Her Inconvenient Boss | Chapter 16
Supannika smirked, wasting no time once she had successfully pressured her victim into speaking.
"It's about that leaked YouTube video that got taken down, followed by all those clips of the restaurant brawl, right?"
"That's part of it, but the history goes much deeper than that... it's not just about a simple personality clash or a dispute over a woman."
"Start from the very beginning!"
"I've only heard bits and pieces, mind you. I can't guarantee every detail is a hundred percent accurate."
"Stop stalling, Meth! Just tell us what you know!" Nicharee interjected wearily, tired of his theatrics. The young man shot her a mock glare before beginning his tale.
"First, you have to trace it back to the generation of Tycoon Anan—Khun Phanthakan's grandfather..."
The Tycoon's ancestors had migrated from mainland China with nothing but a mat and a pillow to settle in Thailand. Through sheer diligence, they built an empire. Back when the Tycoon was a young man, he had once courted a cousin from the maternal side of Luck Lucknara—an old noble lineage with a distinguished pedigree and immense wealth at the time.
"...But she and the elders looked down on the Tycoon as just a 'Chinese boy' with no noble blood. Why would they stoop so low as to let him into their family?"
"Whoa. Today that family is worth hundreds of billions," the young girl remarked, well aware of the DP Group's national stature, as was most of Thailand.
"That's how they thought back then. What could be done? Later, it turned out that branch of the Lucknara cousins—the same generation as Khun Luck—didn't know how to work. they did nothing but squander the family inheritance until they were drowning in debt. By the time it reached the current generation, they ended up merely as employees at LN Holdings. They don't even hold shares because they have no money..." Yet, they still carried themselves with the arrogance of their noble roots.
Donludee Lucknara was the daughter of that branch who had entered LN Holdings as an accounting executive. She was a contemporary of Isara and had graduated from the United States. The two were quite close, sharing similar temperaments.
Upon returning to Thailand and beginning her career, Donludee—who was quite a beauty—hoped to restore her family's financial status. She sought a way to get close to Phanthakan Wesley Damrongkritthaphas, using various feminine wiles to catch his interest.
"...As it turned out, Khun Wes wasn't interested in Donludee. So, she tried her luck with P'Watt instead, since the two are best friends."
"Wait! You can do that?" Nicharee raised an eyebrow.
"Apparently. The drama started because P'Watt actually played along."
"Good grief!" Supannika rolled her eyes, glancing at her sister in mock despair. "I thought P'Watt would be smarter than that."
"He isn't stupid," Phutthimeth was quick to defend him. "P'Watt saw right through her from the start because he already knew her history. They had a 'no-strings-attached' agreement before they ever started seeing each other. He never intended for it to be serious."
"What kind of agreement, dear?" Unakarn frowned.
"That circle is incredibly wealthy. They're 'Sugar Daddies,' P'Prae," the young man answered vaguely to keep it polite.
But the little villain was the one who blurted out with a curl of her lip—fueled by her existing hatred for Isara's persistence with her sister. "Even if she didn't have a price tag on her forehead, she's still just a high-class call girl."
"Nong Mai!"
"Ouch! I didn't use a bad word!" The pinched girl whined, pouting in a huff.
"Anyway, P'Watt probably got bored quickly. They broke up before the three-month mark. That Donludee woman then lied to her family, claiming P'Watt had tricked her into a relationship just to steal company secrets—since everyone knows LN Holdings and Kent Industries are rivals in several sectors. Hearing that, the Lucknaras believed her instantly."
"Typical for relatives, I suppose," Supannika added sarcastically.
"Mmhmm. Isara was still a profligate playboy back then. He brought four or five of his friends to lie in wait for P'Watt, demanding he take responsibility by marrying Donludee. One of the ringleaders was a guy named Sarayuth, the son of a high-ranking police officer who was very influential at the time... Truth is, Sarayuth actually wanted to join P'Watt's inner circle, but no one would let him in."
"Oh!" The girl's dark eyes widened with irresistible excitement. "And then what?"
"P'Watt just told him to go back and ask Donludee again. But they wouldn't listen. They were determined to force him to agree..."
The incident took place in the parking lot of a restaurant where there were no witnesses, save for Isara and Sarayuth's group who had planned the ambush when the coast was clear. On Wasawatt's side, there was only his driver, Kasin, who happened to be with him.
The larger group assumed the mixed-heritage man who had just ascended to the board of directors would be intimidated. After all, he had spent most of his life in America, had only moved to Thailand a few years prior, and didn't know many people. If they could blackmail him into a recorded confession—claiming he had indeed deceived Donludee and would agree to marry her—they could use that recording to control him for a while. If they were even luckier and he actually went through with the wedding, they could squeeze enough money out of him to clear Donludee's debts.
"Don't tell me Isara and his goons threatened to hurt P'Watt to get a confession."
"Exactly. They threatened him, likely intending to edit the tape later. By then, P'Watt was starting to get angry. He stood his ground, telling them to ask Donludee... and added that LN Holdings had never even been on his radar, let alone a competitor. He said the baseless accusation that he would stoop so low as to steal secrets from a low-tier company was something only the Lucknaras and their half-witted lackeys would be stupid enough to believe."
"Ooh, that's harsh! And what did they do?"
"They got physical, of course."
"Poor P'Watt."
"P'Watt was barely touched, aside from a few minor bruises. But Isara and his friends had to be carried away in ambulances. What's more, they didn't dare tell the police or the reporters who had done it."
