Chapter 401
Communication?
There was pretty much zero of that happening between them.
Not that it mattered, with so many people around. He had no reason to confide in Professor Mack, anyway. They barely knew each other, just two ships passing in the night.
He put on a polite, half-hearted smile. “Whatever you say, Professor.”
Professor Mack was a pretty big name in the American Al scene.
The Hawkins and Spencer families thought Stewart would show Vesta extra respect, seeing as she was Dr. Smith’s PhD student.
And now, hearing Professor Mack sing Vesta’s praises, Leah shot a smug look over at Charlene.
Her sister was a doctoral student of someone as legendary as Dr. Smith. And Charlene? What did she have, really?
Next to her sister, Charlene didn’t amount to much.
Maureen Spencer and Laverne Hawkins seemed to be thinking the same thing. Thorne called Vesta while Maureen and Henley Hawkins were both present. When they heard there was a dinner happening, they decided to tag along. Not that they were just there for the free food, of course.
Honestly, they just wanted to eat at the same place.
Professor Mack, realizing they were Vesta’s family, invited them to join the dinner.
After inviting them, he turned to Stewart. “Mr. Ferguson, I hope you don’t mind-?”
Stewart glanced at Charlene.
Charlene just shrugged; she didn’t care.
Professor Mack was older, so Stewart didn’t want to be rude and refuse.
He hid his true feelings behind a smile. “Mr. Henderson’s hosting tonight. If he’s okay with it, then so am I.”
The group made their way into the private dining room.
Charlene sat down next to Stewart. Gaylord took the seat on her other side.
Vesta sat between Thorne and Professor Mack.
After a little small talk, Professor Mack started chatting with Vesta about Kevitt Smith.
They hadn’t been talking long when Vesta’s phone chimed with a new message. She glanced at it, smiled, and told Professor Mack, “Looks like the latest issue of NMI just dropped.”
That wasn’t exactly breaking news; practically everyone there, aside from Maureen, Leah, and a couple of other family members, kept up with the latest Al journals.
So, Vesta clearly had something else in mind.
She turned to Professor Mack. “My PhD advisor, Dr. Smith, was a reviewer for this issue. He just texted me-he says there’s one paper in particular that’s outstanding. He thinks it’s worth everyone’s attention.”
That got the whole table’s attention, including Charlene and Stewart.
Professor Mack perked up.
Given Dr. Smith’s standing in Al, if he was this impressed by a paper, it had to be something special.
“Which one is it?” Mack asked.
Vesta held up her phone and read the title Dr. Smith had sent her.
Everyone made a mental note of it.
Stewart raised an eyebrow at the title, glanced at Charlene, and grinned.
Charlene just smiled and took a sip of her coffee.
The latest issue of NMI-both print and online-had just gone live worldwide.
For a paper to get this kind of praise from Dr. Smith, Professor Mack was itching to read it for himself.
But with dinner underway, he had to restrain himself.
Still, he couldn’t help but say, “Sounds like it’s something to do with attention mechanisms, isn’t it?”
Vesta nodded. “That’s right.”
Chapter 402
As soon as the words left his mouth, there was a knock at the door.
It was Moran and Granger.
Moran swung the door open, eyebrows shooting up at the crowd inside. “Whoa, didn’t expect this many people!”
This was his family’s restaurant, after all. He and Granger had dropped by for dinner, and when the manager mentioned Thorne was here, Moran figured he’d pop in and say hi. He definitely hadn’t expected so many familiar faces.
Suddenly, having dinner alone with just Granger didn’t sound so appealing. “Thorne, with a crowd this lively, you mind if Granger and I join you all?” Thorne turned to the others. “Professor Mack, Mr. Ferguson, what do you think-?”
Professor Mack had just welcomed the Hawkins and Spencer families to join, so with Thorne’s friends arriving, he couldn’t very well say no. “Of course not, the more the merrier. Mr. Ferguson?”
Stewart grinned. “Mr. Harden and Mr. Albright are old acquaintances of mine. I don’t mind at all.”
He’d been a little annoyed when the Hawkins and Spencer folks joined in earlier, but now? The more, the better. He was half hoping the whole town would pile in at this point.
