Love Began with the First Meeting

"Mr. Eric Long, long time no see," a cold voice came through from the other end of the phone.

Eric allowed the glimmer of a smile to show on his face. "Do you have something to say to me?" he asked.

"Kind of..." Aaron answered, standing in front of the window of the CEO's office on the top floor of Leng's Corporations and steadily staring down at the urban landscape of QY Island, all the way to the seaside where land met the sea. "I've always paid my dues by helping the people who treat me well and exacting revenge on those who hurt me. Dragon Empire Group has helped me, and of course I remember your generosity. For that, I am grateful to you."

The phone call from Aaron was quite a surprise for Eric, but what he said on the phone surprised Eric even more. Perhaps, he wasn't expecting this because Aaron was a close friend of Brian's, not his. However, the real reason why Dragon Empire Group had agreed to open an amusement park in QY İsland was because it was a lucrative location. Sometimes the line that separated, right from wrong, advantageous or disadvantageous, was ambiguous and difficult to ascertain. However, when considering the situation in QY Island then, by agreeing to open an amusement park there, Dragon Empire Group had rescued Aaron from an extremely undesirable situation.

At any case, the current situation at Dragon Empire Group was far from stable compared to what it had been, due to the crash of the stock market and the global financial crisis. If Aaron stood forward to give him a helping hand right now, his help would play an important role in helping them gain control over the situation, even though it would be impossible to solve all of the problems Dragon Empire Group was facing. On the contrary, it was important to note that, if Aaron were to make a mistake, the Leng's Corporations would risk getting involved in the crisis. In other words, it was quite risky for Aaron to offer help at the moment, but surely he was well aware of it. Nevertheless, Aaron made a conscious decision to give Eric a call on his own accord, which obviously went beyond paying a debt of gratitude, as he had put it.

However, Eric was a shrewd businessman who was clearly good at grasping every possible opportunity he was given. Now that an opportunity was in front of him, missing it was not something he would do.

Both men knew that Eric was not at liberty to discuss the details concerned with Aaron through the phone. Aaron's purpose of making this call was only to give Eric a shot in the arm first, so that the latter would feel at ease. He then would fly to T City in the noon to flesh out the necessary details with Eric.

In fact, in his own way, Aaron was an opportunist too. When Dragon Empire Group had been excelling at the highest level, they hadn't paid much attention to the Leng's Corporations. At that time, every subsidiary company of Dragon Empire Group had been able to beat the Leng's Corporations as a group. However, things had changed drastically for both companies since then. The Leng's Corporations had been growing steadily under the leadership of Aaron, while Dragon Empire Group got involved in one of the biggest financial crisis in the company's history. While other companies were caught up with their own affairs, the Leng's Corporations' generosity would be viewed as timely lifeline, which was as valuable as sending charcoal in a snowy winter. Dragon Empire Group would always remember their magnanimity and in the future, would return the favor if they would be in need.

Just as Eric thought, sometimes it was difficult to decide who was right and who was wrong, who was more advantageous and who was more disadvantageous. The conclusion should be drawn with consideration to the situation at the moment the thing was done. While Eric was extremely busy dealing with the problems of Dragon Empire Group, Brian got on the airplane to Australia, leaving Molly at home. Fortunately, she had Ximena's company. Compared to the men, the two women were faring quite well. Apart from sending the twins to the kindergarten early in the morning and picking them up late in the afternoon, they did nothing else but chat at home and go shopping outside.

This arrangement, however, suited them well as they had no idea or interest in the business world of men. While their men were busy, the only help they could offer was to take good care of themselves and the children, so that the men would not need to care about them amidst all the pressing affairs. With their actions as evidence, they were able to convince the men that they were able to live a wonderful life even while their men were absent.

Today the two ladies were at the Falcon Mall, a place where Molly had a lot of fond memories. After shopping at the retail stores for a while, they decided to sit at the cafe inside the shopping mall to have a rest. If the happiest part of Molly's life was when she had met Brian, then Shirley had to be viewed as the person directly responsible for leading her into the path of happiness.

"Despite the huge financial crisis, Dragon Empire Group is still able to conduct its day-to-day transactions in an orderly way. I have to say, they really have the strength to keep calm," Ximena sighed. She looked around the whole shopping mall through the window glass of the cafe. As a successful designer who ran her own fashion design shop, Ximena paid more attention to businesses around her than Molly. In her opinion, the true capability of the management of a place was demonstrated by the smallest detail in the place.

Molly shrugged and answered, "Yeah, that is because it is deeply rooted in tradition and core values. My father-in-law established an unshakable foundation for Dragon Empire Group when he was top leader. Later, Uncle Frank made it more successful and prosperous when he took it over. And now, even though Eric has just recently taken over the reins, he has proved his ability by moving forward in a strong and steady manner." Perhaps it was because Dragon Empire Group was related to her family, or perhaps it was because she subconsciously believed that there was no obstacle the members of the Long Family could not overcome, she said all these in a somewhat proud tone. "I believe that Eric and Brian will handle everything by tackling the problem together. Besides..." Molly winked at Ximena and continued, "Your man is offering help!"

Ximena pouted, but she felt quite pleased with herself in her heart. As Aaron's lover, she felt proud of him. She and Aaron hadn't gone through just as many hardships as Molly and Brian, but she knew clearly what to love and what to hate. Although she and Aaron had to avoid some issues because of what had happened in the past, she knew clearly that it concerned mostly members of the previous generation. As a result, she didn't want that to affect her own life and happiness.

"Why don't we give them a surprise by visiting them at T City?" Ximena suggested.

Molly had no reason to object. In fact, she was quite excited by the idea. The twins were going to have a week's holiday from the day after tomorrow. She could take them to visit Eric and relieve him from the pressures of work for a while. Moreover, Shirley had told her that she and Richie were planning to go to T City. All in all, it seemed like a brilliant idea at the time.