The Wife He Forgot to Marry (Winona and Yule) novel Chapter 371

Zack Charlton sent Winona a quick text: *Are you heading back? Do you need a ride?*

Winona replied: *I'm already on my way home.*

Zack: *I picked up your trophy for you. I'll drop it off when I have some free time.*

Winona: *Sounds good. Dinner's on me next time.*

Thinking about the fact that they'd get to share a meal together, Zack couldn't help but grin.

Just then, Yulen Locke and Sylvan Scully walked over. The moment Zack spotted them, his good mood vanished. But, bound by professional courtesy, he forced a tight, polite smile and greeted them.

Yulen and Sylvan were here for the exact same reason as before. Zack leaned back, his tone laced with lazy indifference. "I have absolutely no intention of jumping ship right now. Let's shelve this conversation for the future."

Seeing his dismissive attitude, the two executives figured this was just the typical arrogance of a genius and didn't take it to heart. Still, failing to poach him was a bitter pill to swallow.

Once the ceremony wrapped up, Yulen headed back to the house he shared with Tallulah Shipley. She was deep into a stack of project files when he walked in. Smiling, she got up and wrapped her arms around him.

"Are you exhausted?" Yulen asked.

Tallulah shook her head. "Not at all. I'm just happy I can take some of the weight off your shoulders and help the company."

Even though she'd been losing sleep over the workload these past few days, she felt far more fulfilled than when she had nothing to do. She absolutely loved the thrill of being respectfully addressed as Ms. Shipley by the staff.

Yulen nodded, casually mentioning, "I went to an awards ceremony today. There's this genius at the research institute named Zack Charlton. He swept two major awards. I tried to recruit him, but unfortunately, he didn't bite. If we could've gotten him into our R&D department, you wouldn't have to work so hard."

Hearing this, a knot of jealousy tightened in Tallulah's chest. She was pouring her blood, sweat, and tears into the Locke Group, yet he was already looking for someone to replace her. If she wasn't so wholly focused on him and dedicated herself strictly to R&D, her achievements wouldn't be a step behind this Zack guy.

She kept her bitterness locked away, forcing a dry laugh. "Is that so? What a shame."

The following evening after work, Winona treated Zack to dinner. He showed up with her trophy in tow.

Smiling warmly, she took it from him. "Thank you."

"You don't have to thank me, Winona."

Seeing her in person, all the smooth lines Zack had rehearsed completely evaporated. That was the reality of a crush—standing in front of her made his palms sweat and his tongue tie itself in knots.

Winona, viewing him purely as a friend, didn't catch onto his nervous energy. As they ate, his phone buzzed. It was a colleague from the institute. Murmuring an apology, Zack stepped out of the private dining room to take the call.

Standing in the corridor, he wrapped up the work discussion and turned to head back. Suddenly, a familiar figure approached.

It was Quentin Vance. Quentin was a major name in overseas pharmaceutical R&D, and he had been following the award-winning paper Winona recently published. However, because she had signed it under the pseudonym 'Win,' he had no idea the brilliant mind behind it was hers.