"Aside from matters concerning Evelyn, please do not interfere in my life," Eleanor said, her gaze direct. "Keep your work and your personal life separate."


    With that, Eleanor turned and walked away without looking back.


    Just then, Dr. Ackerly came out to get some water. Seeingn, he added a friendly reminder, "Mr. Goodwin, you need to get some rest too. You look like you''re under a lot of pressure yourself."


    At fifty-four, Dr. Ackerly still looked youthful, while this man, not yet thirty, already had streaks of silver in his hair. If the pressure kept up, he''d likely go gray prematurely.


    "Thank you, Dr. Ackerly," Ian acknowledged with a nod before his tall frame moved toward the elevators.


    As he passed the nurses'' station, several nurses secretly watched his back until his upright figure disappeared into the elevator, at which point a flurry of whispers erupted.


    "Even with the gray hair, he''s incredibly handsome up close. That height, that presence "


    "But he''s so intimidating. I had to drop off a file in Dr. Ackerly''s office earlier and didn''t even dare to look up at him."


    "I think the gray actually looks distinguished, like something a celebrity would dye their hair to get. He''ll still be handsome even when it''s all white."


    "It''s a shame he and Dr. Sutton got divorced."


    "Even after a divorce, he''s still so concerned about his ex-wife''s health that he personally came to ask the doctor about it. Where can you find a man like that?"


    As Eleanor drove away, she received a call from Joel Kingsley. He wanted to meet her for lunch. Since it was still early, she decided to meet with Callie first to discuss their brainputer interface research.


    In theb''s central café, Callie hurried over with hisptop, thrilled that Eleanor had time to stop by. There were a few things he needed to discuss with her.


    "Eleanor, is Dr. Smith keeping you busy?"


    "It was hectic for a while, but it''s better now," Eleanor said with a smile.


    "I ran a few experiments based on the neural bridging technique your developedst time, but some of the results arent ideal. Can you see if missed something?"


    Eleanor watched as he opened hisptop and clicked through several simtions: After about ten minutes of careful review, she pointed to the screen the signal decay Here is too rapid. It''s likely an issue with the electrode material''s bipatibility, causing a rejection response."


    Callie leaned in for a closer look, and his eyes widened in realization. "Of course! How did I not think of that? I was so focused on optimizing the algorithm."


    They discussed a few other


    parameters. At eleven-thirty, Joel


    walked over from the main corridor He saw Eleanor by the bright, floor-to-ceiling window, spring blooming outside. The sunlight illuminated her, and as she spoke with passion, her eyes shone with a professional, intelligent light, making her seem to glow from within.


    Joel felt a flutter in his chest. He smiled and walked over, pulling up a chair to join


    them. Eleanor and Callie looked up at the same time and greeted him.


    "Joel, you''re here," Callie said with a smile.


    "I am. Are you two finished? Shall we go get some lunch?" Joel invited.


    "We''re about done. We can go," Eleanor replied.


    Callie, sharp as ever, knew Joel hade for Eleanor.


    He grinned. "You two go ahead. I need to get back to theb and adjust our experimental approach."