Love Began with the First Meeting

Chapter 582 Even The Best-Laid Plans Often Go Awry (Part Two)

"You're aware of how much money the Dragon Empire has invested here, and you must know what the result will be if the project fails," Brian said enigmatically. The director nodded his head agitatedly. Brian's mouth curled slightly before continuing," I'll provide any amount of money and people to you if you need, and I hope to see the results I'm expecting. Do you understand?"

"Yes, absolutely!" The director's face paled at the invisible pressure radiating from Brian. His clothes were wet from sweat and he shivered when a sudden breeze blew through him.

The situation in A City was no less strenuous than that in QY Island. Eric had spent a whole night analyzing the reports from those companies intending to cooperate with Dragon Empire and chose the best ones. However, before he could announce his choice, all of those companies unanimously canceled their proposals. Both Eric himself and the public were astounded by this fact because the opportunity to cooperate with the Dragon Empire Group was something most companies would dream of. Once a company become affiliated with Dragon Empire Group, it is almost sure that the stock price of that company would rocket up the next day.

When Shirley noticed the serious looks on Richie and Eric's faces, she changed her mind about going to school. After preparing them a cup of tea, she sat quietly and unobtrusively listened to their talks about the sudden matters. From the very beginning, they had predicted that the opposition factions in Dragon Island would take some actions before the parliamentary meeting. However, they didn't expect that something would go wrong in QY Island especially when Brian was there himself. Not to mention the project in A city which was sure of being a success suddenly came to naught. Most strangely, nothing happened in Dragon Island where the parliament meeting was about to take place. This was indeed a typical diversionary tactic.

"There's one company which hasn't canceled its cooperating proposal," Eric said. "However, the scale of that company isn't big enough, and it might not be able to meet our production demands." He finished, handing over the files to Richie.

Richie took the files from Eric's hand and perused their company's profile. His gaze narrowed as he asked, "Do you know what the Dream Media was in the past?"

"A small advertising company made up of young men with nothing but their dreams as capital," Eric replied.

"And what is it now?" Richie asked quizzically, raising his gaze.

"A large-scale company," Eric answered, "which is well-known to the whole media circle and is no weaker than the Flight Media." After a short pause, Eric challenged with his eyes glittering, "You mean we shouldn't only offer to others but also seek a win-win cooperation with them?"

"Did you know that five companies had presented their cooperating proposals to Frank in the past, before Dream Media? Frank had chosen the Dream Media not because they had a perfect proposal. It was because after he offered them the opportunity, they completed their tasks with far more enthusiasm than others." Richie concluded as he threw the files onto the table, "As a good leader, you need to be far-sighted and bold enough to take the risks. Besides, there's no other offer on the table now. You have to go with what you have."

Eric replied with a bitter smile. He had also thought of cooperating with that company before. But what just happened was a game changer and the situation was quite different from that in the past. Frank had just taken that media proposal as a cover and was actually aiming at that oil project. As for the cosmetics project in A City this time, even though it was less important than the entertainment center in QY Island, it was already one of the major projects for the year.

*

Meanwhile, at the City Hall in A City.

After receiving a message from Bill, Edgar, who just recently concluded a meeting, knitted his brows with displeasure. He took a glance at Jenifer who was busy talking with the director of the Construction Bureau. Seeing how occupied she was, he turned around and walked towards his office.

The moment he got in, Bill was waiting for him with a concerned look on his face, "Mr. Mayor, this matter is really strange."

"Yes, it's quite unusual," replied Edgar with seriousness in his voice. With his brows still knitted, his eyes started to get dark and his thoughts deepened. He sat down in his chair and leaned one of his elbows on the arm chair. Resting his chin on his hand, he thought for a while and murmured to himself, "Indeed, it was quite a strange coincidence."

Startled by his words, Bill then asked, "Does Deputy Mayor Zeng take office today?" His words were filled with curiosity and doubts.

Dropping his gaze, Edgar didn't answer his question and commanded instead, "Go and tell all the incumbent deputy mayors and the members of the Economic Commission to meet with me later. Tell them asap. It doesn't matter who's the one behind all these. I won't just simply sit down and turn a blind eye on this matter, especially if it will influence A City's economy."

Puzzled by his sudden command, Bill curled his lips, doubtful on his explanation. He knew that something was going on, but he felt powerless for not knowing what was inside Edgar's head.

Immediately, he turned around and headed towards the door. But even before he could get out of the office, the phone suddenly rang.

After a single ring, Edgar answered the call from the internal line.

"Mr. Mayor, there's a call coming from the director of the drug addiction treatment center. Would you like me to connect you?" asked the assistant.

It was a call he didn't expect. With slightly knitted brows, he dialed the number and grabbed the receiver. "Edgar speaking."

The other end of the line paused for a moment upon getting connected. "Mr. Mayor, I have to inform you that…" the director paused, letting out a heavy sigh and continued, "that, that Daniel has escaped."

Feeling that the call was not up for something good, Edgar still furrowed heavily upon knowing what it was all about. "When did it happen?" said Edgar with a heavy tone.

"At around five o'clock, when the night watchers got shifted. I apologize Mr. Mayor. This was totally beyond our expectation." The director was having cold sweats, not knowing how Edgar would react to the news.

"Director Huang, tell me, how could a little boy with an ordinary background easily escape from your center? Aren't you and your people competitive enough? Tell me, should I ask the Police Bureau to remove you?"

Feeling distressed, the director condemned the little boy in his mind. 'What a damn boy! He's just a nobody without any background. Yet, the CEO of the Dragon Empire Group had sent him here, and you, the Mayor, had paid him special attention. Just who is he to mess everything up? What a fucking boy!' Nôvel(D)rama.Org's content.

Despite his resentment, he could only swallow his distress, "I'm really sorry, Mr. Mayor. Please forgive us this time…"

But even before he could finish, "Do you now have any clue of his whereabouts?" interrupted Edgar. Starting to get annoyed from the director's apologies, he now craved for actions.

After a pause, Mr. Huang replied, "No, not yet. But rest assured we'll bring him back in no time."