Leah, who’d been hoping to run into Granger for weeks, finally couldn’t help herself. She stood up, smiling. “Granger, why don’t you sit here by me?”
Granger ignored her, and he and Moran waved over a server to pull up a couple of chairs next to Thorne.
They’d barely settled in when another knock sounded at the door.
This time, Dalton showed up with three of his company’s top engineers.
His firm had a hand in the Henderson Group’s new project, so it wasn’t a shock to see him here. What did surprise him was the sheer number of people and the fact that Vesta, the Spencers, and the Hawkins were all here, too.
He glanced around, then nodded to everyone. “Sorry, folks. Hope I’m not too late.”
Thorne smiled. “Not at all, Mr. Ramirez. We’ve only just started. Please, have a seat.”
Before sitting, Dalton shook hands with Professor Mack. “You must be Professor Mack. I’ve heard a lot about you.”
Professor Mack stood and smiled. “And you must be Mr. Ramirez. Pleasure to finally meet you.”
Josh had reserved a massive private room, the kind with a huge round table that could easily seat two dozen. Even with the extra arrivals,
Vesta, Granger, Moran, and the rest, there was plenty of space to spare.
Dalton took his seat and asked, “So, what were we talking about?”
Professor Mack jumped in, quickly recapping the discussion.
Dalton nodded, then turned to Vesta. “Mr. Smith went out of his way to let Mr. Hawkins know about this,” he said, “so it’s clear how much he values Mr. Hawkins’ involvement.”
Vesta smiled warmly. “I’m honored to have such support from the professor. I’ll do my best to study that article he recommended and not let him down.”
Dalton felt genuinely happy for her, seeing how much Professor Mack and Mr. Smith appreciated Vesta. It made him admire her even more. He found himself lingering on her face a little longer than he meant to, and only looked away when he remembered Thorne was right there.
Of course, Vesta noticed Dalton’s attention, and she couldn’t help but feel a bit pleased. But she also noticed Granger, sitting quietly, sipping his coffee and not meeting her gaze. He hadn’t said a word about the praise coming her way, and that faint frown creased her brow before she turned away.
Chapter 403
Vesta was once again the star of the show, and the Spencers and the
Hawkinses couldn’t have been more delighted.
Leah shot a smug look at Charlene.
Maureen was also beaming with pride for her daughter.
Charlene, on the other hand, as always, couldn’t have cared less. She didn’t even bother glancing Leah’s way.
She kept her head down, quietly sipping her tea, blending into the background and staying far away from the lively conversation between Vesta and Professor Mack. Vesta, meanwhile, was absolutely basking in the attention of so many respected experts in the field.
Watching all this, Dalton finally felt a sense of relief and satisfaction.
Just then, Kevitt Smith sent Vesta another message.
[PrimeStar is an incredible and innovative company. Not only is Stewart, the boss, impressive, but so many of their engineers are bursting with creativity. I’ll probably be heading over again soon. I’m hoping to have a real conversation with Stewart and some of his engineers next time.]
The NMI journal had a double-blind review system, so reviewers never knew who submitted the paper. Kevitt Smith had no clue who the author behind the work he’d raved about actually was.
Vesta glanced at the message, assuming Kevitt Smith was still bummed about missing a real chat with Stewart last time.
She was just about to type out a comforting reply when she overheard Professor Mack talking to one of his students: “You couldn’t help yourself, huh? Had to go check out the paper?”
“Yeah!” The student’s voice was practically shaking with excitement. “The core of this paper is that it boosts large language model long-text processing efficiency over tenfold! Engineers worldwide are pulling all-nighters just to study it. It’s already making waves overseas-and it just hit the top trending searches here, too. The best part? The paper was published by the PrimeStar team!”
Vesta froze, her fingers pausing over her phone. She looked up at Stewart. Everyone else was staring too.
Maureen and the others were frowning.
Such a groundbreaking breakthrough, and it was Stewart’s team who came up with it.
But then, with Stewart’s talent, it wasn’t exactly shocking that his company would produce something like this.
Still, the fact that Stewart was now focused on Charlene and standing on the “other side” from them left a sour taste.
