Dixon poured out his heart to Debbie. He was so grateful. If he hadn't met her, then he'd never have come across Carlos, who recognized his talent and gave him the tools to change his life.
Debbie was stunned for a while. She didn't want him to feel too much pressure, so she said purposefully, "Don't say that. Carlos knows talent when he sees it. He's smart too, which is why he gave you the job. You're working hard to pay him back, right? But of course, if you still feel like you owe him, then…" She paused, looking at him mischievously.
"Then what?"
"Then you can give yourself to him. Bwhahaha…" She began guffawing.
Amused, Dixon also laughed out loud. He felt as if a heavy weight was being lifted off of his shoulders. He echoed her joke, "If I give myself to Mr. Huo, then won't you get jealous? Will you be his wife or his mistress?"
"I'm the wife—you're the mistress. Lucky you're a guy. If you were a woman, I'd be mad." Yes, if Dixon were an intelligent woman, sponsored to study abroad by Carlos, it would look like that Dixon was a mistress.
Dixon always felt helpless at the weird ideas in this old friend's mind. He shook his head and rebuked, "What's all that about? I wonder how Mr. Huo puts up with you."
"Hey, what do you mean? You mean I don't deserve him?" Debbie snapped, sounding angry.
Dixon sighed gloomily. What did he say? Why did she twist his words like that? But he didn't know what to do about it. "I didn't mean it that way. You're a lucky woman. He's the only one who can put you on a short leash."
His explanation only added fuel to the fire. Debbie wasn't happy, and besides, she had drunk too much wine tonight, so she began to make a fuss. Glaring at him, she confronted, "What did you say? A leash? Like an animal? A tigress?"
"And not like that either. But you do have a bad temper." Dixon didn't have to work tonight, and Carlos was quite far away, so he wasn't in any rush. He didn't mind throwing down and arguing with Debbie over stupid things.
"Bad temper? I think I've been remarkably tolerant of you trash talking me. I'm better than I was four years ago," she retorted and glared at him, unconvinced by his judgment.
Holding back his laughter, he provoked her calmly, "You're glaring at me with eyes so wide they're about to fall out and roll around on the table. You call that 'better?' Maybe he should tie you up. If he spoils you any more, you'll think you're Queen of the World."
As soon as he was done speaking, Debbie punched his shoulder. "Humph! Taking Carlos' side, I see. Dixon Shu, we aren't friends anymore."
He grinned broadly, revealing his neat and white teeth. "Oh, that's bad. Tristan always reminds me to fawn over you. He says that if Mr. Huo gets mad, I can call you for help."
"No way. You're beyond help, anyway."
The two friends bantered back and forth endearingly the whole way there. Neither of them backed down. The driver couldn't follow what they were saying at all. But he didn't need to pay attention anyway. He just kept his eyes on the road, and gave them their privacy.
He was a responsible and trustworthy driver. That was why Carlos temporarily assigned him to come pick up Debbie and Dixon tonight. Although he had worked with Dixon for a few days, this was the first time he saw him laugh like a child.
Moreover, Debbie, the famous singer, was quite different from what he saw on TV. Now, she was like a kid, trying to pull a prank on Dixon. He loved the fact that she was so down-to-earth.
But the driver didn't detect a hint of romance between them. They just acted naturally, like some old friends. No wonder Mr. Huo let Dixon escort Debbie to him.
When they reached the hotel, Debbie felt a little sleepy, so she decided to call Carlos instead of going inside. "We just got here. I'll wait for you in the car outside," she told him.
"No. I'm coming out now." Then she heard Carlos tell the other people, "I'm sorry. My wife is waiting for me outside. We'll pick this up some other time." He took his leave, and then Debbie heard a lot of noise on the other end. It sounded like all of them stood up to escort him out of the room.
Dixon got out of the car and stood there, waiting for Carlos.
Soon enough, the man on the phone emerged from the entrance of the hotel, surrounded by a swarm of people who respectfully saw him off.
Debbie rolled down the window. Carlos ran his eyes over the cars parked on the roadside and soon spotted his car. Dixon was already striding towards him.
She hung up the phone, stuck her head out and waved at him. Under the dim light from the street lamps, she vaguely saw him smiling. But she wasn't sure of it.
As he slowly approached the car, she finally saw clearly that Carlos was really smiling.
The driver opened the back door for him. He stole a kiss on her lips upon settling in the seat. Before she could protest, he asked casually, "Are you full now?"
The faint fragrance of wine reached his nose. Looking at Debbie's red face, Carlos thought of something, his eyes glimmering with desire.
Each time she drank wine, it would be a good chance for him to successfully have sex with her…
Unaware of what the cunning man was planning to do, Debbie honestly replied, "Yes, I'm full." She had eaten a lot during the reunion dinner with her friends. The five of them were all in a good mood, so they had ordered a table of dishes. Dixon was the one who paid the bill in the end. Because he insisted that there was no better use of his money than to see his friends happy.
Dixon didn't get in the car. He was planning to hail a taxi himself, but he heard Carlos tell the driver, "Drive Mr. Shu home first."
The driver responded, "Yes, Mr. Huo."
Since Carlos had given the order, Dixon didn't refuse and sat in the passenger seat.
The car steadily pulled into a high-end neighborhood near ZL Group. Since he had returned from abroad, Dixon had been living in the apartment leased by the company. Looking at her surroundings, Debbie was curious about what Dixon's apartment looked like. She wanted to go upstairs and have a look. This made Carlos jealous. But she got what she wanted. Holding her hand, he asked Dixon to guide them to his apartment.
ZL Group definitely took care of its employees. Dixon's unit was about eighty square meters, full equipped, with two bedrooms and a living area, more than enough for a single man. After taking a tour around his apartment, Debbie couldn't help but marvel, "Wow, this is some crib. It's so good to work for Mr. Huo." Yes, you could hardly find such a generous boss anywhere.
Dixon served two glasses of water for them. Nodding his head in agreement, he joked, "Yes, I agree. Mr. Huo treats the staff well. We're both his staff, Tomboy. Be a good singer, and return our boss's generousness."
"Oh! You just reminded me. I'm also working for Mr. Huo now," Debbie said seriously.
Carlos grinned. "You want a promotion?"
"A promotion? To what position?" she asked, confused. She stood in front of the window, looking over the city.
"The CEO's wife."
Debbie was left speechless. He spared no opportunity to talk about marriage. But she wouldn't give in so easily, so she answered stubbornly, "My career comes first."
Dixon carefully observed Carlos' face. Her blunt refusal didn't piss him off. Instead, he still kept gazing at her with tenderness in his eyes.
The old saying was right. Even a hero could be defeated by a beauty. The cold CEO had surrendered to the beautiful singer.
