When Eric arrived at the Hilton restaurant and bar, it was five minutes past seven which was fair enough; he was neither too early nor late.
"Welcome, sir," the guard greeted him humbly as the door pulled open automatically for him. Eric glanced at the man with an expressionless face; it was not his first time at Hilton, so he was familiar with the place. The restaurant had ten floors.
The ninth and tenth floors were for the bar, and the eighth to sixth floor was used as event halls. The remaining floors were used as a restaurant. Even so, Eric was sure that his family must be on the fourth or fifth floor as this floor had VIP private rooms.
"reservation for Mr Brown," Eric replied. The guard looked at the iPad in his hand. "fourth floor, room 405," the guard told him. Eric nodded his head and went to the elevator.
A waiter was waiting by the door of room 405, "welcome, sir," the young lady smiled as she helped him pull the door open.
"Son," Mrs Brown got up to welcome her son. She pulled him into a hug and kissed his right cheek.
"How are you doing, mother?" Eric smiled. The relationship between him and the woman was so so; she was present all his life, but they were not close. Mrs Brown was a social butterfly and always travelled for different events. Although she was seen by many as a trophy wife, Eric understood her contribution to the family. She was good at making friends and keeping acquaintances; this had contributed to the smooth sailing for the family business.
For instance, they got the chance to treat the vice president to dinner; it was clear that his mother was the one who was friends with Mrs Smith.
"son," Mr Brown patted him on the shoulder. One could tell that the man was proud of his son.
"Be nice; it took me a great deal to convince Whitney Smith for this dinner," Mrs Brown warned.
"You know I have always been nice, mum," Eric pretended not to understand what his mother meant. He knew the woman wanted him to attract the daughter of the Smith's attention, but he refused to promise anything.
"yes, I know you are well behaved," Mrs Brown sighed; she knew that her son hated being pushed. If she insisted on him getting along with the daughter of the Smiths, he might do the opposite. So she could only make him gently.
The family of three took their seat when the Smith arrived. "Whitney," Mrs Brown had a warm, charming smile as she hugged Mrs Smith.
"Maria," Mrs Smith also hugged her with a smile. After, the two women hugged like old friends. Mrs Smith fixed her gaze on the two men beside her friend.
"Whitney, my husband Sylvester," Maria introduced. "of course I remember him. We met some time ago," Whitney said as she shook hands with Mr brown.
"That's so long already," Maria shook her head.
"you are right; it should be twenty years ago if I am not wrong," Whitney smiled. In the world of business, there are no permanent friends or enemies.
Maria nodded her head and pointed at Eric, "that is my son Eric,"
"He is all grown now; the last time I saw him, he was this small; she used her hands to demonstrate how small he was. "look at him; he is taller than I am now," Whitney gestured with her hand as she spoke.
"Good evening, ma," Eric smiled as he took her (Whitney) outstretched hand.
"you already met my husband the other day; there is no need for an introduction," Whitney said, looking at Maria.
"of course, everyone knows your husband, even if you don't introduce him," Maria flattered her. Her husband was currently the vice president, and Maria understood she felt proud.
"Mr Smith, this is my husband and son; I just introduced them," Maria did not mind taking the lead.
The two men naturally got along after exchanging a handshake.
"ahh! Look at me; I almost forgot, Eric, this is my daughter Annabel," Whitney introduced.
Eric finally looked at the young lady standing behind her parent. "nice to meet you," He shook her hand like a gentleman. However, the shake was brief as he immediately took off his hand.
Annabel smiled, "my pleasure," she had heard so much about Eric Brown now meeting him officially for the first time that she could not stop her heart from racing. This was the Eric Brown featured in the business magazine recently.
The man was undoubtedly very handsome that she felt she was back to her teenage days when she used to watch and crush on Idol drama. Eric would pass as a male lead if this were a movie.
Eric could feel her burning gaze on him, but he was not affected. Indeed the girl was beautiful, but he could not help to compare her with Emily for no reason. "What am I doing?" Eric scolds himself. He thought he had gotten over her in the past few days, but it seemed he was wrong.
"let's sit down; I already placed our order according to your taste," Maria announced as she led the group back to the table in the middle of the room to sit down. Then she pressed the green button on the table to notify the waiters that they were ready for their order. The table was vibrant. The two mothers deliberately ensured that the two children sat down together.
Eric did not have a problem with this. Moreover, he had a good impression of Annabel. Although the girl seems to have been smitten by his charm, she had some self-awareness and did not try to make unnecessary contact or conversation with him.
The dinner was very peaceful. Mr Brown did not waste the opportunity and raised the government project and ABM's interest. The two men knew this was not a simple dinner, so they discussed the partnership.
"the thing is, Eric is the one in charge of running the company now; maybe you can fix another day to discuss the details with him," Mr Brown said.
"oh, you know now that I am involved in public office, I can't run the business, so Annabel is in charge; the two can set an appointment," Mr Smith replied. The two men nodded at each other and looked at their children.
"let's exchange contact so we can fix a date," Eric played along. He had been listening to the two conversations. Nothing was left to discuss, but he did not expose their plan.
If both parents wanted to set them up, then Eric was willing to give it a try. Annabel was pleased to hear this; she did not miss the wink from her mother. However, she could not resist liking Eric after meeting him, so she was happy to play along with her parents' matchmaking. "Here," she keyed her private number on Eric's phone.