by J A Fielding
Determined to make this happen, she met him as he was coming off stage. “Mr. Ling, I would love to have you come back on the show. You’re views are new and refreshing, and certainly unexpected. Could I talk you into a meeting over coffee to discuss the possibility?” she asked, walking with him to his green room.
“I think that could be arranged. But I have to warn you, I take this project seriously. If I can make this work, it could be a blueprint for the future. The lack of good housing has been bad, but it will only continue to get worse.” Taking a deep breath, Ken was getting ready to continue but realized he had begun lecturing her.
“Oh, I’m sorry. I have a tendency to do that. I get passionate about something and forget that other people may not be so interested.”
“No problem, it’s nice to see someone excited about more than just making money. It’s refreshing and a little surprising, if you don’t mind me saying so.”
“Not the first time I’ve heard that, including from my father,” he said with a shake of his head.
“Well, I can’t wait to hear more about Paradise Towers. I don’t have my appointment book with me, but could I call you tomorrow afternoon?”
“Of course, I’m sure you sleep late since you are here until all hours of the night,” he said, gesturing around them.
“Hardly, I’m afraid my day starts just as early as yours probably does. It takes a lot to put on a show like this. I’m afraid that I had better get going, tomorrow’s show will be here before I know it. I’ll call you tomorrow.”
“Very good,” he said, watching her walk down the hall, thinking she was just about as cute as could be.
*****
They met for coffee a few days later. Both had moved several things around on the calendar to get a free afternoon. Leslie wasn’t sure why she was taking off so much time for just one potential guest, but found she was intrigued by Ken and couldn’t resist getting to know him better. She’d tried to tell herself that it was strictly work-related interest, but honestly she knew that she was a little attracted to Ken.
Ken had called to let her know he was running a few minutes late. This was his last day in the city; he had to return to China the next day and it was proving difficult to finish all the last-minute details. She was happy to wait for him at the coffee shop, it would give her time to consult her notes.
She had done some research and discovered that Ken’s father had started with nothing more than a cart from which he sold fresh fruit. Through hard work and sacrifice he had built the first chain of grocery stores in China. Ken had taken over this business and branched out, including investments in America, something his father had been afraid to do.
Those investments had paid off handsomely, and Ken continued to increase the family fortune, year after year. On the surface this sounded like most of the rags to riches stories that filled the world. Still, Leslie knew that there had to be more to the story, she had glimpsed it during the interview.
Ken was only a few minutes late, but by the time he arrived, Leslie was shifting restlessly in her seat. Never one to slow down, waiting was not something she did well. She checked her notes once again, tapping her foot, beginning to become annoyed.
“I’m sorry to be so late,” Ken said, when he finally arrived.
“I understand you’re flying out tomorrow.”
“Yes, I need to return to China. My father hasn’t been well, so I try not to be gone for too long,” he said, signaling the waiter for coffee.
“I’m sorry your father’s not well. Has he been sick long?”
They talked about his father and his long sickness. Ken explained that he had been nearly incapable of communication immediately after having a stroke, but through intense physical therapy, he had improved greatly. He still hadn’t been able to run the business but could consult from his bed when needed.
“That must have been difficult for you. How old were you?”
“I was only eighteen, just graduated from high school, I hadn’t even been to the university yet. I had been accepted to Yale but had to go home to China.”
“So you ran the business and went to college? That must have been really difficult.”
“It was hard but nothing compared to what some people have to go through, let’s be honest. I had my family to take care of me and plenty of money to help grease the wheels.”
“So how does all this fit into building housing for the middle class?” she wanted to know.
“Here’s the thing, one of the reasons I have been so successful is that I respect the contribution that my employees make to my business. I pay my employees much more than anyone else and that gives me benefits that most employers don’t enjoy.”
“I’m certainly don’t know a whole lot about running a business, but I do know that a happy staff is much more productive.”
“Exactly. Would you like to see Paradise Towers? It’s almost finished, I could show you just about everything. I have time if you do.”
Sensing that the conversation was over and that she might have been getting a little too personal, she gladly accepted his offer. They decided to take her car, since he had taken a cab to the café. It was a short drive to the tower, which was located just blocks from the café.
As they drove, Ken explained that while the principal investment in the property was his own, he did have some other people involved. Some had donated supplies, some volunteered their time, and others had invested money. Monetary investments had the potential to be returned, but it would be many years before that was possible.
Leslie was just beginning to understand the scope of what Ken had created when they pulled up to the tower. The building itself was an architectural marvel, and the grounds were beautifully landscaped. Someone had gone to the expense of moving some very large old growth trees to the property, and they were already big enough to provide ample shade.
There were picnic tables and benches spaced around the property and part of what was obviously a large playground could be seen around the corner. Ken directed her to an underground parking garage located under the building. He explained that there were enough parking spaces for each resident to have one car.
