Chapter 400
They put the cake in the refrigerator.
When Sam finished showering, his phone rang. It was Chase.
Sam answered.“Daddy?”
“Your grandfather is returning tomorrow afternoon. He’ll pick you up after school for dinner. Tell your mother.”
Chase’s father, Alex Sterling, worked in the government. He was busy and rarely came home. He had rushed back the day Emily fell but left before dawn. Now, with Emily hospitalized, he took two days off to be with her for New Year’s.
Sam said, “Okay, I understand.” He noticed Chase said “pick you up,” not “pick you and your mom up,” meaning Ashley wasn’t included. He asked Ashley, “Mommy, aren’t you coming with me?”
Whenever Alex returned, regardless of whether Chase was present, Emily would invite Ashley and Sam to her place. Sam still remembered that.
Before Ashley could answer, Chase said, “Your mother is busy tomorrow.”
“Okay.”
Sam had speakerphone on; Ashley heard everything. This was the first time she’d heard about Alex’s return. She and Chase were going through a divorce; she had no reason to return to the Sterling residence. Chase clearly thought so too; he’d provided her with an
Chase hung up quickly.
The next day.
Zark and his core technical team arrived at Eternal. Zark had been very cooperative and saved Ashley a lot of trouble, making her more polite towards him. She stopped working to greet him.
Over an hour later, Zark’s phone rang. It was Chase. He apologized to Ashley before answering it After a pause, he said, “Okay.”
Chase said, “My father is back and will be home for dinner. I need a favor.”
Zark was surprised.”Alex is back?” He asked, “How long is he staying?”
“Two or three days.”
Back in the meeting room, Zark looked thoughtfully at Ashley. She was talking to his team. After they left, Zark asked, “Still working late tonight?”
Ashley casually replied, “Yes.”
Zark’s eyes darkened. She wouldn’t be going back to the Sterling residence. He said, “Free for dinner?”
Ashley shook her head.“No, I have too much work to do.”
Zark thought about offering takeout, but it would be inappropriate. She wasn’t divorced yet. After seeing Zark off, Ashley rushed upstairs. Watching her go, Zark said to Leo, “I need a favor.”
“I’m all ears, Mr. Green.”
“A friend of mine wants to learn natural language processing and needs a top–tier teacher…”
12:45.
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< Chapter 400
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Leo agreed; he worked for Zark and was his friend. But… he hesitated.“While I’m proficient, I’m not as good as Mr. Reed or Ms. Jones. You might be better to ask them.”
Zark was surprised. He studied finance; he wasn’t good at AI, but Leo was a renowned expert in natural language processing. Otherwise, Chase wouldn’t have asked him to talk to Leo. Though Leo often praised Ashley, Zark didn’t think she was that good. And Tim’s consistent praise seemed biased and exaggerated. But now….
“Mr. Green?”
Zark said, “Mr. Reed and Ms. Jones have personal issues with my friend. I don’t think it’s gonna work.”
“I see…”
That evening, Tanya was already at the private room when Zark and Leo arrived. Tanya was polite. She asked Leo for professional guidance. Zark listened, seeming absentminded.
Tanya asked Zark, “Bored?”
Zark snapped out of it.“Not really. Go on, don’t care about me.”
Tanya continued talking to Leo. She was eager to learn and humble, making Leo willing to teach her. He
He helped her plan her studies and understand the current trends.
They had a pleasant conversation, though Tanya wanted in–depth learning. She sincerely asked Leo to teach her tomorrow, which was New Year’s Day. Leo agreed to spend half a day with her. Tanya thanked him profusely.
After Leo left, Tanya turned to Zark, who’d been quiet.“Zark,
quiet.“Zark, thank
thank you.”
Zark said calmly,“Chase and I grew up together. Don’t say that.” Before she could respond, he added, “It’s late. I should go.”
“Okay. See you tomorrow.”
Zark shook his head.“I have plans tomorrow. I won’t be there.”
< Chapter 401
