Pissed off

Mr. Long arrived just in time to see the drunkard slap Emma across the face. He had seen the altercation unfold from his office. The moment he saw the bastard lay a hand on his woman, a jet of molten fury erupt inside him, and he rushed down to the VIP area with Mr. Chen and two subordinates in tow.

Now he loomed over the soon-to-be dead man, feeling ready to rip him limb from limb.

He saw Emma lying on the ground, and their eyes met for a brief moment, before she looked away. To his eyes, she looked so pitiful and helpless, and he was seigted by the strong desire to punish the man who had caused her to be in this state.

Mr. Long reached out and roughly grabbed the neck of the bastard. Holding the suddenly squealing man in an iron grip, he slowly squeezed, feeling how his fingers dug into the soft flesh.

"What do you think you are doing? Hitting a woman?" His voice was a low hiss.

The bastard spluttered as he gasped for breath, gradually turning red. Mr. Long enjoyed watching the man suffer under the pressure of his fingers.

A discreet cough from Mr. Chen behind him reminded him that the ruckus had cought many of the customers attention. Many of the serves were also milling about, staring open-mouthed at the drama unfolding.

Mr. Long gritted his teeth in frustration. He didn't much care about what people thought of him, but strangling a man in front of a crowd of people would invite more trouble than it was worth. Otherwise nothing could have stopped him from beating the bastard into a pulp right then and there.

Mr. Long released the man, letting him fall in a heap to the ground, gasping and rubbing his bruised neck. Mr. Long stepped over him like he was dirt, while giving Mr. Chen a pointed look, which said 'take care of it'. Responding with a curt nod, Mr. Chen signalled her servers to begin ushering the customers away.

While the customers slowly returned to their drink and fun, soon for getting about the whole thing, a scuffling sound to his right made Mr. Long aware that Emma was getting to her feet. He approached her, a hand outstretched, but she looked at him in alarm and backed away a few steps. This behaviour pissed him off.

Ignoring Mr. Long, Emma gingerly touched her rapidly swelling cheek, and couldn't stop a hiss of pain to escape her lips. She marched over the freezer behind the bar and pulled out a some of ice which she wrapped in a towel and pressed to her smarting cheek to slow the swelling.

She was still seething in silent anger from the whole thing, but she felt almost as frightened and unsettled at Mr. Long's sudden appearance. Emma felt angry and embarrased. She hated appearing weak, and especially hated people assuming that she needed protecting because she was a woman of small stature. She could see in Mr. Long's eyes that he found her pitiful, and that pissed her off.

Mr. Long's eyes stayed fixed on her and she could see him clenching his jaw angrily. Thinking that he was upset with her, she wondered if she was going to get in trouble. She felt that she was completely justified in all her actions, including slapping the drunk jerk. But Mr. Long, as the owner might see things differently.

Mr. Chen walked over to the drunkard and pulled him roughly to his feet. His pride was obviously hurt, and Emma could see a privileged upper class tantrum coming on.

Mr. Long must have sensed it too, for he turned towards the man with an sudden and unnervingly charming smile on his face.

"I'm so sorry for this. I assure you this is not how we usually expect our staff to behave." His tone was silky smooth, and utterly charming.

Emma was so surprised at the sudden change, that she just stood there, gaping. It was like Mr. Long had become a completely different person, gracious and accomodating.

"Let me introduce myself" Mr. Long said, holding out his hand. "I'm the owner of this establishment."

The drunk man pulled himself self-importantly, obviously gratified at Mr. Long's deferential attitude, and flashed Emma a triumphant smile as he shook Mr. Long's hand.

"Let me invite you up to my office for a drink, and we will sort this out," Mr. Long continued. His eyes slid to the side. "Miss Huang, please come along."