One of the largest skysc.r.a.pers in the city center was known for its luxurious apartments. Many celebrities purchased apartments here, and the upper floors were especially expensive, as they had stained gla.s.s windows that had an amazing view of the city and the ocean behind it.David pressed the 63 b.u.t.ton on the elevator panel, and they silently began to climb to the very top of the building. The man tightly squeezed the girl"s palm, occasionally bringing it to his lips and covering it with light kisses. Going to the door, David entered the code on the display to open the lock, the door clicked and they went inside.
Elena saw a s.p.a.cious studio apartment furnished in minimalism style. It was unusually bright and cozy, and a stained-gla.s.s window with a view of the city added a special romanticism to the wonderful atmosphere of the living room.
"Make yourself home; you can sit where you feel comfortable." David smiled and headed toward the kitchen.
"Maybe I better help you? What do you want to cook?" Elena followed him, not wanting to stay idle in the living room.
"Hmm, well, I was planning to do something like an international dinner. Since I don"t know what you like for sure, I hope you will like some of the dishes," replied David.
"Do not worry, I eat absolutely everything. Unless it is very spicy or fat."
"By the way, a friend from the Philippines brought me some wine based on coconut milk. Wanna try it? I have never drunk anything like this before. For the main course, I plan to cook either Philippine Chopsuey or Indian curry. What do you say?"
"Let"s make curry. I love it when it is based on coconut milk," Elena suggested to him.
"All righty, coconut wine, coconut curry... you know, I have a Bounty bar in the fridge. I can share it," David chuckled at Elena"s suggestion.
The girl fussed back, "Okay, make it yourself then. I"ll go and read something." With these words, she opened the fridge, took the Bounty chocolate bar, and sat down imposingly on the sofa, opposite the table.
"Such a cutie," David thought to himself and began to cook.
Sometime later, they were already sitting at the table and were enjoying a freshly cooked dinner. Elena was surprised at how tasty the dishes were. The man"s face shone with happiness that he could please his darling.
"It"s almost 11 pm already, will you be in trouble for coming home so late?"
"No, I won"t. Father left for a business trip two days ago and will be back only the day after tomorrow," Elena replied to David.
"Well, if you say so. Otherwise, last time it seemed to me that he was not very happy to see me next to his daughter," commented the young man, recalling President Lee"s reaction at the police station.
"Unfortunately, you are right. My father asked me to stay away from you," Elena replied with a displeased tone. "Do you have any difficulties in terms of business? Because, as I understood, it concerns business..."
"Hmm, then everything becomes much clearer. The fact is that Lee Pharmaceuticals and Greenline Inc. are direct compet.i.tors. Moreover, we are not just competing in one area, our directions are diametrically opposite," David decided to clarify everything with Elena since he thought that this would help her understood the situation better.
"Your father"s company focuses on the manufacturing of pharmaceutical drugs and conducts a lot of research in this area. Our company is developing natural medicine and food additives aimed at reducing dependence on cla.s.sical pharmacology."
"What about Rick"s firm?" Elena asked.
"Berne Group has a serious scientific laboratory, and as far as I know, they are currently working with Lee Pharmaceuticals to create a cure against the new virus. By the way, we are also doing this. Because if you don"t take serious measures in the next two years global pandemic may take place."
"You mean, the danger of the virus that everyone is talking about is not exaggerated?" Elena did not expect that all the hype about a new disease could have a solid scientific basis.
"No, it"s actually real. Everything is much more serious than the government says," David confirmed her a.s.sumptions.
. . .