bChapter /bb301 /b

“So Miss Gilmore’s here too–I must have picked the perfect day to visit,” Castle said warmly, brushing right past Bianca to greet Noreen directly. fn6080 Chapters first released on find(?)ovel/fn6080

Bianca’s face soured at being ignored in front of everyone, but Seth quickly stepped in to rescue her from embarrassment. He slid smoothly into the chair she’d pulled out and grinned, “How did iyou /iknow this was exactly where I wanted to sit?”

Someone nearby teased, “You two are so in sync, aren’t you? Looks like we’re not here for dinner, but to watch you two unt your rtionship!”

Thanks to Seth’s timely intervention, Bianca’s mood brightened. She took the opportunity ito /ihand out her wedding invitations to everyone present.

Noreen had guessed right–Bianca’s bag really was stuffed with invitations, and she nned to give one to everyone she met.

Meanwhile, Noreen and Castle were deep in conversation, oblivious to the drama across the table.

Castle told her he’d taken time to seriously test InnoCore when he got back, and was convinced it represented a true leap in innovation. He said the falling cost of Al was an unstoppable trend, one that would make Al applications much more widespread.

He went on to say that InnoCore’s rise proved localpanies were capable of genuine technological breakthroughs, and that this would ultimately reshape entire industries and

dramatically change the domestic businessndscape.

Their discussion didn’t stop at InnoCore. Castle also asked Noreen’s opinion on how international port investments might impact the national economy.

Noreen had her own insights and didn’t hesitate to share them, speaking with confidence and candor.

Castle listened to her with genuine interest. The longer the conversation went on, the more impressed he became–and the more certain he felt thating here today had been the right

decision.

The two were so engrossed in their exchange that Bianca never found a good chance to interrupt and

offer her invitation.

Everyone at the table could see it: Castle was clearly taken with Noreen, even inviting her to visit Harborview City and tour Joyner Group’s businesses.

An invitation like that was no small gesture–it was both an honor and a clear recognition of Noreen’s

abilities.

It looked like Winrich was on the rise, and some people started thinking they’d better find a way to get

in with them.

Healy, who’d been sitting next to Noreen and quietly observing everything, was struck by the scene. He’d already seen glimpses of Noreen’s talents in previous dealings, but now it was clear he’d only scratched the surface.

Noreen was like a book that grew richer the further you read–fascinating and impossible to put

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down.

He couldn’t help but wonder how he’d ever been so blind, once dismissing her as just a shallow, materialistic pretty face.

Bianca had hoped this dinner would bring her closer to Castle and give her a chance to announce her uing engagement to Seth. Instead, she’d unwittingly handed Noreen the perfect opportunity to connect with Castle, and the frustration gnawed at her. There was nothing she could do but grit her teeth and swallow it.

Maybe it was all the lively conversation at dinner, but Noreen had hardly touched her food and found herself starving once she got home.

She couldn’t cook, and her fridge was nearly empty except for a few boxes of frozen meals.

After rummaging around, she finally unearthed a single cup of instant noodles.

She set the kettle to boil and was about to make her noodles when Padgett Novak called.

Unable to find anything to weigh down the noodle lid, she suddenly spotted one of those embossed wedding invitations she’d tucked under herptop. Without a second thought, she grabbed it and ced it on top of the cup, then answered Padgett’s call.

See? Even those invitations came in handy sometimes.

Padgett Novak had been away on business for a while and had justnded back in Rivercrest City. He called Noreen to invite her out for dinner the next day, mentioning he wanted to introduce her to a friend–someone she might be able to coborate with in the future.

In Noreen’s line of work, connections were everything.

Padgett was only looking out for her, so of course she agreed. Before hanging up, they settled on a time and ce to meet.

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