Chapter 1
Arthit,
Come immediately to my office.
Arthit sighed as he watched the brief message that his boss had just sent to his email account.
“Again ...“, he said to himself while thinking what could have happened this time, “as long as it is not about a cockroach again ...”
After all, the young man still remembered that afternoon in which, five minutes before finishing his shift in the company, his boss had called him on an urgent matter.
Yes.
An urgent matter that consisted of chasing through the room a small cockroach that had entered the room, no one knew how.
Half an hour it took him to take care of it.
And now...
Arthit glanced at the wall clock in his office.
“A quarter of an hour for the end of the afternoon shift ...“, he thought as he turned off the computer screen and got up from his chair, “If I didn’t know better I would think he is doing this on purpose”.
But no.
He was not like that...
“But you hadn’t seen him for more than three years,” the young man reminded himself as he left his small office on the second floor and headed towards the elevator that led to the executive area, “he may have changed.”
After all, since that afternoon three years ago, Kongpob had not reappeared in his life. Until now.
“As if he was going to do it ... after what happened ...”
FLASHBACK ...
- “HOW COULD YOU DO THIS TO ME!” - Kongpob exclaimed as he left the bedroom they had shared for more than five years.
In his hands he was carrying a suitcase and several bags with clothes and some personal items.
- “Kong ... please ...” - Arthit mused with a thin voice - “Listen to me ... I do not ...”
But the young man, his face completely red and his cheeks damp from tears, shook his head as he made his way to the door of the apartment.
- “I do not want to know anything ... there’s nothing you can do or say!” - Kongpob exclaimed as he opened the door of the house with such force that it hit the wall generating a loud sound in the silent hall - “DISAPPEAR FROM MY LIFE!“.
END OF FLASHBACK ...
His friends had no doubt told him about Kong during all those years, specially how well he was living abroad and how, now that he had just settled in Thailand, his family’s businesses had grown immeasurably.
His life was, without a doubt, perfect except for the small detail that he was still single.
“Although not by much”, according to the bad tongues and the thousands of photographs and videos that, almost daily, occupied the front pages of the magazines and tv programs.
On the other hand, in his case...
After losing his job, he had ended up working for a small company that had gone bankrupt and merged with one of the most important companies in the country.
A company that belonged to the Suttiluk family.
A company whose main headquarters was controlled by Kongpob, from the attic of the large building where the offices were located.
So, for six months already, he had been working for his ex.
For the person he had not been able to forget, let alone stop loving despite how much he had tried.
And now he must see him every day ... see how he was living a life without him.
Arthit sighed.
When the doors opened, Arthit looked up from the floor.
In front of him and sitting with a serious expression on her face, was the personal secretary of the new president of the company, his direct boss.
His Kongpob.
“Although he’s not yours anymore ...” the young man reminded himself while making a slight gesture in greeting.
- “The president is waiting for me”
The young secretary, looking up from her golden glasses, looked at him without saying anything and while frowning.
However, seconds later she motioned for him to continue.
After which he started to walk towards the wooden doors that were at the end of the corridor.
- “Every day we see things that are more and more strange ...”
Arthit stopped and, with a gesture of incomprehension, looked again at the secretary.
The woman, immediately, turned her head towards her table and acted as if nothing had happened.
However her cheeks were slightly reddened.
“How strange ...“, he though as he looked at his shirt and pants. Even, and without being noticed, he checked that his zipper was closed.
At the end, he did not find anything out of the ordinary.
So, with a shrug, he continued on his way. A few minutes later he was standing in front of the huge walnut door with the president’s sign.
“Courage, Arthit ... you can do it!“, he told himself as he swallowed with difficulty.
His heart, like every time he had to face his past, was pounding in his chest.
Finally, arming himself with courage, he knocked on the door to immediately turn the knob.
The door opened without a sound.
The music was the first thing he noticed as soon as he entered the spacious room.
The beautiful and sensual music that could slightly be heard and that was coming from a last model equipment that was placed in one of the shelves of the office.
But, what made him completely paralyzed was the scene before him.
Just a few steps away.
WHAT THE HELL?!
There was a young woman ... a half-naked woman who, if he was not wrong, was doing some kind of dance ...
What type?
He was not sure, but ... no doubt, it was not for anyone else to see excepting the young man that was sitting in front of the main table.
Kongpob ...
Kong, however, was now looking at several reports and frowning as he made several notes in the margins of the papers.
Obviously he had not noticed his presence at all.
- “Ah!” - Kongpob exclaimed when he finally spotted the young man who was in the doorway with his face red and his eyes wide open in surprise - “you are finally here... I want you to check the report of the new machinery. There are certain details that do not fit “.
Arthit nodded, completely silent.
- “And ... since you’re here ... tell me what you think about Oak’s gift” - he muttered as he pointed to the young girl who, completely flushed, had stopped dancing and was trying to cover herself with the brightly colored veils she had left before on the floor - “I think he thought this would be a good birthday present ... I do not know.”
Arthit nodded slightly and, without looking at the young woman, approached the table and took the report with the notes that Kongpob was indicating.
- “I’ll get on with it tomorrow morning”
Kongpob nodded and, without saying anything else, gestured for him to leave.
A FEW HOURS LATER...
Arthit arrived at his apartment and, after leaving the keys on the nightstand and the shopping bags in the kitchen, he went to his bedroom.
A few minutes later he was on the small balcony that faced the opposite building.
He was tired but, without a doubt, the worst part was the feeling of despair that overwhelmed him.
- “His birthday ...” - Arthit mused as he thought about Kong’s words and, above all, that he had left him alone with the girl.
But what could he do?
Nothing ... he could not do anything ... And that was killing him inside.
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Note: The images and characters are from their corresponding owners. Nothing is mine except the story itself.
