"Okay. See you," Debbie said to Jared.
As soon as she opened the door to the room, a strong reek of alcohol reached her nostrils. She fanned her hands through the air, trying to keep the stench away from her nose and mouth.
After taking a few steps inside, she saw a man in white shirt lying lazily on the sofa, eyes shut.
She wasn't sure if he was fast asleep or not. He wasn't responding to the noise, though.
Debbie put aside her handbag and patted him cautiously, hoping to rouse him. "Hey, you awake? Let's go home now."
Hearing her voice, Carlos parted his eyelids slightly.
He sat up on the sofa, head down, and massaged his brows to relieve his headache.
Debbie didn't know what to do. She scratched her head, silently waiting for his response.
But after waiting for a while, he still didn't acknowledge her presence. He just kept his head down.
Left with no choice, Debbie squatted in front of him and moved his arms around. "Old man, are you okay? Come on, I'll drive you home and you can sleep it off." 'Why is he drinking like this?' she wondered.
That wasn't like him. He might come home a little buzzed, but not sloppy drunk.
As she was lost in thought, Carlos suddenly grabbed hold of her arms and pulled her into his.
Caught off-guard, Debbie banged her head against his burly chest. "Ouch! You're hurting me."
"Debbie Nian." His husky voice rang in her ears, melting her heart.
She exclaimed in her mind, 'Oh, God, why? Even his voice is hot! I'm addicted to it!'
She locked her arms around his neck and gave him a charming smile. "Yes, Mr. Handsome. I'm here."
Carlos held on to her and examined her face carefully. After a while, he spat, "Are you that desperate, to take advantage of me when I'm drunk?"
She had put on make-up, and even worn perfume. The tempting scent wafting from her body slowly turned him on. He began losing control.
"What?" Debbie was confused. She didn't say anything this time, nor did she move, even a little.
He suddenly tightened his grip. In a hoarse voice, he whispered, "You want sex? You're dressed for it."
Debbie was even more confused now. She looked at what she had on. She wore a black skirt that hugged her hips. It had a lace hem, and a slit along one side. But it wasn't short, nor was it revealing. It was just a common package hip skirt.
"I…" Just as she opened her mouth to try to explain, she felt his lips on hers.
After passionately kissing her for a few minutes, Carlos pinned her onto the sofa. Looking down at the panting woman with his dark eyes, he asked sarcastically, "So is Hayden impotent?"
Debbie blinked her eyes in confusion. "Hayden? What do you mean?"
"If he makes you happy in the sheets, why come to me?"
Debbie finally understood what he meant. But she didn't want to explain anything. It was useless to explain, especially when he was drunk. Pushing down the anger in her heart, she scoffed, "I think you went impotent after the accident. You could have had your way with me several times, but no. Now you blame Hayden. That's not the Carlos I remember. Strong, capable… Hey, hey…ouch! Get your hands off me!"
He held her so tightly that Debbie swore she felt things popping.
"Are you trying to get me to do something?" he said coldly. Debbie looked into his deep eyes. The cold look in them made her get goose bumps. She somehow felt frightened. She hadn't seen him quite like this. 'Oh Carlos, what did they do to you?'
"Not at all," she said, struggling to breathe. "Let's go home now, okay?"
"So now you switch gears. Playing hard to get, huh?"
Debbie rolled her eyes at him. "Of course. But that won't work on a good man like you," she ridiculed.
"I'm never good."
This time, Debbie didn't joke at his words. She shook her head seriously and told him in a sincere voice, "No, Carlos. You're a good man. A very good one. I'm not budging on that one."
Carlos grinned. "So now your strategy is to fawn over me, right?"
'What the heck? Fine! Seems like he'll twist anything I say. I'd better zip my mouth!' she thought to herself.
"If I sleep with my ex-wife before my engagement, am I a good man? What do you think?" he asked, staring into her eyes.
"What?" Debbie tried to process his words.
But before she could figure out what he meant, that panty-melting voice came again.
"You asked for this." And he kissed her lips again, hungrily and passionately, giving her no chance to utter a single word. In no time, the VIP room was filled with the love aura and heavy breathing. He took her again and again, and she offered no resistance.
Debbie wasn't drunk this time, but she felt like she was. It was like a dream. A very good dream. The best dream in the past three years.
She felt the heat from Carlos' body and heard him call her "Deb" over and over, just like the old days when they made love. It felt like it had been an eternity since then.
Despite the fact that it was Debbie who asked him to call her "Deb" in the moment, he did it anyway. And he had called out that name many times in the heat of passion.
And afterwards, she closed her eyes, feeling safe in his arms, exhausted from their love session. Debbie hadn't slept this well in a while. Having to release an album in two months might have something to do with.
When she woke up, it was already one in the afternoon. She slowly opened her eyes. Where was she?
She rubbed her sleepy eyes, and that was when it dawned on her that she was in Carlos' private room at Orchid Private Club.
'Oh, we… we spent the night here, ' she realized.
She scanned the room, but there was no sign of Carlos.
She winced in pain as she tried to roll over on the sofa. She hurt all over. Carlos wasn't gentle to her last night, seemingly wanting to torture her to death.
Slowly sitting up on the sofa, she noticed two pieces of paper on the table.
One was a check and the other was a note with a message written on it.
Flames of rage burned in her beautiful eyes as she read the note.
"Thank you for your service, but honestly, not that impressed. It's only worth a million at most."
She grabbed the check and looked at it. It was indeed a million.
'My service? Not that impressed? You were the one that wanted it. You were like a hungry beast that wouldn't let go!' she cussed angrily in her mind.
Frustrated, she looked at the love bites on her body. 'So he paid me a million to have sex with me? Like…like a ho?' she thought, disheartened.
'A million means nothing to me. Why couldn't he stay until I woke up? What a jerk!'
With trembling legs, Debbie left the club. It was sunny and hot outside. She hailed a cab and went to Shining International Plaza to cash the check.
She wasn't a whore, but she could use the money.
An hour later, Frankie entered the general manager's office and reported to Carlos, "Mr. Huo, the check was cashed at one of the local banks at the Shining International Plaza."
"Hmm," Carlos simply nodded, a dash of sarcasm flashing in his eyes.
Indeed, Debbie did drive him crazy last night. He just couldn't help making love with her. As soon as he was done, he was ready to go again for another round. But James was right. She was after him for his money.
Frankie continued, "About eight hundred thousand was spent on a designer handbag, and the rest was spent on clothing."
Carlos sneered, "Very good. Now get back to work."
'She traded her body for a handbag and some clothes. What a vain woman!' he thought contemptuously.
After shopping at the plaza, Debbie hailed a cab and headed for a high-end neighborhood.
She easily arrived at an apartment and rang the doorbell.
In no time, a woman's voice came from the other side of the door, "Debbie! Why are you here?"
Carrying the designer handbag in her hand, Debbie casually leaned against the door and replied, "I miss you. Open the door."
"Aren't you afraid I'll call Uncle Carlos?"
Debbie tucked a strand of hair behind her ear and smiled. "I'm not afraid. You know, we just did the nasty. What more can he do?"
There was a moment of silence from the other side of the door.
