Mayer is a person who doesn't like rainy days very much, so when she felt the faint smell of earth when it rained, she quickly opened her eyes from her sleep.
The curtains of the French windows leading to the terrace were drawn, but one could still feel the gloomy sky outside the window, obviously it was raining.
After being dazed for a moment, Mayer suddenly sat up from the big bed, picked up the watch on the bedside table and looked at it, it was already seven forty-five. Although Eric said that there was nothing particularly important today, she still knew that she had overslept.
Walking into the bathroom with bare feet, Mayer squeezed toothpaste, stood by the sink, took some water from a cup and just rinsed his mouth, and noticed in the vanity mirror in front of him that there were some flushed blond hair on his cheeks when he just woke up Girl, she couldn't help being stunned.
After having dinner at the Minjiang restaurant last night, and returning to the villa with Eric, Mayer thought something would happen. You must know that Eric obviously liked her appearance in that fiery red dress, but As a result, nothing happened.
Can't tell whether to be happy or disappointed.
Mayer is a very strong person, and she still hopes to get the career future she wants by relying on her own ability. However, her coquettish boss didn't have any thoughts about her, which inevitably made Mayer feel a little frustrated. In fact, she didn't reject what happened to Eric in her heart. After all, the world How many women can resist Eric, who is enough to make all those who look up to him feel desperate.
The little entanglement in her heart made her toss and turn in bed for a long time last night, otherwise she wouldn't oversleep now.
After washing up, she changed into a daily black professional suit. After thinking about it, she added a necklace with a silver rhombus pendant before walking out of the room.
Eric had already gotten up and was sitting downstairs in the living room on the phone. When he saw Mayer appearing, he just nodded slightly and chatted with the opposite party for a few more words before hanging up the phone and saying to her: "You just got up, Let's go, Steve Case is waiting for me at the coffee shop on the north street, and we'll have breakfast by the way."
Before Mayer could react, she nodded and followed Eric out.
Walking out of the villa, there was fine rain falling outside. Eric held up a black umbrella and said, "It's not raining too much, we can just use one."
Mayer raised his hand, wanting to take the umbrella, and said, "Eric, let me do it."
Eric shook his head and said with a smile, "No, this is London. I don't want to be accused of not being a gentleman."
Mayer had no choice but to hide under Eric's umbrella obediently, but kept a small distance reservedly.
Both sides of the Garden Avenue are densely shaded by trees. Most of the rain is blocked outside, but there are occasional large drops of water dripping from the gaps in the leaves. Mayer was hit by the drops of water a few times and had to Leaning towards Eric, occasionally touching his arm. The breath on Eric's body was very weak, but Mayer felt his cheeks getting hotter.
Kensington Avenue is on the south side of Kensington Garden Street, and Bayswater Avenue is on the north side. Steve Case said on the phone that he was in Diana's Cafe on the north street corner. The two left the mansion, walked north along Huayuan Avenue, and left Huayuan Avenue in a few minutes.
It may be due to the rain again on Saturday morning, and the traffic on Bayswater Avenue was pitifully small. Eric took Mayer across the street, and it was easy to see a coffee shop decorated with a red door.
When Steve Case said the name of the cafe, Eric felt a little strange. When he walked into the cafe and saw many photos of Princess Diana hanging on the wall, Eric realized why it was called ' Diana Cafe'.
Concubine Diana is still alive and well, doing charity all over the world, and she doesn't know what it has to do with this coffee shop.
There were only four guests in the coffee shop at this time, a middle-aged couple, an old man, and Steve Case.
Except for Steve Case, who got up to greet Eric, the other guests just looked up at Eric, and then ate their own food. The old man in his fifties and sixties looked away. Before that, he smiled at Eric a little strangely, which made Eric feel a little baffled.
Steve Case shook hands with Eric, and greeted politely: "Good morning, Eric."
"Morning, Steve," Eric let go of the other's hand and said, "This is Mary."