Leslie parked her car in Ken’s spot, and they made their way to the elevator that would take them up into the tower. The elevator only went to the lobby of the building for safety, so the tour would start there. As the elevator doors opened, Leslie was surprised to see what amounted to a small city in the lobby.
“Besides the usual perks you might find in an apartment building like a gym, swimming pool, and event rooms, we’ve added other features like a dry cleaner for example. We have health-related services like health center, a dentist, and a chiropractor. There’s a salon with full services, as well as veterinary care and daycare facilities for both children and pets,” Ken said, the enthusiasm clear in his voice.
“This is quite impressive, but it must have cost a small fortune to build and outfit,” she said, doubting the success of this venture.
“We only funded building the property and some of the amenities, the individual business owners equipped their own spaces,” Ken explained.
Leslie was quiet as they made their way to the elevator, there were so many questions circling in her head. “What I really want to know is why this hasn’t already been all over the news? This is quite the project.”
“Well, when we started out ,we approached from an experimental prospective. More like, can we do this rather than we’re going to do this. It took a long time to put it all together and hundreds of people made a contribution. Maybe we can discuss the details at some point, but for now let’s just look at the results,” he said, ushering her onto the elevator.
“I might just hold you to that,” she said.
They stopped on several different floors, including the floor that was designated for staff that would live on site. The design for the building was unique, taking into the account who would be living there. It was a revolutionary design, and
Ken was very proud of it.
“No one else had designed a building with the thought that we have. For example, people with pets are located on the same floor. This gave us the ability to put an indoor exercise room on the floor. Happy pets are well behaved pets.”
They finally made it to the roof, Leslie was surprised that they were even going up there, although from what she had seen, she imagined there would be solar panels or some other innovation. When the elevator doors opened what she saw was the last thing she had expected.
There across basically the entire roof were squared off, raised gardens. Hundreds of them covered the roof, and back in the far corner she could see a potting shed. Stacked to one side were all the materials needed to build shade for those months when it would be brutally hot on the roof.
“This is unbelievable.”
“One of the biggest benefits to living in Paradise Towers if you like to garden or not. We have benches that will go in, they haven’t arrived yet, that was anyone can come up here and enjoy the plants.”
“I think I want to move in here,” she said, with a laugh.
“We start taking applications next month, but honestly you probably make too much money to live here,” he said, taking her arm and leading her back to the elevator.
“This whole endeavor needs some more air time. How about doing another interview with David?” she asked.
“I’ll think about it, but I have to fly home to see my dad. How about if I call you when I get back in town? It shouldn’t be more than a few days.”
“That’s all I can ask. Thank you for showing me around, it looks like you’ve created something special. I look forward to hearing from you,” she said.
As Leslie drove off, she realized that this was a story that really needed to be told. There was so much more she wanted to learn; an endeavor that size, with that much sophistication, had taken some serious planning.
Ken was something of a mystery himself. There was definitely more to him than met the eye, and she was looking forward to finding out what that was. She assured herself that it was strictly professional, but deep down there was a small piece of her that wanted to get to know him on a more personal level.
Chapter 2
Leslie had little time over the next few days to think about Ken and Paradise Towers. Her job left little time for anything else. She had put thoughts of a return interview on the back burner, thinking that she could have Ken come back when the towers opened in a few months.
Since the Emmy nomination announcement, viewership of the show had skyrocketed, their demographics had changed as well. She found herself scrambling to include guests that would appeal to a broader audience.
As stressful as it appeared to be, the truth was that she was enjoying herself. This was what she had always wanted to do, and she was doing it better than just about everyone in the business. She had also begun to harbor a secret hope that she might actually win that Emmy.
With this goal in mind, she pushed though eighteen-hour days, producing what she thought of as her best work yet. David was in top form, sparkling for the camera and charming the crew as only he could.
Before she knew it, a week had gone by and Ken hadn’t called, but she knew that his father was ill and he had a business to run. She thought about calling him but decided to wait for a couple more days.
Almost as if on queue, her phone rang and his name popped up on the screen. Shocked to find that her heartbeat had accelerated at the thought talking to Ken, she took a deep breath and answered.
“Hi, Ken. How are you?”
“I’m sorry I haven’t called sooner would be the answer to that question,” he said.
“Well, I’ll take that as an apology, but I have to admit that this afternoon is the first chance I’ve had to even take a breath. So no harm done.”
“Do you have time to grab a quick coffee? No business thought, I need a break and it sounds like you do too.”
Leslie considered the offer for a moment, it had been a long time since she’d spent any time with a man that wasn’t work related. It might be nice to get away for an hour or so. Besides she liked Ken, he wasn’t like most of the men she met.
