"Mr. Charlton, it has been a while. I hope you don't mind the company. Have you met with Mr. Geoffrey and Mr. Leonard?" Edward greeted as he stood up to shake his hand.

"It's alright. Geoffrey is my cousin, and Leonard is my friend." He replied as he sat on the vacant chair.

Geoffrey and Leonard gave him nods of acknowledgement and he nodded back. He took a quick glance at Serena who he can vaguely guess was feeling the same awkwardness as him. Surprisingly, she gave him a small smile. He chose to give a tentative smile back. He knew that she was only being civil to him because of the situation and nothing else.

However, on a positive note, he can feel that their meeting this time felt different. It must be that they have not seen each other for a while and things have calmed down between them. On his part, he was less muddle headed and his anger has almost dissipated. That did not mean that he was expecting that things will be go back to the way it was before.

"I see. That's great. Actually, I wanted to talk to you about something too. But please Ms. Serena, you go first." Edward said.

Serena still felt tense with Charlton near her. It was as if her heart was about to implode, and she just wanted things to go back as it was before between them. However, she knew that he did not want that and that he was only being civil because of the situation. Anyway, she decided to disregard all her feelings for now and go down to business.

"Actually Mr. Easton, the main reason I invited you today was because I wanted to work with you on a project. What I want to happen is this, there is a new song that I composed, and I want it to get recorded and sold to the market. The difference this time is that I want the proceeds from the song go straight to orphanages as donation."

"I have no problem with that however, I must suggest that you should consider having a single recipient who can distribute it as it would be difficult if we don't have just one beneficiary. Aside from that, who then will be signing the contract? Also, can I look over the song first? Not that I have any doubts about your ability, but you know why." Edward replied turning serious and on business mode.

"I will have to discuss who would sign it later but as of now, you may assume that I will. I have the lyrics here with me, but I don't have the sheet music yet as we are only about to begin working on the melody." Serena replied handing Edward the lyrics she wrote.

Edward read through it first before giving his comment. "Honestly, this is very good. Why did you decide on this though? The concept is quite new, but I am not sure what the response of our target audience will be. Remember, those who can afford to buy the discs are the nobles and the rich. Telling them the message here might not sound very pleasing to their ears. Would they buy it?"

Serena believed that this music can still touch the human heart in any era, so she continued. "I believe that this song will sell well. Also, I already have a marketing strategy in mind. I plan to invite other noble personages from other kingdoms studying in our school to sing the song so that it will give the impression that we have a united front that wants to appeal to human compassion."

"I must say that your plan sounds very convincing. But I have to tell you that it would be very difficult. To ensure success, the accompanying melody should play a vital role. Also, will other nobles really participate in this? This is a commercial venture and is for entertainment. Can we use their names on the discs?"

Serena turned to look at Geoffrey, she was actually hoping that he will be the one to issue the invites.

Geoffrey feeling her stare answered for her. "I will personally send the invites, at the very least, they will be willing to give me face."

"when do you plan to have it recorded?"

"Sometime in mid- April." Serena replied.

"Alright. I am convinced and am willing to sign on this project. I will also give all the profit made by the company through this song as donation. Since that is settled, this time, it is I who wants to ask for a favor. Is that alright?"

Serena was finally able to release the breath that she has been holding. She knew that she needed to have Edward agree especially because right now, his company has complete monopoly of the disc production for the phonograph.

"Please speak your mind…" Serena said with a smile.

"First, I wish to congratulate you and Mr. Charlton for the tremendous success of your songs. Although I knew that it will be more than well received, I still could not believe the response of the audience. Every time we're able to produce a batch of discs and deliver it to the market, it will almost instantaneously be sold out."

Serena and Charlton both blushed with the praise and thanked him.

"Anyway, because of that, a lot of people have been asking me over and over for this. I know that the two of you don't need the extra income, but well… ugh… I'll just say it already. I hope that you two can consider having a signing event on valentine's day and ah sing on one special occasion in person."

Serena felt stunned. The signing event was of no consequence, but singing with Charlton again? Well… she can work with that but only if he agrees. She knew that she must continue having a good relationship with Mr. Easton as she still has plans to work with him in the future. However, from Charlton's end…she looked at Charlton to see his expression.

--

TBC