I Forgot I Ever Loved You (Zoe and Hayden) novel Chapter 380

She was telling the truth. After being promoted to vice president, her workload had significantly decreased, but Zoe still personally oversaw the tech department.

Whenever necessary, she pointed out minor coding errors and even stepped in to guide them hands-on. The employees at the company genuinely respected her.

They no longer saw her as just a pretty face trying to climb the ladder through Garrett's connections.

'Alright, I'll let you get back to work,' Garrett said. 'Let's grab dinner together after Lily gets out of school.'

Zoe readily agreed.

The next day, Timothy Yates sent a car specifically to pick her up.

When they arrived at the destination, Timothy looked momentarily stunned to see Garrett stepping out of the vehicle alongside Zoe.

He had expected her to come alone, or perhaps with an assistant at most. He definitely hadn't anticipated Garrett tagging along.

Recovering quickly, Timothy masked his surprise with a professional smile and walked over to greet him.

'You're certainly playing the dedicated protector today, Mr. Kendall.'

As he spoke, Timothy's gaze naturally drifted toward Zoe.

She looked effortlessly elegant in a simple yet chic dress, with classic pearl earrings framing her face. She was undeniably captivating.

The aerospace base was massive, housing dozens of military aircraft.

Timothy gave a brief overview of the situation, and Zoe listened with intense focus.

Ultimately, she proposed a solution, explaining that integrating these programs would allow for real-time fault detection and fetch the most relevant data to optimize the pilots' flight experience.

Garrett waited patiently on the sidelines while Timothy brought in the military district's top technical engineers to consult with her.

The discussion flowed smoothly. Aside from a few specialized military terms she encountered for the first time, Zoe quickly adapted and communicated with natural ease.

Throughout their interaction, Timothy couldn't hide his blatant admiration for her expertise.

He made no effort to conceal his interest in her, yet he maintained a perfectly respectful boundary.

'Is it really going to take that long?'

Zoe nodded. 'Director Yates's systems are completely different from commercial data. One small change affects the entire network.'

While Garrett didn't fully grasp the technicalities, he knew the stakes were far higher than anything involving commercial aviation.

He gave a slight nod. 'Alright. Just pace yourself.'

Just then, one of Timothy's subordinates approached and whispered in his ear.

An unmistakable look of surprise crossed Timothy's face.

Mr. Shaw, Garrett, and Zoe all noticed the shift in his demeanor.

Mr. Shaw was the first to speak up. 'If you have something urgent to attend to, we can eat on our own. Go handle your business.'

Timothy shook his head. 'It's fine. The higher-ups sent someone to coordinate with us on the field deployments. You all actually know him. I might as well invite him to join us for lunch so we can chat.'