Nic suppressed a sigh. So far, Hong Kong was proving to be nothing like the stupendous place that Ayah kept raving it to be. “I’m looking for Ayah Chandler.”
The old man’s gaze narrowed. “You are Luuk?”
Nic made sure his surprise did not show on his face. “Yes, I am. Is she here?”
An evil grin appeared on the old man’s face. “She is out on a speed date.” He scribbled something quickly on a notepad and tore the page off. He waved it in the air with glee. “Here, you take it. You see for yourself.”
Nic thanked him with a tight-lipped smile before swiftly making his way back to the elevator.
What the fuck was she doing on a speed date?
~ Four ~
“One: do not say you have a boyfriend because, honestly, you don’t really have one. An imaginary boyfriend, sure, but a real one? No. So don’t you speak about it if you don’t want to kill our friendship.”
“But—-”
Another finger came up. “Two: do not say anything about your Luuk. He has nothing to do with this. It is not a betrayal because, frankly, there’s nothing to betray since he never ever called you his girlfriend.”
“But—-”
“And lastly, do not compare the guys to Luuk in your mind. Have fun.” Mari glared at her. “Understand?”
Ayah returned it with a grim look of her own. “Fine. I won’t talk about having a boyfriend, won’t talk about Luuk, but you have no control about what I think! I’ll always think about Luuk and that’s that!”
As Ayah stomped towards the tables to join the other speed dating candidates, some of the café’s crew who had overheard their conversation snickered amongst themselves. Since Mr. Hsu also owned the café, Ayah was known to all of them.
Mari grumbled to them. “She makes it sound like I’m setting her up to be raped.”
One of the waitresses, Emi, patted her back. “You know Ayah.”
The buzzer they used rang, indicating that the speed dating event was officially starting. They looked at Ayah, who had her smiling hotel receptionist face on. It was a very cute look, one that immediately made people relax and get comfortable with her. Also, she was dressed more fashionably than usual – a pink flowery scarf over a loose pale blouse with batwing sleeves, paired with a leather belt, peach-colored cotton shorts, and open-toed sandals.
She wanted to think it was for the speed dating event, but Mari knew that was sure to be wishful thinking. She recognized this look. It was what her friend called her “SoHo look” – outfits that were meant to make people think she was rich and just being casual about it, a look that helped Ayah sweet talk locals into providing discounts and freebies to the guests under her care.
Mari sighed. She was pretty sure that her friend would charm the socks off every guy in her event. If only one of them could make Ayah realize that nothing was going to happen between her and the evil Luuk.
Her mobile phone rang, and Mari was taken aback to see it was Mr. Hsu calling her. “Hello?”
“The bad Mr. Luuk is heading there,” he told her.
“Luuk – as in Ayah’s Luuk?”
“Yes,” Mr. Hsu said dourly. “I don’t trust him. He’s too good-looking. He doesn’t wear a ring though.”
“He could have just taken it off.”
“Bah! Doesn’t matter. Don’t want him for our Ayah. She should marry within her kind, a good Chinese boy—-”
Mari had to smile. Mr. Hsu rarely took to foreigners, and this was yet another proof of how easy it was for Ayah to worm her way into people’s hearts. She was just so...sweet. Even when she was also so freaking stubborn, she was just too sweet about it.
“You do remember she’s American, right?” Mari teased.
“No,” Mr. Hsu snapped, “I don’t.” He ended the call.
Mari’s smile faded when she looked back at Ayah. She was clearly having fun, the guys she spoke to were clearly smitten with her, but it was also glaringly obvious she wasn’t taking any of the guys’ words seriously.
Ayah, Ayah, Ayah. What did that Luuk guy do to you to make you like him so much?
A WAITER BLOCKED HIS way the moment he tried to enter the café. “Wait here.” He had a curiously militant expression on his face, like he was expecting an enemy to come anytime. The way he was looking at Nic now, it was clear he was that enemy.
So far, Hong Kong was truly leaving a bad taste in his mouth.
Lifting a brow, he asked dryly, “I suppose you know I’m looking for Ayah Chandler?”
The waiter repeated stoically, “Wait here,” before promptly turning his back on Nic and entering the café.
He would give the guy five minutes, Nic decided. He knew from Ayah’s stories that her boss also owned the café. It could be that they thought they were just protecting her from the big bad Western wolf.