He pocketed his phone and turned toward the elevator. Gavin hurried to catch up, lowering his voice. "Mr. Goodwin, do we need to make any changes to your schedule for tonight?"


    "Cancel everything I have this evening,"n replied coolly.


    Gavin nodded, instantly recognizing his boss''s foul mood.


    Clearly, this had something to do with Eleanor refusing to even nce his way earlier.


    After so many years working forn, Gavin had learned not to presume too much, but he could still read a few of his boss''s moods.


    Meanwhile, Eleanor and Ellington returned to the Vesper Joy Hotel for lunch. Afterwards, Eleanor made her way to the conference room to hear updates from her executive team.


    Seated at the head of the table, Eleanor''s gaze was steady as she scanned the faces of her managers. "Let''s begin."


    The Director of Marketing stood first, switching on the projector. "Ms. Sutton, regardingst quarter''s smart upgrade project for the hotel, we''vepleted roughly one third of the work so far."


    Eleanor nodded, listening intently. From time to time, she interrupted to ask pointed questions.


    Ellington sat beside her, jumping in quickly to rify when the discussion veered outside her usual area of expertise.


    "Ms. Sutton, we still need to optimize the cost controls for this proposal. ording to the current budget-" the CFO interjected with concern.


    Ellington nced at Eleanor; this wasn''t a decision he was authorized to make, so the Finance Department had been stuck debating it for days.


    "Budget isn''t the issue," Eleanor cut in firmly. "What I want is a n that genuinely improves the client experience, not one that lowers our standards just to save a few dors."


    Ellington''s eyes shed with admiration. Eleanor truly had the makings of a leader -elegant andposed on the outside, but resilient and decisive beneath the surface.


    And that was exactly what he''d always thought of her.


    The CFO nodded in understanding, dropping the matter.


    At three in the afternoon, Eleanor wrapped up the meeting. She nced at the time-toote to head to theb now-so she requested a smaller conference room to catch up on emails.


    Ellington arranged for coffee and pastries to be brought in, closed the door, and left her to work in peace.


    By five o''clock, Eleanor arrived early at the school and waited in the car for her daughter to finish ss.


    Just then, a white sports car pulled into a nearby spot. The driver''s side door opened, and Serena stepped out.


    She''d clearly seen Eleanor''s car before parking. Swinging her bag over her arm, Serena strode straight toward her.


    Eleanor watched her approach, her eyes turning cold. She still hadn''t confronted Serena about the things she''d said to her daughterst time.


    Serena stopped by the driver''s window, where Eleanor had lowered the ss halfway. Taking a deep breath, she asked, "Can we talk?"


    Serena folded her arms and waited. Eleanor grabbed her purse, stepped out, and shut the door behind her, fixing Serena with a frosty look. "Say what you came to say."


    Serena lifted her chin, her tone deliberately arrogant. "Eleanor, I''d advise you to stay away from my brother. The two of you are divorced-don''t make things any messier."


    Eleanor let out a short, coldugh. "Maybe you should deliver that message to your brother instead."


    Serena scoffed. "Don''t think I don''t know you invited him to dinner again on Christmas Eve."