Because given their current situation, it was a bit much for him to say that, especially since she wasn’t officially divorced yet.

After Charlene saw Granger out, she quickly made her way back upstairs.

Granger watched her disappear up the stairs and only after a long moment did he turn back to Lanny, his company’s core tech wizard. “I need a favor.” Lanny looked up, “Shoot.”

“I have a friend who’s keen on diving deep into natural language processing. They’re in need of a top-notch mentor…”

Given their friendship, Lanny was naturally inclined to help. However, he hesitated for a moment, “While I do have some expertise in that area, honestly, I think Mr. Ferguson from PrimeStar or Ms. Ross, who we’ve been discussing collaborations with, might be even better suited for the job.”

Granger was surprised by Lanny’s suggestion. His own background was in finance, not Al, but he knew Lanny was highly regarded in the field of natural language processing. If Thorne himself had bypassed experts from Neural Nexus Tech and The Henderson Group to seek out Lanny, that said a lot.

Lanny often praised Charlene whenever they interacted, but Granger hadn’t realized she was held in such high

esteem.

He recalled how Stewart frequently sang Charlene’s praises to everyone. Even though Granger acknowledged Charlene’s capabilities after working with her, he had assumed Stewart’s admiration was somewhat biased. Perhaps not.

“Mr. Harden?”

Granger snapped back to reality. “Mr. Ferguson and Ms. Ross have some personal issues with my friend. It wouldn’t be appropriate.”

“Ah, I see…” Lanny nodded, dropping the matter.

That evening, when Granger and Lanny arrived at the private dining room, Vesta was already there. She greeted Lanny warmly, engaging him in a professional conversation soon after.

Granger listened quietly, mostly keeping to himself, seemingly preoccupied.

After a quick chat with Lanny, Vesta turned to Granger, smiling, and asked, “Bored?”

Granger shook off his thoughts. “Not at all. You guys go ahead.”

Vesta chuckled and continued her discussion with Lanny. She was genuinely eager to learn, diving deep into the topic with a thirst for knowledge that Lanny was happy to accommodate. He helped her map out a learning strategy and provided insights into the current developments in the field.

The dinner conversation was lively and engaging, though it only scratched the surface. Vesta was aiming for an in-depth understanding.

With New Year’s Day approaching, Vesta earnestly asked Lanny if he could spare some time to teach her. Out of regard for Granger, Lanny agreed to set aside half a day for her.

Vesta thanked him profusely.

After dinner, once Lanny had departed, Vesta turned to Granger, who had been rather quiet. “Thanks for today, Granger.”

Granger responded coolly, “Thorne and I go way back. It’s no big deal.”

Before she could reply, he added, “It’s late. You should head home and get some rest.

Vesta nodded, “Alright, see you tomorrow.”

Granger replied, “I have plans tomorrow, so I won’t be around.”