Chapter 384
Chapter 384
Before Trevor could respond , his phone rang .
He stepped outside to take the call , and by the time he returned , the food was being served .
Miles ‘ question was left hanging – brushed aside just like that .
Right now , the author of the paper that engineers in the country and abroad were scrambling to read was sitting right in front of them .
As the meal progressed , Rodney and his students couldn’t help but ask Celeste questions as they skimmed through the paper’s core content and experimental data .
Whether they asked about specific parts of the paper or about broader problems that had puzzled them in their own research , Celeste responded to everything fluently and confidently .
Wynn watched in silence . Her heart was calm .
Watching Celeste speak so assuredly with Rodney and the others actually seemed like she did know what she was talking about .
But was that really possible ?
Given Matthias ‘ capabilities , if he was willing to credit Celeste as first author , then he must have ensured she was thoroughly prepared . 1
At first , when she heard Matthias say Celeste was the lead author , she had been utterly shocked .
But if this paper really was Celeste’s independent research , as Matthias claimed , then wouldn’t that mean she was even more impressive than her advisor , Cayden ?
How could that be possible ?
She wasn’t Matthias .
There were countless geniuses in the world but not everyone could become like Matthias .
So most likely , the paper was actually Matthias ‘ work , and he was simply using it to boost Celeste .
Once she’d convinced herself of this , she cast a casual glance toward Celeste , watching her chat confidently with Rodney and the others , before looking away . 2
Lilian and Linda were thinking along the same lines as Wynn .
Linda , who was more hot – tempered , grew furious watching Celeste carry on like she was some real expert , even daring to give advice to Rodney .
She nearly couldn’t hold herself back from standing up and exposing “ the truth “ . But since neither Lilian nor Wynn said anything , she didn’t dare speak out either , no matter how angry she felt .
Jorge had also inwardly questioned Celeste’s abilities . But seeing Rodney’s focused , genuinely excited expression while speaking to her , he started to waver .
Could Celeste really be this capable ?
The meal lasted longer than expected .
Before everyone left , Celeste and Rodney exchanged contact information .
Rodney , aware that he’d taken up so much of Celeste’s time during the meal , turned to Trevor and said apologetically , “ Sorry , Mr. Fleming . Once we started talking shop , I just couldn’t stop … ”
Trevor replied , “ No problem . The reason I invited everyone to lunch today was to let everyone get to know each other . That way , future collaborations will go more smoothly . ”
As the group began to disperse , Beck finally found a chance to say a few words to Celeste .
“ Congratulations . ”
“ Thank you , ” Celeste replied .
Miles , seeing Beck go over just to congratulate Celeste , didn’t think much of it – assuming he was just being polite .
Trevor also noticed Beck approaching Celeste .
He glanced over , then looked away without any change in expression .
But Wynn , watching all this , pressed her lips together tightly .
Did Beck really believe Celeste was that professionally capable ? Was that why he liked her ?
But then …
No , that couldn’t be it .
Beck had seemed to like Celeste even before Harper Corporation and YodaVision started cooperating .
So clearly , his feelings for Celeste had nothing to do with her professional abilities .
Just then , Trevor’s voice sounded beside her , “ What are you thinking about ? ”
Wynn snapped out of her thoughts .
Seeing that Celeste had stolen all the attention today , and that Trevor hadn’t spared her a single extra glance , she curved her lips into a light smile and said , “ Nothing . ”
Whether Celeste’s abilities were real or not – it didn’t matter .
In Trevor’s eyes , she simply didn’t exist .