Take My Breath Away

Debbie didn't notice Carlos calling Emmett on the phone. She was too focused on blaming Carlos for being bossy. "Jared and I are just friends. You know that. Why are you doing this?" She started to suspect that it was Carlos who called Jared's dad and made him angry at him. 'Why would he even do that? It's none of his business what Jared does, and he doesn't need to stir up drama like that. The man is just too controlling, and it's time he got knocked down a few pegs. Maybe if I bug him enough he'll back off. Yeah, that's what I'll do!'

Carlos wasn't amused. "So this is my fault?" His voice got colder.

Debbie shook her head and said in a hurry, "No, no. My bad. Please call Jared's dad and tell him Jared didn't hit on me. He's really mad. He figured out where Jared is through GPS and is going to take him home and kick his ass."

"Feeling bad for him?"

Just then, Emmett walked into Carlos' office. Carlos mouthed the words "Call Jasper." Emmett noticed that Carlos looked gentler than a moment ago. Immediately he knew who Carlos was talking to on the phone.

Carlos' stubbornness made Debbie feel frustrated. She lost her patience. "You going to call him or not?" she asked in a flat voice.

"Promise me. Promise that you won't get too close to Jared," said Carlos, playing with a lighter.

"Honestly, how many times do I have to tell you? Jared and I are just friends! We've known each other for years. Now you're asking me to stop talking to him all of a sudden? No can do!" Then she turned to Jared and said, "Sorry, buddy. I can't save you. It seems you'll have to go home and face your dad. Or you'll lose me forever."

"Noooooo!" Jared was desperate.

Kasie, Kristina, and Dixon burst into laughter.

"Emmett has already called Jasper Han," Carlos said and hung up.

'What?' Debbie looked at her phone, confused. 'He called already? So Jared won't get beaten by his dad?

Why didn't he tell me earlier? So he was pulling my leg the whole time! Auuugh!' Debbie opened WeChat and sent Carlos a message. "Honey, love you." At the end of the message was a Kiss Mark emoji.

"Your husband won't help?" asked Jared. He had decided that if Carlos didn't help him, he would fix Debbie up with a ton of guys.

"I think... he will. Maybe. Just wait." Debbie wasn't sure.

The Shining International Plaza was only about ten-odd minutes from Jared's home, if you took a car.

Jared was still sweating bullets when he went up to the fifth floor of the Alioth Building. He could think of little else, and picked at his food. He was too worried that Jasper would swoop in with his men, carry him into the car, and then he'd really get it. But by the time he finished his meal, everyone knew that Jared was safe.

Jared almost cried with relief. He placed one arm on Debbie's shoulder and said, "You have no idea how much I want to kiss you and your husband right now."

"Probably not a good idea. Carlos doesn't swing that way, and he won't be happy if you kiss Deb," Kasie reminded him.

"Okay, suddenly I don't feel like kissing anyone," declared Jared.

Everyone looked at him and shook their heads.

The group separated later. When Debbie came back to the manor, she found the overcoat Carlos had told her about, and put it on. By the time she fixed her makeup, it was almost time to go. The dinner party would be starting soon.

The dinner was in a private booth on the fifth floor of Alioth Building. By the time Debbie and Carlos turned up, everybody else was already there waiting for them.

After some pleasantries, they were led to the seats of honor. Somebody had already pulled the chair out for Carlos. Yet Carlos didn't sit down immediately. He said to Debbie, "The heat's on. Take off your coat, or you'll start sweating."

Debbie blushed and did as he asked.

Everyone there was a successful businessman. One was more slippery than another. When they saw how considerate Carlos was to Debbie, they all started sucking up to her. Obviously, if Carlos was deferent to her, then she must be important indeed.

One man took her coat. A second pulled the chair out for her. A third poured her some wine while a fourth filled her water glass.

When everybody was finally seated, someone mustered up enough nerve to ask, "Mr. Huo, I assume that this lady is Mrs. Huo. Am I right?"

Carlos smiled. He looked at Debbie but remained silent.

Debbie was surprised at his reaction. 'What's that supposed to mean? Why doesn't he tell them who I am?'

Since Carlos didn't respond, everyone else kept their mouths shut. A few quiet, awkward seconds passed. Someone was about to break the uncomfortable silence when Carlos announced, "My wife always keeps a low profile. I promised her I'd keep our marriage secret. As to your question, I need my wife's permission before I answer it."

The others were familiar with Carlos' personality. They had never seen him talk that much before. When he turned to Debbie, every one of them understood that the woman sitting next to him was Mrs. Huo.

They all looked at Debbie with a smile and racked their brains to compliment her. The room suddenly was abuzz with their unctuous compliments. Some complimented her beauty, others focused on her hair, dress, or her bearing. A few talked about her manners, and some more nebulous things that they couldn't possibly know about the quiet woman sitting at the table with them. They were unconcerned, all fawning over her to get on Carlos' good side.

Bombarded with their expressions of praise, commendation, and admiration, Debbie didn't know how to respond. It was Carlos who came to her rescue. "My wife is shy. Let's eat," he said.

Debbie's face turned red.

Immediately, his proposal was echoed. The subject was changed. Someone asked the waiter to bring the meals.

During the feast, Debbie realized something. The fact that she was at a dinner with Carlos and the way Carlos had answered that man's question kind of made their relationship public.

But under the circumstances, there seemed to be nothing wrong with the way Carlos told the others who she was.

Debbie stopped thinking about the issue and ate while listening to them talk about work. She had nothing to add, so she remained quiet as they talked shop. Some things she understood, sometimes it was jargon or abbreviations she was unfamiliar with. But a wise person never learned with their mouth open.

Carlos barely said anything afterwards. However, even so, the other men kept asking his opinion on this or that.

"I need to use the little girls' room," Debbie whispered in Carlos' ear.

The bathroom in the booth was occupied, so Debbie had to go outside. "Do you want me to go with you?" asked Carlos.

"No, you stay. I'll be right back."

Debbie let out a long exhale when she stepped outside. The ambiance inside the booth was nice but boring.

She kept walking. A conversation came to her ears when she passed by the smoking zone. It was actually whispering between two men. She wasn't eavesdropping, but since they mentioned Carlos, she couldn't help noticing.

"We just found out yesterday that Mr. Huo was married, and today we got to see her for ourselves," said one man.

"I want to know more about her. What's her background? I don't want to make any mistakes talking to her. But really... who wants to ask Mr. Huo that?" observed his companion.

"What's he up to tonight, anyway?"

"Isn't it obvious? Pretty much everything he did after he got here, and the words he said, indicated the woman was Mrs. Huo. What he didn't say was that she had to be respected, but that was the subtext. Disrespecting her is like disrespecting him. I think he wanted all of us to remember that." The men that had come to dinner tonight might be of different levels of importance, but they were all elites in commerce and enjoyed a high status in Y City.

Debbie stood there and thought, 'It's just a dinner. How can it mean that much?'

But what the two men said also made sense. Carlos was always serious. Everything he said or did meant something.

Debbie went another way to go to the bathroom. She didn't want it to be awkward, bumping into those two.

On her way back to their booth, the door to another booth opened and the people inside walked out.

There were a lot of them. Debbie was going to change direction again. But she spotted someone familiar. And almost at the same time the person saw her too. "Debbie? Debbie Nian?" called a surprised voice.