Micky overdid it.
The younger cousin understood what James meant when he said 'private' - book the whole restaurant.
What he seemed to have failed to grasp was the 'revenge' part.
Yes. It is true that James wanted to woo Misha in a way, but he for sure didn't mean to ask Micky to book a table by the window with a beautiful night view of the city, decorated with white silk cover and red rose petals, and candles that were soothingly fragrant without interfering with the natural flavor of the exquisite dishes to be served.
The flabbergasted girl was transfixed on the glittering sea of lights in this fine evening. There was a happy glow on her face, a never-fading smile at the corner of her lips, and dancing flames of anticipation in her eyes as they waited for food.
"Do you like it?"
James asked, grudgingly telling himself he should appear kind.
"It's beautiful."
The boss just nodded with a smile, a fake smile which Misha returned with a genuine one.
A string quartet was playing in the corner - another over-the-top arrangement from Micky - just loud enough to be heard, but soft enough to blend into the refined atmosphere.
Without needing to wait for too long Xiao Long Bao - soup dumpling - arrived. The young lady made no effort in hiding her excitement. James wondered if this woman ever did at all in her entire life.
"Please." James invited Misha to get started first and she did not hold back.
She eagerly grabbed the steamy dumpling with her chopsticks, but as it happens, the plump creature refused to be taken so easily. Its bottom stuck to the thin paper that clung onto it. Never the one to give up so easily, Misha hmpf-ed and gave it a good squeeze and swig, which unfortunately led to the poor dumpling bursting and squirting across the table to land its hot juice on the face of her boss.
James had an instant urge to explode and scold, but when he saw Misha gasp and immediately shoot up from her chair with a napkin in her hand, he feared things could go seriously wrong here if this girl wasn't stopped.
Reclaiming his cool, he raised his hand and smiled, reassuringly.
"It's fine. No problem. Yes… happens all the time. Ha. Ha."
"Ye… yes… I'm still sorry though…" Luckily, the disaster girl was successfully diffused before she could trip over anything in rush.
The following dishes thankfully didn't cause much disasters. There were rattles and spills, but the CEO's precious remained unharmed. A victory for the brave soldier.
Then came the highlight of the course: Lobster Yee Mein, a lobster dish with E-fu noodles. This was one of the signature dishes of Jade Garden, the one that Misha was looking forward to the most. Although she wasn't that crazy into sharing her life in social media, this was something she was happy to take a snap of.
"May I?" Misha asked James, but she was already fumbling her phone and angling for the best shot before her boss answered.
"Sure, go ahead." James chuckled inside. Once he changed his strategy, aiming to win her over and play the long term game, things started to go smoothly. It was easy to impress the simpleton.
"One, two, three…" Misha hunched, squinting, and whispered.
"Ms. Seo. The lobster isn't going to move."
"Shh!" She pressed the shutter at the perfect timing for the immobile lobster.
The picture snapped - lobster with a beautiful sheen in the foreground, the glittering skyline through the window, and, without her realizing, James perfectly framed across the table, candlelight softening the sharpness of his jaw. Neither of them noticed her reflection caught faintly in the window glass, smiling beside the Emperor himself.
"Perfect! Lobster looks amazing," Misha put the phone away.
Once she started to dig in, Misha was in pure bliss. There wasn't much of a chat as the girl became thoroughly focused on devouring the sea beast, and just watching her being so full of joy, James inadvertently let out a laugh - almost forgetting for a moment that all of this was just a part of his plan for revenge.
The perfect dish was finished, and equally perfect others followed. Just as they arrived at the end of the course, Misha suddenly exclaimed.
"I love this song!"
James wasn't really paying attention to the music the quartet was playing, but after the excited girl's comment, it was an instantly recognizable tune: Teresa Teng's The Moon Represents My Heart.
Misha started to hum along gently. To his horror though, the attentive waiter who had been staying invisible and non-intrusive the whole time emerged out of nowhere and suggested.
"Would you like to sing along?"
James understood exactly what was happening. The server was probably thinking that this VIP was on some kind of very special date and overly eager to please, to turn this into a 'special occassion'
"Ah… haha! I really shouldn't!" Misha waved him off.
"It's perfectly fine, Miss. Please enjoy yourself."
'Don't encourage her!'
Without any further ado, the waiter gestured the quartet to come closer. They seemed to understand immediately, nodded, and James and Misha were soon surrounded by the quartet.
Misha looked at James as if to ask if it was really OK.
'Well… this is embarrassing, but… there's no one here. I guess it's OK.'
He gave a nod of approval, and despite blushing a little, Misha stood up and started to sing, and it was-
Utterly beautiful.
The quartet was surprised, the waiter flinched, James Thorne felt a sharp pang in his chest.
Misha's singing voice was angelic. An unexpected gift from heaven, silky smooth yet heart piercing, as clear as autumns' beautiful cloudless sky - with a hint of gentle spring breeze.
Each word she sang bloomed in the air effortlessly, treading on the fabric of the notes from the strings. They were joyous whispers of a child, an intimate brush with finger tips of a lady, a soothing embrace of a mother.
When the song ended, nobody applauded. Instead, there was a deep bow of admiration from the musicians. The waiter no longer had an eager grin on his face, but a genuine eyes of someone who had been deeply moved. James sat, unable to move, unable to speak, unable to react.
The shy girl simply smiled, theatrically bowed in return, and sat on her seat again. She clapped her hands to snap everyone out of magic, and asked,
"So, do you also have fortune cookies?"
It was unusual for upmarket and authentic Chinese restaurant to serve fortune cookies, but luckily for Misha who always looked forward to such things, Jade Garden did have them.
"O… Of course, my lady." The waiter quickly turned to head back to the kitchen and returned in no time.
Excited, Misha immediately cracked open her fortune cookie and read it out aloud.
"The wolf wears many faces, yet its howl reveals the truth," She giggled, "Hehe, what could this mean?"
James never cared for such things, but he opened his and looked at the paper strip.
"What does it say?" Misha was keen to hear it.
With an uncharacteristic tremble - just a hint of it - in his voice, James read out.
"In the autumn wind, fortune and disaster dance as one."