Teeradon left Wasin's apartment close to midnight. It had been an exhaustingly long day, and he felt drained and drowsy. He'd initially planned to stay over at Wasin's place, but remembering he had to work early the next morning made him grit his teeth and force himself to leave.
Toey, his diligent secretary, had thoughtfully sent a brief reminder that there was a nine o'clock meeting, emphasizing with a warning: "Please wake up on time, or Toey will have to call you."
What on earth are we meeting about? Mom and Dad living in different countries for who knows what reason, and my younger brother off on his endless honeymoon adventure. I'm working harder than I ever have before. This is killing me.
Just as Teeradon was about to open his car door, the thunderous roar of a large motorcycle engine made him whip around. The image of the speed demon who'd raced him that morning flashed through his mind.
The bike glided in and parked beside a large four-wheel drive vehicle. Teeradon stood watching for a moment, then walked over, intending to circle around to catch a glimpse of the rider's face. But by the time he reached the spot, the motorcycle rider had vanished.
Teeradon walked back toward the seven-story condominium's staircase, scanning for someone wearing clothes similar to the motorcycle rider. Earlier, he hadn't paid attention to the clothing because when he'd heard the engine sound, the motorcycle was already threading between the large car and disappearing from view.
The young executive climbed up into the condominium, looking left and right. He spotted two young women walking along the corridor, plastic bags in hand, while on the other side, a skinny man was walking while talking on his phone.
Teeradon headed back down the stairs, glancing around with annoyance before stepping down to ground level—just as the large four-wheel drive roared past him at considerable speed. But he managed to catch sight of the driver.
Wait! That's the engineer. Definitely him. What a small world.
Teeradon hurried out to the street, watching the black vehicle disappear while memorizing the license plate number. He was determined that tomorrow, after the meeting ended, his brilliant secretary—whose investigative skills rivaled those of the police—would tell him exactly who owned that car.
As always, whenever he assigned anything personal, his exceptionally capable secretary felt compelled to ask for reasons.
"Tell Toey first why you need to know," Toey asked immediately upon receiving the special assignment.
"Toey, who's the boss here?" Teeradon's voice was ice-cold. His subordinate pointed a finger at his boss, but his face remained skeptical, eyes refusing to look away. "But Toey thinks he should have the right to know, since this is personal business, not directly work-related."
"You ask questions about work matters too. Don't use that excuse."
"If you don't give me the complete picture, you might get wrong information, Khun Teeradon," the secretary 'threatened' his boss.
"He cut me off and rolled down his window to shout abuse at me," Teeradon sighed.
"Who cut off whom first, I wonder," Toey muttered under his breath.
Teeradon pretended not to hear, grabbed a file folder, and headed to the meeting room, calling back for his secretary to get the information before the meeting ended.
Teeradon wasn't surprised when his capable secretary provided the answer. He was fairly confident his memory hadn't failed him, but he wanted confirmation.
"Company car from Network Solutions, registered under the corporation, so it's hard to find out who actually rolled down the window to shout at you, as you claimed," Toey said, tilting his head in mock analysis.
Wait, what's that supposed to mean? 'As he claimed'—what's Toey implying...
"So you're saying I made it up?" Teeradon's voice was sharp, both hands planted firmly on his secretary's desk.
"Oh, what did Toey say wrong? I apologize if I misspoke. So what should I do now? Call them directly? Track down whoever was driving last night, bold enough to shout at a national-level company CEO?"
"Are you being sarcastic?" Teeradon wasn't entirely sure—sometimes he couldn't keep up with Toey's wit.
"Not at all. I mean it seriously," Toey put on a earnest expression, then suddenly raised his eyebrows as something occurred to him. "Hey, that's the company installing our new computer system!"
Perfect. Time to deal with that pretty-boy troublemaker who dared defy my orders.
