Selene sat upright, her tone unfailingly respectful. “Next month, I’ll be moving with Daph. I’ve already found a great place in a top school district for her. The results for the ALI Math Competition finals are coming out next week–I’m confident I’ll place in the top three. As for work…”
She looked up, her lashes fluttering like the fragile wings of a butterfly.
“I…” Selene met Leo’s gaze, hesitated, then gathered her courage to ask the man before her, “Is there a place for me at the Draco Research Institute?”
Her words dropped into the silence like a pebble into a still lake, sending ripples through the air.
Leo’s cool, clear eyes lingered on Selene’s open, earnest face.
She knew, at least in broad strokes, what Leo did.
He’d been entrusted with enormous responsibility. The Draco Research Institute, the center he headed, was one of Aldonia’s ten premier research facilities. Its location was so confidential, it didn’t even appear on any map.
Steeling herself, Selene pressed on, pitching her case. “The country’s latest five–year plan prioritizes advanced artificial intelligence research. Mr. Vaughn, you’re leading the charge. I-”
“Selene.” Leo spoke her name, and the sound of it made her instinctively sit straighter, her back rigid, respect written in every line of her posture.
“What makes you think you’re qualified to join the Draco Research Institute?”
His voice was deep, steady–a calm well with hidden depths. Hearing him, Selene caught a fleeting glimpse of Harrison’s signature coolness in Leo’s expression.
It must run in the family.
Still, she refused to back down. “You handpicked me.”
Thirteen years ago, Leo had discovered Selene in a small town with little access to quality education. A single letter of recommendation from him had been her ticket into the accelerated program at Aldonia University of Science & Technology.
Now, meeting his gaze with unwavering determination, Selene saw Leo take a slow breath before turning away. “Win the gold medal first. Then we’ll talk.”
A spark bloomed in her eyes, her lips lifting in a smile as bright and flickering as a
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candle flame. “So you’ve been following my progress in the ALI Math Competition, Mr. Vaughn?”
He kept his answer curt and impersonal: “Just happened to notice.*
The luxury sedan rolled to a stop outside the hotel. Selene gathered her things, ready to get out. Altair, who had been quietly watching, suddenly looked crestfallen.
He turned away from her, small hands clutching a puzzle toy, eyes brimming with
unshed tears.
Selene wrapped her arms around him from behind. “Little Star, come visit Daph and me anytime. We’ll see each other again before you know it.”
Altair turned back, cheeks flushed and eyes rimmed red, nodding hard as if that would make it come true.
Selene said her goodbyes to Leo. The sunlight caught her features, casting them in a gentle, luminous glow.
“Director Vaughn-” her tone was light and undaunted by his earlier rebuff. “You’ll see. At twenty–seven, I’m still as brave and passionate as ever.”
Leo remained in the car, watching her walk away until she disappeared inside the
hotel.
He shut the door and looked away, picking up his phone to make a call.
“I already have a candidate in mind for deputy director,” he said, voice calm and deliberate.
“You’re Director Vaughn, aren’t you?” boomed a loud voice on the other end.
Rolling his eyes with practiced elegance, Leo waited as the person on the phone chuckled, “I know, I know–you mean deputy, not director. So, who’s the lucky pick?” “Selene.” Leo let the name linger, almost like poetry.
“Who?!” came the confused reply.
“Selene,” he repeated.
The line went quiet for a moment, then the person muttered, “Is there a Selene on the faculty at Aldonia Academy of Sciences?”
The car sped along the sunlit street. Leo looked up at the brilliant blue sky, his tone pensive.
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Chapter 117
“She’s a rose I picked with my own hands years ago–one that, unfortunately, a stray dog ran off with for a while. Now, I intend to cultivate her myself.”
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