NovelUSAAfter her assistant left, Vesta felt a growing weight settle over her.
Technology was the lifeblood of the company.
With Axiom Flux Technologies blazing a trail ahead of them, if Neural Nexus Tech wanted even a foothold in the autonomous vehicle market, they'd have to achieve another technological breakthrough-something even more significant than before.
But breakthroughs like that were nearly impossible to force.
So far, she'd already poured six or seven hundred million dollars into Neural Nexus Tech.
But now, with Axiom Flux Technologies stirring up the waters, the future of Neural Nexus Tech looked more uncertain than ever. If she kept investing, and Neural Nexus Tech failed to deliver a breakthrough that truly made waves, it would be like tossing a billion-maybe even two billion-straight down the drain.
And yet, the idea of giving up here made her stomach twist with frustration.
Follow on NovᴇlEnglish.nᴇtShould she press forward, or cut her losses? Her thoughts wandered to Thorne.
But even someone as brilliant as him couldn't guarantee the company would achieve the kind of breakthrough they needed, could he? Even if she asked, he'd never be able to give her a truly definitive answer.
Vesta sat there for a long while, lost in thought, until her assistant knocked and entered again, snapping her back to reality. She realized it was already midday. "Mr. Hawkins, shall I arrange lunch for you?" her assistant asked.
Vesta glanced at her phone, saying nothing.
She was sure Thorne understood the blow Axiom Flux Technologies had dealt to Neural Nexus Tech even more clearly than she did. Given how well she knew him, he'd probably already guessed how Mr. Black, Mr. Falconer, and the others were feeling about Neural Nexus Tech right now.
She needed him now more than ever.
Yet, since she'd had dinner with Mr. Black yesterday, Thorne hadn't reached out to her once.
She remembered how, at the press conference yesterday, Thorne's attention had been completely fixed on Charlene onstage-as if he'd forgotten Vesta even existed. The memory twisted in her chest, sharp and uncomfortable.
Maybe, just like her, he still hadn't recovered from the impact Charlene made at that press conference.
Charlene had been working nonstop all day. It was after five when her phone finally rang.
It was Jasmine Henderson calling.
She glanced at the screen, hesitated, and answered, "Hey, Minnie. What's up?" "Mom, school's almost out for summer! There's a parents' meeting tomorrow. Will you cwith me? Please?" Charlene paused. She couldn't remember the last tshe'd dealt with something like this.
"Summer break already?" she asked.
"Yep!" Jasmine chirped.
Charlene gathered herself and asked, "Is your dad busy?" After the Axiom Flux Technologies launch, Vesta was probably buried in work. Thorne probably didn't have tfor Jasmine's parents' meeting either.
"Dad's free," Jasmine said, pouting a little. "But I want you to come, Mom. Just this once? Please? Can you cby tomorrow morning?" Charlene relented. "Alright. I'll be there." Jasmine squealed in delight. "Yay!" "I've got work to finish, honey. We'll talk more tomorrow, okay?" "Okay! See you tomorrow, Mom!" The next morning.
Follow on Novᴇl-Onlinᴇ.cᴏmCharlene drove over to Jasmine's school. As soon as Jasmine spotted her, she ran straight into her arms. "Mom!" Charlene hugged her, ruffling her hair, then took her hand and walked with her into the building.
Sally's mom and Ms. Payne, Jasmine's teacher, both looked surprised to see Charlene there in person.
After the last family event, it had always been Thorne showing up for en school activities—she'd barely been involved at all.
"Hello, Mrs. Henderson," Ms. Payne greeted her warmly. "It's been a while." "It has," Charlene replied, exchanging pleasantries.
Ms. Payne gave her a rundown of how Jasmine had been doing at school lately. From their conversation, Charlene could tell Jasmine was genuinely happy at hand in class. Thorne really was paying close attention to her. During the meeting, Jasmine tugged on Charlene's hand and whispered, "Mom, we haven't gone out for lunch together in ages. Can we go somewhere after this? Just the two of us?" Charlene smiled. "Of course." But as they left the school together, hand in hand, Charlene spotted Thorne getting out of his car at the curb.
Jasmine lit up at the sight of him—not surprised at et "Daddy, you come!"
Thorne met Charlene's eyes before answering, his tone gentle. Yeah, I'm here. The Content is on ve novelenglish.net!
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