Steve Case shook hands with Mayer again, and said, "Hello, Miss Mayer, we are on the phone."
Mayer greeted Steve Case politely, and the three sat down. There is no dedicated waiter in the coffee shop. The owner is a fat middle-aged man. Although he recognized Eric, he just greeted him reservedly and asked Eric what he wanted to eat.
The three ordered breakfast, and when the shopkeeper left, the atmosphere fell into a slight stalemate.
During this period of time, although Eric stayed out of the matter, the secret war within AOL had reached a fever pitch. One is Firefly Investment, which holds a large amount of AOL shares, and the other is the management that has made great contributions to the rise of AOL. Although both sides have tacitly concealed this dispute as much as possible, there are more and more media with a keen sense of smell. report on this matter.
At this time, AOL has confirmed that it will hold an extraordinary general meeting of shareholders at the end of the month, and that will also be the final moment of showdown.
After a moment of silence, Steve Case finally spoke first: "Eric, you have to know that it is impossible for only one media company to exist on the Internet. America Online's development into the media industry will not affect our own network. The identity of the service provider. If Time Warner can be acquired, America Online can gain an additional layer of cable TV operators, which will be of great help to Firefly, MGM and even Fox's TV business. I really don't understand why you insist on opposing these?"
Eric took a cup of hot coffee from the shopkeeper, thanked him, and waited for the other party to pass another cup of coffee to Mayer, who was on the other side, and walked away. Then he stirred the coffee in front of him and said, "Steve, you may I think I did this to make Yahoo a dominant company, but in fact, I never thought about making any company under Firefly Investment an Internet media company, neither Yahoo nor America Online. Pure Internet media companies have no future. The Internet is an extremely open platform. As Internet users continue to increase tenfold and tens of times, it is impossible for any Internet media company to provide billions of users with Enough diversified content, so I have always hoped that Yahoo and AOL will become technology companies that provide services and platforms to users, rather than media companies.”
Steve Case said: "Although you say that, there is no doubt that whether it is Yahoo or America Online, they are enjoying the benefits brought by the concept of online media, aren't they? Wall Street also recognizes the Internet more now. Media stocks, usually, Wall Street’s judgment is not wrong.”
"Wall Street is only chasing the high stock price brought about by the concept of Internet media. Once the bubble bursts, they will just avoid it." Eric shook his head and said: "So, if you follow Wall Street's thinking, the result will be very bad. "
"It seems that we are absolutely unable to convince each other," Steve Case sighed, turned to stare at Eric seriously, and said, "Eric, I want to know, if the shareholders meeting at the end of the month, Firefly once If you fail, what are you going to do?"
"Is this the real purpose of your coming to London?" Eric smiled and said, "Do you want to know if I will choose to lose both?"
The so-called stock, on the one hand, represents the "shares" of capital, and on the other hand, it is also the "vote" that represents attitude. Investors express their attitudes through buying and selling. Therefore, the more equity shares they hold in a company, the greater the impact on the company during the buying and selling process. This is the fundamental power of shareholders. where.
As the largest shareholder, the AOL stock held by Firefly Investment is enough to determine the life and death of the company, so Steve Case is so cautious at this time.
"If Firefly Investing chooses to go against all odds, it's not going to be good for any of us, is it?"
Eric shook his head and said, "That's not necessarily the case. America Online has collapsed. I can just continue to support a company that can develop according to Firefly's investment ideas."
Although even if Firefly fails, Eric will never choose to lose both sides, but it would be foolish to confess this to Steve Kestan at this time.
Sure enough, upon hearing Eric's words, Steve Case's expression suddenly became cloudy.
At this time, the shopkeeper happened to serve the breakfasts for the three of them one after another.
Steve Case also lost the interest to stay and have breakfast with Eric, and said to the owner: "Can you pack the breakfast for me?"
"Of course," the chubby owner nodded, and returned to the back kitchen with Steve Case's breakfast.
