Family on Their Knees Heart Turned to Ice novel Chapter 58

Nathan had never been his student, which explained why his uncle hadn't mentioned that detail when they first talked about him. Fate, it seemed, had a strange way of working.

“Uncle,” Leonard interjected, “we were supposed to be having dinner. Why have you started lecturing everyone?”

Mr. Avery glanced at Leonard and sighed. Everyone present today was a handful.

“Alright, let’s eat.”

Mr. Avery personally added several more dishes to their pre-set menu—all dishes he remembered Lillian enjoyed.

Despite the lack of mental preparation, the impromptu reunion with her teacher turned into a warm and pleasant dinner. At the table, Nathan drank with Mr. Avery. As he became slightly tipsy, the professor began to praise Lillian.

“In the years since you left, I never found another student with your level of talent. Unable to find a student who satisfied me, I simply chose to retire. Besides, there were plenty of large-scale government projects that needed my oversight, so I focused on those.”

“Professor Avery,” Nathan chimed in, “please give our project some special attention. And as for government grants... while our Mr. Prescott here isn’t short on cash, it’s a matter of honor, you know.”

“You little rascal, trying to get me to play favorites?” Mr. Avery retorted. “Let me tell you, if your and Lillian’s abilities have declined from their former level, and the work you produce is merely on par with the rest of the industry, I won’t choose you, no matter how good it is.”

“As it should be,” Lillian agreed.

She couldn't drink alcohol, but seeing her teacher, even in his tipsy state, still holding such high hopes for her, filled her heart with warmth.

Nathan became anxious. “Li, Mr. Avery may be your teacher, but I’m your business partner! You can’t just side with him.”

“We were already ahead of the curve,” Lillian replied. “If what we produce now is only comparable to what others are doing, it means we’ve regressed. How could we possibly face our teacher and ask for his endorsement then?”

Leonard raised his glass of juice and gently clinked it against Lillian’s. “I’m confident you two will create the best product.”

“It’s been years,” Lillian admitted. “I don’t even know if I can keep up with this new generation of talent.”

“You can,” Leonard said. “I may not understand the technical details, but I saw how smoothly you were writing the algorithm update today...”

Before he could finish, both Mr. Avery and Nathan seemed to sober up instantly. Nathan’s eyes lit up with anticipation. “Li, you said you were working from home. Were you updating the Li Algorithm?”

“Lillian, did you really update the algorithm yourself?” Mr. Avery asked, his voice sharp with excitement.

“It’s not a large group. They should be out soon,” Brandon said. “Why don’t we wait a bit? We might run into them and get a chance to make contact.”

Sebastian checked the time. “I have a video conference. I’m heading back to the office.”

“Sebastian, I think I’ll wait here with Brandon and see if we can catch Professor Avery,” Bella said. “If we could get his input on our next project, it would be invaluable for its success.”

Sebastian gave a slight nod and left. Waiting around for a chance encounter was beneath someone of his status. He may not have secured a meeting with Thomas Avery tonight, but as the CEO of the Blake Group, he had countless other ways to meet the esteemed professor. Too many people were dining here tonight; an encounter now would be awkward and cheapen his position.

Just after Sebastian left, there was movement from Thomas Avery’s private room. Lillian had received an automated email from her computer confirming the update was complete. With dinner winding down, she and Leonard decided to leave first. Professor Avery understood the situation and didn’t detain them. Now that Lillian was back, there would be plenty of opportunities to meet.

Leonard left the room first and was escorted to a private elevator by a waiter, avoiding the Mercers entirely. However, when Lillian came out of the restroom, she ran right into Brandon, Colin, and Bella, who were still lingering and looking in her direction.

“Lillian.”

She was about to turn and walk the other way, but Brandon called out her name before she could move. She stopped and turned back. “What do you want now?”

Brandon glanced past her toward the private room. “Lillian, how do you know Professor Avery?”