Faye''s heart raced an independent subsidiary meant its own budget, its own team. Wasn''t this exactly the kind of opportunity she''d been dreaming of?


    She couldn''t help but nce up at Eleanor, who was frowning, clearly displeased by the news.


    Faye smirked inwardly. What could Eleanor possibly object to? She was just a researcher. In the end, the real decision-maker here wasn.


    Her future brother-inw.


    "Of course, Mr. Goodwin is hoping to see a working prototype within six months," Byron exined. "These three civilian projects have the most market potential.”


    "We''ll need to sit down with Mr. Goodwin and discuss this in person," Joel said, his expression serious.


    “Dr. Kingsley, the board will be voting on this decisionter. You can arrange a meeting with Mr. Goodwin after that," Byron nodded.


    Eleanor herself wasn''t eager to split off the Neural Interface Project so soon, butn had his eyes on the profit margin. The board would be more than happy to back him—especially ifn was using these three civilian projects to keep them pleased while pouring resources into the Neural Interface research.


    After the meeting, Joel and Eleanor exchanged a few words in private and agreed to set up a meeting withn in the next couple of days.


    Back at her office, Faye immediately messaged Vanessa. "Sis, Mr. Goodwin wants tounch an independent civilian project team. I want to take charge of one of the projects and run it myself.”


    "I''ll mention it to him," Vanessa replied.


    "I can do this. Trust me."


    "Alright, wait for my update!" Vanessa responded without hesitation.


    Faye let out a sigh of relief, clutching her phone. She knew Vanessa would have her back. After all, Vanessa had never liked the idea of Eleanor bing too influential in the research world, and she''d do everything possible to support Faye''s rise.


    A thought urred to her, and she fired off another message: "I want to lead the sleep regtion project."


    "Got it." Vanessa texted back.


    Joel was clearly a bit agitated. For him, the Neural Interface Project was still yielding only phased results, and he was deeplymitted to pure research; to Joel, science wasn''t an assembly line.


    He pushed open Eleanor''s office door, causing her to jump in surprise. Looking up, she saw Joel''s anxious face.


    "Joel?"


    "Eleanor, can you set up a meeting with Mr. Goodwin? We have to talk to him. We need at least two more years before discussing civilian applications."


    Eleanor wasn''t used to seeing Joel this upset. She nodded. "Alright, I''ll contact him and arrange a meeting."


    But from what she knew ofn, once he made up his mind, there was little chance of changing it.


    "This project might be civilian-focused, but I''m worried about a leak of our core data. It could jeopardize all our research," Joel said, brow furrowed.


    After Joel left, Eleanor hesitated a moment before picking up her phone and dialingn''s number.


    He answered almost immediately. "Hello?"


    Eleanor frowned. "Are you free tonight? Joel wants to meet with you."


    "I''m sure you do too,"n replied, his voice low.


    "Are you avable?" Eleanor''s tone cooled.


    "I am, but I''ll choose the ce."


    "Fine. Where?"


    "Your ce,"n''s voice was smooth, almost maic.


    Eleanor gripped her phone tightly, her tone ice-cold. "No. Pick somewhere else."


    "Have Joel wait a few days. I''m busy right now," Ian''s voice shifted to all business.


    Eleanor hesitated. Joel was already on edge-should she really let him stew over this for days?


    "Six o''clock. Be on time," Eleanor said, barely holding back her anger.