ckOak R&D Department...


    Reese was going over the team list with n when her attention lingered on a profile-Matthew Wiles. His face looked strangely familiar, but she couldn''t quite ce him.


    n noticed her pause and grinned. "That guy''s something special. Top student at Columbia, got recruited by the military before he even graduated. He''s been working on Al tactical systems for the army, focused on adapting to real battlefield conditions."


    n''s smile faded a little. "He hurt his leg on a missionst month, so he had to leave the army and transfer here."


    Reese stopped writing, her expression turning serious with respect.


    "He''s got real-world experience and a military background. I think he should lead the R&D team. I''ll back him up," she said.


    "I thought the same thing," n replied, his grin returning. "I was worried you wouldn''t want to."


    Reese closed the folder. "Why wouldn''t I? Once this project''s done, I''m heading back to the institute."


    "He''sing in today to report for work. Let''s go meet him," n suggested.


    "Sounds good," Reese agreed, standing up. "The seminar''s this afternoon anyway. Let''s pull the materials together and have him run it."


    They walked out of the office and immediately spotted a tall, lean man crouched down, gently fixing the messy pigtails of the little girl in front of him.


    The girl''s eyes lit up when she saw Reese. She tugged on the man''s sleeve and called out, “Daddy! That''s the prettydy who gave me the band-aid!"


    Matthew looked up, scooping the girl into his arms as he stood. "Thank you."


    Reese smiled, getting straight to the point. "No need to thank me, Mr. Wiles. n and I went through your file. We''d like you to lead the ''de'' project. What do you think?"


    Matthew hesitated. "Thank you for considering me. But I''m the only one taking care of this girl, and I''m worried I won''t be able to handle the workload."


    Reese blurted out before she could stop herself, "What about her mom?" As soon as the words left her mouth, she regretted it.


    Matthew''s eyes darkened. "She passed away in actionst year during a mission." The room went quiet.


    n, who''d served in the military too, felt a pang in his chest. "Matthew, why not bring your daughter to the office? We have a lounge, and anyone who''s free can help watch her."


    Matthew nodded, gratitude clear on his face. "Thank you. I''ll do that."


    Reese gave him a warm smile. "It''s settled, then. We''ll go get the seminar materials ready."


    The little girl wandered off to the lounge, found the receptionist, and asked for paper and crayons. She sat quietly in the corner, drawing by herself and not making a fuss.


    Sofia showed up half an hour early. Reese, n, and Matthew were still wrapping up the final details for the day, so no one was there to greet her.


    The receptionist led her to the lounge. When Sofia saw the child in the corner, she frowned and muttered, “Is ckOak really letting people bring kids to meetings now?"


    The receptionist exined, "She''s the daughter of Matthew from R&D. School''s out and there''s no one else to watch her."


    Sofia rolled her eyes, shot the girl a look of annoyance, and sat down to go through her documents.


    As soon as it was time for the meeting, Sofia walked over to the conference room. She paused when she saw Reese sitting next to Matthew at the head of the table.


    What made Reese think she deserved a seat up front?


    Remembering what had happened before, Sofia''s mood soured. So Reese was actually part of the R&D team—and a ckOak employee, too. Who knew what kind of trouble she might cause during the project.


    When the seminar started and Sofia realized Matthew was leading the discussion while Reese just took notes, she felt herself rx.


    With her background, Reese was obviously only there for support, not as part of the research core. Sofia figured n must have given her the job as a favor to the Ratcliff family.