Faye felt her cheeks flush as she glanced at Eleanor. “Eleanor, have you ever considered that your theory might be flawed?"

Her words cut straight to the point.

Joel's expression darkened. "Faye-"

Faye arched an eyebrow. "If her theory is wrong from the start, then all the work we've done has been for nothing. I just think if we're heading in the wrong direction, it's better to cut our losses now."

Byron's face took on a grave look. He was the one who'd originally proposed this project, and he had unwavering faith in Eleanor's theory. Now, though, things had ground to a halt at a critical juncture-and with the military coming on board next year, any misstep could be disastrous.

At that moment, Eleanor could feel every pair of eyes in the room fixed on her. She furrowed her brow, stepped up to the holo-display, and began inspecting the torrent of data.

Meanwhile, Faye thought to herself, So what if this project tanks? Meridian Dynamics has more than enough in reserves; the next project will offer even more chances for me to shine.

She'd never been happy working on this team-Eleanor's shadow always seemed to loom over her, ready to eclipse her at any moment.

"Can I have a few minutes alone?" Eleanor asked Byron quietly.

Joel spoke up in his low voice. "I'll stay with you."

Byron gave a nod and called out to the others, "Everyone, take a break outside."

Faye eyed Eleanor's slender figure, narrowing her gaze. Eleanor won't come up with anything useful-she's just wasting everyone's time.

With that, Faye turned and left.

Byron had barely made it back to his office when his assistant appeared. "Mr. Chase, Mr. Goodwin has arrived. He's waiting in Conference Room One."

Byron's heart skipped a beat. He stood and made his way to the conference

room.

Inside, lan stood by the floor-to-ceiling windows, tall and composed. At the sound of the door opening, he turned slowly, his deep gaze settling on Byron.

"Mr. Goodwin, I wasn't expecting you in person," Byron said, surprised.

"I heard the project's hit a bottleneck," lan replied, his voice cool and level, betraying nothing.

It was rare for lan to involve himself in project details.

Beads of sweat formed on Byron's brow. He sighed. "Yes, sir. Right now, we can't seem to break through the efficiency ceiling in the Al simulations. We're working on a solution."

"Is Eleanor here as well?” lan asked suddenly.

Byron paused, then nodded. "Yes. Dr. Sutton is in the lab reviewing data."

lan's eyes flickered, but he said nothing more. He took a seat at the conference table. "Let me see the latest progress report."

Byron hurried to fetch the files, feeling a knot of confusion. Mr. Goodwin had always cared about results, not details-so why the sudden scrutiny?

Ten minutes later, lan made his way toward the lab. Faye was loitering at the door, and when she saw him, a thrill shot through her.

Now Eleanor's really in trouble, she thought. For lan himself to get involved-after all, this investment was worth at least a billion. If Eleanor's project burned through all that money for nothing, lan would never trust her again.

"Mr. Goodwin," Faye greeted him sweetly.

lan acknowledged her with a slight nod.

Byron caught up. "Mr. Goodwin, would you like to see inside?"

lan nodded.

Inside, Eleanor's slender fingers danced over the touchscreen, pulling up key parameters.

Just then, the door opened, and she turned to see lan and Byron enter one after the other.

Eleanor's gaze chilled. Ian had come himself-was he here to hold her accountable?

"Dr. Sutton, don't worry-Mr. Goodwin's just here to observe," Byron explained hastily.

"Thank you for your hard work," lan said.

Eleanor looked back at the screen, folding her arms as she sank into thought.

Her earlier train of thought had been completely derailed by this man's arrival. She turned coldly and asked, "Could you please leave?"

lan looked momentarily taken aback. Byron felt a jolt of anxiety-Eleanor might be

a lead researcher, but lan Goodwin was the CEO.

"Of course." lan actually agreed, but as he turned to leave, he paused and said to her, "This project means a great deal to Meridian Dynamics. Please, don't give up on it."

With that, lan stepped out. Byron followed after.

Joel came over and patted Eleanor on the shoulder. "We'll figure this out, Eleanor. We still have time."

She shook her head, frustrated. The breakthrough she'd almost reached had vanished when lan interrupted her.

"I'm fine. I just need a moment," she said, pulling up two more streams of data.

"Joel, look here—and here," Eleanor pointed to two nodes on the schematic. "Everyone's been ignoring the delay variable from quantum tunneling in the transmission."

Joel's eyes lit up. "No wonder the simulation always misses the mark by five percent! That's the gap right there."

A wave of relief washed over him, and he nearly threw his arms around Eleanor in excitement. "You're amazing, Eleanor. You're my hero."

Joel rushed out of the lab and called to the assistant outside, "Get Mr. Chase over here!"

Byron was about to suggest that lan take a break when his assistant hurried over. "Mr. Chase, Dr. Kingsley needs you in the lab right away-they think they've found something."

Byron's face broke into a grin. "Really?" He turned to lan, "Mr. Goodwin, would you like to join us?"

lan smiled faintly. "I'll stay out here. Just keep me posted if there's progress."

Byron hesitated for a second—was it because Eleanor had just given lan the cold shoulder?

He nodded and hurried toward the lab. Faye saw him approach and her expression shifted. Had Eleanor really found something?