"How long have you been back in town?" Aiden Thompson asked, leaning slightly forward, showing his focus on the conversation.
Jonny crossed his legs and leaned back in his chair. "Just under two months. Been busy prepping for our new branch." He lightly shook his coffee cup in his hand.
"Is the prep almost done?" Aiden Thompson picked up his coffee, took a small sip, and kept his gaze on Jonny's face.
"Almost there. We're ahead of schedule," Jonny replied with a smile, his eyes sparkling with confidence. "You know, our team's pretty good at what they do."
Jonny then asked, "What about you? I thought you were from LA. How'd you end up in New York?" He tilted his head slightly, looking curious.
Aiden Thompson shrugged and spread his hands. "Long story, but basically, I'm here to build something in New York now."
Jonny laughed and gave Aiden Thompson a friendly pat on the shoulder. "If you need anything, just let me know. Don't be shy."
"Alright," Aiden Thompson put his coffee cup down and sat up straighter. "Speaking of which, I've been looking at this smart wheelchair project. If you're interested, we could potentially team up on it."
Mentioning the wheelchair, Jonny instinctively glanced down at his legs. A fleeting shadow of sadness crossed his face as he remembered some unpleasant memories. Six years ago, he had spent half a year in a wheelchair.
Aiden Thompson noticed Jonny's silence and gently tapped his fingers on the table, nudging him. "Jonny?"
Jonny snapped out of his thoughts, offering an awkward smile. "Sorry, just got lost in thought for a second." He then added, "Sounds interesting. Mind sharing the details?"
"Sure." Just as Aiden Thompson was about to speak, two girls wearing cropped tops and stylish makeup walked up.
One of them chirped, "Hi, guys, there's no more seating anywhere else. Mind if we sit here?" As she spoke, she flipped her hair.
Jonny politely responded, "Sorry, we're talking business, and it's not really a good spot for others to join." He smiled apologetically.
"Alright then," the girls seemed a bit disappointed, but one of them didn't give up. She pulled out her phone, winked at Aiden Thompson, and said, "Could I add you on Instagram ? I'd love to stay in touch."
Aiden Thompson smiled and politely declined, "Sorry, my girlfriend's a little protective."
The two girls quickly looked a little awkward, gave a nervous smile, and walked off.
Jonny looked at Aiden Thompson, knowing he had said that to politely turn them down. But he raised an eyebrow and asked, "Your girlfriend doesn't seem like the protective type."
Aiden Thompson shrugged and said seriously, "Exactly because she's not controlling, I have to be disciplined."
Jonny leaned forward, his curiosity piqued. "What do you mean?"
"She doesn't really keep tabs on me, but if I ever messed up, she wouldn't hesitate to dump me," Aiden Thompson crossed his arms, his tone matter-of-fact.
Jonny chuckled softly, "Oh, come on! You're scared of getting dumped?"
Aiden Thompson replied with a sincere tone, "That's because I care about her, you know?" His eyes showed deep affection.
Jonny took a sip of his coffee, commenting, "She seems like she's a bit older than you." He took another sip of his coffee.
"Yeah, she's a few years older. But when you meet someone who's the right fit, age doesn't matter," Aiden Thompson said, his eyes drifting to the distance, as if imagining a future with her.
Jonny took another sip of his coffee, "Finding someone who's the right fit. I'm a little jealous," he sighed softly.
"You will too," Aiden Thompson encouraged, patting Jonny on the arm.
"I don't think I have the same kind of luck as you," Jonny said, his face showing a faint smile.
**
The atmosphere in the CEO's office at Hengyue Technology was tense. Jack Brown sat in the chair across from Tom Wilson's desk, leaning forward with his hands gesturing as he spoke urgently: "Tom, listen up, you've got to hear this! Brooks from Sunny Medical has promised me that if we sell them the patent for the smart wheelchair, they'll give us $8 million, or $5 million for a 10-year licensing deal. This is a golden opportunity!"
Tom Wilson didn't hesitate for a second. "I already told you, right? Verve Capital signed an agreement with us, and the contract clearly says that the smart wheelchair patent is exclusive to Hengyue. It can't be used for anything else, and it can't be resold."
"Tom, come on, you're being way too rigid about this," Jack Brown frowned, clearly frustrated. "Sunny Medical is offering us real money. This is a no-brainer, man. We can still take the $5 million and just license it to them. Heck, even Li over at Verve might go for it. Why can't you just talk to them and work something out?"
Tom Wilson patiently explained, "Before we signed the agreement, Li and I worked together to come up with Hengyue's development plan. Everyone signed off on it, and there's no going back now. Plus, I'm not about to sell off my patent just like that. I've made up my mind."
Jack Brown scoffed, "What's your deal? Those two at Verve Capital—one's a woman and the other's a rookie with less than three years of experience—what kind of solid business plan can they come up with? I kept quiet before because they're the ones putting money in us. But now there's a much better deal on the table, and you won't even consider it? If we took that $8 million, you could pay off the bank loan. And selling the patent wouldn't affect our operations. We'd still have orders coming in, and you could keep pushing R&D, releasing new products. Isn't that a good deal?"
Tom Wilson rubbed his temples. He came from a tech background and had always respected Jack Brown for the help he provided when the company was starting out. It was also Jack Brown who landed the two key clients for the company, so he usually listened to Jack when they disagreed on business matters. But this time, he had his limits.
In the past three months, through extensive market research and industry analysis, Grace Li had worked with him to create a development plan for the future. She even promised to help raise $30 million to build Hengyue's own smart wheelchair brand. He couldn't just back out of that now.
"Tom, I get where you're coming from, but you've got to consider the company's reality," Jack Brown softened his tone, trying to persuade him.
"Jack, I understand, but I really can't do this," Tom Wilson's voice was firm. "Li may be young, but her expertise and market insight are top-notch. Her past investment cases prove that. I really believe working with her will take Hengyue to the next level."
"You're really something, you know that?" Jack Brown shook his head in disbelief. "You're a piece of work."
Just then, there was a knock on the door. The office clerk opened the door a crack and reported, "Mr. Wilson, the people from Verve Capital are here."
"Alright, I'll be right there."
Tom Wilson stood up, straightened his clothes, and looked at Jack Brown. "Jack, this is where we draw the line. I'm not budging on this."
With that, he walked out of the office and headed to the conference room to meet the Verve Capital team.
Earlier, Grace had told him on the phone that one of the founders of Meco also wanted to invest in this project, but they needed further discussions and information.
So, today, besides Grace Li and Aiden Thompson, there was also someone named Jonny Dawson.