As soon as she finished speaking, Edric didn't even have a chance to respond before Veronica's communicator chid with an incoming ssage.
Glancing at the screen, she quickly stood up. "Sothing urgent at the data center. I have to go now," she said, already moving toward the door with purposeful strides.
The following morning, Veronica departed from the military base. After taking a well-deserved day off to recuperate at ho, she returned to her position at DataPulse, ready to dive back into work.
DataPulse had recently formalized its partnership with Dennis Tech, marking the beginning of an important collaboration between the two tech giants. By coincidence, on Veronica's first day back, Dario was scheduled to attend a eting at the sa location.
During previous contract negotiations with Cullen, she had been able to step back and allow Dario or Dmitri to handle the discussions. This new joint venture, however, required her direct involvent and expertise to progress effectively.
The eting agenda focused on core technology cooperation between DataPulse and Dennis Tech. Upon returning to her workplace, Veronica accompanied Dario to the Dennis Group headquarters, along with Lester and several other technical specialists from their team.
Just as they approached the entrance to the conference room, Cullen appeared from the opposite direction, flanked by his two assistants with Bradley following closely behind. Cullen greeted Dario with professional courtesy.
Since Veronica's departure from Dennis Group, Bradley had rarely seen her, though Frank had ntioned her new position at DataPulse. Dario had visited Dennis Group several tis recently, but Veronica hadn't accompanied him on those occasions, leading them to assu she was deliberately avoiding returning to her forr workplace. Yet here she was.
Cullen imdiately noticed Veronica and Lester but chose to act as though they were strangers. He rely glanced in their direction before averting his gaze and entering the eting room alongside Dario.
Lester had no desire to advertise his acquaintance with Cullen either, making the latter's distant behavior perfectly convenient for both parties.
Veronica and Bradley had maintained a cordial relationship during her ti at Dennis Group. Seeing him after such a long absence, she acknowledged him with a subtle nod. "Mr. Caron, it's been a while."
"Indeed, it has," Bradley responded politely.
Lester observed this exchange with curiosity. "You two know each other?"
"I used to work here," Veronica explained simply.
Lester, unaware of her complicated history with Cullen, assud she had rely been another engineer at Dennis Group and didn't pursue the matter further. Besides, they had important business to attend to, making this an inappropriate ti for personal conversations.
As Veronica and Lester settled into their seats, another figure entered the room. It was Professor Silas Desmond from Sibley University, who was also involved in Dennis Group's project.
"Please forgive my tardiness," he announced to the room.
"We just arrived ourselves," soone assured him.
Silas's gaze shifted to Dario with imdiate recognition. Being known as Malcolm's protégé already commanded significant respect, but Dario had recently been making substantial contributions to the AI field—enough that anyone working in artificial intelligence would certainly recognize his na.
"You must be Mr. Reid," Silas said with a warm smile. "You're truly a remarkable talent. I've been hoping to et you for so ti, but our paths never seed to cross until today."
"You're too kind, Professor Hastings," Dario replied modestly.
After exchanging pleasantries, the eting officially comnced. Veronica focused entirely on the technical discussions at hand, maintaining ticulous attention to detail throughout the session.
When the conversation turned to core collaboration specifics and technical components, Dario took the lead alongside Dennis Group's technical directors and Professor Silas. Veronica, Lester, and the other team mbers remained quietly attentive, docunting important points.
The eting, which had begun at approximately 9:00 a.m., continued until nearly noon. After its conclusion, Cullen invited everyone to join him for lunch.
As they exited the conference room, Silas turned to Cullen. "It's been quite so ti since I last saw Niall. I heard she's residing in Porter now, which ans opportunities to et will be even rarer. Would you and Mr. Reid object if I invited her to join us for lunch?"
Having learned that Silas was affiliated with Sibley University, Dario had already surmised a potential connection to Niall. He responded with a subtle smile, "I have no objections."
"You two are acquainted?" Cullen inquired.
"I was her ntor during her university years," Silas explained proudly. "Even then, she demonstrated exceptional talent in this field. Now that she's studying under Professor Campbell, it's evident she's fulfilling her potential."
"I'll reach out to her," Cullen offered.
Thirty minutes later, when Veronica, Cullen, and Dario arrived at the restaurant, they found Niall and Bonnie just stepping out of their vehicle.
Upon seeing Silas, Niall approached him quickly. "Professor, it's been too long."
After they exchanged greetings, Silas glanced toward Dario with an expectant smile. "Mr. Reid, I assu you and Niall have already t?"
Dario briefly looked at Niall before responding, "Yes, our paths have crossed."
"Excellent," Silas bead. "You're both rising stars in your field. You should certainly exchange ideas more frequently."
Niall didn't miss the fleeting look Dario had given her, causing her brow to furrow slightly.
She had hoped that since learning of her position as Preston's student, he might regard her differently—with newfound respect. After all, within their shared field, she and Dario should have substantial common ground for aningful discussion.
Yet the way he had just looked at her remained unchanged from their previous encounters, carrying the sa dismissive quality she had co to recognize all too well.
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