Eric didn't stop Steve Case's actions. After thinking about it, he said, "Anyway, Steve, thank you for bringing America Online to where it is today."
Steve Case didn't like Eric's master-like tone very much, and retorted softly: "AOL is also mine, he is like my child."
Eric nodded, and said again: "Yes, many fathers want their children to grow up according to their own ideas, no matter whether their ideas are really correct or not."
The owner quickly packed Steve Case’s breakfast and walked out of the coffee shop with a bag. The outdoor weather was still gloomy, and the rain seemed to be getting finer. Steve Case didn’t hold an umbrella and walked quickly to Parked next to a Lincoln sedan on the side of the road, this is the car dispatched by the hotel where he lives.
The driver graciously opened the door for him, and Steve Case got into the car. When the car started, he took out his mobile phone and dialed a series of numbers. After connecting, he said: "It's me, Bob... Yes, so, You should follow the plan we discussed as soon as possible."
In the coffee shop, after Steve Case left, Eric ordered another glass of milk, looked at Mayer, who had been absent-minded, and asked with concern, "Did you not have a good rest last night?"
Mayer thought that Eric had seen through his mind, and was taken aback. He quickly shook his head and said, "No, no, I rested well."
Eric smiled and said: "It seems that I haven't had a rest. I can catch up on sleep when I go back. We will go to Viking Records in the afternoon."
Mayer said nothing more, just nodded.
Eric was thinking about America Online, and didn't pay much attention to Mayer's expression.
The two ate breakfast slowly, and when it was about to end, the glass door of the coffee shop was pushed open, and a soft female voice sounded behind Eric.
"I often have breakfast here, Maggie, the food here is very good, and the coffee is even better."
The tone of the female voice is very special, Eric recognized the owner of the voice without looking back, and suddenly understood why there are so many photos of Princess Diana hanging here.
When someone approached, Eric turned his body slightly, looked at Concubine Diana who was wearing a light blue women's suit with elegant temperament, and said with a smile: "I didn't expect you to like to eat in a place full of pictures of yourself, this is really weird hobby."
Western celebrities often send their photos to some well-connected shops as souvenirs. Eric's words are naturally just a joke.
However, the guy who appeared suddenly startled Concubine Dai. The woman subconsciously covered her mouth. When she recognized Eric, her eyes widened and she stared at Eric with an angry expression without saying a word.
On the contrary, the woman wearing a black long-sleeved dress next to Concubine Diana enthusiastically stepped forward and said, "Hey, Eric, this is really a surprise."
Eric looked at Madonna, and was also a little surprised. He quickly got up, hugged her, looked at her serious clothes, and wore an English lady hat, and couldn't help joking: "Maggie, I didn't expect you to be serious too. It’s a rare thing when it comes to getting dressed.”
"You guys, you are so mean." Madonna was not angry either, she slapped Eric lightly with a smile, and said, "The princess is here, don't be too rude. But, why are you here too? "
Eric pointed to Kensington Garden Street across the street, and said with a smile, "My princess and I should be regarded as neighbors."
Concubine Dai finally came to her senses at this time, and said angrily, "I don't want to be neighbors with a guy like you."
Eric spread his hands innocently: "Hey, there may be a little misunderstanding."
"Hehe," Madonna smiled, rounded the field and turned her attention to Mayer on the other side, and Eric quickly introduced it again.
Seeing Concubine Dai who continued to attack him with eye waves, Eric didn't bother to stay any longer, and he had almost eaten his breakfast, so he got up and planned to leave.
Just walking to the door of the store, Madonna thought of something, but chased after her and asked, "Eric, so you will definitely attend the party at Virgin Records tonight, right?"
Eric nodded and said, "Of course, that's what I'm here for."
"That's good, then we'll see you tonight," Madonna said, her eyes gestured behind her again, and said, "I'm curious about some things."
"Don't worry, I won't tell you anything."
"In that case, I don't plan to tell you some things," Madonna also gave a threatening look, and said, "You may be in trouble here."