Chapter 391
Gaylord had been hoping for a chance to go rafting with Charlene, but it hadn’t happened yet.
However, at dinner, he once again “bumped into” Charlene and the Ross family.
Charlene’s aunt and uncle warmly invited him and his friends to join them for dinner.
Upon learning he was from the Hearst family, Vernon Ross asked curiously, “What brought you back to the States all of a sudden?”
Recalling his reasons for returning, Gaylord paused momentarily before answering, “I have a keen interest in PrimeStar’s programming language CUAP and their latest project, Infinite-CM. I wanted to join PrimeStar to learn more, so I decided to come back.”
The Ross family, being aware of Charlene’s involvement with PrimeStar,
exchanged knowing smiles and glanced at Charlene, who quietly focused on her meal.
Gaylord didn’t think much of it. He knew Charlene was highly skilled, but he also knew she had only joined PrimeStar last year. CUAP had been around for quite some time, and the industry widely credited Kenton Wagner with its development. It seemed natural that such an impressive language would be his creation.
As for PrimeStar’s latest project, Infinite-CM, Gaylord genuinely believed it was led by Stewart. He had interacted with Stewart a few times in meetings since joining PrimeStar and could tell that Stewart was indeed very capable. However, he hadn’t interacted with Stewart enough to compare his skills with Charlene’s, though it seemed Charlene was always collaborating with Stewart. This led Gaylord to assume Stewart was the more skilled of the two.
The Ross family was cultured, welcoming, and engaging in conversation. By the end of the meal, Gaylord had developed a positive impression of them. After dinner, Charlene and her family left the area to head home, so Gaylord and his friends didn’t linger much longer in the park.
The next day, Charlene received a call from Jasmine, who was planning to return home. Jasmine said, “Mom, Dad will be back in a couple of days. Are you free? I’d like to come over and spend time with you and Great-Grandma.”
Remembering how Helena had mentioned Jasmine a few times recently, Charlene paused for a couple of seconds before replying, “Sure, come over.”
On the last day of the holiday, Jasmine arrived at the Ross family home, bearing gifts for Charlene and Helena. Helena and Vernon were delighted with their presents. Charlene noticed there were two more gifts in Jasmine’s suitcase, presumably for Thorne and Vesta, but she didn’t comment on it.
After distributing the gifts, Jasmine, still excited from her travels, soon succumbed to fatigue. Before falling asleep, she cuddled up to Charlene, finding a comfortable spot in her arms. Even though Jasmine hadn’t bathed, Charlene couldn’t bring herself to wake her when she saw how peacefully she slept. Once Jasmine was deeply asleep, Charlene gently moved her to the bed.
The next morning, before heading to work, Charlene took Jasmine to school. Charlene didn’t ask Jasmine when Thorne would return, but three days after the holiday ended, Thorne was back.
Upon his return, Thorne reached out to Jasmine instead of Charlene. After finishing her call with Thorne, Jasmine informed Charlene, “Mom, he said he’ll come by to pick me up soon.”
Charlene simply replied, “Okay.”
Jasmine was a bit reluctant to leave the Ross family, but since Thorne had expressed missing her, she decided to go with him despite her attachment to Charlene.
Half an hour later, Thorne arrived. Holding Jasmine’s hand, Charlene walked her over to his car. Thorne stepped out, looked at Charlene, and said, “Thanks for looking after her these past few days.”
Charlene didn’t respond directly. Instead, she instructed Jasmine, “Minnie,
Mommy needs to talk to your dad. Go ahead and get in the car.”
Jasmine glanced at them, “Okay…” and obediently got into the car.
Once Thorne closed the car door, Charlene spoke, “Minnie is only six, and you let her travel so far with just a bodyguard?”
Before he could reply, she continued coldly, “I don’t know why you trust those bodyguards so much, but I don’t want this to happen again.”
To her surprise, instead of arguing, Thorne simply agreed, “Alright, I understand.”
Charlene paused, having expected more resistance. Thorne then said, “We’ll be heading off. You should get some rest.”
Charlene didn’t respond and turned back to the house.