Veronica strode past Cullen and Frank without a word, entering the meeting room with measured steps.

Several individuals inside caught glimpses of her interaction with Cullen at the entrance, but since most remained unaware of the complicated history between them, they dismissed it as a routine professional greeting. Nothing worth noting in their minds.

Dario, however, knew better. When Veronica returned to her seat, he leaned in discreetly and murmured, "Did you two get into an argument?"

"No," Veronica replied simply, her expression revealing nothing.

Even during the most strained periods of their relationship, she and Cullen had never descended into outright fighting—certainly not now, with so many professional stakes at play.

With the partnership between Dennis Group and DataPulse officially underway, Veronica found herself immersed in work at Dennis's headquarters for nearly the entire day. The collaboration demanded her full attention and expertise, leaving little room for personal distractions.

Later that afternoon, just after 5:00 PM, an eruption of excitement shattered the focused atmosphere of the meeting room.

"Holy crap, it actually worked!" someone shouted, drawing everyone's attention.

"What happened?" another voice called from across the room.

One of the engineers explained breathlessly, "Ms. Murray suggested our previous model was fundamentally flawed. After our discussion last week, we've been implementing her recommendations—rebuilding everything from the algorithm to the data structure and model architecture."

He gestured wildly at his laptop screen, barely containing his excitement. "The efficiency improvement is off the charts! We've been stuck on this bottleneck for nearly two years, and she just... solved it!"

"That's not all," another team member chimed in, pushing his glasses up his nose. "The alignment issue that's been giving us nightmares? We've made more progress in the past few days than in the last six months. Ms. Murray is nothing short of brilliant!"

This praise carried particular weight considering Dennis Group's reputation as an industry titan. Everyone in that room represented the elite of the tech world—professionals that Dennis had spent fortunes recruiting and retaining.

These were individuals who had never lacked skill or confidence in their abilities. Yet now, they were confronted with the humbling reality that regardless of one's expertise, there was always someone operating at a higher level.

Dennis Group's technical team regarded Veronica with newfound reverence in their eyes.

One particularly enthusiastic engineer approached her, grasping her hand in both of his. "Now I understand why you're the first author on that groundbreaking paper. Ms. Murray, you're absolutely extraordinary!"

Veronica's lips curved into a modest smile, but before she could respond, she caught sight of someone standing quietly behind the group—Niall. Her smile faltered almost imperceptibly.

At that same moment, the cluster of excited engineers also noticed the newcomer. "Ms. Crystal? When did you arrive?"

Before Niall could answer, Gareth interjected with a light chuckle, "Ms. Crystal has been standing there for quite some time. You were all so absorbed in your technical breakthrough that you didn't even notice her presence."

Niall offered a polite smile that didn't quite reach her eyes. As Gareth had pointed out, she had indeed been there long enough to witness Dennis Group's top engineers eagerly gravitating toward Veronica for guidance.

Though Niall could follow portions of the technical discussion, it was painfully apparent that Veronica operated in a different intellectual sphere altogether. She identified problems with seemingly effortless precision and provided solutions so rapidly that even the seasoned engineers struggled to keep pace with her reasoning.

For someone like Niall, it was impossible to follow along, much less contribute.

The engineers, still riding the high of their breakthrough, were about to delve deeper into the technical brilliance of Veronica's solution when Cullen's authoritative voice cut through their enthusiasm. "What's all the commotion about?"

One engineer was preparing to explain when Niall quickly intervened. "You've finished your meetings for the day?"

Cullen responded with a noncommittal hum, ready to return to the previous topic, when his gaze fell upon her face. Something in her expression gave him pause.

His brow furrowed with concern as he asked, "Why do you look so pale? Are you feeling unwell?"