That afternoon,n sent a message to Eleanor. He had to go to Kingston. If she didn''t have time, he would send Serena Goodwin to pick up Evelyn.


    Eleanor, of course, had time. Her handover tasks were light, allowing her to keep regr hours.


    When Eleanor arrived at the preschool that afternoon, Evelyn, despite a full day of sses, was a bundle of energy. When the teacher brought her out, she bounded over to Eleanor like a little rabbit.


    Eleanor hugged her and led her to the car. The moment she was buckled in, the little girl couldn''t wait to report, "Mommy, I told Daddy this morning! I told him you praised him."


    Eleanor, who had been about to start the car, froze. The smile on her face stiffened.


    She hadn''t expected her daughter to repeat a casual remark fromst night ton. While it wasn''t a big deal, Eleanor didn''t want her daughter acting as a go-between. She turned and forced a smile. "Okay, honey. But in the future, you don''t need to make a special point of telling Daddy things like that, alright?"


    Evelyn blinked her big, clear eyes,pletely puzzled. "Why not? Daddy was so happy when he heard it!"


    Eleanor was at a loss for words. Looking at her daughter''s innocent face, she realized it was impossible to exin theplex emotions of adults. She decided to drop it.


    "Where did Daddy go? Why didn''t hee pick me up?" Evelyn asked curiously.


    "Your daddy had to go to Kingston for work," Eleanor said. Though she didn''t know the specifics, she assumed it had to do with the recent turmoil in the international business world.


    For the next two days, Eleanor''s life was a simple routine between theb and home. On the morning of the third day, she received a text fromn: "I''ll be back this morning."


    Eleanor paused. Theunch ceremony for the special fund established by The Guild of Commerce was at two o''clock that afternoon. As the chairman, he should be there if he had time.


    Eleanor had already been in contact with The Guild. She was scheduled to give a brief speech about the direction of her research.


    Her afternoon was free. She had


    lunch with Joy Thatcher nearby. Joy wanted to see the event, so Eleanor had The Guild reserve a seat for her as well content


    Around one-thirty, the venue for the fund''sunch ceremony was already fung up with guests. Eleanor Went backstage upon arrival to do a final check with the staff.


    She was dressed in a tasteful, light gray skirt suit, her long hair styled in an updo


    that made her look both professional and elegant.


    "Dr. Sutton, you''ll be on after Mr. Goodwin''s speech. The host will invite you to the stage then," a staff member informed her.


    Eleanor nodded and was about to


    head back to her seat when amanding tall figure strode through the entrance:n showed no signs of travel fatigue; he had clearly gone home to shower and change.


    "Mr. Goodwin, you''re here," the staff members greeted him.


    "I''ve been here a little while," Eleanor replied calmly, looking at him.


    His directpliment caught her slightly off guard. She gave a slight nod. "Thank you." With that, she averted her gaze.


    She wasn''t used to this version ofn-or rather, she wasn''t used to such close interactions with him.


    "Is your speech ready?"n asked.