"Take the day off. Tomorrow, I''ll take you out for some fun,"n said, then turned to Eleanor. "If you need to work, you can send Evelyn over to my room anytime."


    Eleanor did have some prep work before her meeting, so she nodded. "Pick her up at three."


    With that, she went back to her meal.


    At three o''clock sharp,n arrived to pick up Evelyn. She happily followed him out. As Eleanor was about to grab herptop, her phone buzzed with a new message.


    She reached over and checked-Xavier was texting.


    "Vivian told me Evelyn called in sick?"


    "Yes, I brought her along on a work trip to Drexford," Eleanor replied.


    "Didn go too?" Xavier asked.


    She typed back, "Yeah, he''s taking her skiing while we''re here."


    "Alright. Have fun," came Xavier''s response.


    "Thank you," Eleanor replied politely.


    She had just pulled out herptop and hadn''t even opened her files when another message came in. It was from Mansfield.


    "Are you free tomorrow? I''d love to take you and Evelyn out for dinner. I''m heading back to Kingston the day after."


    Eleanor paused. Bad timing.


    "I''m in Drexford on business with Evelyn-looks like we''ll be here for about ten days. Next time, dinner''s on me," she wrote back.


    "Oh, what a shame! Are you there alone with Evelyn?" Mansfield replied.


    "She''s with her dad," Eleanor answered.


    At that moment, in a quiet backyard somewhere, Mansfieldy back in a lounge chair, staring at his phone. His fingers hovered over the keyboard for a moment before he finally typed, "Alright. Have a great time, but don''t overdo it-get some rest."


    “Thanks,” Eleanor wrote, setting her phone aside atst and finally opening her work files.


    She kept at it until five, when Smith called to say he''d be stopping by for a face-to- face meeting at her hotel. He sounded genuinely pleased for the chance to catch up in person.


    "I spoke to Mr. Goodwin-he''d like us to meet as well."


    Eleanor readily agreed. Smith''s team had helped her with research on the new leukemia drug, providing both insights and technical support.


    She was always hungry for knowledge when it came to academic work.


    Around dinnertime,n brought Evelyn back and knocked on Eleanor''s door. Evelyn ran up, grabbing Eleanor''s hand. "Mom, Dad already made a reservation! Let''s have dinner together tonight!"


    Eleanor looked down at her daughter''s eager eyes. She knew how uneasy Evelyn felt in a new country and wanted to give her as muchfort as she could.


    "Alright," Eleanor agreed.


    Inside the elevator, Evelyn''s happiness was impossible to miss; her face glowed as she heldn''s hand with one of hers and reached for Eleanor''s with the other.


    As the elevator descended,n felt his daughter''s small, warm hand and nced over at Eleanor.


    Eleanor stared straight ahead, her face unreadable.


    With a soft "ding," the doors opened onto the fourth floor. The soft notes of a violin drifted in.


    The restaurant looked cozy and upscale. Just then, Evelyn squealed with delight, "Mom, look! It''s snowing outside!"