Take My Breath Away

After hanging up, Debbie headed back to the private booth. She was entertaining, after all. The best way to boost her career. She was about to round a corner when she heard some women chatting nearby. One woman said in a voice full of admiration, "You're the luckiest woman in the world, Stephanie. You're about to marry Mr. Huo, and he cares so much about you."

"You're just about as lucky as me. Let's eat out. How about Orchid Private Club? I'll call Carlos and ask him to lend me his private booth," announced Stephanie in a proud tone.

"Really? Mr. Huo's private booth? I can't wait!" the other women exclaimed. Their cheers reverberated through the hallway.

As Debbie listened, they seemed to be getting close. They rounded the corner and were face to face with her. There were about four of them. Stephanie's friends were surprised to see Debbie. One of them whispered to the others, "Wait...isn't that Debbie Nian?"

"The singer? Yeah, looks like her. I hear that she and Mr. Huo..." another woman whispered back, winking at her friend. For Stephanie's sake, she didn't finish her sentence, but everyone understood what she meant.

Debbie's and Stephanie's eyes met. Debbie was mad at Carlos a moment ago for he had changed their daughter's last name on a form without consulting her. But now she flashed a meaningful smile.

Stephanie sensed provocation in that smile. With a frown, she passed by Debbie. Neither of them spoke.

When Stephanie and her friends walked into the elevator, Debbie took out her phone, unblocked Carlos' number and called him.

No sooner had Carlos stepped into the meeting room than his phone rang. He was known as a cold and emotionless man, but a smile crept over his face when he caught sight of the caller ID. He answered the phone and stepped out. "Hi," he said softly. That was such a shift in tone. The rest of the meeting attendees looked at each other in wonder. They had never seen their boss so tender.

"Was that really him? You never hear him sound like that." "Who called? Was it Miss Li?" someone else asked.

"Haha! Right! You ever hear Mr. Huo talk to Miss Li like that?"

"It's gotta be. She's his fiancee, right?"

More than a few of the men there knew of Debbie's recent association with Carlos. They simply smiled and kept silent. It wasn't their place to air their boss' dirty laundry.

To annoy Stephanie, Debbie decided to temporarily forget what Carlos did. "Hey, old man, I need a favor."

"Fire away." He always found it hard to say no to her.

"My contract with Elmer's company expired. And I made a grip of money shilling from them. So I think a thank-you dinner is just what the doctor ordered. Can I borrow your private booth at Orchid Private Club?"

'Elmer?' Carlos thought. That name rang a bell. "The guy who cost you six million?"

Debbie had almost forgot her last dinner with Elmer. "Yeah, him. Well, not counting that bill, I made even less than a million." And her routine expenses made it less lucrative. She earned very little from that, when she thought about it.

Carlos smiled at her moping tone. "I'll lend you my private booth. Have fun at the dinner."

"On second thought, maybe I should go somewhere cheaper. What if Elmer rips me off again? He might invite me to sign another contract. I don't want to get stiffed every time the work ends." A dinner at Orchid Private Club was as expensive as eating on the fifth floor of the Alioth Building. Debbie realized it was a bad decision.

"Take my advice. Go to Orchid Private Club," Carlos insisted. His insistence sounded suspicious to Debbie's ears. She could tell he was up to something. But she couldn't figure out what.

"All right."

Debbie decided to follow his advice. After hanging up, she returned to the booth.

As soon as Carlos was off the phone, he got a call from Stephanie. "Carlos, who were you on the phone with? I've been trying to get through for awhile," she said, trying her best to sound casual.

"A client. What do you need?" Carlos' tone was nonchalant.

"I have an important dinner tonight. I want to entertain some clients and I'm thinking of doing it at Orchid Private Club. Can I use your booth?"

Carlos got her point even before she finished.

And Debbie had just called him, asking for the same thing. And now he knew why she asked him that. 'Clever girl!' he thought, smiling. Then he said to Stephanie, "Sorry, it's already spoken for. I can get you another one, though."

"Oh, I see." Disappointed and embarrassed, Stephanie bit her lower lip tightly. Her friends were counting on her. To spare herself humiliation, she tried again. "Can you ask them to use another booth?" she asked Carlos quietly.

"I can't. I'll arrange another booth for you. It's the same. I'm in a meeting. Bye."

Carlos hung up without even waiting for Stephanie to respond. Listening to the hang-up beep, she slowly put her phone down, face pale.

Her friends walked over and asked, "We all set?"

Taking a deep breath, Stephanie feigned a relaxed tone and said with a forced smile, "Carlos' private booth isn't available tonight. I was a little late. He loaned it to someone else. But don't worry. He got us another booth." "

Oh," her friends responded. Disappointment was plain in their voices and faces. The look in their eyes had changed when they looked at her.

But deep down, they were still happy because they were going to eat at Orchid Private Club. So they all dropped it, and contented themselves with thinking about how nom it would be.

At Orchid Private Club

This was the first time Elmer and the other men had been in Carlos' private booth, so they were all very excited. As soon as Elmer entered the booth, something dawned on him. He stole a glance at Debbie. She must be still close to Mr. Huo if she could use his private booth. Then he thought of the insanely expensive liquor he had deliberately asked for at their last dinner; his heart fluttered nervously.

There were six of them at dinner, including Debbie. The wooden lazy Susan was big enough for more than ten people. All kinds of salads were waiting for them; the bowls covered the table.

Debbie bid a waiter open the alcohol Carlos ordered for them. "Fill 'em up please."

"Yes, miss," the waiter answered politely.

One of the guests, Mr. Li, surveyed the sumptuous room and exclaimed, "Okay, I'm impressed. How did you manage to score Mr. Huo's private booth?"

Debbie smiled, "I'm flattered, Mr. Li. You've been around the world, I bet." Mr. Li was pleased.

He laughed and then asked Debbie in a whisper, "So you and Mr. Huo..."

He didn't finish his sentence, but Debbie knew where he was going with that. "Everything's fine," she answered vaguely. "Please allow me, Mr. Li," she said as she filled his glass.

Realizing she was trying to change the subject, the guests exchanged glances. "Debbie, let the waiters do this. You don't have to," Mr. Li said.

"You helped me a lot. Pouring for you is the least I can do," Debbie replied tactfully.

When they had eaten most of the salad, the alcohol had gone around three times.

During this time, Elmer had been very quiet. "Debbie, I need to go into the office and deal with something urgent. You guys enjoy." He suddenly spoke up.

"Mr. Xue, you have to leave now?" Mr. Li said. "Who knows how long we'll have to wait before we can do this again? It's Mr. Huo's private booth! Besides, we can play golf or pool afterwards. Just enjoy."

Debbie blinked innocently. "That's right. This is for you, Mr. Xue. It's my way of thanking you."