Take My Breath Away

Chapter 361: Take A Few Days Off

Carlos didn't explain why he wasn't willing to get engaged to Stephanie. Instead, he said casually, "Dad, I've already made up my mind. I will apologize to Stephanie and her father in person."         

    

James tried to hold back his anger and asked calmly, "Carlos, what happened between you and Stephanie?"     

"Nothing happened. It's getting late. I'm heading back home now." Saying that, Carlos walked towards the entrance of the building.     

Staring at his retreating back, James knew that everything would go out of his control if he didn't do something quickly. "Carlos," he called out.     

Carlos stopped and turned around to look at him.     

"We'll talk tomorrow morning," James said.     

After a short pause, Carlos nodded. He had a bad feeling in his gut.     

As he walked out of the building, Carlos discreetly scanned the area out of the corner of his eye. As expected, he noticed someone hiding in the shadows.     

He snorted as he got into his car and asked Frankie to take him to Champs Bay Apartments.     

When he arrived, Stephanie was already home. She was sitting before the wine cabinet and was on a phone call. Her tone was harsh as she said, "Work out a new plan and send it to me via e-mail within three days. Otherwise, the Planning Department will have to bear the responsibilities."     

Seeing Carlos enter the apartment, she fixed her eyes on him with a stern expression on her face. He took off his suit and loosened his tie.     

"Set aside everything else. Your priority is to work out a new plan. That's all!" Stephanie hung up and heaved a tired sigh. With the phone still in her hand, she trotted over to Carlos, who was in the kitchen, pouring himself a glass of water.     

She flashed a flattering smile and said in a soft voice, "Carlos, you're back. Are you tired?" No matter how tough Stephanie's work got, she never asked Carlos for his assistance. She was too proud to show him her weakness.     

Carlos nodded and asked casually, "Something wrong with your company?"     

"No big deal. I can fix it." The truth was that she was really annoyed because of what had happened in her company. She was definitely in a tough spot and had a lot of cleaning up to do.     

Since she assured him that she could fix it on her own, Carlos didn't ask for more details. He drank the water and was about to head for his bedroom.     

"Carlos!" Stephanie called out, stopping him.     

He turned to look at her, waiting for her next words.     

Remembering what her mother had told her earlier, she said with a hopeful heart, "I've been really exhausted lately because of work and other stuff. I was thinking that maybe I should take a few days off and go on a vacation. Let's go together, shall we?"     

Carlos hesitated for a moment, then turned her down. "Milo Yu of the Yu Group passed away out of the blue. We have a billion-dollar project in co-operation with them. I'm responsible for the project now. I'll be very busy for the next few days."     

Stephanie lowered her head to hide her disappointment. When she looked at him again, she was wearing an understanding smile. "I see. Take care of yourself. Okay?"     

"Sure. Thank you." With not as much as a smile or a good night, he strode to his bedroom.     

Stephanie balled her hands into fists and gnashed her teeth as she stood staring at the closed door of his bedroom.     

The next day, in the general manager's office at ZL Group, Carlos was assigning some important tasks to Frankie when the door was pushed open from outside. James entered the office without knocking.     

As an efficient assistant, Frankie said, "Mr. Huo, if there's nothing else, I'll take my leave."     

Carlos nodded, and Frankie left the office and closed the door behind him. Carlos stood up from his chair and poured a glass of water for James. "Dad, would you like to go to a tea house and talk?"         

    

James continued acting like a caring father in front of Carlos. "No need for that. It's no big deal. Are you accustomed to working at the company now?"     

"Yes, Dad. Everything is fine."     

"I'm glad to hear that." James put down the glass and added, "Carlos, now that you are fully recovered, I shall return the CEO's position—"     

Carlos interrupted him, "Dad, there's no hurry. We can talk about this later."     

James was thrilled deep down, but he feigned worry. "No, no. Three years ago, you were at death's door. I had no choice but to take over the position to assure the cooperation of the shareholders and the employees. Now that you are fine, I must return the position to you. I will go back to New York and work from there." "     

Dad, just leave it be for now." Carlos sat opposite James and went on, "There's something that I need to know from you."     

James had a hunch about what Carlos was going to ask, and his heart skipped a beat. He furrowed his eyebrows and asked, "What is it?"     

"How was Debbie Nian related to me in the past?" Carlos asked. He felt that he was becoming more and more attracted to her. So, he decided to learn all about what exactly had happened between them.     

The reason James was at Carlos' office was to talk to him about Debbie. He was glad that Carlos had taken the initiative. If not, he would have had to find a round-about way to mention her without sounding strange.     

James changed his expression dramatically on purpose. After a long pause, he asked, "Why do you know that woman? Did you meet her?"     

Seeing his long face, Carlos said calmly, "Yes, I met her. She said that we shared a relationship."     

"Where did you see her?" James seemed very nervous to Carlos. Of course, it was all fake.     

"Z Country." James' behavior didn't seem right, so Carlos decided not to reveal the entire truth.     

James realized that something was off since Carlos had just lied to him. He already knew that Debbie was in Y City.     

Both father and son were indulged in their own thoughts at that moment.     

Faking grief and anger, James began, "That woman brought shame to our family. I wanted to hide everything from you, but..."     

"What happened?" Carlos asked with a frown.     

After some hesitation, James said, "She... she is your ex-wife."     

Debbie had told him that. So when James confirmed it, Carlos was not surprised at all.     

He just wanted to hear it from his father, because he was still a little skeptical about her. But when James confirmed it, various emotions flooded Carlos.     

"Carlos!" James looked him in the eye and raised his right hand to vow, "I'm not lying, Carlos. This is the truth. If I'm lying, may I be struck dead."     

"Dad!" Carlos exclaimed. "I trust you."     

"Ah!" James sighed. "I was afraid that you were cheated by that woman again. Carlos, you have to understand. I really can't afford to lose you again..."     

'Cheated by her? Again?' Carlos had a bad feeling about this. "Why did we get divorced? Do you know the reason?"     

"Of course I know!" James feigned misery and continued, "I've been hiding the truth from you for all these years because I didn't want to make you sad. But now that you're asking about it, I have to tell you everything." He sighed dramatically and continued, "Three years ago, you were in a car accident. Your assistant, Emmett, died at the scene. You protected that woman and was fatally wounded. She was unscratched. When you were struggling for your life in the hospital, she cheated on you and had another man's baby. When she found out that you might not survive, she chose to divorce you and abort the baby. She even told the media and others that you were dead. Carlos, I'm so sorry. I implored her not to divorce you and told her that you were going to be okay, but she didn't listen..."         

    

He squeezed out a few drops of tears and let them stream down his cheeks.     

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