Debbie bid Kasie goodbye and was about to get into the car when Portia grabbed her arm—hard. "No! We're not done!" Portia yelled. Her men would arrive in a few minutes. She had no intention of letting Debbie off the hook so easily.
Before Debbie could respond, Lewis pulled Portia away and snapped impatiently, "Get the hell out of here, Portia. I thought you were an ice queen, but you're really as clingy as an octopus."
He didn't love Portia; he just took it as a challenge to melt the ice queen's heart. But now she was getting on his nerves.
Portia trembled with anger at Lewis' remarks. With red eyes, she pointed at him and shouted, "Dammit Lewis! You're cancelled! I'm telling my mom to call off our engagement."
Debbie had guessed right—Portia and Lewis were about to get engaged.
"Whatever." Lewis shrugged and got into the car. Seeing Debbie remain motionless, he urged, "Hurry! Get in the car! You don't want her bitch cooties, do you?"
Portia broke out into curses. "Lewis Huo, you're an asshole! Everyone in your family is!"
Debbie, trying hard to suppress her giggles, got into the back seat. Lewis was not angered by Portia's words. "My family? Does that include Carlos?"
Portia stopped as soon as Lewis mentioned Carlos. She cast a murderous glance at Debbie and threatened through gritted teeth, "Debbie Nian, just wait and see."
With a wide grin, Debbie clapped back. "Oh, don't forget to tell your brother—I kicked your ass and cut your hair."
"You!" Portia was too angry to utter a complete sentence.
The car soon drove off, leaving Portia behind. Her long fingernails dug into her palms, leaving deep marks.
At the ZL Group
Lewis and Debbie made a beeline for the CEO's office. Most employees didn't know Debbie, but they knew Lewis.
The elevator came to a halt on the 66th floor. Staring at the closed door of Carlos' office, Lewis nudged Debbie forward and said, "Remember our arrangement. You go in first."
Debbie was dumbstruck. 'Seriously? You're really afraid of Carlos, aren't you? I can understand why Jared is scared of Carlos. But you're his cousin! Besides, he's not that scary!' she thought to herself.
There were only two people in the secretary's office—Emmett and Zelda. Zelda stood up from her seat and greeted Lewis, "Mr. Lewis Huo, good evening."
She was quite surprised to see Debbie.
Lewis leered at her, and a wolf whistle escaped his lips. "Zelda, you're as hot as ever." This was a common thing—Lewis was a shameless flirt.
"Stop it," Zelda complained, her face reddening. She sat back in her seat.
Emmett came up to them and told Lewis respectfully, "Mr. Lewis Huo, Mr. Huo is waiting for you."
Then he approached Debbie and whispered in her ear, "Mrs. Huo, why are you here with him?" If Lewis weren't here, Emmett would have let Debbie know that Lewis was an asshole and advised her to keep him at arm's length.
Debbie said with a shrug, "He forced me to come here."
Lewis got close to the office door, and then realized that Debbie wasn't behind him. He cast a burning glance at her and said in a low voice, "What are you waiting for? Open the door!"
Emmett trotted towards the office and knocked on the door. With Carlos' permission, he pushed the door open and addressed his boss, "Mr. Huo, Mrs. Huo and Mr. Lewis Huo are here."
Lewis grabbed Debbie and pushed her into the office. Caught off guard, she staggered, almost falling onto the floor.
Carlos, sitting in his armchair, saw Debbie falter. He immediately stood up, strode towards her and pulled her into his arms. "It's very late. Why aren't you home? You okay?" That was when he saw her red and swollen cheek. "Who did this to you?"
he asked in a cold voice and furrowed his eyebrows.
"Don't worry. I'm okay. I. . . I came here. . . because I missed you. Can I get a ride home with you?" Debbie held back Carlos' waist and cast a challenging glance at Lewis, who couldn't believe his eyes and ears. Why was she so familiar with his cousin?
Carlos disentangled her from his arms and examined her cheek carefully. His face turned livid. "Who did this?" He shifted his gaze to Lewis, who also had a swollen face.
Assuming that Lewis hit Debbie, Carlos released her, and before Lewis could respond, kicked him in the gut, knocking him to the floor.
He then walked over to his prone body, and placed his foot on him. Then he asked in an icy tone, "You hit her, didn't you?"
Beside him was a table. Carlos picked up the teapot from the table and raised it overhead, as if he was going to smash it against Lewis' head.
Lewis' face paled. "Relax, man! I didn't hit her. It was Portia Gu. She slapped her!"
It was the first time that Debbie had seen Carlos lose it like this, and she was a little scared as well. She then realized that Carlos had always been rather kind to her when she had offended him so many times.
Lewis' pleas snapped Debbie back to reality. She grabbed Carlos' arm and explained, "He didn't hit me. I kicked his ass."
Carlos then let go of Lewis, placed the teapot back on the table and warned him, "If she hits you again, don't fight back."
"What?! But why?" Lewis was in stunned disbelief.
Carlos straightened his suit and said indifferently, "She's my wife."
'She's Carlos' wife?! That means she's my cousin-in-law.' Lewis almost choked on his own tongue.
Ignoring Lewis, who was too shocked to stand up, Carlos buzzed Emmett. "Get in here. And bring some ice."
Then he led Debbie to the couch, sat down and stroked her cheek softly. "So it was Portia?"
His voice was soft, but Debbie could somehow feel danger.
It came back to her now, how people used to describe Carlos—cruel and cold-hearted. Debbie grabbed his hands and coaxed him, "Honey, cool down. I got even with her. I slapped her several times, and even cut her hair. So just let it go, okay?"
Carlos, however, was not easily convinced. "Leave her to me," he said.
A cold shiver ran down Debbie's spine, as his tone suggested that he would kill Portia. "Don't, Carlos. I don't care. It was nothing. Leave it to me, please."
At this moment, Emmett came in with an ice pack and handed it to Carlos.
Lewis was still lying on the floor, but Emmett didn't even blink. However, when he spotted Debbie's swollen cheek, he asked worriedly, "Mrs. Huo, what happened? Did someone hit you? Does it hurt?"
'Who had the nerve to hit Mr. Huo's woman? Look at Mrs. Huo's fair skin. That must be stinging, ' he thought.
