Her Inconvenient Boss | Chapter 13
The news of the breakup between socialite Isara Lucknara and Ginjutha Kridakul drew significant public interest and heavy criticism. This was largely because it occurred just days before the woman's father was sued and investigated by the Central Bank. As one of five board members, he faced charges of dereliction of duty for approving loans that benefited certain corporate entities, resulting in non-performing loans worth tens of billions—with whispers of a personal connection to individuals in said organizations following shortly after.
A luxury gastro-pub in the Silom area had served as the regular haunt for the group of friends for nearly two years. Warot walked over and nudged the shoulder of Isara, who was already seated with those who had arrived earlier.
"Hey! Did you dump Ginny because you had an early tip-off about the news?"
"..." Isara merely shrugged, using silence as his answer.
"Actually, I feel a bit sorry for her," Anuchit remarked. The only son of the Deputy Commissioner of Police was currently serving in an agency under the Prime Minister's Office. "I heard Uncle Pham, Ginny's father, was a reasonably clean-handed man."
"If he were truly good, he wouldn't have authorized loans for those political cronies in the news, would he?" Warot, the son of a Member of Parliament from a northern province, countered.
"Politics is a dirty game; it's hard to say who's really at fault. There were several board members who co-approved it."
"But you know the owner of the company Uncle Pham lent to, don't you, Isara?" Sathit knew this because Isara had previously met with the executives of that firm in the lounge owned by Sathit's father.
"You guys know I've been making a lot of contacts over the past few years to erase my father's insults," Isara shrugged.
"And you've done it so well I'm actually impressed," Anuchit said with a smile, though his expression remained contemplative.
"If you guys had a family business spanning three generations on the verge of collapse, you'd have done exactly what I did."
"Yeah, I get it. But bottom line: did you know Ginny's dad was going to be targeted when you broke up?" Warot pressed.
"I'd heard whispers, but nothing certain."
"Then why break up? I thought for sure you'd marry this one."
"I suppose I could never bring myself to love her."
"Beautiful, rich, and spicy—like she brought the whole chili garden with her—and you still couldn't fall for her?" Anuchit looked skeptical.
"When it comes to picking a wife, it isn't just about what happens in the bedroom."
"Oh!"
A woman's sharp voice rang out, causing every man at the table to jump. The elegant figure of Ginjutha, impeccable in every inch of her designer attire, had appeared out of nowhere. She glared at Isara with a face of pure fury.
"I didn't realize a 'gentleman' would discuss his sex life with an ex-girlfriend for others to hear."
"Ginny..."
"You're a coward!" The young woman whipped off her tinted glasses, revealing fierce eyes with faint dark circles beneath them—though no one noticed them as much as her blazing temper. "You know perfectly well who's behind the attempt to take my father down because you work for them. You were the one who introduced my father to them, invited him to play golf, and took him to dinner several times—just so people would believe he had a personal relationship with them, right?"
Ginjutha had never been adept at controlling her emotions. With her striking presence and her vocal denouncement of her ex-lover, the group immediately became the focus of nearly every guest in the restaurant. And that might have been exactly what she intended.
"I only introduced them as business associates. Uncle Pham was the one who approved the loan."
"Just introduced? Hah! You whispered all sorts of things in my father's ear, tricked him into believing you loved me completely, only to turn and bite us when the time came. You knew from the start because you're close to the person who was granted immunity as a witness—leaving my father to be the scapegoat!"
"Uncle Pham has worked until he's nearly sixty. Are you telling me your own father didn't know he was doing something wrong, Ginny?"
"My father didn't do anything wrong. You set the stage! This was your plan to get revenge after breaking up with me because you wanted to go back to that woman—after you'd bled my family's name dry, right?!"
"I have no idea what you're talking about."
"You and Uncle Luck came crawling until my father agreed to the loan... our company has been supporting you for years!"
"We submitted the application through every legal channel. Are you saying Uncle Pham approved the credit limit based on a personal relationship—the very thing the investigative committee is suspecting in the case against him?" Isara's face was taut with rage, like a man whose honor had been insulted. "As for the company, you chose to trade with us. It was a mutual benefit. Why bring up 'favors' now?"
The listener's face turned from pale to flushed. "Are... are you going to deny that you borrowed money from me as well? That last ten million?"
"I've paid you back in full, Ginny. I signed that check for you just a few months ago. I still have all the records."
