Chapter 149

He picked up the phone. “Hello p>

“Mr. Goodwin, the paper you just sent me did you not realize it was your wife Eleanor’s work?” Jude Vaughn’s voice came through, light and teasing.

lan seemed to have anticipated this. He let out a quiet chuckle. “Is that so?” “Didn’t you notice the name at the bottom? That’s your wife, Eleanor p>

“Are you certain it’s hers?” lan pressed, wanting to be sure he wasn’t mistaken.

“Absolutely certain. Your wife is truly remarkable-she scored a perfect mark on her assessment,” Jude continued.

lan was momentarily taken aback. “Assessment p>

“It’s part of the evaluation for Eleanor’s accelerated graduation. You didn’t know?” Now Jude sounded surprised.

Don’t most married couples share these things?

“Is that right Ian’s eyes clouded with thought.

“Mr. Goodwin, if you’d like to know more about the paper, feel free to reach out to me anytime p>

“Thank you. I’ll let you go, then.” Ian ended the call, his gaze deepening.

It seemed he knew far less about his own wife than he’d thought. He hadn’t even realized her name was now recognized around the world.

When Eleanor came home, hand in hand with her daughter, she spotted the car in their parking space-lan was back.

“Daddy’s home!” Evelyn squealed and ran straight for the living room.

“Daddy, Daddy!” she called out in her sweet, childish voice.

Eleanor was still at the door when a ball of fur bounded to her feet, tail wagging, licking at her shoes. She crouched down and gave Princess a good scratch behind the ears. From inside, Evelyn’s delighted voice floated out: “Daddy, really? Are we going out for dinner tonight p>

Eleanor paused. She wasn’t a fan of eating out with her daughter; restaurant food was always too heavily seasoned for her taste. But lan had already suggested it, and if she objected now, she’d only spoil Evelyn’s excitement. She held her tongue.

“Go play with Princess, sweetheart. I need to talk to your mom for a bit,” lan said, ruffling Evelyn’s hair.

“Okay!” Evelyn happily led Princess out to the garden.

Eleanor hung up Evelyn’s backpack as lan slid his hand into a pocket and stepped behind her. “Let’s talk p>

She turned to find him looking at her, a trace more warmth in his smile than usual.

“Go ahead. I’m listening,” Eleanor said calmly.

lan pulled a folded newspaper from his pocket and handed it to her. “Is this your work p>

She glanced at it and replied, unfazed, “And if it is p>

A smile played at lan’s lips. “Impressive. It’s a deeply insightful paper p>

He had, after all, once been struck by her brilliance.

Eleanor shot him a sideways glance. He was smiling, his lips tinged with color. The man had strong brows and soulful eyes-eyes that could seem affectionate even when he looked at the family dog. Yet when he turned that gaze on people, it could be cold as ice.

His praise meant nothing to her anymore. She had long since stopped caring what he thought.

“One of my clients has a friend in medical research who wants to meet you,” lan said, changing the subject.

Eleanor paused and turned to ask, “What’s their name p>

lan shook his head. “Didn’t ask. He said his friend would reach out to you directly p>

Eleanor was always happy to meet new people in her field, so she simply said, “Go ahead and give them my contact info p>

lan nodded. “Alright. If you’re interested in joining Dr. Langley’s research team, I can p>

She cut him off coldly. “If there’s something I want, I’ll earn it myself. I don’t need your help p>