Fateful Encounter (Completed)

Chapter 17

Recap

'Hello Arthit.' Apsara Suthilak greeted with a beautiful smile.

Apsara Suthilak was delighted to see Arthit Rojanapat. The kid looked better than she'd seen on screen. She can just imagine how their family photo would look like when Arthit finally join. Before she could get ahead of herself, she had to remind herself that Kong has yet to make a move. However there were few things she needed to clarify regarding the interview.

Apsara watched Arthit closely as the manager made the necessary introductions. All four kids seemed to be a little tensed since the manager introduced her as the Chairperson to the media network that broadcasted the Saturday morning program that they participated just now. As the introductions were made between her and the team and their staff, Arthit seemed to be at a loss for words. Apsara contributed his nervousness to lack of knowledge on the situation. After that they were all seated, Apsara on a single sofa chair with the band members sharing the long sofa and their three managers and her secretary sat on the remaining metal chairs surrounding the sofa set. The head manager started talking.

'It is a great honer for the chairwoman to visit us. Thank you for taking care of us.'  He said respectfully.

'Not at all. I am actually quite fond of SKY. I am in the committee of the charity that you'll be holding a concert next month.' The members looked delighted and surprised.

'We are truly honored to have you support something that we all care about deeply. Thank you ma'am.' Pup was polite and respectful. Apsara smiled elegantly.

'You should all thank Arthit's aunt, Marlee Jathurapoom, for introducing your music to me. She's a good friend of mine.' Everybody turned towards Arthit making him squirm a little.

'Really? I didn't know our Arthit was that well connected.' The head manager said. Arthit was feeling massively uncomfortable with the way the discussion has turned.

'I'm not that well connected P'. My aunt is. There's not much I can do.' Apsara felt the shift of the mood. Indeed it was advantageous to have connections as powerful as Arthit did in any business. But it seemed like Arthit is not the type to seek such advantageous for himself. Her good impression of the kid rose to new levels with that little detail. For that reason Apsara thought twice about mentioning her son.

After some small talk Apsara left the waiting room. She didn't forget to click a selfie with the young artists and as soon as she left the room she sent it to her son with the message 'I didn't even say your name.'. Apsara knew her youngest was busy with the new project and that the area Kongpob was at the moment didn't have any mobile signal or internet. Hence she felt safe. However she felt that Arthit deserved to know why Kong's name wasn't mentioned in the interview. Maybe she could ask Marlee.

*****

The SKY members were in their van being driven to their next program. Jane was at the wheel and the head manager, Kim, was in the passenger seat. Kim had been relentlessly trying to get information regarding Arthit's connection with Apsara Suthilak for the past half hour. So far Arthit had pleaded innocent and had not said anything that is not commonly known. After Apsara Suthilak had left, it hadn't taken long for Kim to realize that Arthit knew Kongpob Suthilak, Apsara's son. After all they monitored their artists' social media activities closely. It has been almost half an hour now and Arthit was beginning to lose patience with his manager.

'P'Kim, for the last time, I had absolutely no idea about Apsara Suthilak. I've met her son maybe two or three times. I can assure you I have no connection to their family. If you are so desperate, talk to our CEO. I'm sure he knows more about the Suthilaks than I do.' His voice clearly indicated his irritation. The members and Jane had remained quiet throughout and had opted to not say anything. For that Arthit was grateful. He promised himself to clear everything with them as soon as Kim left them alone.