This man had a knack for reading people; he knew perfectly well that she cared about Joel.


    Eleanor dialed the office extension and told Joel that they''d meet at her ce tonight to talk. Joel agreed without hesitation.


    At five o''clock, Eleanor left work early to pick up her daughter. On the drive home, she exined that Joel andn would being over for dinner.


    "Really? That''s great-I get to see Dad!" Evelyn beamed with excitement.


    Just after they arrived home, the clock barely past six, the doorbell rang. Joel was the first to show up.


    A momentter, the bell chimed again. Evelyn dashed to the door, grinning. "That must be Dad!"


    She swung open the door, and there he was who else could it be butn?


    "Dad!" Evelyn flung herself into his arms. Ian scooped her up and stepped into the living room. Joel rose from the sofa. "Mr. Goodwin, d you could make it."


    Eleanor had already told her daughter that tonight''s dinner was for work, so Evelyn obediently went off to watch TV.


    "Let''s talk in the study upstairs," Eleanor said, giving the two men a brief, appraising look. She led the way up the stairs.


    In the second-floor study, Eleanor closed the door behind them. The two men settled onto opposite ends of the sofa.


    Joel spoke first. "Mr. Goodwin, I''ve identified three major risks in the civilian projects. Rushing to market too soon could-"


    Eleanor sat across from them, pouring two cups of tea and passing them over. She shot a worried nce at Joel.


    "Mr. Goodwin," Joel adjusted his sses, his tone turning grave, "Neural interfaces aren''t your average consumer electronics. One technical w, and the consequences could be catastrophic."


    Eleanor''s gaze metn''s, level and unwavering. "Joel''s worried that splitting up the team could increase the risk of a core data leak."


    Eleanor looked away. She understood the pressuren was under from the board, but she certainly wasn''t going to worry on his behalf-he always found a way out.


    Joel had braced himself for this. He''d tried to reason withn, but clearly, oncen made up his mind, there was no changing it.


    Joel''s disappointment was obvious. Ian, meanwhile, kept his gaze fixed on


    Eleanor, his voice roughening. "Eleanor, I need you to see this from my side-can you?"


    Joel immediately looked up, shifting his attention between the two of them.


    "I need to speak with Joel privately," Eleanor said atst.


    Eleanor turned to Joel. "Joel, have some tea first."


    Joel took a sip, then set the cup down. “Eleanor, just say what''s on your mind."


    "The neural interface project requires enormous investment. A lot of the board members are unhappy about it. Ian promised them he''d push forward with civilian applications as quickly as possible-that''s the only reason they backed off."


    "So Mr. Goodwin is pushing the civilian projects just to keep the board off his back?" Joel frowned.


    "When the Neural Interface Project got suspended overseas, it was because the costs were overwhelming. Ian went ahead anyway-despite opposition on the board. Some wanted to cut the budget entirely, butn fought to keep the project alive."


    There were things Eleanor couldn''t say-not out loud. Like how the project was tied up with the defense department, or that the military was waiting for the core breakthroughs. And all of it depended not just on massive investment, but also on the cooperation of York Windsor''s Rhine Laboratories and the power behind the scenes at Starnova Group.