Her Inconvenient Boss | Chapter 19
Unakarn caught a glimpse of an incoming call on her phone, which was set to vibrate on the stand. After a brief moment of hesitation, she decided to answer.
"Don't hang up, please," the voice on the other end rushed out, sounding frantic. "I'm calling about the incident where you almost had acid thrown at you."
"I'm sorry I had to tell the police," she sighed softly. "But besides the issues with you, Is, I've hardly ever had a conflict with anyone else."
"I understand. I'm incredibly worried, and I'm so sorry for causing you all this trouble." His tone carried a palpable sincerity. "But I swear, I would never wish harm upon the person I love."
"Thank you."
"Can I come see you?"
"I already told you that..."
"Just this once. If you still insist after this that you don't want to see me again, I'll try to stop pestering you."
She fell silent, contemplating. Seeing Phakaphan open the office door and beckon her, she raised a finger to signal she needed a minute before making a decision.
"Where?"
"After work. I'll pick you up at the company."
"I brought my own car. Just pick a place, Is."
"Alright then..." Issara named a restaurant near her university that every student would know. "Is seven o'clock okay?"
"Let's make it six-thirty instead. It's not that far from my office." The young woman moved the time forward, not wanting to get home late, before bidding him goodbye and heading into Phakaphan's office to see her department head.
Upon opening the door, she saw Natwara was also there and quickly offered a respectful wai.
"I'm sorry, I didn't know you had a guest, Oum."
"I asked her to call you in myself. Have a seat."
The young woman bowed slightly as she passed the elders, moving an empty chair in front of the desk to a slight angle away from the President's PA before sitting down, hands neatly folded, waiting for the other party to open the conversation.
"Oum said you refused to cater for Wat's guests because you're afraid it might affect your full-time job?"
"Yes," she stiffened slightly. "You understand, right, Natwara?"
"I do, but I think we can find a way around that. Wat's important guests don't come by often. The Boss feels that if partners get to enjoy good food, it makes business discussions easier and the atmosphere much more personal than going out."
"And what about the restaurants you used to use?" she asked deferentially.
"It's because of those tiffin boxes you made, and the catering you did for the mid-year meeting. That's why Wat specifically wants me to switch to your services instead."
A soft flush crept onto her cheeks. "Thank you."
"You said you're worried about work hours, so I need to explain... we'll know in advance which days guests are coming. If there's a scheduled dinner, I'll inform you of the menu or have you help plan it and list the items you need. Our housekeeper will go to the market for you. On the evening before the guests arrive, after work, you can head up to use the kitchen on the top floor with the housekeeper as your assistant. Once you're done late at night, I'll have a driver take you home. After that, I'll handle everything else."
The offer left Una-karn stunned. Even Phakaphan blinked rapidly as if she couldn't believe her ears.
"I thought usually Wasawatt met clients at golf courses, lounges, or high-end hotels," she asked hesitantly.
"Wat's penthouse was recently finished. It has both indoor party rooms and a rooftop area. The view of the Chao Phraya River is just as beautiful as any five or six-star hotel. There's a bar and a meeting room ready. What do you say?"
With those expectant eyes fixed on her, what else could she say but...
"Okay, then."
"Excellent. It's settled. Do you have a price in mind?"
"You can just count it as standard overtime, Natwara."
"That's far too modest. I'll see that you're compensated appropriately."
"But please, not as much as last time. I wouldn't feel right taking it."
"Trust me, a five-star hotel chef's fee is much higher than yours."
The young woman murmured her thanks and excused herself to return to work, but the PA called out before she could close the door.
"Oh, from now on, just call me Nat. We'll probably be talking a lot more often."
Her brown eyes glanced at the time on the computer screen before she saved her work and shut down the machine, feeling less than happy. It took only a moment to get everything in order and leave her workstation, but Teerachai lunged forward to block her path at the partition.
"Prae, leaving already?"
"Yes."
"Work just finished. Usually, I see you staying late."
She had no reaction to his observation. He worked in a different department and spent more time out meeting clients than in the office.
"I'm still an intern. I'm slower than everyone else, so I stay back a bit to make up the time for the company."
"That's really sweet."
"Is there something, Chai?"
"I wanted to invite you to dinner."
"Does Parichat know?"
"Did no one tell you that Chat resigned?"
Una-karn knit her brows in surprise. She realized she hadn't seen the other woman for several days, despite the relatively close contact between her department and Parichat's in Accounting. But then again, she didn't have to coordinate directly with her.
"I just found out from you, Chai."
"She and I have grown distant because of what happened that day." He rubbed the back of his neck, appearing embarrassed. "The day I volunteered to give you a ride home—that's when we had a fight. I admit I was seeing her for a while..."
"I have an appointment," she interrupted gently. "I don't want to be late."
"Is it a date with some guy?"
He looked utterly disappointed, which made Una-karn smile in amusement.
"You could say that."
"I thought you didn't have a boyfriend yet."
"Excuse me!"
