Chapter 354
York was a bit taken aback when he saw her. “Ms. Ross?”
Charlene nodded. “Hello.”
York grinned, asking, “Are you here to work at the base, Ms. Ross?”
Shaking her head, Charlene replied, “No, I’m just here to help out with something on my professor’s behalf.”
York paused, taking in her words. Only a few people had the clearance to let outsiders into the base. Knowing Charlene’s close but purely platonic ties to Stewart, it all made sense.
“Your professor… is Mr. Kenton Wagner?” he asked.
Charlene nodded, saying, “That’s right.”
She was indeed a student of Kenton, just like Stewart. York had never thought along those lines before.
It made sense now, though. Like why Stewart had praised her contributions to PrimeStar Technologies’ latest project at a previous gala. Or why his father paid special attention to her at his grandfather’s art exhibition and the business- government conference attended by Dalton Ramirez.
His father must have known she was Kenton’s student all along.
But for his father to focus so much on her, she must have been involved in more than just being a student. The thought of PrimeStar’s groundbreaking projects hit him, and suddenly, everything made sense.
Looking at her, he found himself momentarily speechless. Charlene seemed so calm and unassuming. From her demeanor alone, one would never guess she had achieved so much at such a young age.
A little while later, they were seated in the cafeteria. York asked, “How long will you be staying at the base this time?”
“Not sure, depends on what the professor needs,” Charlene replied. She remembered the last time they had met, which was two or three months ago. “I don’t see you much outside. Busy with training?”
York nodded, saying, “Yeah, plus pilots don’t get much time off.”
Their time for lunch was limited, and after chatting for a bit, York had to excuse himself and leave for other duties.
They crossed paths again two days later during a man-vs-machine combat trial.
The test involved an Al-controlled
fighter jet facing off against a
human pilot. After the trial, once all data was gathered, Charlene and the
other researchers dove into modifying algorithms and
Provel
conducting a fresh round of analysis based on the combat scenarios.
When York entered the department where Charlene was working, he was met
with the sight of her and the other researchers hard at work.
It wasn’t until a while after he arrived that Charlene noticed him. She gave him a nod and got back to her tasks.
Charlene spent about ten days at the base before heading home. She left in the early morning and reached home just as the sun was rising.
Upon arriving home, she turned on her phone to find nearly twenty missed calls.
The calls were from Gaylord, Granger, Jasmine, and even Thorne had tried to reach her twice.
Charlene could easily guess why Jasmine and Thorne had called. Gaylord was the one who had called
her the most, so she decided to
return his call first.
Gaylord picked up quickly, asking, “You’re finally done?”
“Yeah,” Charlene replied. “You called me, was there something up? Is everything sorted now?”
Gaylord explained, “There was something, but it’s been handled.”
By
He recounted how, ten nights ago, he had gone to the theater expecting to meet her. When she never showed and her phone seemed unreachable, he grew concerned. Monday, when she was still missing from the company, he feared something had happened,
Eventually, he reached out to Stewart, who informed him that she had some family matters to attend to. Knowing she was alright set his mind at ease.