ANGEL INLAW

MEET IMPORTANT PERSON

"Say what! A cat meows," Penelope scoffed, rolling her eyes. "I’d really like to see you pull that off. By the way, do you know where Charles is taking us for dinner tonight? It’s the third floor of Cubana. A piece of garbage like you couldn’t get into a fancy restaurant like that even if you worked nonstop for the rest of your life."

Kimberly's eyes lit up with excitement. "The third floor of Cubana? Only Golden Members can book a table there!" Cubana was one of the most expensive restaurants in Malafania Republic. You had to spend more than fifteen million on one bill just to get a membership.

Lord Walter was the only person in their entire family who had a Golden Member card there. If you wanted floors higher than the third, you had to spend even more crazy money.

Penelope glanced at Quincy and sneered, "Quincy, this is the difference between you and Charles. Seriously, what gives you the confidence to still hang around Khloe?"

"Penelope, stop talking to this useless dead vegetable. Khloe, let's go. We shouldn’t keep Charles waiting," Kimberly said, not even bothering to look at Quincy as she grabbed Khloe’s arm and yanked her toward the Range Rover.

Meanwhile, Deborah was still at home, crying buckets over the money she'd foolishly transferred to Kubus’s account.

"Vincent, you have to go to Kubus and get my money back! Be tough! I mean, Quincy went out there for Khloe, you have to do something too! I need to celebrate my birthday in that new house. I already posted about it all over social media, I just can't be embarrassed like this!" she went on and on, sobbing bitterly.

Vincent tried his best to calm her down, but deep down, he knew there was almost nothing he could do. "Stop crying, I'll definitely figure something out," he managed to say.

"Figure?! Figure out what?!" The angry, spoiled Deborah screamed at her husband. "There's no time to figure crap out! Just go over there, take some authority with you—he’s not above the law!"

Vincent reluctantly agreed to go see Kubus first thing in the morning.

Quincy was pacing on the house veranda since everyone had left. His phone rang.

"Boss, Innocent Chim has prepared a feast as an apology for disrespecting you. It’s being held at the ninth floor of Cubana, the Emperor Hall. Would you like to…"

"Tell him to pick me up," Quincy cut him off over the phone.

When the Land Rover arrived at the entrance of Cubana's 'Cloud Nine,' Charles, who was already waiting, went over to welcome them. He was wearing an expensive white suit and holding a huge bouquet of roses. He opened the car door for Khloe.

"Khloe, you look so beautiful tonight," he said. Khloe forced a small smile.

Penelope nudged Khloe and grumbled, "Charles is talking to you! Say something!"

Khloe leaned over and whispered, "I’m more worried about Quincy not having anything to eat tonight. Would it be rude to order something for him?"

Penelope snapped at her, "For goodness sake, forget about the loser, at least for one night!"

"Wow!" someone suddenly yelled out. An extra-long white limousine pulled up to the entrance. The license plate had five 9’s, which was totally unbelievable. Even Charles looked shocked.

"Isn’t that Innocent’s car? Does he eat at Cubana too?" Charles muttered.

Innocent was a seriously powerful man, whose influence was almost as big as the police. While they were all still gawking, the car door opened and a young man stepped out. He followed his security team straight toward the elevator.

Khloe looked at the young man and thought he looked familiar. "He looks like Quincy," she whispered.

Penelope raised her eyebrows and laughed mockingly. "Quincy? At this point, I think you need therapy! Quincy would never, ever come out of Innocent’s car—not even as the driver."

Khloe swallowed hard. She must have been mistaken.

Khloe, her parents, and Penelope followed Charles to the third floor of Cubana, which was called the La Casera Hall. "Wow! The third floor is this fancy and luxurious? I can’t even imagine what the higher floors look like. And that legendary Emperor Hall on the ninth floor—I heard it’s like a palace!" Kimberly was totally swept away by the luxurious look of the La Casera Hall, walking around and touching the decorations.

Charles was thrilled by Kim’s reaction. "Kim and Hector, I think we should order," he suggested.

"Oh, right, let's order!" they both echoed. The couple sat down and looked at the menu. The enormous prices made them feel like royalty for a few seconds.

Just then, Charles’s phone buzzed. It was a text from Vincent. Vincent wanted Charles to go with him to Kubus to help get Deborah’s money back or finish the penthouse purchase. After reading the message, Charles decided to call Vincent and tell him that Innocent was here at Cubana, suggesting they go through Innocent, who was Kubus’s boss.

