Chapter 874
For the next few days, Charlene was swamped with company affairs.
One afternoon, Stewart suddenly mentioned, “Neural Nexus Tech just lost a few more of their top engineers.”
“Yeah,” Charlene replied. “I heard.”
“A couple of their investors have bailed, though a few are holding out. They’re probably waiting to see if Thorne steps in to save them.” Stewart chuckled before adding, “Word has it that EchoWave was one of the ones that pulled their funding.”
EchoWave was Dalton Ramirez’s company.
Charlene nodded.
“Honestly, considering how obsessed Dalton seemed to be with Vesta, I’m a little surprised he cut ties so ruthlessly,” Stewart remarked.
Uninterested in Dalton’s personal drama, Charlene offered no response.
“Has Thorne made it back from his trip yet?” Stewart asked.
Charlene shook her head. “I have no idea.”
She hadn’t spoken to Jasmine in three or four days, nor had she been keeping tabs on Thorne. She truly didn’t know if he was back in the city.
“It’s been almost a month. Hawkins Technology’s court date is creeping closer, and Neural Nexus Tech is on the brink of collapse. Is Thorne seriously just going to let them burn?”
“I’m not sure,” Charlene said.
Stewart knew that even if Thorne abandoned the Hawkins family, it wouldn’t necessarily change the big picture.
Aware of this reality, he hadn’t bothered to pay too much attention to the unfolding corporate disasters.
After school, Jasmine was just about to climb into her ride when she spotted Thorne sitting in the backseat. Her lips pressed into a tight line. She paused for a split second before finally getting in.
Thorne picked up a box resting beside him and offered it to her. “A gift for you.”
Jasmine turned her face away, refusing to take it.
Thorne didn’t push the issue. He set the box back down and reached out to gently ruffle her hair” made plans with Granger, and Moran. We’re all getting dinner together.”
Jasmine tried to dodge his hand but failed. Keeping her gaze averted, she muttered, “Whatever.”
“Did anything happen at school while I was gone?” he asked.
Pulling out her iPad, she punched in the passcode without looking up. “You already know everything anyway, don’t you?”
“Alright.”
Sensing her complete lack of interest in talking, Thorne let the conversation drop.
She had been ignoring his calls for days, but now that they were face-to-face, he didn’t bring it up once.
A moment later, his phone rang with a business call, and he shifted his attention to work for the duration of the ride.
A suffocating silence settled between father and daughter for the rest of the journey.
By the time they arrived at the restaurant, Moran and Granger were already waiting.
Spotting them, Moran Albright stretched lazily. “Finally! Let’s order. I’m starving.”
Thorne handed the menu to
Jasmine. While she looked it over, Moran couldn’t help but ask, “You took off so
busineddenly on that
trip last week Did
something happen? You left in such
a rush.”
“There was a minor hiccup with an innovative drug project over there, but it wasn’t
anything serious,” Thorne replied smoothly.
“Good to hear,” Moran said.
Both he and Granger Harden had been tracking the fallout
surrounding The Hawkins Group and
Neural Nexus Tech. They knew.
exactly how bad the situation was
getting and were eager to hear Thorne’s thoughts and future game plán.
But with Jasmine sitting right there, they couldn’t exactly interrogate him.
As for their four-person group chat with Vesta, it had been a ghost town since Dr. Lucas’s gala. Unless Moran forced a conversation, no one said a word.
Granger studied Jasmine for a moment. “Is something on your mind, kiddo? You look a little down.”
Moran’s attention snapped toward her, and he let out a laugh. “Huh? Jasmine has things on her mind now?”