The Wife He Forgot to Marry (Winona and Yule) novel Chapter 231

Turning around, Winona realized Stefan was the one handing her the glass of water. She smiled warmly. "Thank you."

"If you're tired, go take a break over there. You don't have to answer every single question they throw at you," Stefan said, his cool gaze sweeping over the veteran researchers who were still eager to pick her brain about development issues.

The group was well acquainted with Stefan. Seeing him act so protective of Winona struck them as a little surprising at first, but it quickly melted into knowing smiles.

Mr. Harper was the first to speak up. "Look at Stefan. If we keep interrogating Winona, I think he's going to hold a grudge against us. Alright, enough shop talk for now. Whatever questions we have, we can hash them out in a group chat later."

The men laughed heartily. They urged Mr. Harper to create the group chat and add them all in.

Winona's phone buzzed.

She looked down and saw that Mr. Harper had added her to a new networking group. At first, there were only about seven or eight people—presumably the senior industry figures she had just been speaking with.

As the youngest and least experienced in the room, she didn't want to overstep, so she kept quiet.

Suddenly, the member count skyrocketed. Within minutes, the group hit its maximum capacity.

Mr. Winslow sent a complaining message to the chat: "Mr. Falconer and Mr. Sheffield are being ridiculous! I only added a dozen of my mentees, and they went ahead and dragged in dozens of theirs!"

Mr. Falconer completely ignored the complaint. Instead, he tagged Winona and addressed the group: "Everyone, this is Mr. Harper's mentee, Winona. She might be young, but her technical expertise is phenomenal. Her perspective on these issues is far more innovative than what us old dinosaurs can come up with. I expect all of you to treat her with respect and learn a thing or two from her."

The "mentees" of these esteemed researchers were not only older than Winona, but practically all of them were renowned pharmaceutical developers in their own right. Several of them were heavyweights who commanded immense influence in the industry.

Yet, upon seeing Mr. Falconer's endorsement, they immediately responded with absolute respect.

"Winona, looking forward to learning from you!"

"Winona, I'm currently heading the R&D department at a medical research institute in Riverton. We're looking to recruit a batch of top-tier grads for an RNA delivery project. Would you be willing to come on board as an interviewer and help me scout the right talent?"

Mr. Falconer chimed in, teasing, "Sheldon, your networking skills are as sharp as ever. You've been poaching talent since the day you started, and now that you're a team lead, you've turned it into an art form."

With Mr. Falconer leading the charge, a few others quickly joined in to rib Sheldon.

Sheldon wasn't embarrassed in the slightest. He replied shamelessly, "My own skills are lacking, so naturally, I have to rely on the brilliant minds of all the senior experts and peers in this chat!"

Winona finally typed a reply: "Mr. Cohen, you're giving me far too much credit. I don't have nearly enough experience. I'm afraid I wouldn't be of much help."

"Nonsense," Sheldon replied instantly. "Your expertise speaks for itself. Even Mr. Harper, Mr. Falconer, and Mr. Sheffield vouched for you. Plus, I think your unique perspective on this field is exactly what we need to spot talent from a different angle. Just treat it as a favor to us, and an opportunity for the upcoming generation."

"Alright, I'll give it a try," Winona finally agreed.