"I’ll be there soon," Vincent replied.

"Vincent will be joining us," Charles announced after hanging up. Kimberly wasn't happy about the news. "I hope he’s not bringing his wife. I can't stand looking at Deborah."

"Actually, Deborah is in some trouble with Kubus. It’s like a trade-off: he released the land to Khloe and took Deborah's money. Funny, right?" Charles said, picking up the wine menu.

After placing his order, he added two bottles of Azul. Penelope, who was a wine expert, flattered him. "Charles, you shouldn’t have! Those two bottles of Azul cost around thirty to forty thousand!"

Charles smiled confidently. "It's nothing, really. I’m the host tonight, and my soon-to-be in-laws are here. You can’t imagine how happy I am."

For a moment, Kim and Hector were completely won over by Charles's generosity. He was everything you'd expect from the oldest son of a wealthy family—a hundred times better than the idiot son-in-law they were forced to accept.

Outside the hall, Quincy was wandering the corridors when he accidentally bumped into a waitress. She was carrying two bottles of wine, stumbled, and almost fell, but Quincy caught her just in time.

"Are you okay?" he asked.

The waitress was mortified. "I'm fine," she replied, trying to put weight on her foot, which hurt. She couldn't move it.

"Why don't I help you deliver the wines?" Khloe asked.

She nodded and thanked Quincy. "Thank you, sir."

Back in the La Casera Hall, the group was chatting happily over dinner, except for Khloe, who was totally spaced out. Kim noticed her daughter’s blank look. She leaned over and whispered, "Khloe, why are you so quiet? When the wine arrives, be sweet and pour some for Charles yourself, understand?"

"Mom, I’m not in the mood for all that," Khloe muttered.

"You better be," Kim said, frowning deeply.

Vincent opened the door to the La Casera Hall, and that’s when Quincy walked in with the two bottles of wine, looking around for the right table. Vincent burst out laughing loudly. Everyone turned. Kimberly, sitting opposite the door, spotted him first.

"Quincy?" she gasped in shock. The others were just as surprised.

"You worthless thing! Why did you follow us here? Who let you in?" Kimberly was furious. She looked quickly at Charles, scared that Quincy constantly bothering Khloe would make Charles mad.

Penelope scoffed. "Quincy has some nerve. Cubana doesn't let anyone in without a member card! Don’t tell me you pretended to be a waiter just to sneak in?"

Quincy shook his head. "Someone invited me here."

Khloe looked at Quincy, confused.

Penelope put her head on the table, speechless. A few seconds later, she looked up. "Who would invite an idiot like you to dinner? Don't tell me you still have some idiot left in your brain?"

Vincent, who had already sat down, waved him off reluctantly. "I don’t care how you got in. Put the wine down and leave."

Quincy ignored all their yelling. He looked straight at Khloe and said, "Khloe, Kubus’s boss is hosting a feast for us on the ninth floor. He said it’s to apologize. Do you want to come?"

His words instantly silenced everyone.

"Kubus’s boss? Isn’t that Innocent Chim?"

Penelope scoffed again. "Quincy, do you even know who Innocent Chim is? He’s a massive shot with huge contacts and power. Even my godfather respects him! And you, a loser, are claiming a man like that is hosting a feast to apologize to you? You crack me up!"

"Penelope, if you don’t believe me, you can come along and see for yourself," Quincy said calmly.

Penelope just rolled her eyes. Charles quickly got his composure back and said with a fake, beaming smile, "I saw Innocent’s car at the entrance, that’s why he’s saying this. It’s a good thing no outsiders are here, or else we’d all be in trouble if they heard this insulting lie."

Everyone was scared. "I’ve had enough of your nonsense!" Kim slammed the table and yelled. "You keep acting like an idiot, and it embarrasses us! Get out of here, or I'll slap you to death!"

"Quincy, why don’t you just go? I’ll come home after dinner," Khloe was embarrassed, too. She stood up and pulled Quincy into a corner, urging him to leave. Quincy looked at her and, once again, his eyes welled up. This always happened when he looked deep into her eyes and remembered everything she had suffered because of him.

