Chapter 1310

That afternoon, lan sent a message to Eleanor. He had to go to Kingston. If she didn’t have time, he would send Serena Goodwin to pick up Evelyn.

Eleanor, of course, had time. Her handover tasks were light, allowing her to keep regular hours.

When Eleanor arrived at the preschool that afternoon, Evelyn, despite a full day of classes, was a bundle of energy. When the teacher brought her out, she bounded over to Eleanor like a little rabbit.

Eleanor hugged her and led her to the car. The moment she was buckled in, the little girl couldn’t wait to report, “Mommy, I told Daddy this morning! I told him you praised him p>

Eleanor, who had been about to start the car, froze. The smile on her face stiffened.

She hadn’t expected her daughter to repeat a casual remark from last night to lan. While it wasn’t a big deal, Eleanor didn’t want her daughter acting as a go-between. She turned and forced a smile. “Okay, honey. But in the future, you don’t need to make a special point of telling Daddy things like that, alright p>

Evelyn blinked her big, clear eyes, completely puzzled. “Why not? Daddy was so happy when he heard it p>

Eleanor was at a loss for words. Looking at her daughter’s innocent face, she realized it was impossible to explain the complex emotions of adults. She decided to drop it.

“Where did Daddy go? Why didn’t he come pick me up?” Evelyn asked curiously.

“Your daddy had to go to Kingston for work,” Eleanor said. Though she didn’t know the specifics, she assumed it had to do with the recent turmoil in the international business world.

For the next two days, Eleanor’s life was a simple routine between the lab and home. On the morning of the third day, she received a text from lan: “I’ll be back this morning p>

Eleanor paused. The launch ceremony for the special fund established by The Guild of Commerce was at two o’clock that afternoon. As the chairman, he should be there if he had time.

Eleanor had already been in contact with The Guild. She was scheduled to give a brief speech about the direction of her research.

Her afternoon was free. She had

lunch with Joy Thatcher nearby. Joy wanted to see the event, so Eleanor had The Guild reserve a seat for her as well content

Around one-thirty, the venue for the fund’s launch ceremony was already fung up with guests. Eleanor Went backstage upon arrival to do a final check with the staff.

She was dressed in a tasteful, light gray skirt suit, her long hair styled in an updo

that made her look both professional and elegant.

“Dr. Sutton, you’ll be on after Mr. Goodwin’s speech. The host will invite you to the stage then,” a staff member informed her.

Eleanor nodded and was about to

head back to her seat when a commanding tall figure strode through the entrance: lan showed no signs of travel fatigue; he had clearly gone home to shower and change.

“Mr. Goodwin, you’re here,” the staff members greeted him.

lan’s gaze swept across the backstage area, finally landing on Eleanor. He walked over to her. “Just arrived?” he asked, his eyes narrowing slightly.

“I’ve been here a little while,” Eleanor replied calmly, looking at him.

lan’s eyes roamed over her for a few seconds. “That suits you,” he said in a low voice.

His direct compliment caught her slightly off guard. She gave a slight nod. “Thank you.” With that, she averted her gaze.

She wasn’t used to this version of lan-or rather, she wasn’t used to such close interactions with him.

“Is your speech ready?” lan asked.