When I arrived at our downtown offices the next morning, my assistant Janie, who I shared with three other execs at the company, greeted me at the elevator.
"Mr. Hon has been in your office for fifteen minutes," she said to me, the stress in her voice was obvious.
"What!?"
"He's early, and he doesn't look happy."
"Janie, why couldn't you have sent me a text message or something?"
"I did."
I looked down at my phone and saw the text. My ringer had been off. Now both worried and furious with my own mistake, I headed to my office. I needed a calm approach to navigate this deal and I'd just sabotaged myself.
I closed the door behind me. "Mr Hon! I'm so sorry I am late..."
The conversation didn't go well. He was ready to pull our funding if I didn't get our act together in the next few days. He convinced me to meet with some of his associates that evening at their hotel.
I called my wife to ask if she'd be able to accompany me to the dinner. She's always had a calming affect on me, but after she agreed and we hung up, the screaming in my head returned. I pushed the thoughts of last night aside and carried on with my day as best I could.
That evening I drove by our place to pick her up. As she got into the car, her perfume hit me. I've always loved that perfume.
"You look really great, babe," I said. She was wearing a simple black dress and heels. It showed a little cleavage but in a classy way. We drove to the hotel and I explained how the deal was going south.
She frowned but didn't say anything.
When we arrived at the hotel, Mr Hon and his associates were waiting at the table already. "Jesus, I can't catch a break. I wonder how long they've been waiting for us," I whispered into my wife's ear.
"Just relax. Freaking out isn't going to help."
I introduced everyone to her and we sat and ate. The conversation stayed off of work topics throughout the dinner, and I was starting to relax. I got up to use the bathroom and when I came back, Mr Hon was talking intently to my wife. She really is a charmer and I was very glad at that moment to have brought her.
Mr Hon insisted on paying, despite my many protests. As we got up to leave he said, "A client has delivered some excellent Sake to my suite, how about we head there and try it out."
Being invited to drinks was way better than I had imagined this evening would go. I brought my wife thinking I'd need a shoulder to cry on for the ride home, and now we were going to have drinks.
"Excellent idea," I replied.
Mr Hon put out his arm and my wife took it. He charmed her with stories of his many travels on the way to his suite.
The suite was enormous. A multi-leveled affair with huge fluffy couches and chairs. Mr Hon found the chilled Sake and poured everyone some.
My wife downed hers like a shot, and then took Mr Hon by the hand and sat him down on the couch.
"Facing you or away from you?" she asked him.
What. The. Hell?
"Facing please," he said in his thick accent and smiling from ear to ear.
She took her hair out of the elaborate bun it was in and then flipped it behind her. She hiked up her dress, revealing her sheer panties and sat in his lap facing him.
Mr Hon's associates all gathered around, casually taking seats with a good view of my wife like this was a perfectly normal meeting.
I stood in the corner, drink in hand, and jaw on the floor.