Chapter 229
After scrolling through a few more videos, Eleanor put her phone away. She hadn’t had time to pick out a gift earlier, so she’d have to stop by a shop near the
airport.
She got home around eight-thirty that evening, then drove out again to the Goodwin family’s house to pick up her daughter. Gina came out holding Evelyn’s hand.
“Mom, how come it’s just you? Where’s Dad?” Evelyn asked, surprised.
“Your dad won’t be back for a few more days. Come on, let’s go! Your present’s in the car p>
At the mention of a gift, Evelyn’s eyes lit up. She waved goodbye to Gina. “Bye, Grandma p>
“Goodbye, sweetheart. Come visit again soon,” Gina called after her granddaughter, waving with a look of reluctant affection.
Monday morning, after dropping off her daughter, Eleanor headed straight to the lab. In the lobby, she ran into Faye and Gwenda. Faye’s eyes flashed with resentment when she saw Eleanor-her father’s project had just been axed, her mother was so anxious she’d been hospitalized for migraines, and all of it, in her mind, traced back to Eleanor.
“Eleanor, I bet you learned a lot at the conference,” Gwenda greeted her with a friendly smile.
“I did! I’ll share the materials with everyone in the group chat soon,” Eleanor replied.
At the 10 a.m. meeting, Simone began assigning tasks. Faye was stuck with the basics in the main lab, Gwenda was sent to collect case data from various hospitals, while Eleanor and Joel would be working with Meridian Dynamics on a new research project.
Gwenda had accepted her fate; with her academic background, she was lucky to have landed a spot on the team at all.
Faye, though bitter, had no choice but to go handle the experiments. She couldn’t help but feel a pang of envy watching Joel and Eleanor-they held the most crucial roles and didn’t have to slog through tedious, complicated data in the lab every day.
“Oh, by the way, Eleanor-Juliette Grayson’s research team invited you to an academic exchange this afternoon. Make sure you set aside time. Details are in your email,” Simone added.
“Sure, I’ll check it out,” Eleanor nodded.
She glanced at her inbox: the exchange was scheduled for two-thirty. She’d have to head over early.
At eleven, Eleanor’s phone buzzed. It was a message from Xavier.
“Lunch together before the two o’clock meeting? Miss Sutton, would you do me the honor p>
Eleanor couldn’t refuse. If anything, she owed him a meal-he’d once saved her life and had helped her in countless ways. She was truly grateful.
“Of course. I’ll book a restaurant,” she replied right away.
“Great, see you soon p>
She found a nearby place and sent Xavier the address.
Xavier arrived first. When Eleanor walked in, she apologized as she took her seat. “Sorry, traffic was awful p>
“No worries, we’ve got plenty of time,” Xavier replied with a warm, easy smile.
They started looking over the menu. Xavier was considerate, letting Eleanor order whatever she liked.
Once they’d ordered, they started chatting about the recent conference in Kingston. Xavier mentioned that two of his team members had attended, but he’d been too busy to go himself.
Just as they were getting into the conversation, the restaurant doors opened and two women walked in-Serena and a younger girl. Serena’s gaze landed on Xavier, then flicked to Eleanor, her expression instantly souring.
In Serena’s mind, Eleanor was nothing but a shameless woman trying to steal Xavier’s attention.
“Serena, our table’s over here,” her friend said, linking arms and steering her away.
Eleanor glanced up, catching their eyes. She felt a little uncomfortable, but reminded herself she had every right to have lunch with Xavier.
Xavier, meanwhile, lifted his teacup, catching Serena’s eye and giving her a polite nod.
Serena forced a smile back at Xavier, lips curved but eyes cold with jealousy. She wanted nothing more than to sabotage Eleanor’s lunch with Xavier, but she held herself together—she couldn’t afford to ruin her image in front of him.