"Cancel the contract. I'm extremely displeased. Yesterday he dropped a key that nearly cracked my skull. Didn't apologize once. Even told me to pick up the key myself. When I told him to come upstairs to see me, he refused. Deliberately disobeying orders." Teeradon felt vindicated.
How exactly were you going to give him orders? He's not our employee. Khun Teeradon is getting a bit too big for his britches. Toey thought.
"Would that be wise? The matter isn't that serious. He didn't commit any grave offense that warrants this kind of response. His work performance is fine. When you think about it, this is personal business. Playing individual vendettas isn't good—you could get sued for this," Toey served as his hot-headed boss's voice of reason.
"Get the company owner to come see me," Teeradon ordered, then marched into his office and slammed the door shut, leaving his secretary to sigh heavily before picking up the phone.
Sarayoot took a deep breath and pushed through the large glass doors into the spacious office of Khun Teeradon, president of Brewery Corporation.
A good-looking young man sitting near the solid black door—which he assumed led to the president's office—quickly stood up with a broad welcoming smile and greeted him warmly.
"Please wait just a moment, Khun Sarayoot. The president is on his way. Would you like some coffee first?"
Sarayoot declined politely and thanked him, then walked over to sit on the sofa near the president's office, close to the young man's desk. The secretary followed and sat beside him.
"The thing is, my boss has some misunderstanding about something. Please keep your cool, Khun Sarayoot. If you explain things clearly, Khun Teeradon should understand," Toey paved the way, knowing his boss well.
Teeradon was hot-tempered and made snap decisions. If Sarayoot said anything that rubbed him the wrong way, it would turn a small matter into a big one. But seeing how calmly the Network company owner sat waiting, the young secretary's anxiety decreased considerably. Sarayoot appeared mature and composed, with a gentle demeanor.
Probably mid-thirties, tanned and clean, smooth complexion. Very neat appearance, hair combed back, wearing a pressed suit, tie knotted just right, color coordinated with the suit. Polished black leather shoes, large, strong hands resting calmly clasped together. Steady, confident posture, and he seems warm.
That inviting smile...
The door burst open forcefully, as usual. Toey jumped. Only one person opened doors that loudly—Khun Teeradon, who was the complete opposite of the well-composed Khun Sarayoot.
"Khun Teeradon, Khun Sarayoot from Network Solutions is here waiting," Toey quickly stood up and made introductions, watching his boss's frowning, confused expression—as if he was disappointed or 'didn't believe' that Sarayoot was the company owner, or didn't think this was the person he'd wanted to meet.
Toey's instincts worked quickly and accurately. Just from this, he knew Teeradon didn't want to talk to Sarayoot, and he'd have to deal with another problem. His boss was easy to read—one look in his eyes revealed everything.
Less than five minutes later, Sarayoot emerged from Teeradon's office. Unlike usual, Teeradon didn't walk out to see his guest off. Toey stood up and approached, seeing Sarayoot's less-than-pleasant expression and wanting to cry.
Still, he could sense that despite the stern look on the young man's face, he remained gentle, though he'd clearly been given the 'treatment' by Teeradon.
"I'll help talk to Khun Teeradon for you," Toey said softly, unable to help feeling sorry for Sarayoot.
"I understand Khun Teeradon. I'll send Khun Wittawin to see you as soon as possible," Sarayoot replied politely, thanking Toey for his understanding before hurrying off to another appointment.
Toey stood thinking for a moment, wanting to go in and ask his boss about the suspicion that had flashed through his mind, but he restrained himself, knowing that before long, his troublemaking boss would probably come out and order him to do something else.
"Toey, come in here a moment," came the voice over the intercom before he could do anything else. Toey smiled wryly and slowly crept away from the room.
Let me give the boss a reality check. Khun Sarayoot was so polite and gentle—why treat him like this? Right now you're the only one being unreasonable. I'm going to get the scoop from the computer department.
As he closed the large glass door, the young secretary heard his name called again in that sharp tone, louder than before.
Making scary faces in there, Khun Teeradon.
***