It was uncomfortable, knowing that the professor championing her daughter’s work was actually raving about a paper from Stewart’s team.
Professor Mack, on the other hand, was genuinely delighted. He turned to Stewart and said, “Mr. Ferguson, leading another team to a major breakthrough? Congratulations!”
But Stewart just smiled. “Actually, Professor Mack, you’ve got it wrong. I’m not the lead author; this new result wasn’t my project. I just helped out with some minor details.”
“You only helped with minor details?” The student’s phone screen was still open to the author list. He leaned in and, sure enough, saw Stewart wasn’t the first author. That was someone named Ross.
And not just the first author, the corresponding author was Ross as well.
Stewart was listed second.
The rest third, fourth, and so on were probably engineers from PrimeStar, since they’d all listed PrimeStar as their affiliation.
Professor Mack looked at the name “Ross” on the paper and spoke slowly, The first author is Ross-“
At that, Vesta, Dalton, Maureen, the Hawkinses, the Spencers, everyone paused in surprise.
They already knew the paper was from the PrimeStar team. And Charlene just happened to be from PrimeStar.
Could it be…???
No way.
Charlene? Seriously?
But Stewart spoke up. “Yes, Ross as in Charlene Ross.”
Chapter 404
I can’t believe it’s actually Charlene!
Dalton, Maureen, and Leah, none of them are Al majors, so they don’t really grasp just how groundbreaking Charlene’s paper is. But there’s one thing they do know: Vesta’s PhD advisor, Dr. Kevin Smith, is a huge name in the AI world. The kind of person who gets invited to keynote at MIT and whose opinion can make or break a research trend.
So when a world-class figure like Dr. Smith pays special attention to a paper-going so far as to personally tell Vesta to study its innovations carefully-you know it’s a big deal. Plus, Professor Mack’s doctoral student just said that Charlene’s paper is causing a stir both in the US and abroad; top engineers in the industry have been staying up all night to read it.
Clearly, Charlene’s paper is pure gold.
But how could such a game-changing paper possibly have been written by… Charlene?
Professor Mack doesn’t know who Charlene is, much less the tangled history between her and the Hawkins or Spencer families.
He hasn’t actually read the paper yet, but he’s heard that it boosts large language model processing efficiency by over ten times. Just imagining the implications is enough to get him excited.
He turns eagerly to Stewart. “Is this engineer-Charlene-here with us now?” “She sure is,” Stewart says with a smile, then gestures toward Charlene. “Professor Mack, meet Charlene.”
With a name like “Charlene Ross,” you wouldn’t immediately guess whether she’s a guy or a girl. She’s always kept a low profile, whether at meetings at Henderson Tech or just now. She doesn’t seem like someone who demands the spotlight. But still, she’s strikingly beautiful- there’s something about her that people remember, even if they don’t know her.
They just never expected her to be… this brilliant.
When Professor Mack realizes the author of the paper that’s shaken the whole Al world is none other than Charlene, his surprise quickly turns to enthusiasm. He stands, walks over, and introduces himself. “Hello, Ms. Ross. I’m Professor Mack from Evermore College- most of my work these days is in foundational AI theory and applied development. It’s truly a pleasure to meet you.”
Charlene stands to shake his hand. “It’s a pleasure to meet you, Professor Mack. Honestly, I should be the one honored here.”
Mack’s introduction is so polite and humble, you’d almost think he was the junior and Charlene was the seasoned expert.
Leah watches, her jaw clenched in frustration.
All this fuss for one paper? Seriously?
Maureen frowns, too.
Just then, Stewart glances at Vesta with a friendly smile. “Ms. Hawkins, you mentioned earlier you wanted to really dig into this paper. If you run into any tricky parts while you’re studying it, Charlene would be more than happy to help.”
Vesta presses her lips together, clearly annoyed.
To Leah, it’s almost unbearable-seeing a renowned American professor treat her younger peer with such respect. When Stewart actually has the nerve to suggest her own sister, a top Ivy League PhD, should go to Charlene for advice, she snaps.
She slams her hand down on the table, voice ringing out. “Are you out of your mind?”
