"Er... what do you want to say to her?" Debbie got tense when Carlos said he wanted to speak to Kasie. 'What in the world does he want to say to her?'
Carlos laughed, "Relax, honey. I'm just trying to help. Don't worry. I won't tell her how great last night was."
Debbie blushed and explained hurriedly, "No, no. That's not what I mean. Why do you want to speak to her? Never mind. I'll put her on the phone right now."
Then she handed the phone to Kasie. It was only then that her friend realized that Carlos wasn't joking earlier. Kasie stared at the phone, scared, as if it would bite her. Gnawing her index finger, she asked, "Mr. Huo...Mr. Huo wants to talk to me? For real?"
Debbie blinked with a nod. "Yeah, for real."
Kasie immediately put her phone down and before taking Debbie's, she wiped her hand on her clothes, as if afraid that the phone would be stained. "Hi, Mr. Huo," she greeted him respectfully.
Watching her friend's dramatic reaction, Debbie was rendered speechless.
Carlos said something over the phone and Kasie explained nervously, "No, Mr. Huo, I was just joking. It really didn't mean anything. Please don't take it seriously. I've barely spent a dime of the card you gave me last time. Debbie and I were really just fooling around a moment ago."
Hoping to convince Carlos, Kasie used the word "really" repeatedly, stressing it every time she said it.
Then she paused as Carlos responded to her explanation. Debbie couldn't hear what he said easily. This time, Kasie nodded resignedly, "Okay then. Thank you, Mr. Huo."
Kasie put him on hold and handed the phone back to Debbie. Debbie took it off hold. "What did you say to her, old man?" she asked.
"Nothing. My secretary will pick you up at noon. We're having lunch together."
Although puzzled, Debbie agreed.
Once the phone call ended, Kasie remarked anxiously, "Your husband is way more serious than you are."
"What do you mean?" Debbie wondered.
Then Kasie told her what Carlos had said on the phone. Finally, Debbie would get to the bottom of this.
"He said it wasn't just a joke. You and I had made a pact. Since you lost the bet, he knew you would feel bad if you went back on your word. So he asked his secretary to dump more money into my card for the fifth floor of Alioth Building. It's enough to eat there for a month," Kasie stated.
Words failed Debbie when she heard that.
Carlos always thought money solved everything, so that was his go-to answer for every situation. He was almost never proven wrong, either.
Ashley picked Debbie up at noon, and dropped her off at the office. Carlos was there waiting for her, and said, "Let's go out to eat."
After the waitress had taken their orders, Debbie asked, "What does your mom like? What's her favorite food? What does she do for fun? What does she hate? I'm so nervous."
Carlos took her hand in his, patted it lovingly and comforted her as she looked at him in confusion, "My mom is your mom too. You'll have to get used to that. But hey, don't worry. She's nice. She'll like you."
Debbie was uncertain. "Really? You think so?" She'd heard that a lot of fights were caused by the mother-in-law and her attitude toward the bride.
"Yes, I'm super-uber-sure," Carlos replied. She loved it when he tried to be cute. A handsome man with a playful wit made a wonderful husband. His mom, Tabitha, used to tell Carlos he should marry an outgoing girl. And that was just it—upbeat and outgoing, Debbie was perfect. So Carlos was positive his mom would approve.
Debbie was relieved to hear him say yes. "Okay. How long will your mom be here?"
Carlos gave her a sidelong glance as he unfolded a hot wet towel. "Not just my mom, our mom. Two days," he corrected.
"Oh, sorry." 'Our mom, our mom...' she repeated in her head. 'Got it.'
During the meal, she was preoccupied with the fact that she was going to meet her mother-in-law. She was anxious and excited all at the same time. When Carlos talked to her, she was very distracted.
"Where did you get the money for the ring?" asked Carlos. He got a notification for every transaction with the card he gave her. According to the notifications, she hadn't spent over a thousand at a time recently. So obviously, she didn't use the bank card to buy him the ring.
It wasn't that he didn't trust her or was spying on her. The notification function came with the card. It was something he could turn off, but he felt it wise to keep it on. That way if someone stole it, they'd be easier to track down.
"I earned it, of course," Debbie answered proudly. 'I wonder what she looks like? Since Carlos is so handsome, I bet she's gorgeous. Probably he got those good genes from her, ' she thought to herself.
"How?"
"By singing." 'Should I go shopping with her or something?'
"Where?"
"At a bar. Oh crap..." She suddenly realized she'd been tricked into blurting out things that she had been hiding from him. The look in his eyes told her that he was angry about something. She tried to recall what he had asked and what she had said.
He grabbed her hand tightly and demanded, "Why do you have to sing at bars? Didn't I give you bank cards? Did you drink alcohol there?"
He squeezed her hand hard, and it hurt. Afraid to further provoke him, Debbie didn't dare to take her hand back. "I'll quit singing. The money on the card is yours. How could I use your money to buy you a ring? I just wanted the ring to be more meaningful, so I decided to earn the money on my own. But I didn't drink even a drop of alcohol."
She giggled at him.
As Carlos heard her promise not to sing again and that she hadn't drunk, his countenance softened. "Did you get hoarse because of singing?"
Debbie knew she had to come clean now, so she admitted, "Yeah. I hadn't sung for a long time. But everyone was wild and I was having fun. I guess I sang for too long, cause I got a little hoarse. But luckily, my throat healed. I was fine the next morning. You know that. You were there."
Carlos remembered her throat was fine the next morning. He had the housemaid prepare some medicine, but it turned out she didn't need it. She was good as new. He understood most of what she said—except for one part. "Your throat healed?"
Debbie grinned, "Yeah. That wasn't the first time I had a sore throat, after all. It happened before, but maybe because it had happened so many times my throat got used to it or something, I don't know. It just does this on its own."
The goofy smile on her face brightened his heart like the sun.
And just like that, his anger disappeared.
He took her hand in his, and brought it to his lips. He kisses it tenderly, lovingly. "Sweet pie, don't do that again. You have money. If you want to buy me something, just use the card, okay?"
"Fine, But Mr. Handsome, I'm 21 now. I can make my own money, can't I?" she asked defensively. When he kissed her fingers, it tickled. She couldn't help giggling. Her eyes narrowed into thin lines.
"I'm not saying you can't work. It's just that you're still in school. You should be studying, not working. If you study hard and pay attention, you'll be awesome at whatever you decide to do." Although she was a wonderful woman in Carlos' eyes, she'd have to deal with all kinds of people. If she focused in college, she'd have a better handle on that, and know better what to do. He wanted her ready for all kinds of situations.
Debbie nodded. She knew he was right. Besides, a lot of her classmates had told her that she changed into a better and more graceful woman. She was happier, more confident, and more respectful.
She knew Carlos did that for her and she appreciate it.
After all, what kind of girl in their right mind wouldn't want to be better themselves? She had hoped to become her best self too before she met Carlos, but she had never really tried. She didn't have much money, and she had no idea how to make her dreams come true. Not to mention she lack self-discipline. Carlos was everything she wanted in a man.