Elmer drained his glass again. Debbie didn't pay much attention to it. She only assumed he liked drinking alcohol. But man, that guy could drink. After refilling his glass, she pointed to two dishes she had ordered and politely directed his attention to them.
Elmer took a bite. "So how do you know Mr. Huo and Mr. Wen?" he asked out of the blue.
Debbie was surprised. 'Men can be gossipy too, ' she thought.
She swallowed her food and smiled, "I thought everyone knew about my relationship with Mr. Huo. I'm his ex-wife. Mr. Wen is my friend and a mentor. He helped me get my singing career off the ground. Thanks to him, I signed with Star Empire."
Almost no one knew she and Ivan were married.
Actually, Elmer knew about Debbie and Carlos. Everyone in Y City knew about them. Carlos had once bought an extremely expensive watch at an expo to apologize to her. Elmer was there and had seen it all.
He had asked to see how truthful she was. It turned out she was honest. Brownie points for her. "Why did you two split up?" She lost her smile for a moment. "Please, don't be offended. I'm just curious. Mr. Huo is a great guy. And you seem nice too. What went wrong?" Elmer pursued.
He was actually thinking, 'If those two get back together and Debbie's still endorsing our products, that'll be a serious moneymaker.'
"Personal reasons. I don't feel like talking about it. Let's talk about something else." The truth was as wild as the rumors that dogged her. She didn't know Elmer that well and her personal life was private. She wouldn't share it with just anyone.
"Okay, let's drink," he said with a smile.
'And another? How many glasses is this guy going to down?' Debbie realized that they had been drinking nonstop.
Elmer told her he only had twenty minutes, but their dinner lasted three hours. When they were done, they'd finished one bottle of the private reserve. The other bottle went unopened. To make him happy, Debbie gave it to him as a gift. He grinned ear-to-ear, and cradled the diamond-studded gold and sterling platinum bottle in his arms.
After seeing him off, Debbie let out a long sigh of relief. Her face ached from smiling so much.
At the cashier's desk, the cashier gave her the total. She was shocked. "How much, did you say?" The woman repeated with a smile, "Miss Nian, it's 6.17 million."
'6.17 million? That's highway robbery!' Debbie held her purse tightly and said, "Show me the check please."
She slapped her forehead regretfully, staring at the receipt in disbelief.
The dishes cost $170, 000. That was okay. But the private reserve cost three million each bottle. 'The liquor wasn't that amazing. It must be the bottles.' The two bottles of liquor together cost six million.
No wonder Elmer had been so happy when he left.
Looking at the bill, Debbie wanted to cry.
Why did she have to eat here? Why did she order two bottles of that incredibly rare liquor without checking the price?
"What's the matter?" a familiar cold voice asked.
Debbie recognized it. She didn't have to look behind her to know it was Carlos.
She recalled that last time she had rear-ended his car and Carlos didn't ask her to pay anything. 'I'll just consider this as my way of paying him back.' Debbie took a deep breath and gave the cashier her credit card. "Here it is."
Feigning a relaxed expression, she turned her head back and told Carlos, "Nothing. I'm paying the check."
And then she saw Carlos wasn't alone. Stephanie was standing beside him, on his arm, looking at her coldly.
Debbie had intended to settle the bill and leave. But Stephanie's appearance bugged her. She suddenly asked Carlos with a smile, "Mr. Huo, may I have a discount?"
Hearing her question, Stephanie snorted and gave her a scornful smile. "A discount? What's that? Why come here if you can't afford it?"
Debbie swatted her ear and gave Carlos a disgusted look. "What was that? I heard a noise. Like a mosquito. I'd watch out—those things spread disease."
"Debbie Nian! You…" Stephanie's cheeks turned red with anger.
Carlos cast Debbie a cold glance. "Bring me the bill."
The cashier trotted over right away and handed the check to him politely with both hands. He looked at it and then said to Debbie, "Since when does Star Empire allow the employees to entertain the clients themselves? This time, I'll just consider you had dinner with Elmer on my behalf. But don't let it happen again."
"Huh?" Both Stephanie and Debbie were confused. Next, Carlos took out a pen from his pocket
and signed his name on the check.
He had it taken out of his account, which meant Debbie didn't need to pay a penny now.
Debbie, Stephanie and the employees all stared at him with eyes as wide as saucers. That was some bill, and definitely a good deed.
Debbie was almost moved to tears. 'He's wonderful.
He saved me more than six million.
I'll use the money to buy as many clothes and toys as possible for his daughter.'
As if oblivious of Stephanie's angry face, without any explanation, Carlos put away his pen, tucked his hands into his pockets and walked towards the elevator.
Stephanie clenched her teeth and squinted her eyes resentfully at Debbie before following Carlos. Not like she could do anything, anyway.
Debbie waited until their elevator reached the first floor before she pushed the button for the elevator too.
She returned to the hospital in a good mood, two bags of fruit in her hands.
Apples were unusually expensive this year. So she bought a dozen apples to celebrate Carlos having saved her six million.
To stop Elsie finding out about Ivan's wound, Debbie went to the privacy room to video chat with Piggy.
While they were talking, Elsie stuck her face in the frame. "Debbie, what are you and Ivan up to? Why aren't you on your honeymoon?" She could feel something was wrong.
Debbie's heart tightened when she heard this. "I've been getting ready for my tour. There're lots of things to do to put on a concert. And Ivan's company is expanding. He has agreed to be on the ticket, though. Mom, don't worry about us."
"Okay. Take care of yourselves. I want a granddaughter as cute as Piggy." To avoid Piggy hearing it, Elsie had taken the phone somewhere else and whispered.
Debbie understood she wanted to spare Piggy's feelings. Elsie was great to her and Piggy. Yet she and Ivan had been lying to her about their marriage. She felt bad. But what could she do? "I know, Mom. Thank you for taking care of Piggy."
"Don't mention it. Piggy is my grandchild now." Elsie had always liked Piggy. Now that the cute little girl had become her granddaughter, she couldn't be happier.
Tears welled up in Debbie's eyes. "Thank you, Mom," she said.
She had only ever called two women Mom—Tabitha and Elsie.
Tabitha didn't talk to her anymore. She was institutionalized. Debbie had been mulling over visiting her. She had once been nice to her after all, no matter how briefly. And she had given her the family heirloom—the bracelets.
