Chapter 248

Legally, her marital status remained unchanged.

Given the current tension between them, such words would cross the line.

After seeing Tristan off, Camille hurried back upstairs.

He watched her retreating figure for a lingering moment before turning to Lucas Caldwell, his company's lead engineer. "I need a favor."

"Of course," Lucas responded promptly.

"A friend wants to specialize in natural language processing but requires top-tier guidance—"

Lucas listened attentively. Given their professional relationship, he agreed without hesitation.

Yet he paused before adding, "While I have expertise in this field, truthfully, I don't measure up to Mr. Ashcroft from NovaSight Labs or Ms. Hartwell, who handles our corporate negotiations. For premier mentorship, they'd be superior choices."

Tristan blinked in surprise at Lucas's assessment.

Finance was his domain, not artificial intelligence.

But Lucas was an industry authority.

In NLP—natural language processing—he ranked among the nation's foremost experts. If not the absolute best, certainly in the upper echelon.

Otherwise, Damien wouldn't have bypassed both Vertex Dynamics and Calder Group's specialists to seek his assistance.

Lucas had praised Camille's capabilities before, but Tristan hadn't grasped the full extent of her talents.

Gabriel had never restrained his admiration for Camille, constantly extolling her abilities to colleagues. Tristan had assumed that while competent, Gabriel's praise stemmed from personal bias with some exaggeration.

But now—

"Mr. Rutherford?"

Tristan snapped back to attention. "Both Mr. Ashcroft and Ms. Hartwell have prior conflicts with this friend. Not ideal."

"I understand."

Lucas let the matter drop.

When Tristan and Lucas arrived at the private lounge that evening, Selene was already waiting.

She greeted Lucas with polished courtesy.

After exchanging pleasantries, she swiftly steered the conversation toward technical subjects.

Meanwhile, Tristan remained largely silent, his attention drifting as he listened.

After extensive discussion with Lucas, Selene turned to Tristan. "Boring you, aren't we?"

He shook off his distraction. "I'm fine. Continue your discussion."

Selene smiled and took him at his word, resuming her dialogue with Lucas.

Her genuine thirst for knowledge shone through her focused demeanor.

This earnest approach, combined with her humility, made Lucas eager to assist.

After assessing her comprehension level, he outlined a structured learning path and summarized current advancements in the field.

Their exchange continued pleasantly through dinner.

Naturally, they only covered fundamentals tonight.

Selene sought far deeper immersion.

With tomorrow being New Year's Day, she formally requested Lucas's mentorship.

Out of respect for Tristan, Lucas agreed to dedicate half his schedule to meet with her.

Selene expressed profuse gratitude.

After dinner, they bid Lucas farewell. Selene then glanced at Tristan, who'd been unusually quiet all evening. "Thank you for arranging this, Tristan."

He responded tersely, "Damien and I go way back—this was nothing."

Before she could reply, he added, "It's late. You should rest."

"Alright. See you tomorrow."

At this, Tristan muttered, "I've got meetings tomorrow. Count me out."