Her Inconvenient Boss | Chapter 24
Unakarn's brown eyes blinked at his words. She surmised he was referring to Jinjutha, who had barely touched her meal earlier that evening.
She didn't retaliate, instead pulling the sandwich she had tucked into her bag and taking a bite. His sharp eyes flickered toward her for only a fraction of a second.
As she began to eat, Unakarn realized she was famished. She focused intently on the large sandwich—undoubtedly prepared by Auntie Orn—while the large hands of her honorary chauffeur flicked through radio stations without decreasing the car's speed in the slightest. The car's owner began to stiffen with a touch of trepidation.
"There are no violin solo CDs in this car. What would you like to listen to, Khun Wasawatt?"
"What do you want to hear?" he countered instead of answering. "Old English songs, like Mai mentioned?"
She stopped chewing, surprised he remembered. "I don't usually listen to music while driving."
"Why not?"
"Uh..." To tell the truth—that she preferred silence to maintain her focus—felt like inviting ridicule. "I just don't listen to it much."
"I can't believe there are still car models with CD players like this," the Big Boss remarked, his voice tinged with awe as his gaze swept over the 'condition' of her automotive relic.
"The car is nearly fifteen years old, after all."
"What's available?"
"A few old albums and some Dhamma CDs."
Her employer shifted his gaze from the road to look at her, his expression resembling a Mara prince intent on obstructing a virtuous soul.
"Why do you enjoy listening to Dhamma?"
"We are Buddhists, aren't we?" she said, suddenly realizing he might follow a different faith. "I mean... I am Buddhist."
"The Nanny told me your house offers alms every morning."
"Fewer people offer alms these days, and the monks who come for pindapata are supatipanno (those who practice well). My family acts as the lay supporters for this particular temple."
"All I see in Bangkok are wealthy temples that look like fronts for money laundering."
Hearing the Big Boss's cynical worldview, she could only blink in silence.
"The temple my family frequents is just a mid-sized meditation monastery in the forest tradition. The abbot doesn't favor building permanent structures; instead, he uses the donations from the faithful to benefit the community—providing scholarships, buying medical equipment for hospitals, or supporting government sectors."
"I'm starting to get curious about this temple."
"It's just two alleys down from my house..." Unakarn shared the name and location. She was surprised he knew about her morning alms from Rotjana; she hadn't expected a man like him to care, though she didn't dare press him on it.
"My mother loves making merit. She'd probably like it."
So, he was asking for his mother. The young woman hid a small smile behind another bite of her sandwich.
Since she wasn't a talkative person and certainly didn't dare initiate conversation, she finished her dinner in silence before long. She folded the wrapper into a small square, placed it in the footwell trash bin, and took a sip of water.
Having sated her hunger, her eyes went wide as she realized they were already more than halfway home. It must have been because her employer kept her engaged in conversation despite driving at a breakneck pace, and she had been too bashful to look up from her food.
Now, she found herself gripping the edge of the seat again.
"You drive very fast, Khun Wasawatt."
"If I didn't see you sitting there, I'd think I was driving alone."
"Pardon?"
The young man caught her eyes—shimmering brown and sweet like a doe's, barely visible in the shadows. He wasn't sure whether to be amused by her slowness or to pity himself.
"I was just joking."
Even if she didn't understand the joke, Unakarn didn't dare ask. "Have you been around here before, Khun Wasawatt?"
She asked because he hadn't asked for directions even once.
"I've passed through many times."
"About having Reuk pick me up and drop me off... I think..."
"Just do as I ordered. Don't waste time negotiating."
The young woman shrank at the intimidating tone. She offered a faint acknowledgement and fell silent. A long while later, she spoke up to give directions as they neared her house, feeling a surge of relief after being tensed up by his high-speed driving.
"Alley twenty-four..."
She directed him a few more times as the house was deep within the alley. "The one with the white iron gate on the left up ahead—that's it."
The semi-antique Nissan pulled up to the gate. Unakarn hurried out, seeing the luxury European car driven by Reuk signaling with its hazard lights just a few meters behind them.
"Is no one coming to open the gate?"
The employer asked as he followed her out, scanning the surroundings.
"Mom and Mai are likely asleep. I'll open it myself. Thank you for the ride, Khun Wasawatt."
She offered a respectful wai and stood with her hands folded, waiting for him to leave.
Instead, the tall figure stood scanning the area through the fence, looking at the old Thai house that appeared as a haunting silhouette in the night. The only light came from low-wattage bulbs at the stairs, the veranda, and the garage.
"The house is by the river, right?"
"Yes. It was my grandmother's old house."
"It's this deep in the alley and no one opens the gate for you. Aren't you afraid?"
