Chapter 136
Noreen wrapped her arms around him in return. “I knew you could do it!”
“I really believe our product is going to shine at the Al Summit!”
Noreen agreed wholeheartedly.
“So, Ms. Gilmore, don’t you think it’s time we gave our product a proper name?” Carman asked her, his tone sincere and respectful.
Noreen smiled. “You poured your heart and soul into this project. The honor of naming it should be yours.”
But Carman insisted, “If it weren’t for your support, we wouldn’t have made it this far. You deserve just as much credit.”
Noreen opened her mouth to reply, but before she could speak, Sophia piped up, her voice light and teasing. “Oh, come on, you two! The way I see it, you’re both like the product’s parents–one brought it to life, the other nurtured it. You both deserve the credit!”
As soon as she said that, the whole team burst out laughing and started to tease them.
Carman turned bright red, whether from embarrassment or something else, and stumbled over his words as he tried to shush everyone.
Noreen, on the other hand, took it all in stride. “Jokes aside, let’s settle on a name for our product first. We still need to launch it before the Summit, after all.”
With a few simple words, she steered everyone back on track.
After some discussion, they finally settled on a name.
InnoCore.
Everything InnoCore
Noreen remembered a quote she’d once read: “In today’s world, everything is InnoCore–no need to ask for help.”
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It was this phrase that had seen her through countless sleepless nights.
On those long, lonely hours before dawn, she’d sit up and have quiet conversations with herself.
Gently asking herself to let go of certain things.
When the day came for InnoCore’s launch, Carman invited the entire company out for dinner.
He turned to Noreen and asked if they should invite the investors as well.
Noreen agreed, and personally called Jennifer and Dylan.
Jennifer was out of town and couldn’t make it.
Dylan, on the other hand, accepted right away, promising to be there on
time.
Just as Noreen arrived at the restaurant, her phone rang.
The contact name on her screen made her pause for a couple of seconds before she remembered who it was.
Sex partner.
Seth.
Why was he calling?
But…
Who cared why?
Noreen ignored the call and walked straight into the restaurant.
Seth, who was usually impatient, seemed to have all the patience in the world this time. When she didn’t answer, he called again.
She still didn’t pick up. No matter how many times he called, she had no intention of answering. Googlᴇ search.net
Then Seth sent a text.
Noreen saw the notification but didn’t bother to open it.
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After a while, the phone finally went quiet.
Most of the guests had arrived by then, so Noreen called Dylan to check where he was.
Dylan said, “I might be a little late–something came up at the last minute.”
“That’s all right. Take care of what you need to, just let me know when you get here.”
“Will do.”
After hanging up, Dylan turned to the man lying in the hospital bed. “Mr. Harcourt, how are you feeling?”
Wade replied, “No worries, you go handle your business. Don’t worry about me.”
“Take care of yourself,” Dylan said, rising to his feet.
Seth walked him out. Once they were in the hallway, he asked, “Was that Noreen on the phone just now?”
Dylan didn’t try to hide it. “Yeah. Her company’s having a dinner for the team, and they invited me as an investor.”
Seth was still holding his phone.
Before Dylan answered Noreen’s call, Seth had been calling her nonstop.
She hadn’t answered once, nor had she replied to his messages.
Yet, she’d called Dylan personally to invite him to dinner.
When Seth returned to the hospital room, his expression was dark and stormy, his eyes cold and distant.
Evelyn looked up at him. “When is Secretary Gilmore coming?”