interfaces, you''re starting from scratch. You don''t even know where to begin." Her tone was sharp; she''d already researched the field and knew that, globally, nob had made significant breakthroughs yet everyone was still fumbling in the dark.


    Still, she''d heard rumors that a team at Drexford had published a paper two years ago, and Byron had mentioned thatn was in talks with them. There was every chance their researchers would be poached for Meridian Dynamics—if that happened, Eleanor would just be another outsider looking in.


    Just then, voices floated in from the hallway. "Dr. Sutton''s office is right here."


    The door opened, and Gwenda appeared, arms wrapped around a cardboard box


    of personal effects. She paused, surprised to find Faye already there.


    Faye, however, was even more stunned. She could hardly believe Gwenda had shown up at Meridian Dynamics as well-and with her things packed up, it was obvious she''d be joining the team.


    "Gwenda, you made it!" Eleanor stood and greeted her with a warm smile.


    Gwenda''s eyes shone with excitement. "Thank you for letting me be your assistant, Eleanor. I''m so happy."


    Faye''s expression darkened. Eleanor was taking Gwenda on as her assistant now?


    Gwenda gave a sheepish little wave in Faye''s direction. "Faye, I didn''t expect you''d be here too."


    "How touching. Such sisterly devotion," Faye sneered, and swept toward the door.


    Gwenda''s cheeks flushed with embarrassment.


    Faye turned back, hand on the doorknob. "Don''t get ahead of yourself, Gwenda. You''re just here to fetch coffee and make copies."


    Gwenda straightened her back. "I''m just grateful to work with Eleanor. That''s more than enough for me."


    Later that afternoon, another meeting invitationnded in everyone''s inbox. Early days on a new project always meant a flood of meetings.


    Eleanor gathered her files and headed down the sunlit corridor toward the conference room. At the end, by the windows,n stood taking a phone call. He nced up as she passed, then turned away without a word.


    A few minutester, after Eleanor had settled in,n entered the meeting room. Byron, meaning to offer him the head seat, hesitated whenn simply pulled out the chair beside Eleanor and sat down. "Let''s get started," he said in his low, steady voice.


    Byron looked momentarily flustered, but then took his ce at the front and began the briefing.