Veronica settled herself on the sofa beside the coffee table, posture perfect despite the tension in the room.

Cullen turned to Bradley, "Let's get some coffee in here."

"Already arranged," Bradley replied with quiet efficiency.

As if on cue, Miranda entered carrying a tray of steaming cups, but faltered slightly upon seeing Veronica.

"Ms. Murray?" Surprise colored her voice.

Their paths hadn't crossed since Miranda had stepped into Veronica's former position at Dennis Group after her departure. The professional succession had created a strange dynamic between them.

Veronica offered a polite smile. "Long time no see."

"Long time no see," Miranda echoed, returning the smile while reading the room. She placed the coffee cups carefully in front of both Cullen and Veronica, then turned to leave before pausing and pivoting back.

She delivered a quick work update to Cullen in professional tones.

Cullen nodded after listening. "Got it. I have time this afternoon. Tell him to come before three."

"Understood." With a final courteous nod toward Veronica, Miranda departed.

Veronica watched her leave while absently stirring her coffee, memories resurfacing unbidden. As head of the secretarial team, Miranda's direct reporting to Cullen seemed perfectly natural. Yet during Veronica's tenure in the same role, she had been strictly limited to communicating through Cullen's personal secretaries.

Throughout her two-plus years as team leader, she'd only entered Cullen's office when Frank and Bradley were completely overwhelmed—and even then, merely to deliver coffee. Directly reporting work matters? Never once.

Cullen had maintained an impenetrable barrier against her.

With these thoughts swirling, Veronica lifted her cup and took a tentative sip. Before Veronica had left the company, Miranda had asked her to teach her coffee-making techniques. Veronica had carefully instructed her on every detail.

Yet the flavor on her tongue was different. Not quite the same as what she had taught. She took another small sip—different, but still excellent in its own way.

Setting down her cup, she noticed Cullen had also tasted his coffee, looking thoroughly satisfied with Miranda's preparation.

Once, in her naiveté, Veronica had felt a quiet pride that Cullen exclusively enjoyed her coffee.

But now...

It was merely coffee. One taste lost, another found. Nothing of consequence.

Looking back, she couldn't help but find her former self foolishly sentimental.

Cullen's voice pulled her from her reflections. "Did Mr. Reid brief you on where we left off?"

"Yes." Veronica refocused immediately, professionalism overtaking nostalgia. "We can continue from that point."

"Good," Cullen responded with a curt nod.

"Regarding the mixed-precision computing architecture discussed previously, particularly the parameter scaling issue, your proposed solution was quite impressive. I've developed some additional thoughts I'd like to discuss with you."

"Of course," Veronica replied.

She launched into a detailed analysis of the improvement in inference speeds their latest technology had achieved.

Their conversation delved into highly specialized technical matters—all confidential aspects of their collaboration. The technical jargon flowed rapidly between them, so specialized that Frank and Bradley sat silently by, unable to follow the complex exchange.

Meanwhile, Cullen and Veronica engaged in seamless dialogue, thoughts flowing smoothly between them like perfectly synchronized code.

As their discussion progressed, Frank noticed something shifting in Cullen's expression when he looked at Veronica—surprise, yes, but also genuine professional admiration.

It was a look Cullen had never directed at Veronica before.

More striking still, Cullen wasn't merely focused—a subtle smile played at his lips, suggesting he was actually enjoying this intellectual sparring match.

Frank observed this transformation with astonishment.

Bradley caught it too, equally taken aback.

After more than an hour of intensive idea exchange, Silas and Gareth arrived.

Veronica had previously met Silas once.

As for Gareth, Dario had introduced them at a banquet last year after she had officially returned to DataPulse.

By then, Gareth had already known of Veronica's status as Malcolm's protégée.

Later, at a technology exhibition, they'd engaged in lengthy professional discussions.

Gareth was well acquainted with Veronica's technical capabilities and had recently read her paper in a prestigious academic journal.

Seeing her now, he greeted her warmly, "Ver, good to see you again."

"Likewise, Professor Mikael."

After exchanging handshakes, they all took their seats and immediately plunged into business matters.

Another hour passed in productive discussion when the door suddenly opened without warning.

Niall entered the room.

Veronica's expression remained perfectly neutral.

Noticing the meeting in progress, Niall halted at the threshold. "I apologize—I didn't realize you were in a meeting. I thought the office was empty, so I didn't knock..."

Both Gareth and Silas were aware of Niall's relationship with Cullen.

As his girlfriend, her casual entrance into his office without knocking seemed entirely natural to them.

They offered polite smiles, clearly unbothered.

Before they could respond, Niall quickly added, "Please continue. I won't interrupt."

Most of their work-related topics had already been addressed.

Silas smiled amicably. "It's quite alright, we're just wrapping up anyway."