Norris noticed her sudden tension and felt a twinge of jealousy.
Was she already siding with outsiders?
Why was she defending Dane?
Claire was utterly bewildered.
It wasn't that she was blindly defending Dane; she just didn't want Norris stirring up unnecessary drama.
It was a minor issue, and if Norris escalated it into a full-blown feud, she wouldn't want to deal with the fallout.
She had a clear read on Cyrus and Latonia Franklin's intentions. Neither she nor Dane would let the siblings get away with their manipulative schemes.
Still, considering the annoyance Cyrus had caused her on campus, Claire had casually mentioned it to Dane during one of their chats.
She hadn't needed to lift a finger after that; Dane had likely given the Franklin family a stern warning.
Since then, whenever Claire ran into Cyrus at the university, he avoided her like the plague.
His family had probably given him a harsh reality check.
Whatever had actually happened behind closed doors remained a mystery.
Cyrus was finally backing off, and that was all that mattered.
That evening, Claire headed home with Norris, finding the entire Churchill family gathered at the estate.
It was a weekend tradition for everyone to return to the main house.
Padgett was usually laid-back, giving his children and grandchildren plenty of freedom during the week.
But weekends were reserved for family time at the estate. It was a chance to catch up, share a meal, and strengthen their familial bonds.
By the time Claire and Norris arrived, the rest of the family was already there.
Even Eleanor, who was usually swamped with work, had taken the day off.
When they walked in, Eleanor was deep in conversation with her son about his new business venture.
Owen was doing exceptionally well with Luminate, as the first batch of their Experimental Scar Gel had sold out with overwhelmingly positive reviews.
"The Experimental Scar Gel is flying off the shelves, and we're already developing a new line," Owen explained.
Hearing her son's progress, Karla knew he had finally found his true calling, and his enthusiasm was contagious.
The gel was a massive hit, and their next project was a premium pain-relief patch.
At the same time, their skincare division was hard at work, preparing to launch the Luminate Luminous Glaze.
The glaze was originally a personal formula Claire had whipped up for her own daily
use.
The results were nothing short of miraculous.
It required a complex blend of rare botanical extracts, making it incredibly difficult to produce.
To manufacture it on a larger scale, they needed to find viable alternatives for some of the rarer ingredients.
It wasn't the kind of product that could be rushed to market just because they had the recipe.
The R&D team was still running trials, and it would likely take some time before it was ready for mass production.
But Owen wasn't worried about the timeline.
He was determined to perfect every single product, knowing that building a solid reputation now would
ver
guarantee massive profits down the
line.
FindNovel.net
Karla completely supported her son's meticulous approach, and after chatting with
him for a bit, she noticed Claire walking in.
Karla immediately abandoned her son and hurried over to dote on her niece.
Owen didn't mind the shift in
attention, patiently waiting for his mother to finish fawning over Claire before stepping in to give her a full business update.
Even though Claire had explicitly stated she wouldn't interfere with the company's operations and was leaving everything in Owen's hands, he still wanted to keep her in the loop.
He just couldn't wait to share the good news with her.
"You don't have to be involved in the day-to-day, but you should at least know the basics," he insisted.
"Claire, the pre-orders for the Experimental Scar Gel have already hit twenty thousand units."
"We might not be making millions yet, but the trajectory is incredible."
"The potential in this industry is massive, and I'm so lucky to have you in my corner."
"Anyone who jumps into this business blind either ruins themselves or scams their customers."
Despite being relatively new to the industry, Owen had already gained a deep understanding of its pitfalls.
Claire knew how lucrative the market was, but she had never considered monetizing the countless formulas stored in her head.
She simply had other passions to pursue and more important things she wanted to learn.