"But you said..." Ginjutha's expression twisted like someone who had just realized they'd made a massive mistake. She choked on her words, unable to continue lest she expose more of her own stupidity. She realized then just how deep her ex-fiancé's malice ran—more dangerous than any two-faced snake—and how easily he could turn truth into lies to frame her and her family. "I see."
Suddenly, the socialite burst into laughter until Anuchit stood up to touch her arm, only to be shoved away.
"Ginny, calm down. It's embarrassing."
"Why should I be embarrassed when your low-life friend isn't? He did everything to me before kicking me to the curb!"
"Don't insult me too much!" the man hissed, his face grim. "Why don't you consider that the reason I called it off was because of how you humiliated me?"
That cleverly hidden implication made Ginjutha tilt her chin up.
"It was you who humiliated me countless times! I looked the other way while you went looking for scraps, but I never thought... that you were still secretly in contact with that woman."
"Don't call her that!"
"You love her that much, do you?"
Ginjutha was consumed by a lethal rage when he fell silent... yet deliberately used his gaze to answer in the affirmative. Her heart being crushed was merely a numbing sensation, but the feeling of being belittled and made a fool of—a 'tool' whose actions had brought trouble to her parents—was what she could not stomach. For how long had she been the one to forgive because of 'love,' despite never yielding to anyone?
"Let's just end this civilly, Ginny." Isara's voice and expression were those of a man utterly exhausted, looking more convincing than any actor.
"After you've destroyed me and my family this cold-bloodedly?" The young woman laughed mockingly.
"I never did anything wrong to you. If you and Watt..."
"Watt and I never had anything between us! That was another one of your plans, wasn't it?!"
"Being in bed together with the evidence right before my eyes, and you still dare to deny it!"
The woman's face turned crimson with a rage that nearly broke her control, yet she saw no reason to make excuses.
"You and that woman... you will pay for what you've done to me."
"Are you threatening me, Ginny?"
Ginjutha didn't answer. She slipped her tinted glasses back on and marched out of the restaurant amidst the prying eyes of dozens of witnesses. Only one pair of eyes followed her with genuine concern.
The incident in the dining room began as small-circle gossip before becoming a major headline, spreading overnight on social media as several people had secretly recorded audio, video, and taken photos before leaking them through various channels.
"You shouldn't have done that, Ginny."
"I hate him, Mother! Look what he's done to us."
"Your father is in this situation; we are only at a disadvantage."
"The board voted to approve the loan—all five of them," Pham told Panida, his wife and life partner, with an exhausted face. "Initially, I believed the evidence regarding the collateral and the long-term project plans they presented to us for consideration, just like the other two who are being sued. But the witness who was granted immunity is one of their men."
"With all your experience, how could you still fail?"
"An urgent order came down from above saying they wanted to inject money into the economic system. Certain investment groups have secret ties with people in the government. We approved it quickly because documents from the business loan screening department were 'stuffed' to show low risk. I only became suspicious later when I learned other commercial banks refused to lend for fear of bad debt. But by then, it was too late."
"And you used to associate with those people." Panida spoke with resentment that her husband had been outsmarted, despite her own years in the business world nearly equaling her age. "I've had someone check the backgrounds thoroughly. I will find a way to help you as quickly as possible."
"Who did you ask for help?"
"Khun Wasawatt and his friend... Khun Wes, the grandson of Tycoon Anan."
Pham sighed. "Then they are reliable."
"Isara was close to those people. Do you and Mother think he was involved?"
"He must have been," the mother replied, no longer caring about the impolite term Ginjutha used to refer to others. As an 'iron lady,' she was disappointed that her daughter hadn't ended things with Isara decisively, even though she had never supported the match. A husband like Pham had gone along with it because the boy was the son of a dear friend. But at this stage, she didn't want to rub it in, as they were both profoundly disappointed.
"I truly despise them."
"This is an order, Ginny." In times of crisis, Panida often functioned as the head of the family better than her husband. "You and your father wouldn't believe me when you went back to see Isara. Now, I am ordering you to stop the damage immediately. Khun Watt also warned that you must not give news to the media or tell this to outsiders—not even close friends like Khakanang or Jomnaree."
"I agree," Pham supported her. He then asked his wife, "By the way, why did Wasawatt agree to help us?"
"Because of those leaked photos of him and Ginny. You'll see them soon enough..."
Panida recounted the origin of the photos while her daughter listened in silence, her face pale, as she hadn't even told her mother the truth.