She shoots Stewart a glare. “My sister is a PhD graduate from one of the world’s best universities. Charlene? She’s just an undergrad! And you think my sister should go to her for help? What kind of joke is this?”
Chapter 405
“A single research paper, and suddenly she’s better than my sister?” Leah thought, biting back the words before she could say them out loud.
But before she had the chance, Vesta jumped in, her tone smooth and composed. “Mr. Ferguson’s right. If there’s an opportunity, I’d love to learn from Ms. Ross,” she said.
Vesta really knew when to swallow her pride.
Stewart listened, smirking internally. He knew Vesta and Charlene didn’t get along, so suggesting Vesta seek out Charlene for advice was basically a slap in the face.
Dalton’s expression soured. AI wasn’t in his field, so he couldn’t really judge the value of Charlene’s paper. But hearing Stewart rub it in made him as irritated as Leah. Seriously, even if Mr. Smith praised her to the skies, so what? It was just a paper, was it really that big a deal?
Maureen’s face was frosty, too.
Leah was fuming; she’d wanted to clap back, but Vesta’s intervention had cut her off. As annoyed as she was, she held her tongue.
Just then, Stewart’s assistant, Chester, leaned over and said, “Mr. Ferguson, Kevitt Smith just called. He said he’ll be flying over from the States in a couple of days, and he hopes to meet with both you and Ms. Ross.”
Stewart barely looked up. “Tell him I don’t have time to meet.”
“Understood.” Chester turned to Charlene. “Ms. Ross, Mr. Smith said if Mr. Ferguson can’t meet, he’s happy to come all this way just to speak with you. He was really impressed by your paper and would love to have a deep conversation with you about it.”
Charlene replied calmly, “I’m afraid I’m busy as well. Please let him know for me.”
“Of course.”
At that, Dalton and Leah’s expressions shifted. Kevitt Smith was a giant in the Al world. It was one thing for him to recommend Charlene’s work, but he actually wanted to fly out just to see her?
Was her paper really that groundbreaking?
Vesta, more than anyone, understood what Kevitt Smith’s endorsement meant. in Al. So hearing that her own mentor was practically begging to meet Charlene made her look even more uncomfortable than the others.
Meanwhile, Moran had no idea who Kevitt Smith was or how big of a deal he was in Al. But he did know how to check trending topics online.
As the group in the private room buzzed about Charlene’s paper, Moran took out his phone, curiosity piqued, and started scrolling. He quickly saw that “Charlene Ross’s Paper” was trending near the top, with comments gushing about her work. People were saying Charlene and Stewart were breaking Goldland’s monopoly on Al, ushering in a new era, and rewriting the rules of the game. It was dizzying.
He glanced over at Charlene, then edged over to Thorne and whispered, “Wait, Charlene’s actually this much of a big deal?”
Chapter 406
Thorne hadn’t even had a chance to say anything before his phone started buzzing. He stepped outside to take the call, and by the time he returned, the waitress was already laying out plates of roast chicken, mashed potatoes, and Caesar salads. Just like that, Moran’s awkward question was swept under the rug.
Right now, the author of the paper that engineers across the globe were scrambling to read was sitting right at their table.
As they dug into dinner, Professor Mack and his PhD students couldn’t help but flip through the main points and data in the paper, occasionally glancing up to pepper Charlene with questions.
It didn’t matter if they asked about something complicated in the research, or about some problem that had been stumping them for month Charlene answered every question, quick as a whip, her explanations clear and confident.
Vesta watched it all, but inside, she felt oddly calm. Seeing Charlene hold her own in a technical discussion with Professor Mack and his students, it really did look like she knew her stuff.
But… was that even possible?
If Stewart had the guts to list Charlene as the lead author on the paper, he must have made sure she was totally prepared.
Initially, when Stewart announced Charlene as the first author, Vesta had been genuinely shocked.
But if this research really was all Charlene’s work, as Stewart claimed, then wouldn’t that mean she was even more brilliant than her own advisor, Professor Kevitt Smith?
That just didn’t add up.
She wasn’t Stewart. Sure, there were plenty of geniuses in the world, but not everyone could be a Stewart.