A deep, stern voice nearby made Una-karn jump. Teerachai's face paled, but he quickly flashed the broad smile typical of a salesman who could adapt as fast as a chameleon.
"Boss! What an honor to have you down here."
"I dropped by to give some documents to Oum since I'm heading out..." He lifted a thin folder with a smile on his face. "But you're standing here hitting on a girl and blocking my way."
Una-karn quickly backed away upon hearing the reason, but her small upper arm was caught by a large hand. Their eyes met as she looked up at him in shock, seeing his sharp, intense gaze—tinged with a hint of exasperation—looking down at her.
"Careful, or you'll crash into the partition."
"I'm sorry," she whispered, instinctively rubbing her arm after he let go.
"As for you, it's a new month already. I hope the line you're managing finally hits its target. You've been missing it for several months now, haven't you?"
"Boss... uh... you saw the reports?"
"You only barely scraped by the first target. The second quarter was short by tens of millions. And this final round looks like it's going to be even worse."
"Well, I'll try harder, sir. I have to admit, this year LN Holdings has taken quite a few of our clients."
"Coincidentally, our employee named Parichat just resigned and moved to LN Holdings as well, didn't she?"
The sharp eyes on that smiling face made Teerachai's expression crumble.
"Boss, surely you don't think... Parichat and I... we might have had a little thing, but we're just colleagues."
Wasawatt smiled broadly before breaking into a good-natured laugh as he slapped his employee's shoulder hard enough to make him stumble.
"Don't look like that, Teerachai. I always trust the employees who stay with us. As for the sales figures, you can go up and coordinate with my PA."
The assistant sales manager swallowed hard, feeling a sense of dread.
"Don't I need to go through my department manager?"
"Not necessary," he said, handing the folder he was holding to Una-karn. "Here, would you mind giving this to Oum for me?"
"Understood." She took the folder and looked up at him briefly, her face flushing slightly as the Big Boss raised an eyebrow at her. "Is there anything you want me to tell Oum, sir?"
"The keycard is in the folder. It's for the penthouse elevator and the suite."
He said only that before turning and walking away. Soon after, the heads of several employees in her department—who were about to go home but hadn't dared to leave while the President was there—began to pop up over the partitions.
"Oh, I can't take it. Someone call an ambulance."
The faint voice came from the partition behind Una-karn.
"Woon, what's wrong?"
"I'm weak for 'homely' men like the Boss." The speaker was Wethaka, nicknamed Woonsen. Unlike the famous actress and VJ of the same name, Wethaka was chubby, talkative, and had a face that had gone under the knife at least five times.
"Homely?"
"Homely... as in filthy rich!" the speaker clarified, biting her finger and twisting her body in an exaggeratedly bashful manner. "How can a man be so flawlessly perfect? Every time I look at him, my heart condition flares up. I feel faint and just want to throw myself at him."
"Ugh! You're thirstier than a streetwalker!"
The voice came from the deputy department head, Khemin, an LGBT individual of mixed heritage with dark skin who preferred to be called Kimmy.
"If your heart is flaring up, it's only because your cholesterol is through the roof. By the way, didn't the doctor ask why you only get plastic surgery on your face and never suck the fat out of your body?"
"Bitch..." Wethaka mouthed silently, as she had once mentioned her family forbade swearing. "I'm waiting for the doctor to run a promo!"
"So handsome..." Kingfa, another senior behind Una-karn, whispered breathlessly. "Prae, do you think I should resign?"
"Wait, why?"
"Because the Boss never notices employees in the company. He only dates actresses and models. I should resign, go get a makeover in Korea, and enter the industry. Maybe then the Boss would spare me a glance."
The speaker, considered the hottie of the department, wailed, but Khemin rolled his eyes at her without mercy.
"That's just pollution for my ears. Aren't you afraid Charm and Ginny will slap your silicone out of place? Haven't you seen how many the Boss has dumped? Even Bharatee, the last one, didn't last six months. It's made his younger sister go on a rampage everywhere."
"So cruel! What is your heart made of, Kimmy!"
"And what was that just now?" Khemin turned his head to change targets. "I saw the Boss grabbing Prae's arm!"
"That's true!"
"I've worked here for five years and haven't even come close to his shadow."
"But don't say this or that, you girls," Khemin observed. "If I didn't know our Boss before, I'd think that moment was the Boss marking his territory against that guy Teerachai who's trying to flirt with Prae. Look at him, his face is as pale as a dead fish."
At that sentence, the listeners were stunned. Except for the new employee, who quickly waved her hands and laughed because she found it genuinely funny.
"You're all overthinking it. I was just clumsy and almost fell."
"Probably just acting innocent. A hundred percent of those with 'cute' vibes are secret foxes. I hate it!"
Una-karn smiled widely, knowing the other party was just teasing.
"I have errands today. I'll just give this to Oum and head out."
She told them and rushed to bring the folder to Phakaphan before fleeing the room, leaving her remaining colleagues to stare at one another.