As soon as Carlos entered the apartment, Millie ran to greet him with excitement. Harley barked at her as if to complain about being neglected.
Millie then turned back to play with Harley. When the dogs were entertaining each other, Debbie scanned the room and did a quick observation.
"Isn't your...girlfriend home?" she asked Carlos, who was taking off his coat.
Every time she spoke of his girlfriend, Debbie felt as if she and Carlos were sneaking around.
"No, she isn't. Make yourself comfortable." With that, Carlos walked into one of the bedrooms.
'Of course, she isn't home. If she were, I bet he wouldn't have let me in, ' she reflected.
How strange things turned out to be. Never had it occurred to Debbie that one day she would walk into Carlos' home and feel like an awkward guest.
They were once the closest and dearest lovers who used to live together. Carlos' amnesia had turned her into a stranger to him even though she knew him so well.
Carlos walked out of the bedroom while Debbie was looking at photos of Stephanie. He had changed into a casual white outfit that made him look years younger.
Now he looked to be in his early twenties rather than thirty-one years old.
Carlos noticed that she was staring intensely at him and asked, "Is something wrong?"
"Yes," Debbie said with a nod. "You look dashing."
Carlos was left speechless.
He put the leash on Millie and made his way to the door. Debbie quickly did the same with Harley and followed him out.
They came downstairs together and walked their dogs along the footpath outside of the apartment buildings.
Before long, they came across Blair.
She had been looking for Debbie. "Good evening, Mr. Huo," she greeted. Carlos responded with a nod. "I've been looking all over for you. I don't have your phone number," Blair said to Debbie.
"What's wrong?"
"Have you told Mr. Huo?" Blair came closer to Debbie and whispered in her ear.
"Sorry. I forgot." Debbie slapped her head, remorsefully. "I'll tell him now."
"Okay, go ahead." Blair gave Debbie a slightly harder push, and because Debbie was caught off guard, she had lost her balance and began to fall towards Carlos with a shriek.
Blair held out her hands and tried to grab Debbie. 'Wow! I didn't think that I used that much force. I guess I must be stronger than I realized, ' Blair thought, surprised.
Luckily Carlos caught her before she fell to the ground.
"Phew! Thank you. I thought I was going to fall," Debbie exclaimed, patting her chest.
Blair approached her and apologized, "Sorry, Debbie. Are you okay?"
Debbie rested her head dramatically against Carlo's shoulder and secretly winked at Blair. "No, I think I hurt my ankle. Aw, it hurts."
Blair felt terrible and sincerely apologized again, "Sorry, Debbie, I'm so— Huh?" She stopped talking mid-sentence when she noticed that Debbie kept winking at her.
Then her sight fell on Carlos' arms wrapped around Debbie, holding her close to him. Finally, she got the hint and smiled. "Well, Debbie. I'll leave you kids alone."
"Okay. Bye," Debbie immediately replied as she watched Blair bounce away happily.
When her friend was gone, Debbie snuggled into his chest and wrapped her arms around Carlos' waist. "Thank you, old man."
"Since your ankle doesn't hurt anymore, you can stand straight," Carlos said. The faint fragrance from her body affected him and was scrambling his brains. His voice became hoarse.
"Oh, okay," Debbie said obediently, moving her hands away from his waist. Just as Carlos thought she was going to leave him alone, she locked her arms around his neck, stood on tiptoe, and kissed him on the lips.
Carlos was taken aback.
A triumphant smile crept over Debbie's face. Now, she was ready to leave him alone. However, Carlos pulled her back holding her tight, then kissed her passionately.
While they were both enjoying the moment, Blair came back walking in on the two and said apologetically, "Oops! I didn't mean to interrupt, but..."
Carlos cooled off and released his grip on Debbie at the sudden intrusion. Feeling disappointed, Debbie gave Blair a reproachful look.
Blair felt awkward and explained, "Um, Mr. Huo. I saw Miss Li come back, so I came to give you two a heads-up.
Neither Carlos nor Debbie said anything back. Carlos cleared his throat while Debbie smoothed her clothes down unconsciously.
Carlos looked sullen. Blair wondered if he felt sexually frustrated because she had interrupted them. Scratching the back of her head, she suggested, "Would you like to continue? I can be a sentry for you two if you want?"
'Sentry? Where do you think you are? The army? Now she sounds like Wesley. It must be because she has stayed with him for too long, ' Carlos thought glumly at her suggestion.
Debbie looked at Carlos and said, "Your future fiancee is back. You'd best go back home. Before you go, I have a favor to ask of you. Later on, if Wesley comes to my home to take Blair back, can you come upstairs to stop him?"
Carlos furrowed his brows into a frown and snorted, "Why didn't you think it over first before you made the decision?"
"We did. We thought you would help us."
Carlos fell into silence. 'So these two women had planned to use me as a shield, ' he thought.
When Carlos didn't respond, Debbie began to worry a little. "Old man, Wesley hates my guts right now. When he sees that Blair is staying with me, he'll think that I'm turning her against him. He'll kill me. Please help me. You're his friend, he'll listen to you. Good is rewarded with good," she said, trying to persuade him.
"If you're so afraid of what might happen, then let her go with him." Carlos couldn't understand why the two women needed to stay together.
"No, I can't," Debbie blurted out. Then she thought for a moment, and with a mischievous glint in her eyes, she continued, "On second thought, I can let her go with him. However, there is one problem. I'm afraid of the darkness. I'm always scared to sleep alone at night. If I let Blair go, you must come upstairs to keep me company." She winked discreetly at Blair when she was finished.
Taking the hint, Blair gave her a thumbs-up when Carlos wasn't looking.
'This girl can make an excellent negotiator. She knows that Carlos won't agree to go upstairs and spend the night with her. That's why she laid down that condition. That way, Carlos would have no other option but to help us.'
Carlos glanced at them both and then started to go home with Millie.
When Carlos had returned to his apartment, Stephanie was about to go out again. Once she saw him come back, she asked gently, "I was about to go downstairs to look for you. Didn't you plan to have dinner with Mr. Li? Why did you cancel it?
Carlos took the leash off Millie and answered vaguely, "Because I didn't want to go." He only wanted to come back to walk the dog.
Stephanie was surprised by his reply. 'That sounds willful.' "But we could stand to make a ten million profit from our cooperation with him."
"So? He's a scumbag. I don't want to do business with him." Carlos seemed disinterested in the conversation and went to feed Millie.
Stephanie stood gaping and was left speechless. 'Mr. Li is indeed a freak, and he did time a few years back, but is that a reason to refuse to do business with him? Besides, he wouldn't dare try and pull the wool over Carlos Huo's eyes.'
Even though Stephanie didn't understand Carlos, she decided not to push the topic any further. "I gave the cook the night off. I wasn't expecting you back for dinner. Shall we eat out?"