So, most likely, the research was Stewart’s, but he wanted to give Charlene a boost by putting her name in the spotlight-
Once Vesta came to that conclusion, she shot Charlene a sideways glance, watching her chat animatedly with Professor Mack and the others. Then she looked away, expression cool and indifferent.
Maureen and Leah seemed to be thinking along the same lines.
Leah, who was never good at hiding her feelings, looked like she was about to explode. Seeing Charlene act like a real expert-actually giving Professor Mack advice-made her almost jump up and blurt out the “truth.” But since Maureen and Vesta kept quiet, Leah managed to bite her tongue.
Dalton, too, had doubted Charlene’s abilities. But seeing the focused, excited look on Professor Mack’s face as he talked with her, Dalton started to feel a little confused.
Was Charlene… really this good?
Dinner dragged on longer than expected. Before everyone left, Charlene and Professor Mack swapped emails and phone numbers.
Professor Mack, realizing how long he’d monopolized Charlene, apologized to Thome, “Sorry, Mr. Henderson. When I start talking shop, I just can’t help myself…
Thorne just smiled. “No worries. That’s what this dinner was for, so everyone could get to know each other. Makes it easier to work together in the future.”
As the group began to break up, Granger finally found a moment to approach Charlene. “Congratulations,” he said, smiling warmly.
Charlene smiled back, “Thank you.”
Moran saw Granger make a point of congratulating Charlene, but didn’t think much of it. He figured Granger was just being polite.
Thorne also noticed Granger talking to Charlene, but only glanced over before turning away, unmoved.
Vesta, on the other hand, pressed her lips together as she watched. Did Granger really believe Charlene was that talented? Was that why he liked her?
But… that couldn’t be it. Granger had shown interest in Charlene even before The Harden Group and PrimeStar started working together.
So, Granger’s feelings for Charlene had nothing to do with how skilled she was. Just then, Thorne’s voice sounded beside her. “Penny for your thoughts?”
Snapping out of her reverie, Vesta glanced at Charlene, who’d been the star of the evening, and at Thorne, who hadn’t paid Charlene a bit of attention all night. Vesta let out a soft chuckle, her mood suddenly light. “Oh, nothing.”
Whether Charlene was really a genius or not, Vesta thought, she still didn’t matter to Thorne.
Chapter 407
Charlene honestly couldn’t care less about what Thorne thought of her, or how he looked at her.
After they left the diner, she and Stewart headed back to Henderson Technologies for another round of meetings.
This time, Maureen and Leah didn’t tag along. But Vesta did.
When Stewart noticed Vesta trailing after them, he rolled his eyes and muttered, “Mr. Henderson, about Mr. Hawkins-“
Thorne seemed to know exactly where Stewart was going with this.
Before Stewart could finish, Thorne cut him off, “If you’re worried about a possible leak, Mr. Ferguson, you don’t need to. If anything like that happens, I’ll take full responsibility.”
Stewart had expected that answer. Thorne had said the same thing when they first partnered up with Neural Nexus Tech.
Still, even though Stewart knew what was coming, he needed to hear it. He forced a stiff smile and said, “If that’s your word, Mr. Henderson, then I suppose I can rest easy.”
Earlier that morning, Thorne had sat alone at the head of the conference table. Now, with Vesta there, he had someone bring in an extra chair for her right by his side.
Charlene noticed but looked away without comment.
The meeting kicked off.
With Stewart leading, Charlene didn’t really have to say much. She and Gaylord mostly just listened in.
About halfway through, Charlene felt thirsty. She reached for the bottle of water next to her, but Gaylord was quicker. “Thirsty? Here, let me,” he offered, unscrewing the cap before she could protest.
She accepted it, nodding, “Thanks.”
Gaylord flashed her a grin, then leaned in to whisper about some of the technical details Stewart and Thorne had just discussed.
Charlene leaned in, too, and they started chatting quietly.
Truth be told, they had plenty to talk about. Vesta had picked up on that even back at the diner, where Gaylord had sat glued to Charlene’s side, almost as if he was trying to make a point.
But was it really what it looked like?
