Niall was officially a shareholder of Stellar now. She had been absent earlier because of an important meeting with Cullen.

"Hey, Niall," Bonnie approached with a sly smile, casting a sideways glance at Veronica before leaning closer to whisper, "She was bragging about receiving some flowers earlier, but I shut her down when I mentioned all the bouquets men send you regularly, and how Cullen transferred actual company shares to you. That left her completely speechless."

Niall glanced briefly at Veronica but chose not to comment.

"I remember you telling me how Dario supposedly doted on her," Bonnie continued, her voice laced with amusement. "But all he did was send her a single bouquet for Valentine's Lewis. That's it."

Niall raised an eyebrow thoughtfully.

Was that truly the extent of Dario's affection? If so, his efforts were mediocre at best. After all, Veronica wielded significant authority at DataPulse Co.

Now that she could make direct comparisons between their situations, Niall realized her previous assumptions might have been wrong. If Dario genuinely cared for Veronica as much as everyone believed, he wouldn't have merely given her authority without an official position or shares in the company.

Malachi joined them, smiling warmly at Niall. "Now that you have company shares, are you planning to take the reins and run Stellar according to your vision?"

"Actually, I won't," Niall responded, deliberately glancing at Veronica as she spoke. "I prefer leaving operations to the professionals. It's not my style to cling to power unnecessarily." Unlike Veronica, who despite her obvious incompetence, meddled in everything at DataPulse Co. just to flaunt her authority. Yet she held neither an official position nor any shares—a rather absurd arrangement when Niall thought about it.

Meanwhile, Veronica remained focused on her work, seemingly unfazed by the earlier exchange. Her phone suddenly beeped with a text message from Malcolm.

"Swing by and pick me up tomorrow night."

She recalled their conversation from last week when he mentioned someone wanted to meet her. This must be about that meeting.

With efficient professionalism, Veronica replied, "Roger, Mr. Malcolm," before tucking her phone away and immersing herself back in her work.

The following evening, Veronica and Dario collected Malcolm before driving to their reserved restaurant. Upon arriving, they stepped out of the car only to find Doran and Maxwell already waiting outside.

When Malcolm had mentioned someone wanted to meet her, Veronica had assumed they would be introducing her to complete strangers. She never expected Doran and Maxwell would be present as well.

"Hello, Mr. Harris and Mr. Patterson," Veronica and Dario greeted respectfully.

The two men nodded with warm smiles, exchanging brief pleasantries. They were about to head inside when a voice called out from behind them.

"Leaving so soon? Is nobody going to wait for me?"

Veronica turned around, momentarily stunned when she recognized the approaching figure—a high-ranking official from the Department of Defense.

"This is Finn Athena," Malcolm announced flatly.

While Finn typically projected an intimidating presence during televised interviews, tonight he had softened his demeanor, offering a warm smile as he extended his hand. "You must be Ver. Your reputation precedes you."

"I'm Ver," she confirmed with composed professionalism. "Greetings."

"Looks like everyone's here," came another voice as someone emerged from a different car. Veronica immediately recognized him as a prominent figure who frequently appeared in news broadcasts.

"That's Chandler Percival," Malcolm added coldly.

Veronica shook Chandler's hand, about to offer a polite greeting when yet another voice called out.

"Dad!"

Maverick stepped out of another vehicle, visibly surprised to find himself in the presence of so many influential figures, including Doran and Maxwell. But his most apparent shock seemed reserved for Veronica standing among them, as if her presence in this gathering of power players was the most unexpected element of all.