Love Began with the First Meeting novel Chapter 1016

"Sorry, the number you dialed is unavailable. Please leave a message after the beep..."

The automated voice irritated her as she put down the phone and grumbled in frustration. Her curiosity intensified and the fact that she couldn't get an instant gratification became intolerable.

*

In a conference room at the headquarters of the Leng's Corporations, the senior executives were conducting quarterly reports. During his presentation, the company's director of publicity, all of a sudden, caught glimpse of a partly hidden and partly visible smile at the corners of Aaron's mouth. Shaken by the connotations of Aaron's smile, he didn't know whether he should go on with his presentation or not. Looking around with his peripheral vision, he found that all his peers were gazing at him with sympathetic eyes. Everyone who worked in Leng's Corporations knew that Aaron always wore a cold face and that smile would only appear on his face when he was about to fire somebody. With that thought in mind, the director of publicity couldn't help thinking whether he was going to get the axe today, even though he didn't know what his mistake was.

"Well..." he said, mustering up his courage to face the music. "Honorable CEO, is... is there anything wrong with my report?"

His voice brought Aaron back to reality. In an instant, the smile disappeared from Aaron's face and he cast a curious glance at the director of publicity, who was sweating profusely, and said, "Do you think there is anything wrong?"

The director of publicity found himself in a more difficult situation with that question. While cursing at Aaron silently in his heart, he pretended to think seriously. After a short while, he said, "We've decided to invite a popular star in H Country as the tourism ambassador for the new quarter..." When he concentrated on his presentation about the plan for the following quarter, the director of publicity regained his self-confidence. Without pause, he stated his program smoothly till the very end.

"Hmm." Aaron nodded his head in acknowledgement. Then he asked, "The amusement park is going to celebrate their second anniversary. Has the Dragon Empire Group submitted their plan yet?"

"Yes, they submitted the plan yesterday."

"Well, I want you to cooperate with them in case they need anything else!" Aaron ordered and then continued. "If there's nothing else, I'd like to call this meeting to an end. I want to see all of your final programs on my desk in the afternoon. You may leave now." When he stood up to leave, all the other senior executives stood up respectfully. As soon as Aaron left the conference room, they all sighed in relief, as though they were soldiers who had just come back from a battlefield.

Aaron went back to his office and walked out with some documents about the import of copper ore in his hands. While taking an elevator to the parking lot, he checked his cellphone for messages and read a short message from Ximena. With a cheeky smile on his face, he sent her a short message in reply.

"See you in the noon! "

Ximena couldn't help but grimace at the simple five-worded short message from Aaron. That was not an answer she had been expecting... The man blatantly ignored her question. He was intentionally digressing from the topic of her question.

"Ximena," Freya said when she walked into her daughter's office. "Would you like to go to the supermarket with me? Didn't you say that Aaron is coming for lunch today? I need to pick up some ingredients and vegetables..."

"Sure!" Ximena gladly walked out of her office to accompany Freya. They got along with one another as naturally as real family members did. Fortunately, nothing felt forced or improper between them.

Before she closed the door, she accidentally glanced at the pot of hyacinth on her desk. New flower branches had grown from where the original ones had been cut off by Molly, as if they were the prelude of a new beginning. Suddenly, some unclear expectation rose in Ximena's heart.

*