Eleanor didn''t go over; instead, she walked toward Joel, who was standing by the side of the stage.


    Then,n turned to the guest beside him. "Excuse me for a moment."


    With one hand in his pocket, he strode in Eleanor''s direction.


    Eleanor was just asking Joel how he was doing when a deep male voice offered apliment from behind.


    "You look beautiful."


    Eleanor turned around. Ian''s eyes were locked on her.


    "Thank you," she said, looking up at him. He was still wearing the sses she had given him before.


    Joel turned to Eleanor. "Ellie, why don''t you and Mr. Goodwin head back to your seats to rest for a bit? It''s about to start."


    Eleanor nodded. Not wanting to interrupt Joel''s final preparations, she looked up to find her seat.


    "Your seat is over here,"n said with a slight smirk. "I''ll show you."


    She followed him to a seat right in the middle of the front row, which had a name card with her name on it. Eleanor sat down, and the man beside her naturally took the seat next to hers.


    She turned to look at the name card on the adjacent table—it read n Goodwin*. Eleanor''s breath hitched slightly. She reached for the bottle of water on the table, but arge hand beat her to it, unscrewing the cap and handing it to her.


    Her face grew slightly warm as she took it. "Thank you."


    "You''re wee." Ian''s deep gaze held a hint of a smile.


    Soon, Joel''s presentation began. The house lights dimmed, and all eyes focused on Joel''s figure on the stage.


    This time, Joel''s civilian brandunched six main products. These six products were already the mostpetitive in their category and were taking the global market by storm.


    This marked the perfect conclusion to the three-year civilian project n Eleanor had promised the Goodwin & Co. shareholders back then.


    Joel had helped her bring this project to market, leaving Eleanor overwhelmed with emotion.


    Just then,n leaned in close to her.


    Sensing he had something to say, Eleanor instinctively looked at him.


    Because the seats were so close together and space was limited, his leaning in brought them inches apart.


    "Eleanor, thank you,"n murmured in her ear.


    Eleanor paused. "Thank me for what?"


    Behind his sses,n''s eyes were as deep as the ocean. "Remember the three-year n you promised the shareholders three years ago? L knew back then it would seed. Now that it''s finally a reality, we couldn''t have done it without you." Cóntent


    Eleanor felt a tug at her heartstrings. He was also thinking about that n from three years ago. It was true-back then, to ensure the


    smoothunch of the Neural


    Interface Project, she had stood firmly by his side, weathering the pressure with him every step of the way to get to where they were today.


    "You should be thanking Joel." Eleanor looked up at the spirited Joel on stage. He was the one who sessfully got the project off the ground and yielded such fruitful results.


    Ian followed her gaze to Joel. "Don''t worry, I''ll make sure he''s wellpensated."


    Eleanor nodded in relief. Ian''s eyes returned to her face. "But you were the starting point of it all."


    Eleanor turned to look at him. The man''s gaze behind his sses was burning and focused, as if trying to pull her in.


    Suddenly, apuse erupted around them. Eleanor jumped slightly, looking somewhat adorable in her surprise.


    A little embarrassed, Eleanor joined in the pping, no longer wanting to talk to him.


    "There''s a celebration dinner tonight. Come with us,"n invited in a low voice.


    Joel had already invited her as well, so she was nning to go. She nodded.


    A pleased smile touched the corners of the man''s mouth. He joined the apuse and looked toward the stage.


    Up there, Joel was delivering his final concluding remarks, exuding calm and confidence. The productunch was a massive sess.