Vesta knew exactly how Gaylord felt about her-he’d changed his whole field to Al for her, even moved back to the States just to be near her. There was just no way he could fall for Charlene that fast.
Thinking about this, Vesta glanced at Thorne beside her.
She noticed that Thorne, too, had caught on to how attentive Gaylord was being toward Charlene. But Thorne just looked away, completely uninterested.
That realization made Vesta smirk a little.
Gaylord’s feelings for her weren’t exactly a secret. Surely, Thorne could see that Gaylord had an agenda in cozying up to Charlene. Yet he hadn’t warned Charlene about Gaylord’s history with her.
So, was Thorne really so unconcerned about other men paying attention to Charlene? Even if someone hurt her, would he just shrug it off?
The thought made Vesta’s smile widen.
Meanwhile, Dalton wasn’t too interested in whatever was going on with Gaylord. His attention was on Vesta and Thorne.
There had been a time when Thorne and Charlene seemed awfully close, and Dalton had worried Thorne might do something to hurt Vesta. But lately, they hadn’t been in touch much. Maybe Thorne had been attracted to Charlene’s looks at first, but it didn’t seem like she’d managed to win him over.
The only woman Thorne ever really cared about, Dalton figured, was Vesta. And today, whether it was at lunch or now in the boardroom, Thorne hadn’t shown the slightest special attention to Charlene. That, more than anything, finally put Dalton’s mind at ease.
Chapter 408
Although Charlene and Stewart had already made it clear to Chester that they weren’t interested in meeting with Kevitt Smith, that didn’t seem to stop him. Two days later, Kevitt Smith showed up anyway, uninvited.
Since he’d made the effort to come in person, Charlene and Stewart figured it would be rude to ignore him completely. So, they met with him briefly, just a quick, polite conversation that lasted maybe fifteen minutes before they saw him out. After that, whenever Kevitt tried to reach out again, they simply didn’t respond.
Charlene and Stewart were firm in their decision. With no way to get through to them, Kevitt soon turned his attention elsewhere. The very next day, he invited Vesta out for a meal.
Over lunch-burgers and fries in a cozy diner-Kevitt chatted about developments in the tech industry, then sighed and said, “You know, if you’d joined PrimeStar last year, I think you’d have really taken off. It’s a shame, really.”
He’d already asked her about her work situation the last time they met. Back then, when he found out she hadn’t gotten into PrimeStar, he didn’t say much. But now, he seemed genuinely thoughtful about it.
Vesta knew what he meant.
Charlene’s latest research paper had made waves, both in the States and abroad. Word in the industry was that, if PrimeStar had the nerve to publish such a game-changing paper, then they must have even more mind-blowing tech behind closed doors, stuff they weren’t sharing with the world yet.
Vesta believed it. She’d really wanted to join PrimeStar last year, mostly because of their revolutionary programming language. She never imagined the company would progress so fast. Looking back, she realized that if she’d known then what she knew now, she’d have done whatever it took to get in.
Kevitt was right. If she’d gotten into PrimeStar, she would have grown tremendously as a professional. Two or three years there, and she’d probably be ready to take the reins of her family’s tech business herself.
Now, thinking back, she realized Charlene hadn’t just cost her a valuable connection in Stewart, she’d made her miss a once-in-a-lifetime chance to grow.
Kevitt asked, “Are you still thinking about joining PrimeStar?”
How could she not? But as long as Stewart’s attitude toward Charlene didn’t change, she knew it was never going to happen. Of course, she wasn’t about to say that to Kevitt.
Instead, she replied, “Well, I’ve got my own tech company now, and I’ve worked with PrimeStar before. But with all the concerns about data security, I doubt Mr. Ferguson would even consider bringing me on board.”
Kevitt looked disappointed. “Yeah, I get that.”
***
Friday morning.
Charlene had just finished her morning run and was heading back upstairs when her phone rang. It was Irma Henderson, invited her out to dinner. It had been months since they’d last seen each other, and after so many missed connections, Charlene had no reason to say no.
Just as she was about to accept, Irma added, “Oh, I’m inviting Thorne and Minnie too. You don’t mind, do you, Charlene?”
Charlene smiled, her voice calm. “Not at all.”
