Watts flashed a genial smile and glanced at her before finally greeting Alexander.

Alexander shook his hand, looking genuinely surprised. “What are the odds? We’re seated together.”

Watts simply nodded, his expression unreadable, tapping his fingers lightly on the place card with his name on it. “Seems like fate, doesn’t it?”

In truth, he’d already arranged for one of the staff to swap out the name cards up front.

Neither Elodie nor Alexander had noticed a thing.

Elodie wasn’t one for small talk. After a polite hello, she quickly drifted back into her thoughts about where to steer VistaLink Technologies next.

Watts watched her for a moment, noticing how her brows occasionally drew together in concentration, or how she absently brushed her fingers along her eyebrow. A silent, amused smile played on his lips.

He didn’t interrupt.

Few people here knew him well, so he actually got a rare moment of peace.

Across the table, things were far livelier. His gaze lingered there for a second. He spotted Jarrod and Sylvie.

He knew Jarrod, of course.

As for Sylvie-he paused, then remembered seeing her at Ivan’s engagement party.

That was the extent of their acquaintance.

Across from him, Sylvie caught sight of Watts too.

Her gaze lingered on him for a couple of seconds, then she nodded politely in his direction.

Since she’d made the gesture, Watts returned it with a slight nod of his own, before glancing at Elodie beside him.

Sylvie’s eyes drifted back, landing on the name card in front of Watts.

She remembered something.

She’d seen the staff change the place cards just moments ago her seat had a clear view of the process, and she distinctly recalled that the seat across from her hadn’t originally been assigned to Watts.

It had been switched at the last moment.

Changing seats at an event like this was unusual; it wasn’t something the event coordinators would decide on their own. The only logical explanation was that Watts himself had requested the change.

The seat directly across from her had been left open, making the switch easy.

Sylvie maintained her composure, calmly turning her attention to the CEO of the new materials company who’d recently taken the seat beside her.

She twirled her pen thoughtfully.

Now that everyone was seated, it would be difficult to change anything else.

Once nearly everyone had arrived, the conference officially began.

Elodie was surprised to spot Klein as well.

He sat in the front row alongside Charlie.

That alone showed just how significant this event was.

The meeting centered on new technology-broad strategic directions from the top, as well as practical needs and opportunities for private enterprise. There was also a focus on how these advances could be leveraged for defense and military applications.

Elodie jotted down a summary of the key points in her notebook, quickly grasping where the greatest needs-and opportunities-now lay.

Watts didn’t miss her notes.

They were sharp and insightful, cutting right to the heart of the matter.

He was impressed.

He hadn’t expected Elodie to have such a clear vision, her professionalism shining through in every line. If she weren’t truly an expert, there’s no way she could have produced observations of this caliber.

It was a pleasant surprise.

When he’d asked about Elodie at Ivan’s engagement party, all he’d learned was that she worked at VistaLink Technologies and had some connection to Ivan. He’d known little else.

Today, he was getting a much clearer picture of just how capable she really was. The meeting lasted about two hours.

Afterward, as people began to mingle, Sylvie also noticed Klein and Charlie’s presence.

A flicker of excitement crossed her eyes, and she turned to Jarrod. “Shall we go over and have a word with them?”

Neural Intelligence was looking to move in this direction, and making connections with the major players could only help.

Jarrod had no objection, but a call came through just then. He lowered his voice. “You go ahead. I’ll catch up.”

Sylvie was unfazed. With a confident smile, she said, “Alright. See you in a bit.”

“Mr. Whitaker, hello.” Klein was just about to leave when Sylvie called out to him.

He turned around, his eyes momentarily darkening when he saw her.

Sylvie smiled politely. “Do you remember me? We met before.”

Klein remembered, of course-whether because she was often seen with Jarrod,

or because of her role in the complicated matter of Elodie’s marriage.

But just then, he glanced over at Charlie.

Charlie was already walking away, hands clasped behind his back, clearly uninterested in any conversation.

Klein nodded, his expression unreadable. “Ms. Fielding, I’m afraid I have something urgent. Let’s catch up another time.”

He didn’t give Sylvie the chance to respond.

He turned and strode off in the opposite direction.

Sylvie blinked, caught off guard, her brows knitting together as she followed him

with her eyes.

Her expression shifted.

Klein was heading-directly toward Elodie?