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140 Misjudged Intentions and Dinner Plans.
“I’d like to invite both teams to dinner tonight,” Jonathan continued. “We could all use a break, and it would be nice to celebrate our progress in a more relaxed setting.”
“And yet she’s leading this project,” Jorge noted.
As Julian walked away to get coffee, Elara continued working. She felt someone watching her and glanced up to find Jorge staring at her from the conference room. When their eyes met, he quickly looked away.
Elara shrugged. “Good for them.”
“Particularly that security architect–Jorge. He keeps looking over here.”
Jonathan nodded. “Good. The YodaVision team is making excellent progress. We’ll be wrapping up for the day soon.”
This made Elara look up. “Really?”
“The integration is going well,” Elara agreed, gathering her things. “That’s what
matters.”
Xavier nodded thoughtfully. “And now she’s married to Damien Thorne but seems… attached to her business partner.”
Julian motioned Elara over. “El, Jorge has some questions about the security encoding.”
Elara nodded, pushing thoughts of Vivienne aside. “Let’s go.”
Jorge’s eyebrows rose. “I thought you were co–founders?”
Jorge leaned back in his chair, watching Julian and Elara through the glass partition. The way they worked together seemed too intimate–too synchronized. Their heads bent close, shoulders almost touching as they discussed something on the tablet.
“She doesn’t seem very responsive to him,” Jorge observed.
Elara saved her work and stood, joining Julian as everyone gathered around Jonathan.
Jorge watched as Julian returned with a coffee cup, saying something to Elara that made her shake her head without looking up from her work.
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“You’re making incredible progress,” Julian noted. “The neural pathway adjustments were inspired.”
Vivienne sighed softly. “Like I said–possessive.”
“She keeps staring at us,” Jorge muttered, shifting uncomfortably.
Strange, Elara thought, then returned to her code.
“The logic was sound,” Elara replied, focused on her screen. “The algorithm just needed tweaking.”
Julian patted her shoulder. “That’s my El. All business.”
“I just want to finish this project, Julian. Office romance drama is the last thing on my mind.”
Jorge frowned. “I thought she seemed capable earlier.””
“It’s necessary for maintaining data integrity while allowing for neural learning,” Elara continued. “I’d be happy to share our white paper on the methodology.”
“She designed the entire security architecture,” Julian said. “One of the many reasons YodaVision brought her back as CTO.”
Jorge blinked, clearly not expecting such a technical response. “That’s… quite sophisticated.”
“Who?” Xavier asked.
Xavier whistled low. “Must be serious!”
“Everyone knows,” Vivienne said simply.
“Elara. Every time Julian comes near our direction, she gives us this look.”
Vivienne checked her watch. “I’m afraid I have plans tonight. Damien’s expecting me.”
Jorge watched Elara approach, his gaze assessing. “Ms. Vance, I was curious about your approach to securing the neural pathways.”
“We are,” Elara confirmed, sending him the document. “But I took a break from the company for personal reasons. This is my first major project since returning.”
“Oh
yes. Classic signs. The leaning in, the excessive attention, the way he keeps finding
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reasons to agree with her.”
As Elara pulled up the document to send him, Jorge glanced at Julian, who was watching with an amused expression.
“At you or me?” Elara asked absently.
“Ready to go?” she asked, touching Jorge’s arm lightly. “Xavier’s waiting by the
elevator.”
Xavier followed his gaze. “Apparently not.”
Elara nodded. “Dinner sounds nice.”
Xavier opened his mouth to respond when Jonathan entered the main workspace, clapping his hands once to gain everyone’s attention.
“That’s just her way,” Vivienne explained. “Cold on the outside, but trust me, she’s tracking his every move.”
“Great work today, everyone! I think we’ve made tremendous progress. The integration is moving faster than scheduled, thanks to our collaborative efforts.”
“Please,” Jorge nodded, his expression shifting from skepticism to interest. “That would be helpful.”
As the group dispersed, Jorge approached Julian. “Mr. Croft, I wanted to ask about your security protocols for the neural pathway encoding.”
Jorge’s expression fell slightly. “I also have a prior commitment. Perhaps another
time?”
“Excellent!” Jonathan beamed. “Seven o’clock? That should give everyone time to wrap up here.”
Vivienne adjusted her gold bracelet, drawing their attention back to her. “Elara has always been possessive. Even as children.”
“Connections,” Vivienne replied smoothly. “Being a Thorne opens doors.”
“Very, Vivienne confirmed, her voice silky. “Just waiting for… certain situations to
resolve themselves.”
Julian clinked his teacup against Elara’s tablet. “We’re free, right, El?”
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Elara didn’t look up. “She’s good at that.”
After they left, Julian chuckled. “I think someone just realized he misjudged you.”
“You grew up together?” Jorge asked.
“Call me Julian,” he replied. “And I’d be happy to discuss it. In fact, Elara developed those protocols–she’d be the better person to explain.”
“She really doesn’t like sharing him, does she?” Jorge murmured.
As they prepared to leave for the day, Elara noticed Vivienne watching her through the glass doors of the elevator, her expression unreadable. When their eyes met, Vivienne’s lips curved into a small, cold smile before the doors closed between them.
Julian glanced toward the conference room where Vivienne sat with Jorge and Xavier. “Your sister seems to have made new friends.”
Elara shook her head. “No thanks. Almost done with this section.”
Julian placed his tablet down and stretched his arms overhead. “I need caffeine. Want anything?”
From across the room, Vivienne watched their interaction, her expression tightening when she saw Jorge’s obvious reassessment of Elara. She walked over, her heels clicking sharply against the floor.
“Perfect,” Vivienne answered. “Just discussing implementation strategies.”
Jorge’s eyes drifted back to Elara. “And she knows about you two?”
Jorge nodded. “Yes, thank you for the information, Ms. Vance.”
Her expression brightened. “We’ve been together for years. He’s taking me to Marseille next weekend for the yacht exhibition.”
“Half–sisters,” Vivienne clarified. “Same father, different mothers.”
Julian slung his bag over his shoulder. “Ready for dinner?”
“We’ve implemented a triple–layer encryption system,” Elara explained professionally. “Each pathway contains embedded verification nodes that communicate
bi–directionally.”
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Jorge’s expression tightened almost imperceptibly. “I see.”
Vivienne’s smile was carefully measured. “Elara only has a bachelor’s degree, you know. Julian’s the real genius behind YodaVision. His MIT doctorate thesis revolutionized neural network architecture.”
Outside, Elara stood and stretched, rolling her shoulders to release tension. Julian said something that made her smile–a quick, genuine expression that transformed her serious face.
“Oh, she’s smart enough,” Vivienne conceded. “But there’s a difference between being smart and being qualified.”
“Speaking of which,” Julian said, “dinner tonight could be interesting. Jonathan seems quite impressed with your work.”
Jonathan nodded, then turned to Julian and Elara. “What about you two? I know a fantastic Thai place nearby.”
Julian chuckled. “Definitely not me. Though I think he’s more interested in Vivienne.”
“You’re not even slightly curious?”
The conference room door opened. Jonathan Chen, InnovaTech’s project director, poked his head in. “Everything okay in here?”
Elara shrugged. “It doesn’t matter. We’re here to do a job, not win popularity contests.”
As Jonathan left, Jorge turned back to Vivienne. “So you and Damien Thorne…”
21:16 C