And she meant it. Really, she didn’t mind. Work aside, with Jasmine in the picture, there was no way to completely avoid Thorne anyway.
Irma understood. Charlene’s easy answer showed she’d truly moved on from Thorne. If she could see him now only as Jasmine’s dad, then what was the big deal about sharing a meal together?
Irma couldn’t decide whether she was happy or sad about that.
After hanging up, Charlene returned to the office. When she logged into her computer, she noticed an email from Kevitt Smith.
He was asking if she’d ever been to Goldland, and offered to show her around if she ever wanted to visit. He promised to introduce her to some major players in the tech world there and even shared some details about the kinds of projects they were working on.
It was clear Kevitt wasn’t just inviting her to sightsee. He was trying to recruit her, making it obvious that, if she said yes, she’d be welcomed with open arms.
Charlene saw right through it. She replied politely that she wasn’t planning any trips abroad anytime soon, then closed her inbox.
***
That evening after work, Charlene headed to the private dining room Irma had reserved.
Irma was already there when she arrived.
Charlene had barely sat down when the door burst open and Jasmine rushed in, grinning from ear to ear. “Mom!”
Charlene barely had time to react before Jasmine was in her arms.
Latonia followed Jasmine in, but Thorne was nowhere to be seen.
Jasmine settled into the seat next to Charlene. As they browsed the menu, Irma finally spoke up, “Called Thorne this morning, he says he’s busy and can’t make it. Oh well, we’ll just enjoy ourselves. It’s not like we need him here anyway.”
Charlene laughed softly and nodded. “Yeah,” she agreed.
Chapter 409
After dinner, Jasmine followed Charlene back to the Ross family’s place.
That night, her phone buzzed. It was Darius.
“Hey,” he said, “how about you and Stewart join me for a round of golf tomorrow morning?”
Charlene agreed without thinking much about it. But when Darius texted her the address, she paused.
The course he picked just happened to belong to the Henderson family.
She’d been there before.
But she’d already said yes, so it was too late to back out.
On Saturday, Charlene got up early, grabbed some coffee and a bagel on her way out, and drove to the club with Stewart.
When they arrived, Darius was already there with Abelard Ramirez and Hickey Watson, both guys she’d met at previous get-togethers.
Darius grinned when he saw them. “Hey, you made it!”
“Yep,” Charlene replied, smiling.
“Ever played golf before?” Darius asked, tossing her a club.
“I’ve taken a few lessons,” she said, “I know the basics.”
They made small talk as they played, trading stories between swings.
After a while, as Charlene was lining up a shot, she noticed two people walking over from the other side of the green.
It was Thorne and Vesta.
Usually, whenever Thorne and Vesta were around, they’d have Granger and Moran with them too. But today, it was just the two of them.
They’d heard from one of the club staff that Darius was there, so they’d come over to say hi. Vesta didn’t expect to see Charlene and Stewart as well.
Thorne nodded at Darius. “Morning, Mr. Darius.”
Darius knew Thorne pretty well they’d worked together here and there, and Darius was also close with Lloyd Henderson, though Lloyd had been out of town for a while now.
“Thorne! Didn’t expect to see you here so early,” Darius said with a friendly chuckle.
“Just needed to stretch my legs,” Thorne said.
Abelard and Hickey both knew the Hendersons owned this club. They sometimes played here too, but rarely ran into Thorne. Funny how today, with Charlene in the mix, their paths crossed.
Everyone knew there was a bit of history between Charlene and Thorne. But since Charlene didn’t seem bothered, Abelard and Hickey relaxed.
Stewart, though, looked less than thrilled.
While Thorne and Darius chatted, Charlene and Stewart kept quiet.
Thorne made a point to greet Stewart, but Stewart just mumbled a half-hearted reply.
Darius, trying to keep things light, asked, “So, how’s the partnership between PrimeStar and Henderson Tech going?”
Stewart shrugged, not hiding his annoyance. “It’s early days. Still figuring each other out.”
Thorne smiled, his tone easy. “I thought things were going pretty smoothly. If there’s anything the Henderson Group isn’t doing right, I hope you’ll let me know, Mr. Ferguson.”
