THE RING

Leah really found the whole situation absurd. Yet she did as the letter described because the human mind is constantly curious. Her expectations for this though was at rock bottom. She pierced her index finger and let the blood fall on the small black cube. The cube then radiated a blinding white light which forced Leah to squint her eyes. As instructed, Leah immediately thought of an object. Moments after the light faded, a beautiful ring adorned with a precious stone that was similar to a lustrous black diamond was resting on her index finger on her right hand. It was just the perfect sized stone that was not too big and not too small. it looked absolutely beautiful on her fair slender hands.

But how was it going to show her past? It looked just like a normal piece of jewelry. Nothing happened after that. She experimented on the ring and it indeed was transformable in any piece of ornament she desired but it never revealed anything regarding her past. "'Just a drop of your blood and it will reveal to you all the information you need to know. However, it will only display all the information and events in your past life', that's what it said. But I don't see anything but a ring. Is it faulty? What about the remaining mass off the cube after transforming?"

Leah decided not to dwell on it as the answers to the questions were beyond her comprehension. She just treated it as a new transformable jewelry in her collection.

The next morning Leah was up nice and early. There was nervousness and excitement coursing through her. She had her breakfast which was once again prepared by Wu Chen and then set off for the office. By the time they reached, it was 8 a.m. which meant that she had three hours until the contract signing.

L&L Corporations building was huge but could not be compared to other giants in Country C that were established for decades. However, considering that the office in Country C was established only last year it was said that the fact L&L Co. was listed as one of the top 5 companies in the country in such a short span of time itself was commendable. To be able bring a company to this height in a foreign country, the person at the helm should have monstrous capabilities. However the identity of the person was mostly unknown as it was tightly guarded except for the most basic details and accomplishments and a few pictures of Leah official events and launches. This made the business experts more curious and wary of the enigmatic owner of the company.

Since this could be considered her first day at work as the CEO, Leah took in every detail of her company and employees however she kept a neutral expression and headed off to her office that was situated at the topmost floor of the edifice under Wu Chen's guidance. Leah's office was spacious yet simple. She had her own suite room connected to the office for the days she would be working overtime. The decor and furnishings were once again simple but luxurious and classy just like her apartment.

After scanning the entire room and taking in all the details, Leah decided to get started with her day at work. She decided to go through the reports that were brought in by the secretary. Wu Chen once again went through her schedule. Her first task of the day was the contract signing at 11.a.m. at Phoenix Group followed by a board meeting and then another meeting with the CEO of LT Group.

..........

At the Phoenix Group, there was tension in the CEO's office. The staff were on a high alert mode as their boss' mood was frigid and cold due to the sudden visit of the Chairman, Old Master Zheng.

Outside the CEO's office, Assistant Li Mingyu schooled his expression and knocked on the door before entering with some tea along with another secretary who trailed behind him with another tray of light snacks. Old Master Zheng would not usually interfere in company matters unless absolutely necessary. However he would drop by to pester the CEO to get married and give him great grand babies. The Chairman's nagging would always put the CEO in a bad mood by annoying him to a huge extent and the brunt would later be faced by his employees. Assistant Li and the secretary quietly placed the tea and other refreshments on the coffee table and retreaded once they were told to.

"You were supposed to be in Bali with grandmother. Are you not afraid of incurring her wrath by coming here without any rhyme or reason?" Zheng Yi Feng probed his grandfather while pouring tea for him after his subordinates left the room.

Chairman Zheng flinched recalling his wife's furious outburst when she found him missing, leaving behind only a note explaining his sudden departure. He directed a scathing look at his grandson and asked," And whose fault is it? The contract signing with L&L Corporation was still half a month away. Why did you prepone it?"

Zheng Yi Feng merely arched his brow at his grandfather's questioning which was basically out of his character as he would not usually bother with these matters. "Because there were no issues with the proposal and the project" he replied curtly.

Old master Zheng scowled at his words. "You should have notified me. There is no way I'm going to miss this contract signing." He paused and looked at his grandson contemplating something. 'After all it is a rare opportunity to meet this elusive CEO of L&L Corp. Besides I heard from my sources that she is beautiful and capable. She should be a good match with this grandson of mine.' However he chose to keep his thoughts from his grandson lest he'd forcefully send him back to Bali this instant. Grandfather Zheng was not yet ready to face his wife's ire.

"Chairman Zheng, what is it that you're planning right now?" Zheng Yi Feng asked exasperatedly as he knew that his grandfather had something going on in his head and that he was up to no good. He could already sense a bad premonition and had an inkling of its cause. He would usually behave like this only if he was absolutely bored or if he found something interesting. Zheng Yi Feng sort of understood the reason his grandfather was so interested in L&L Corp or rather its CEO.

Chairman Zheng wanted to avoid his grandson's queries which could spoil his plans and God seemed to have heard his inner predicaments as he was saved by the timely knocks.

"Sir, please pardon my intrusion but the CEO of L&L Corporation has arrived with her team." Li Mingyu announced after receiving the permission to enter.