"Whoa. Is P'Watt that skilled?"
"That, we don't know. But P'Watt's driver is one of Tycoon Saratch's men. Those guys are also guards; they're highly capable. He told the story to P'Watt's close friends, and we heard it through the grapevine from there."
"He might have been embellishing to make Khun Wasawatt look like a hero since he's his boss," Nicharee countered reasonably.
"It's likely mostly true," Unakarn spoke up after listening in silence for a long time. "I read an old newspaper archive from that time... about Isara's group being assaulted. At first, they wouldn't say who did it. Later, they claimed it was likely muggers. But the police didn't believe that any thieves would be bold enough to attack four grown men like that... especially since none of their valuables were taken."
"Because if they were real thieves, there would have to be more than two of them to succeed, and weapons would likely have been involved. The restaurant owner also said the CCTV at the entrance showed no strangers, only customers and delivery men. The news went quiet after a few days."
"Correct," Phutthimeth agreed with a smile, not expecting the young woman to know details that most had forgotten—as it had only been a small blurb due to the victims' families coordinating a media blackout.
"If I recall correctly, this Sarayuth fellow... he's deceased now, isn't he?"
"Yes. Isara backed away and refused to associate with him again after the incident. Later, Sarayuth had a confrontation with P'Watt and Khun Wes in a club and was stabbed with a broken bottle, but they could never prove who did it." Phutthimeth shook his head, unsure of the facts himself. "Not long after, he was killed in a hit-and-run. Some people close to the situation say it was the work of Khun Wes or P'Watt."
"And do you know whose hand it was, Meth?" she asked softly.
"Oh, I'm just an outsider. That's the extent of what I know."
"And what about Donludee's accusation against P'Watt?" Supannika was still intrigued.
"No one ever mentioned it again. They likely realized they'd picked the wrong target. Because after that, P'Watt's company snatched a huge portion of the Lucknaras' clients, even though they hadn't been interested in investing in that line before. People say LN Holdings would have gone bankrupt if Ginny's company hadn't become their major client..."
"And the bank where her father was MD approved a massive loan. Later, when Isara took over the sales department, their performance improved remarkably—to the point they could be considered competitors for some of Kent Industries' products."
"Only for certain overlapping lines, like chemicals, plastics, or rubber that he took over from Tycoon Saratch. But Kent Industries has core businesses that generate far more revenue, such as shares in software development and manufacturing firms, energy, power plants, retail groups, and real estate—not to mention investments in several other growing markets."
"P'Prae is right. That family is incredibly wealthy but they never show off. The business from Kent McPherson—P'Watt's father—which has been invested in Thailand for nearly a century, was represented by old associates for a long time. Later, P'Watt just took over the management quietly. That's why some people think Khun Ying Warinrampai was lucky to have her second marriage to Tycoon Saratch."
"Besides being handsome, rich, and kind, he's actually quite cool." Supannika smiled brightly, nudging her sister whose cheeks had flushed a slight crimson without her realizing. "Too bad he's a playboy!"
"My mother is calling." Nicharee showed her phone to everyone and stepped aside to take the call.
"Then I'll go drop off Tao first. Her parents will be worried. See you, Mai."
"Mmhmm. Thanks a lot for the help."
"We'll be back to help again tomorrow after class," the young man added, continuing his attempt to please her.
"Oh, I already feel so bad for troubling you this much," Unakarn protested, shaking her head.
"It's fine. Mai can pay me back by tutoring me for the exams."
"Deal!" The one seeking labor to lighten her load agreed immediately, puffing her chest with a mock-serious promise. "And I guarantee that if you don't get at least a B, I'll have P'Prae buy you dinner after the finals."
Nicharee returned for a few final words of farewell. Unakarn walked with her sister to see their friends to the car with their food tiffins.
Only when the gate was closed and only the faint glow of the taillights remained did the young girl exclaim:
"Oh! I forgot to ask."
"Hmm?"
"About that leaked video of P'Watt and Khun Ginny in bed! I'm still curious about the whole story."
The older sister remained silent as she walked back into the house with her arm linked with the 'villain.' She only spoke again when Supannika stifled a yawn, preparing to head to bed.
"Do you think... those two really had something together?"
"Those two?" The girl blinked a few times before beaming, realizing her sister was interested too. "You mean P'Watt and Khun Ginny? Wait, you haven't listened to the clips people leaked, have you?"
"Where would I find the time to listen?"
The little villain let out a heavy, exaggerated sigh. "Then go listen to them. I'll send them to your phone. You need to know just how malicious that Isara guy is."
"How do you still have them? I thought they were all deleted."
"With that many people uploading them, how could they possibly delete them all?"
Unakarn showered and set her alarm for the crack of dawn to arrange the food and final items for the company car Natthawara was sending. Lying in bed, she opened the various clips her sister had sent.
The audio and visuals in the clips were from the tail end of the incident, when other customers in the restaurant began to realize a fight was occurring, but the context was still discernable.
"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!"
"You and that woman... you will pay for what you've done to me."
Large brown eyes blinked in the darkness, bewildered.
I hope 'that woman' doesn't mean me?
The young woman's thoughts wandered aimlessly until she drifted off to sleep.
She startled awake, panicked by the screech of tires as a high-speed vehicle lunged toward her.
But this time, it wasn't like the previous dream where someone had tackled her to safety.
This time, she felt as if the cursed car was hurtling toward her—accompanied by the vengeful face of Ginjutha Kridakul!