“I would love to. Where shall we meet?”
“How about that café down the street from the studio? I can be there in half an hour,” he suggested.
“That’s perfect, it’ll take me a few minutes to get out of here. I’ll see you there.”
She arrived exactly a half an hour later to find Ken just pulling into the lot. She waited at the front door as he crossed the parking lot. He had a broad smile on his face and gave her a quick hug in greeting. She was a little surprised at the gesture but went with it.
At 43, Ken was still a vibrant man, clearly in good shape, and he smelled good. Letting her thoughts roam a little, she imagined kissing him. Shaking herself mentally, she pushed those thoughts aside.
“So, tell my why it took you a week to call. Is your father worse?” she asked, clearly concerned.
“Well, it’s a bit of a long story. You have to understand what my family is like, especially my father,” he began. “There was nothing wrong with my father except that he wanted me to meet his latest choice of a wife for me.”
“Oh, I see. I didn’t realize that arranged marriages were still happening, but I imagine there are a lot of things about China that I don’t know.”
“It’s not so much an arranged marriage as a constant parade of girls he thinks would be perfect for me. The problem is that his idea of the perfect girl and mine are totally different,” he said, with a shake of his head.
“If I didn’t care about the old goat, I suppose I would be angrier, but he’s only doing what his parents did for him. The problem is he uses his illness to get his way; it works most of the time, but I’ve held my ground on the whole marriage thing.”
“Well, at least you know he cares about you, even if he shows it in ways that aren’t always to your liking,” Leslie said, thinking she wished her father cared enough about her to interfere with her life.
Ken paused for a second, wondering if there was more to her words, “Yes, I suppose you’re right, but I’m 43 years old, I think I’m old enough to pick my own dates,” he said. “Enough about me, I’ve been watching the show, you’ve really upped the game.”
Feeling back on comfortable ground, they talked about the show and all the last minute changes she’d had to make recently. She actually admitted to Ken that she was harboring hope that she might win that Emmy, pleased when he expressed his belief that she had a good chance.
Before they knew it, an hour had passed and each needed to get back to work; Ken to meet with a building inspector who had been especially difficult. He could swear the man was looking for a bribe, and there was no way he was going to give him one. Leslie had pre-show meetings and then dinner with one of tonight’s guests.
“Let’s do this again soon, it was nice to be able to talk to someone with a fresh perspective,” Ken said, as they stood on the sidewalk outside the café.
“It was good for me to get away, not to mention you’re good for my ego. You know where to find me, I can’t always get away but call me anyway,” she said, knowing she would make time when he called.
As she walked back to the studio, she realized that she was looking forward to Ken’s call because she really liked him. It had been a long time since she had been on a date, even for coffee, and it had been nice. Even if nothing more than friendship came of the relationship that would be just fine. She had so few friends, male or female, it would be nice to have someone in her life that wasn’t associated with the show.
Leslie and Ken managed to meet for coffee several more times over the next month. Even though each was as busy as they had ever been, they managed to make time. Leslie was nearing not only the end of the season but the Emmy awards only a few weeks away. The pressure was greater than ever to produce a great show.
Opening day for Paradise Towers was looming in
the future, and Ken had to deal with last-minute emergencies as well as the process of choosing tenants. There had been such a great response once he’d appeared on the show that they had hundreds more applications than apartments.
Through mutual, unspoken agreement, they avoided the topic of work and talked about other things. Each loved to read, and they discovered they had similar tastes in literature. They liked the same music as well as sharing the love of museums and historical locations.
Ken taught Leslie some about China and its vast history, enjoying sharing the love of his homeland with her. Leslie was still reluctant to talk about her family and growing up in a tiny town in Mississippi. She had tried hard to leave that part of her life behind her and had been pretty successful. Although she talked to her mother on the phone often, she hadn’t been home since she graduated from high school at seventeen.
The truth was she hardly ever thought about home, but talking with Ken had brought some painful memories to the surface. Her childhood had been anything but ideal which is why she had escaped Mississippi as soon as she could. But she had begun to wonder if it might be time to go back for a visit; putting some of the bad memories in perspective might just be what she needed.
When she and Ken met for coffee the next time, she broached the subject with him. “I think I’m going to take some time off during the break and visit my family. Except for my mother, I’ve never been close to any of my brothers and sisters. They are all much older than I am and were out of the house shortly after I was born,” she said, rushing through the speech she had prepared knowing that Ken would be surprised to hear her talking about her family.
“That’s great. You don’t talk about your family much. What are they like?” he asked, allowing her the freedom to reveal only as much as she wanted. He could sense that there were things about her childhood she was reluctant to reveal.
“Well, as I said, we’re not really close. My father can be difficult, that’s the only way I can put it. But my mother is great,” she said, finding it difficult to talk about her father.
