<b>Chapter </b><b>239 </b>


    Lillian had only wanted to throw a jab at Noreen to vent her frustration, but hadn’t expected Noreen <b>to </b>turn it right back on her.


    The real problem was that Director Moss, sitting in the front row beside Bianca<b>, </b>turned around and asked, “Whatpensation are you talking about?”


    Bianca’s face tightened, but she managed a polite smile as she exined to Director Moss, “It was an old business dispute. The funds are already set aside–we’re just waiting for the transfer to go through. I didn’t expect her to bring it up in this setting. Sorry to let you see this, Director Moss.”


    Director Moss chuckled. “Force of habit. I get anxious whenever I hear about outstanding payments.


    Don’t mind me.”


    Bianca shot Lillian a warning look, urging her toe back and quit provoking Noreen for no reason.


    Even Jude couldn’t get the better of Noreen–Lillian was certainly no match.


    Padgett Novak, having somehow caught wind that Noreen was attending the bidding conference, came over to find her.


    Spotting her squeezed off to the side without a seat, he made arrangements to get her settled in the second row.


    As luck would have it, this was right behind Bianca and Director Moss.


    The seats were so close that Noreen could clearly hear their conversation.


    Director Moss seemed to think highly of Bianca, asking about her academic background.


    “I heard you graduated from WT Business School with a doctorate in finance. That’s really impressive–it’s one of the top business schools abroad.”


    Bianca’s lips curled into a confident smile. “You tter me, Director Moss. My education is just one part of my learning journey; there’s still so much more for me to experience.”


    “You’re too modest. Honestly, you look so young, I’d never have guessed you have such an advanced degree.”


    “I did an elerated master’s–to–PhD program, so I graduated two years earlier than most.”


    “That’s even more impressive! So, which high school did you attend?”


    “Rivercrest Academy, ss of ’18.”


    “No wonder! That’s one of the gship schools here in Rivercrest City!”


    While the two continued their animated discussion, Noreen in the row behind drifted off in thought. <fn3207> Official source is fι?dnοvel</fn3207>


    She was also ss of ’18 at Rivercrest Academy, yet couldn’t recall anyone named Bianca.


    Of course, there were other possibilities.


    Maybe Bianca had transferred in during senior year.


    Back then, Noreen had been frequently absent to care for her ailing mother, Rosalind Gilmore.


    <b>13:03 </b>


    υπαμαι <b>ΣΟΥ </b>


    She’d barely been on campus, with most of her courseworkpleted online..


    She tuned out the rest of their conversation, focusing instead on gathering information from the conference.


    When the event ended, Padgett Novak reappeared, asking if Noreen had time to grab dinner together.


    She really didn’t–she needed to get back and organize her notes from the meeting–so she politely declined.


    “No worries. Next time, then. Here, this is for you.”


    Padgett handed her a sleek,pact ck umbre.


    Catching Noreen’s curious nce, he exined, “We’re in the rainy season–thought <i>you </i>might want to carry one just in case.”


    It was a style typically favored by women, and brand new–clearly something Padgett had picked out for her.


    If she turned it down, Padgett wouldn’t really have a use for it.


    So Noreen epted it. “This is new, right? Let me pay you back.”


    Padgett was about to refuse, but knowing how Noreen was, he simply named a price.


    She transferred the money to him, and he quietly epted.


    After saying their goodbyes, Noreen hurried off.


    That evening, after getting her thoughts in order, she called Carman to share her ideas and ns.


    “This is a fantastic proposal! I think it’s totally feasible!” Carman sounded thrilled. “Driving the Port Digitalization Transformation, integrating Al to boost operational efficiency, enhance safety and reliability, and fully optimize logistics, intelligent scheduling, and data analytics–this could be a game changer.”


    Noreen was about to respond when her phone, sitting on the table, buzzed with a notification.


    She nced at the screen.


    It was a deposit alert from thepany ount.