Chapter 413
Charlene nodded and settled onto the sofa by the coffee table.
Thorne gave another instruction. “Have someone bring in some coffee.”
Josh responded promptly, “I’ve already taken care of it.”
No sooner had he spoken than Sunny Fields appeared at the door, carrying a tray and knocking politely before entering.
She paused when she saw Charlene. “Ms. Ross?”
Sunny had been the one to take over Charlene’s position at The Henderson Group after she’d left. Since then, the two had barely kept in touch.
Charlene greeted her with a warm smile. “It’s been a while.” “It really has,” Sunny answered, returning the smile.
But with Thorne present, Sunny knew it wasn’t the time for small talk. She quickly set the cups in front of Thorne and Charlene, then turned to leave. Halfway to the door, something seemed to occur to her, and she turned back to give Thorne a brief work update.
After listening, Thorne replied, “Understood. I’ll be free this afternoon, have him come by before three.”
“Of course,” Sunny said. She gave Charlene a friendly nod before hurrying out.
Charlene watched her go, quietly stirring her coffee.
As the team lead in the admin department, it was standard for her to report to Thorne’s office, but back when she held the position, she’d been strictly required to communicate only through Thorne’s two secretaries.
During her two-plus years as team lead, she’d only entered Thorne’s office herself when Coy and the others were overwhelmed and she’d been allowed to deliver his coffee. But as for reporting work directly to him, not once.
Thorne had always kept her at a distance, and he’d done it thoroughly.
Thinking about those days, she lifted her coffee and took a small sip.
When she’d been preparing to leave the company, Sunny had asked her to teach her how to make coffee. Charlene remembered teaching her carefully.
Yet as soon as the coffee touched her lips, she could tell it tasted a little different from the way she’d taught Sunny.
She took another small sip. The flavor wasn’t quite the same, but it was very good.
Setting her cup down, she noticed Thorne sampling his as well, looking quite pleased with Sunny’s handiwork.
Back when she was young and naïve, she’d felt a secret pride that Thorne seemed to prefer only the coffee she made.
But now…
It was just coffee.
If you lost one flavor, you found another. It wasn’t such a big deal.
Thinking back, it struck her as rather silly, almost laughable, how she’d once felt.
Lost in these thoughts, she heard Thorne speak. “Where did I leave off with Mr. Ferguson last time? Did he fill you in?”
“Yes,” Charlene replied, pulling her mind back to the present. “We can pick up right where you left off.”
“Good,” Thorne said. “About the hybrid-precision computational architecture we discussed last time regarding the scaling parameters, I think your team’s proposal is excellent. I’ve got some ideas of my own I’d like to discuss with you in more detail.”
“Absolutely,” Charlene agreed.
They delved into the technical details, Charlene explaining the latest improvements in processing speed with careful clarity.
It was deep, specialized knowledge, confidential, the kind of thing only those closely involved would understand. Coy and Josh, sitting nearby, could only listen in silence, lost.
But Thorne and Charlene were fully engaged, trading ideas back and forth.
As the conversation went on, Coy noticed a change in Thorne. His gaze lingered on Charlene with a mix of surprise and admiration, a look Coy had never seen before.
Thorne was focused, a slight smile playing at his lips, as though he was genuinely enjoying the discussion.
Coy was taken aback. And he wasn’t the only one. Josh had noticed, too, and looked equally surprised.
After more than an hour, they’d finished exchanging ideas when Professor Mack and Professor Hancock arrived.
Charlene had already met Professor Mack on a previous occasion.
She’d been introduced to Professor Hancock last year after returning to PrimeStar Technologies at a banquet Stewart had taken her to. Professor Hancock had known then that Charlene was Kenton Wagner’s student, and they’d had a long conversation at a tech expo not long after.
He was well aware of Charlene’s professional abilities. He’d even read her recent journal publication.
Now, as they met again, Professor Hancock greeted her warmly. “Charlene, good to see you again.”
“It’s good to see you too, Professor Hancock,” Charlene replied, shaking his hand before taking her seat. They quickly got down to business.
Another hour passed, the room alive with animated discussion, when the door suddenly opened.
Vesta stepped in.
Charlene showed no surprise at all.
Seeing the room so full, Vesta paused. “Sorry, I didn’t realize
you were all in here working. I thought the office was empty, so I didn’t knock…”
Both Professor Hancock and Professor Mack were well aware of Thorne and Vesta’s relationship.
As Thorne’s girlfriend, it was perfectly normal for her to come and go from his office without knocking. They simply smiled, unconcerned.
Vesta, preparing to leave, said, “I’ll let you get back to it. I didn’t mean to interrupt.”
But the heavy business talk had mostly wound down. Professor Mack grinned. “No worries, we’re just chatting now.”