Stewart shot him a look. “No complaints about the rest of your team. But Mr. Henderson tends to let his personal feelings interfere at work. That’s been a bit of a problem for us. I think you know what I mean, right?”
Thorne just nodded, not rising to the bait. Vesta said nothing, but her eyes flicked between them, clearly aware of the tension.
Stewart didn’t want to drag their personal drama out in front of everyone, especially not with Darius watching. “Let’s not talk business today,” he said. “We can set up a meeting for that.”
“Of course,” Thorne agreed.
Darius could sense things were a little strained, but since no one wanted to get into it, he smoothly switched the subject, and the group moved on, letting the matter drop for now.
Chapter 410
Darius looked over at Thorne with a grin. “Hey, since you’re here, why don’t you stick around and join the fun for a bit?”
Thorne shrugged, smiling. “Sure, why not?”
After a bit of small talk between them, Darius turned back to Hickey, Stewart, and the rest. “Now, where were we before?”
Stewart picked up the thread. “We were just discussing what we should do if we catch a foreign probe wandering into our airspace. What’s the best way to handle that?”
Vesta, overhearing, started thinking it over for herself.
Darius chuckled and turned to Charlene. “What about you? Any thoughts, Charlene?”
Stewart and Charlene hadn’t had a chance to weigh in before Thorne and Vesta had arrived. Now, with Darius prompting, both of them fell silent for a moment.
Vesta’s attention drifted. Darius sure sounded friendly when he said Charlene’s name. And the way he looked at her, there was a genuine warmth there, maybe even a hint of admiration. Vesta frowned, feeling a little unsettled.
Just then, Charlene spoke up. “Well, I’d say we take over the probe’s controls, just to prove we can, and then hand it right back to them.”
The moment she finished, Darius and Abelard burst out laughing.
Stewart’s eyes lit up in sudden realization, and he shot Charlene a big thumbs-up.
Darius, still smiling, didn’t say whether it was good or bad. He just asked gently, “That confident in your tech skills, huh?”
Charlene hesitated, then shrugged. “Shouldn’t be too hard, I guess?”
Hickey grinned. “Talk is cheap, but when can someone actually walk the talk? Now that’s real confidence.”
Darius nodded in agreement. “Absolutely.”.
“Our country’s always preferred to keep things neighborly,” he went on. “We try to keep good relations with everyone. If someone else’s probe, whether they meant it or not, ends up in our backyard, well, it’s only fair to give it back. No need to start a fuss over it.”
“But,” he added, “doing it this way is kind of a flex. If we can hack their probe without them even noticing, it says a lot. It means we’re way ahead, technically speaking.”
“If the other side finds out, they’ll probably be pissed maybe even a little scared of us.”
At first, Vesta didn’t get what was so clever about Charlene’s answer. But as she listened to Darius and the others talk shop, it finally clicked. Charlene’s approach wasn’t just polite, it was a subtle way to show off their technical edge.
She’d never even considered that.
Suddenly, Vesta felt her cheeks grow warm. Was Charlene really up to the challenge, or was this just bravado? Maybe she was starting to believe the hype from all the glowing reviews of her research online.
Just then, she caught Thorne glancing at Charlene with a hint of a smile, like he was impressed, too.
Wait, does he really believe Charlene can pull this off?
Abelard cut in, turning to Thorne. “Thorne, sounds like you’re on the same page as Charlene?”
Thorne nodded. “Yeah, I am.”
Before Vesta could process that, Abelard pressed on. “So what’s the advantage to handling it this way?”
Thorne broke it down, explaining the subtleties.
As he talked, Vesta realized there was way more to this than just the technical side. There were strategic and diplomatic angles she hadn’t even considered. Stewart, Darius even Thorne seemed to have caught on right away when Charlene first spoke. Vesta only got the full picture after Thorne spelled it out. She was still mulling it over when she noticed Abelard looking at her with a friendly smile. “Ms. Hawkins, you’ve been frowning this whole time. Is something still unclear?”
He probably meant well, but Vesta’s face flushed with embarrassment. Still, she pulled herself together and admitted, “Yeah, I just caught up to where you all are. Thanks for explaining.”
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