A mischievous smile tugged on Matthew's lips. Satisfied with Erica's apology, he said, "Come here!" Then, he crooked his finger at her.
Erica, perfume bottle in hand, immediately sashayed toward him and asked with a chuckle, "Mr. Huo, what can I do for you?" Delighted with her attitude, he pulled her into his arms and whispered in her ear, "I was not satisfied with the kiss earlier. Let's do it again!"
Erica giggled, and a tinge of pink graced her cheeks. Then, she lowered her eyes and saw that he was still undressed. Her face flushed, and she stuttered, "Yes, sure. But you have to wear your clothes first!"
Matthew grabbed the closest night robe in the wardrobe and nimbly put it on. His swift movement caused his muscles to ripple, and Erica almost swooned.
The passion glimmering in her eyes pleased the man. With raised eyebrows, he ordered, "You can start now!"
"O-okay." Erica put the perfume bottle aside, encased his waist with her slender arms, stood on tiptoe, and kissed his thin lips.
Soon, the sound of their rapid breathing echoed in the otherwise quiet closet.
More than ten minutes later, Erica escaped from Matthew's tight embrace. Before leaving, she grabbed the bottle of perfume.
Bang! The door slammed shut behind Erica. Still excited from her intimate moment with Matthew, she leaned against the wall and tried to steady her breath.
She placed her fair, delicate finger on her hot burning face and thought, 'Oh, my God! Matthew is such a flirt…'
Only then did she realize that she was disheveled. She lowered her head and tidied up her clothes which Matthew had pulled open, before trotting to the dresser to study the perfume.
The perfume had a light fragrance with a lingering scent of fresh fruit. It was delightfully sweet.
Erica licked her lips as she studied the light blue liquid in the bottle. It looked tasty too…
After Matthew showered and changed his clothes, they grabbed a quick lunch outside. As Erica had more classes, she needed to return to school.
At the entrance of Y City University
Owen glanced at his watch as annoyance coursed through him. He had been waiting for ten minutes.
A few minutes later, he finally saw the person for whom he had been waiting. He immediately straightened his clothes, took a few steps forward, and called, "Mr. Chai!"
Watkins' brow furrowed when he saw a strange man hailing him. It took a minute or so for Watkins to remember that this man was Owen Jian, one of Matthew's personal assistants. But he didn't know why Matthew had sent Owen to him.
Cautiously, he greeted the man, "Hello, Mr. Jian."
With a polite smile, Owen replied, "Mr. Chai, may I have a word with you?"
Still confused about Owen's purpose, Watkins glimpsed at his two friends. Then he turned, nodded, and said, "Sure!"
The two walked toward Owen's car in silence. As the assistant unlocked the trunk, Watkins shot him a puzzled look.
An odd noise dragged Watkins' attention back to the trunk. His eyes flew open when he saw a Shiba Inu puppy peering back at him through the bars of a delicate cage.
The dog was about ten centimeters tall.
Owen took out the cage and handed it to Watkins.
When the younger man took the cage, Owen calmly relayed Matthew's message. "Mr. Chai, this is a gift from Mr. Huo. He asked me to buy you a little dog as he thought you might be lonely! Mr. Chai, please take it. I'm leaving now."
Watkins was speechless. 'I'm lonely? Is this some kind of joke?'
Before Watkins could retort, Owen got into the car, started it, and drove away.
Confusion coursed through Watkins as he glanced at the pup in his hand, and then at the disappearing luxury car.
'It's okay if Matthew Huo doesn't want me to see Erica. But what does he mean by giving me a dog?' Watkins' eyes flew open when he understood Matthew's subtle message.
'Is he implying that I'm a poor single dog*?'
(*TN: Single dog is Chinese Internet slang for people who are single and in need of company.) The realization angered Watkins. Not only did Matthew order him to stay away from Erica, but he was also taunting him!
This was an unbearable insult!
There were two days left before Matthew's birthday. In the office, he called Owen through the internal line. "Send someone to keep an eye on Erica. Report to me immediately if she behaves unusually!"
As his birthday was approaching, Matthew felt increasingly certain that Erica would misbehave. He had to ensure that nothing went wrong.
"Yes, Mr. Huo."
The day before his birthday, Matthew received a report from his subordinate. His wife went shopping with her classmate after school, and nothing unusual happened.
Matthew was still worried. He instructed the bodyguards to watch Erica closely as the mall could be crowded. If something happened to her, they would face Matthew's wrath!
At the Shining International Plaza.
Erica and Hyatt walked around the men's products floor, wondering what present she should give to Matthew for his birthday.
She had never been so undecided when choosing gifts for her father and brother. As they were more frugal, they would not buy a second item if the old one was useful.
But Matthew was different. He already had a ton of watches, ties, sunglasses… He had everything!
Trying to find the perfect gift for a man who had everything was giving her a headache.
When she passed a men's accessories shop, her attention was drawn to a brocade box.
The saleslady next to them immediately explained, "Sir, ma'am, this is a gemmed cufflink. It's an important accessory for a man as it is a symbol of good taste. As this cufflink is inlaid with sapphire, it perfectly matches men's white shirts. The style is classic, simple, and elegant."
'Matches white shirts?' Erica recalled that most of Matthew's shirts were white. This would be the perfect birthday gift!
She peeked at the tag again. The price of the cufflinks was sixty-five thousand, nine hundred, and ninety-nine dollars.
Ouch! She felt her heart ache.
Why did she come to the Shining International Plaza to search for a birthday gift? Had she been smart, Erica would have visited the mall two kilometers away. Everything was a great deal cheaper there, and cufflinks would have cost only a few dollars.
Erica gently lifted one of the cufflinks and studied it. The sapphire on it shone so brightly that she felt it warranted the price. Even then, it hurt to think of how much money it cost.
Hyatt's eyes almost popped out. He whispered in her ear, "Erica, it looks good. It's very suitable for your husband."
She nodded, "I believe so as well. But it is too expensive…" Then, with a sweet smile, she asked the saleslady next to her, "Well… is there a discount?"
The smile on the saleslady's face didn't change. "I'm sorry, ma'am. We don't sell our goods at a discount all year round. But, there are some promotional activities in the shopping mall. You can get a suitcase with the Shining International Plaza's logo if you shop for fifty thousand dollars. If you spend one hundred thousand dollars, the value of the gifts increases as well. You can visit the reception desk to learn more."
Erica nodded. As she hadn't found anything suitable after hours of searching, she agreed to the cost. "Please pack it for me."
"Okay. Would you like to pay by card or cash?"
"Swipe my card!" Suppressing the reluctance in her heart, Erica removed a card from her purse and followed the saleslady to the checkout counter to pay the bill.
At ZL Group
It was late at night, and Matthew was still finishing his last task for the day.
At about ten o'clock, he called Paige through the internal line. "Cancel all my meetings for tomorrow." Paige was surprised. The CEO's daily schedule was usually arranged half a month in advance.
Perhaps he had forgotten what was on his schedule for the next day. Paige felt it was prudent to remind him, "But, Mr. Huo, you have an important meeting tomorrow…"
Matthew's tone was quite decisive when he replied, "Postpone it for a day. And let the important clients know that I will visit them in person later."