Kimberly couldn't stand the sight of Quincy and Khloe huddled in a corner while Charles watched. She roared at Quincy, "Get away from her and out of my daughter’s life! You claim Innocent is hosting you? Fine, go have all the fun in the world, just leave Khloe out of it! You clearly want to commit suicide, and somehow you want to drag poor Innocent Chim into your death!"

"Trust me, you need to come to the ninth floor with me," Quincy pleaded.

At this point, Khloe gave up. It wasn't that she believed Innocent was hosting them; she just agreed to go to see for herself how incredible the ninth floor was. Being on the third floor and seeing how fancy it was, she could only imagine the luxury of the ninth floor.

The sound of his phone interrupted his conversation with Khloe. He glanced at the caller ID and saw it was Scot. He answered immediately.

"Boss, Innocent wants to introduce you to the guests. He says he needs to do it to show you the proper respect," Scot practically roared.

"No, I don't think that's necessary," Quincy replied. "I still don’t want my identity known yet." He paused, then continued. "I will be there with my wife, and I want everything to stay calm. The 'Sir' and 'Boss' stuff needs to stop for now. But all attention and respect will be given to my wife. We’ll be there shortly."

"But everyone already saw you—both Innocent and other important people. How do I tell them not to talk about you?" Scot asked, totally confused, not understanding why his boss wanted to stay hidden when the news of his recovery was already spreading.

"Just do what I said," Quincy ordered, and ended the call.

Looking up from his phone, he saw Khloe approaching, a look of pure fear on her face. She couldn't say no to Quincy, but she honestly didn't believe for a second that Innocent Chim was hosting them. She followed Quincy anyway.

Kimberly was furious, and Hector’s face was red with shame. They mumbled apologies to Charles, who was absolutely steaming mad.

Quincy walked with Khloe into the extremely fancy, diamond-encrusted hall. The decorations were made with rubies, sapphires, emeralds, and diamonds.

A waiter walked up to Quincy—it was the same girl he had accidentally bumped into earlier. The moment Quincy saw her, he knew she was about to start calling him "Sir," so he gave her a sharp, mean look that shut her down instantly.

Working as a waitress at Cubana meant you saw all the ridiculously rich people, so you knew how to treat them with respect. "That’s my wife, Khloe. Get her anything she asks for," Quincy instructed. He turned to Khloe. "Honey, relax. Ask her for anything you want. I’ll be with you shortly." With that, Quincy disappeared.

Khloe was still in shock but secretly very pleased to be in the Emperor Hall. Whatever had gotten them a pass to the ninth floor, she didn't care right now. She suddenly remembered Penelope. Now that she was seated and had a waiter to get her anything she needed, she decided to call Penelope over.

"It’s real! It's so real! Come up to the ninth floor! Come see all the beautiful things! Let's have fun while we can! Plus, I don’t know much about wines and cocktails, but you do!" Khloe screamed excitedly into the phone, practically dragging Penelope with her.

Penelope was chewing her last bite of food when Khloe ran down to the third floor for her. She slowly wiped the food off her mouth and excused herself from the silent table.

After Quincy and Khloe left, the atmosphere on the third floor went completely silent. Charles had to continue dinner just to save face. If he could have, he would have left Cubana right then. Just hours ago, he was being praised for spending ten million on the third floor. In a blink, the very woman he was trying to impress left him for the ninth floor. And honestly, he couldn't afford the ninth floor. That hall was ridiculously expensive.

Up on the ninth floor...

"Domaine de la Romaine, Cheval Blanc, Screaming Eagle Cabernet Sauvignon. Can we have all those wines I just mentioned?" Penelope asked the waiter.

"All available, Madam. Just a few minutes, please!" the waitress replied.

"You mentioned that the young man who came out when Innocent Chim drove in looked like your Quincy. Clearly, he’s tired of living off his in-laws, so he thought it would be smart to get a job. And the only job his idiot brain could come up with is being a waiter... poor him," Penelope chuckled as they waited for their wine.

Announcement... The announcement was made by Geoffrey, Innocent Chim’s son.

"A very important person will be joining us shortly. He will address us. He is the bravest of heart and the strongest of souls." Only the voice could be heard.

Khloe and Penelope were thrilled, beaming with excitement. "A very important person! I am not leaving this place without shaking this important person's hand! Anyone who Innocent respects this much must be huge. I am not missing this chance now that I’m here!" Penelope exclaimed, nodding and swaying slowly to the soft jazz music.

She turned to the waiter behind her. "Hey, I want more champagne."