"It's never been dangerous here. Usually, if I'm not home too late, Mai comes down to open it for me."
However, since it was nearly midnight, she had messaged her sister saying she would open it herself so the troublemaker could sleep before her early classes.
"Looks like she's not asleep yet," Wasawatt remarked as he saw a lithe figure running toward the fence to open the gate.
The young girl's eyes went wide when she saw exactly who her sister was standing with. She quickly offered a charming wai.
"Sawadee ka, P'—I mean, Khun Wasawatt!"
The young man gave a friendly smile in return. "Why the formal title?"
"Ah..." Her obsidian eyes, like longan seeds, flickered toward her sister for a second. "Khun Wasawatt is P'Prae's boss. It wouldn't be appropriate for me to use the name you once permitted."
"Suit yourself, if you trust your sister more than me."
That sentence made the young girl shake her head vigorously, while the 'elder sister' didn't know what face to make. She hadn't expected him to realize it was her command.
"It's very late. You should go back and rest, Khun Wasawatt."
Sharp eyes flickered toward her as he was being dismissed. Unakarn looked away immediately, having accidentally stared at him for a moment too long.
"Thanks for the help today."
"It was nothing."
The two sisters waited until the tall figure walked back to Reuk's waiting car. As the large vehicle turned the corner and disappeared from sight, Unakarn let out a long, held breath. She glanced at her sister, who was standing there smiling to herself in a very good mood.
"Why aren't you in bed?"
"I was afraid you'd waste time opening the gate since it's late, but I came down a bit slow."
Her mouth explained it that way, but her eyes sparkled with a curiosity she couldn't hide. Her elder sister felt compelled to explain.
"Khun Wasawatt is going to have his driver pick me up and drop me off on the days I have to work extra, because it finishes late."
"Wow! How kind of him."
"Let's get inside."
Unakarn tousled her sister's hair and took the driver's seat. She had to adjust the seat for a while before moving the car through the gate. Once Suphannika had finished closing the gate and sat beside her, she let P'Nang Yaem crawl into the garage.
"But why did he drop you off himself? I saw P'Reuk was there too," the younger girl probed as they climbed the stairs.
"Probably to repay me for making dinner. Ginny went to have dinner at his penthouse today too," she surmised according to her own understanding.
"Wait, so those two are really a thing? Then what about Khun Shama?"
"I don't know." She followed up with an exclamation as a thought struck her. "Mai, did you hear about P'Is's accident? I don't know if he's badly hurt."
"Oh..." Suphannika drew out the sound. "My friends at university mentioned it too. It doesn't seem like he's badly hurt because he was driving a top-of-the-line BMW. But they think Ginny is behind it."
"Ginny...?" she whispered.
She thought of her own near-miss with the acid and those mystery calls.
"P'Prae, do you remember the leaked clip? Where Ginny threatened him in the restaurant with a vengeful tone? P'Is told the police that Ginny or her father might have hired someone to intimidate him or cause the accident as revenge."
"Are you serious? Where did you get this from?"
"My news is as 'inner circle' as it gets. Meth is close to a senior named Anuchit, who is in P'Is's group. That senior is the only son of the Deputy Commissioner of Police, so he knows all about it."
"But could that really be possible?"
The young woman murmured to herself, feeling a chill of fear returning.
"I wouldn't know, but that's what they're saying."
That night, after parting with her sister, Unakarn showered and rushed to bed. She noticed on her silenced phone that there were dozens of missed calls from Issara. She bit her lip, debating whether or not to call back before finally setting the phone down.
"Did you find them?"
"We should know tomorrow, Khun Wat. The numbers are registered under names that shouldn't be involved at all. I need our tech person at the carrier to trace all the call locations and compare them with the suspects first."
"And our acid-thrower?"
"He confessed, but he doesn't know who hired him. I showed him photos of all the suspects."
"Then we'll have to add more incentive regarding the leaked photos of me and Ginny."
"You don't think Khun Ginny is the one behind it, sir?"
"Check every one of Ginny's friends who was at the penthouse that night."
The young man issued the order as his answer. He picked up his phone to make a WhatsApp call, letting a code run itself through the target's Zero-day exploit. He focused on the screen for a moment before connecting to a tiny earpiece he slipped into his ear with a languid motion.
"Your job today... was it handled?"
"I did it myself. I guarantee no evidence was left behind."
"Good. And the item I ordered?"
"I delivered it to Rotjana, sir."
He answered while surreptitiously watching the questioner, who was leaning back comfortably with his eyes closed as if he were done talking. He felt confused by the behavior of the employer he had been with for nearly twenty years. But he knew that even if he asked, he wouldn't get an answer.
Does the boss have feelings for Ginny?
Is that why he ordered a hit in a way he's never done before?