Unknown Divorce Revelation Beyond Time (Charlene and Thorne)

As soon as the words left her mouth, York barely had time to react before Charlene's phone buzzed. Glancing at the screen, she muttered, "Something urgent came up at the data center. I have to run," and hurried off.

The next morning, Charlene left the compound early. After a much-needed day at home to recharge, she headed back to work at PrimeStar Technologies.

PrimeStar had recently kicked off a partnership with Henderson Tech Solutions. On the day Charlene returned, Stewart was just about to head over to Henderson for a meeting.

Previously, when it came to hashing out contracts with Thorne, Charlene could leave it to Stewart or Livingston to handle the discussions. But for this joint project between PrimeStar and Henderson, her involvement was essential.

The meeting was all about the core technologies at the heart of their collaboration, so Charlene joined Stewart as they made their way to Henderson Tech's headquarters. Gaylord Hearst and a few other tech leads came along, too.

As they reached the conference room, Thorne, his two assistants, and Josh appeared from the opposite hallway. Thorne greeted Stewart with polite small talk. Since Charlene had left Henderson, Josh hadn't really seen her around. He'd only heard from Coy about her new gig at PrimeStar. Stewart had dropped by Henderson a couple of times lately, but Charlene hadn't been with him, so they just assumed she wouldn't be coming back. Apparently, they were wrong.noveldrama

Thorne spotted Charlene and Gaylord but only gave them a brief, indifferent glance before heading inside with Stewart. Gaylord was happy to leave it at that— he didn't want anyone knowing he and Thorne had any history.

Charlene and Josh had always gotten along pretty well, so when she saw him again, she gave him a nod and said, "Hey, Josh, long time no see."

"Yeah, it's been a while," Josh replied, smiling.

Gaylord caught the exchange and asked, "You two know each other?"

"I used to work here," Charlene explained.

Gaylord didn't know the details about her and Thorne. From her answer, he just assumed she'd been a tech at Henderson-nothing unusual. Besides, they had business to get to, so he didn't press further.

Charlene and Gaylord had barely settled in when the door opened again. This time, it was Professor Mack from Evermore College, who was also involved in the project.

"Sorry to keep everyone waiting," Professor Mack said as he entered.

"We just got here ourselves," Stewart replied.

Professor Mack's gaze lingered on Stewart. Being a Kenton graduate already made Stewart noteworthy, but lately, he'd become something of a prodigy in the Al world-anyone in the field knew his name.

With a warm smile, Professor Mack said, "You must be Mr. Ferguson! I've been hoping to meet you. It's a pleasure to finally put a face to the name."

"You flatter me, Professor," Stewart said, shaking his hand.

After a few pleasantries, the meeting got underway. Charlene focused on the discussions; while the heavy technical talk was handled by Stewart, the Henderson engineers, and Professor Mack, she and Gaylord mostly took notes and listened.

The meeting ran from a little after nine until noon. When it wrapped up, Thorne invited everyone out for lunch.

As they left the conference room, Professor Mack turned to Thorne and said, "By the way, I haven't seen Vesta in ages. I heard she's staying in Starfall City for work, so it'll probably be harder to catch up in the future. Would you mind if I invited her along for lunch?"

Stewart, already suspecting Professor Mack knew Vesta, nodded with a friendly smile. "Not at all."

Thorne asked, "You two know each other?"

"I was her advisor in college," Professor Mack replied, grinning. "Even back then,

she was exceptionally talented. Now that she's Dr. Smith's PhD student, she's really living up to her potential."

"I'll give her a call," Thorne said.

Half an hour later, Charlene and the group arrived at The Oak & Ivy, a local favorite for business lunches. Just as they pulled up, Vesta and Leah were getting out of their car.

Seeing Professor Mack, Vesta hurried over. "Professor! It's been too long!"

They chatted for a moment before Professor Mack turned to Stewart. "Mr. Ferguson, I believe you already know Vesta?"

Stewart glanced at Vesta and replied, "We've met."

Professor Mack beamed. "You two are among the brightest in your field. You should definitely connect more."

Vesta noticed the way Stewart looked at her-a look no different from before. She'd assumed that, now he knew she was Dr. Smith's doctoral student, he'd see her in a new light, maybe even as a peer. After all, they had a lot in common when it came to their area of expertise. But from the way Stewart regarded her, nothing had changed at all.