Liam paused, realizing he had forgotten to thank Ariel. He scrolled through his contacts for a while. When he finally found her name, he sent a short message. “Thank you.”
He didn’t care if she would reply.
Instead, he looked up at Zach, who had just turned around and was scanning Liam from head to toe.
Frowning, he asked, “Who pulled you out just now?”
That question hit the mark.
Liam tapped the back of his phone as he looked at Zach. “Someone you know.”
Zach gave him a skeptical look. Before he could press further, his phone rang. It was Gary.
Liam made a gesture for him to pick up the phone and didn’t interrupt as he took the call.
The moment Zach answered, Gary said, “Come to next week’s tech seminar. You’ll follow up on policy discussions and meet someone important.”
Zach rubbed at his brow, clearly not thrilled. “We’ll see.”
Gary snapped, “This one’s not like the others. You’ll want to know them.”
Without giving Zach a chance to refuse, he ended the call abruptly.
Zach stared at his phone and lost all interest in prying into Liam’s business for now. He floored the accelerator and drove him home in silence.
Ariel locked herself away for three days to focus fully on the disaster–response project.
Midway through, she got a message from Isaac.
He mentioned that Liam had already been in touch, working with him on the treatment and surgical plans. Once everything was finalized, they would keep her in the loop.
Ariel hadn’t expected Liam to move this fast, and he hadn’t cut corners either.
Now that one thing was settled, she felt much more at ease.
Later, during a free moment, she received a call from Carlos.
Some of his old students were visiting, and he invited her over for a little technical exchange.
Ariel was all for it. She drove straight to the Hockney residence.
-Carlos‘ former students were now all prominent figures in the industry, and every one of them was senior to Ariel.
They engaged in a deep discussion on the current trends in new energy.
By the time they wrapped up, it was nearly 2:00 am.
Chad had returned home that day too, and he offered casually, “That room you used to crash in is still there. It’s already late. Just stay the night. I’ll have someone tidy it up!
Back when she and Chad were working on papers and projects together, they often went without sleep or food. The two of them would pull all–nighters, often looking disheveled.
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Chapter 303
+25 BONUS
Carlos had set up a room just for Ariel, so she could rest from time to time. He treated her like his own daughter.
To this day, that room remained untouched.
Ariel hadn’t known the room was still there.
Warmth crept into her chest, and she chuckled softly. “Alright, thank you.”
Chad flicked her forehead. “Wow, that’s so polite of you. Gorest. The guest list for tomorrow’s seminar is out. You’ll be going with my dad.”
The other guests were also staying over in the guest wing.
Ariel asked, “Is Janice going?”
Thinking of Janice’s laid–back, restless personality, Chad shook his head with a chuckle. “Sending her to a formal event like this would be pure torture for her.”
Even Ariel let out a laugh. She rubbed her forehead and headed to her room.
Tomorrow’s seminar focused on the military–tech sector. It was a high–level event that companies were scrambling to get into.
It would serve as a means for the government to assess which firms were suitable and whether they possessed the capacity for technological innovation.
The next morning, Ariel made a quick stop at home to change. She chose a sharp, elegant off–white suit.
At 8:30 am, Chad arrived to pick her up. Her apartment was just along the route to the conference center.
Carlos rode with them.
When they arrived, Chad got out first and hurried around to open the door for Ariel. After getting out of the car, she stood quietly to the side, waiting for Carlos to get out as well.
That scene, as it happened, was caught by someone watching from a distance.
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