Love Began with the First Meeting novel Chapter 452

Molly straightened her clothes before entering the Dream Media offices. An employee led her to the elevator and accompanied her all the way to the tenth floor where the meeting was going to be. Many of other performers' assistants were already in the room when Molly arrived. They were all chatting about the concert.

As Spark's assistant, Molly was quite respected among the circle. Some who had already met her before greeted her as she walked in the room.

Molly greeted them back. She couldn't tell who among these people actually really cared about the kids or if they were just here for the publicity or for Russell, famous enough to attract other musicians to get to perform at the concert too. Fame does have its perks.

Suddenly, the door opened and they all stopped chatting and buzzing as they all turned to look who just came in.

Eric had just walked in with one hand inside his trouser pocket, a pompous smile lingering on his mouth. He was wearing a perfectly tailored suit that made him look dapper. Molly froze at the sight of him. Her eyes followed him as he walked from the door to the seat at the top of the table making sure that he was real.

Eric addressed everyone in the room giving no acknowledgment to Molly at all; as if she wasn't even there. "I'm a shareholder of Dream Media and the head of this concert so I'll be presiding over this meeting," he said.

Then as Eric scanned everyone at the table, he held his gaze when he saw Molly, "Little Molly, it's been a while," he said with an arrogant smile.

Everyone turned to stare at Molly.

Molly's mouth twisted into a forced smile. "Yes...it has been...been a while."

Molly bit her lips, suddenly too aware of the situation. Her hands fidgeted below the table as she could feel everyone was watching her closely and she didn't like that feeling. On top of that, she was scared Eric might say something, anything.

Luckily, not a word from Eric came by after that first encounter. He presided over the meeting professionally discussing details very well with all the people in the room.

Molly quickly cast a glance towards Eric. It had been more than four years since she had last seen him. He had changed now. He had become more stately, but he was also more intimidating than ever.

"This concert is very important to Dream Media because it's our last big project before the first half of the year closes. I hope we can all work well together," Eric said as he concluded the meeting. These were just motherhood statements but he said them so forcefully. His eyes never stayed fixed at one area as he constantly swept the room, making sure that he looked at everyone as he talked. When he saw that everyone had responded to his last words with nods, he stood up and left the room.

Molly started to fix her things and put away her files. She hadn't been able to concentrate on the meeting that much as she was worried that something bad might happen. All she and Brian had were lasting memories, way too many of them - and some of them too painful to even think about. But unlike Brian, Eric had been nothing but good and open to her. But somehow, this goodness and openness made her suspicious.

Molly didn't want anything to do with Brian and Eric anymore and she was starting to get worried about Mark who was back in the hotel alone. "My day's already booked. Can we take a rain check?" Molly offered.

"No," Eric said firmly. "I need answers and I need them today."

***

At the Smile Hotel, Mark was sitting on the stone steps of the garden. He was there to look at the field of purple flower buds - he had always been fond of them. He had always liked this hotel because all the staff were friendly and they always had this huge smile for him - the same kind that his mom had.

He squatted down with his arms propped against his knees and his hands were against his jaw. He had put his book aside and the wind was tousling up the pages. The sun was up and bright and spilled all over the garden.

He had been waiting for his mom because here in the garden, he would see his mom right away as soon as she entered the hotel.

He blinked as he turned around to check the entrance again. Suddenly, a man blocked his vision. He was tall so he towered over Mark. Mark stood up and raised his head to look at the man. The man was standing with his back to the light. There was a halo around him. The light was glaring. Besides, Mark's eyes hadn't adapted to the dark shadow yet. Hence, he couldn't see the man clearly. When he finally met the man's cold and intense eyes, he frowned instinctively.