?Chapter 524:

    Ste lifted her chin with quiet confidence. “Getting things done takes grit,” she said firmly. “No matter if it’s local or global, I know what I’m capable of, and I trust my skills to deliver.”

    Her fearless answer drew a rare flicker of approval from William.

    “Fine. You’ll handle the experiments,” he agreed. “But know this—the institute’s not taking any chances. They’re bringing in a new recruit from abroad. She’ll be working on the same project, and most likely, you’ll bepeting for the final spot.”

    Ste raised an eyebrow. “Someone from abroad?” That alone told her just how serious the institute was about this project.

    “What’s her background?”

    She was already guessing the neer would be impressive, and she wasn’t wrong.

    William gave a brief rundown. “Master’s degree in biotechnology from a top university in Osnuria. Full schrships every year. Graduated with honors. Even before finishing school, she had offers from several globalpanies.”

    Ste blinked. That was quite the resume.

    Noting her silence, he asked, “Getting nervous?”

    Ste thought of the stiffpetition, the kind of person who likely walked into rooms expecting to be the smartest, and replied with a calm smile, “Nervous? Why would I be? She’s good, sure, but that just means I have to be better. I’ll stay focused on what I do best, and I’m not here to hold the institute back.”

    For Ste, going up against someone strong wasn’t something to fear—it was exciting.

    Being around skilled people didn’t scare her.

    Instead, it made her want to do better. She used that pressure to improve and work on what she wasn’t good at.

    And in that moment, a flicker of excitement lit up inside her. It had been a long time since she’d felt so alive, so ready topete.

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    Watching her gear up with that focused look in her eyes, William let out a quietugh. She really was different.

    Most people would get nervous under this kind of pressure—she, on the other hand, looked excited.

    Even he couldn’t match that kind of fearless energy.

    Nearby, Sharon peeked out from behind the curtain, smiling warmly as she watched them talking.

    When she felt it was the right moment, she stepped out, holding two sses of red wine.

    She had thought they’d be talking about wedding ns or something romantic, but when she got closer, she realized it was just serious work talk.

    Sharon stared at Ste in disbelief. “Stel, what were you guys even talking about?”

    Ste took the ss of wine from her with a nod of thanks, then replied calmly, “Just a new project at the institute.”

    Sharon stared at her. “That’s all? You were talking about work this whole time?”

    Ste nodded casually. “Yeah.”

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