"Dad, I'm going to make a reservation at a restaurant and invite Uncle Mond and Aunt Selina to join us for dinner. I was thinking of hosting a dinner to welcome Lawrence home tonight. What do you think?" Alice suggested.
"That sounds like a good idea. The three families haven't come together for a long time. We can have dinner tonight," replied Derek with a smile, his eyes still fixed on Lawrence.
Lawrence nodded and agreed with Alice too. He looked at her and said, "Well, it would be good if you choose a restaurant with the best ambiance. Tonight the bill is going to be on me."
"Lawrence, I don't think you'll get the chance to pay the bill tonight. You know, we're going to have dinner with the Executive Directors of the JS, ZM and H King Groups, so how can you get the chance to pay the bill?" joked Alice, who was actually going to pay the bill for the dinner.
"As the Executive Director of the JC Group, I'm telling you that I'll pay the bill tonight," Lawrence said seriously. 'How could this little girl standing in front of me become so vibrant? I didn't realize that she was so naughty when she and Violet grew up together, probably because Violet was much naughtier than her. But now, I realize that she is very troublesome," he thought.
"You're so arrogant," replied Alice helplessly. It seemed that all the people who had gathered here tonight were so rich that they all wanted to pay the bill. Unfortunately, she had to agree with Lawrence, as she could not go against his commands.
Derek knew from Lawrence's tone of speech that he meant to pay the bill tonight. He knew well about Lawrence's nature, so he decided against trying to convince him against doing so.
In the evening, the whole restaurant was reserved by Lawrence, but there was only one private room where all the guests were being received.
When Selina entered the private room and saw Lawrence, she immediately put her hand on his neck as if they were old friends who hadn't seen each other for a long time. Pretending to be angry, she complained, "Hey, boy. Why didn't you come to see me after you came back home? Have you forgotten me?"
Continuing to keep the gesture, Lawrence replied to Selina, "How can I forget you, I still remember the beautiful time we have spent together earlier. I could have forgotten you when I was abroad but here, not at all."
"You still remember that we were close earlier? I thought you must have forgotten it after being away for so many years," replied Selina.
"How can I forget the close relationship between you and me? I still remember that I have a beautiful Aunt named Selina, who is also the Executive Director of the JS Group. I remember that she was an influential woman years ago. She could even be called as the queen of the business circle who had the power to influence the entire business of this city," commented Lawrence. He kept thinking about his Aunt all the time. How was it possible for him to forget her?
"Stop flattering me now. That was all in the past," said Selina. "By the way, why have you come back to China? Are you going to overtake my business?"
"If we have a competition in this business in future, I'll leave the chance for you. But I have to say that JC Group will show great improvement in its business. I'll prove it," declared Lawrence firmly. He was ready to inherit the JC Group, and he had made a decision that in case there was any sort of competition between JC, ZM, H King or the JS Group in the future he would try his best to maintain a balance. He would prefer his family's affection rather than his business interests whenever there would be a conflict between them. The bosses of all these three companies were like his family, and his relationship with them was so strong that he couldn't compete with them.
Comments
The readers' comments on the novel: Ice and Fire