Eleanor was deep in conversation with York, wholly absorbed in their exchange.

Meanwhile, Steve finished speaking with Vanessa and turned toward Eleanor. "Excuse me,” he said politely before heading over.

Out of the corner of her eye, Vanessa noticed Henry glancing in their direction. She casually picked up another glass of champagne and sauntered over. Xavier, seeing her approach, quietly slipped away.

Henry watched Vanessa with the champagne in her hand and gently reminded her, "Aren't you supposed to avoid alcohol?"

Vanessa sighed, a touch of helplessness in her voice. "At gatherings like this, not even pretending to sip champagne just feels out of place. It's only a taste."

True to her word, she took a tiny sip, then eyed the glass thoughtfully. "It's such a waste to throw out a full glass after just a sip."

"Then don't waste it. Give it here,” Henry said, reaching for the glass.

Vanessa raised an eyebrow. "You don't mind?"

Henry gave her a look somewhere between exasperated and amused. "What do you think?"

She finally laughed and handed him the barely-touched champagne. Henry, unbothered, finished off half the glass.

Eleanor and York were still animatedly discussing what to name the new lab. York had always been fond of the Rhine, so he wanted to call it Rhine Laboratories.

Eleanor was still smiling when Steve approached her from behind, his expression friendly. "Dr. Sutton, could I steal you away for a moment?"

York glanced at her. "Let's pick this up later."

Once they were out of earshot, Steve's tone grew earnest. "Dr. Sutton, I've heard about your father's groundbreaking work in genetic engineering. That's actually the direction we want to take with Starnova's next phase."

Eleanor could tell Steve was still trying to recruit her. She smiled politely. "Thank you, Mr. Steve. I appreciate your confidence in me, but my current project is still in its early stages-"

Steve interrupted abruptly. "I heard you're Mr. Goodwin's ex-wife? You two are divorced?"

Eleanor's brow furrowed for a brief moment, but she answered calmly. "Yes, we were once married."

"Working in your ex-husband's lab can't be easy. Why not join mine? Dr. Windsor would be thrilled to have you."

Eleanor's eyes remained cool but cordial. "Thank you for the invitation, Mr. Steve. But in this field, I believe professionalism always takes precedence over personal feelings. Don't you agree?"

Her flawless response left Steve momentarily at a loss. He forced a smile. "Well said. Science is the real pursuit. Dr. Sutton, you never fail to impress."

No one noticed lan standing quietly behind a nearby column, champagne glass in hand, watching the exchange.

Xavier, not far away, caught the whole scene. The sight of Steve speaking alone with Eleanor put him on edge; he'd almost intervened on her behalf. But then he saw lan disengage from Mr. Brown's group and assumed lan would step in instead. Yet lan merely paused by the column for a few seconds before walking away.

Steve and Eleanor's conversation ended shortly thereafter.

Finally, Xavier found an opportunity to approach Eleanor. She seemed lost in thought and didn't notice a server hurrying by in front of her. She was about to collide with him when-

"Careful." Xavier's voice was low as he reached out, slipping an arm around Eleanor's waist and pulling her gently into his embrace to steer her clear.

lan, a few steps away chatting with guests, turned at that moment. He caught sight of Xavier's hand on Eleanor's waist, and his gaze grew cold before he looked away.

Realizing Xavier had just saved her from an accident, Eleanor offered a grateful smile. "Thank you."

"What were you thinking about?" Xavier released her, his palm still tingling from the contact.

"Work stuff," Eleanor admitted with a rueful smile.

"There's a lounge upstairs if you want to take a break," Xavier suggested.

She shook her head. "No need. I'll head out soon anyway."

Xavier smiled. "At least come sit by the bar for a while. Get off your feet."

Eleanor nodded and found a seat. From there, she scanned the crowd-Vanessa was chatting with Faye, Byron and Steve's engineering team were deep in discussion.

She watched as lan, phone in hand, made his way out onto the balcony, seemingly to take a call. A moment later, Vanessa followed, heels clicking against the floor.

They stayed on the balcony for about three minutes. Ian emerged first, straightening his tie as he stepped back inside. Eleanor was just about to look away when she saw Vanessa reappear, smoothing her slightly disheveled hair. Her already low neckline seemed to dip even farther, as if—

As if she'd just been thoroughly kissed and left breathless, the kind of reckless, impulsive encounter Eleanor herself had once stumbled into at a gala. Back then, lan had been reluctant, but when he finally let go, things spun out of control.

So seeing Vanessa now, Eleanor had little trouble imagining what had just happened on the balcony.

At that moment, Vanessa caught her eye, her lips looking even redder than before. She flashed Eleanor a knowing, triumphant smile-a look only Eleanor could read.