"Can I -- Can I take my time but also kiss you again?
Sarawat's fork slipped out of his hand, and instead of answering my question, he put his lips on mine, and his hands found the back of my neck. A literal shiver shot up my spine as I felt Sarawat's tongue exploring my mouth. I could taste the beer and I could taste him. It felt warm and it felt.. very right. Just like it had that night.
Tine's POV
My fingers feathered through his hairs like they were always meant to do that and I pulled him closer towards me as our tongues fought for dominance. I felt Sarawat's hands travelling up my spine and onto my nape as he pressed his lips on mine. I could feel the beer on his breath and his hands sliding inside my shirt.
Sarawat broke the kiss, and stared at me, for God only knows how long. To me, it felt like an eternity. I could see in his eyes what he wanted and I am sure he could see the same in mine.
"Kiss me, Tine." That's all he had to say before I finally slammed my lips on his. The kiss is hungry, sloppy, and very heated. Our tongues moved together hungrily in our mouths. I put my hand on his nape to kiss him more, and I kissed him more — but it never really felt enough.
Sarawat's hands travelled the south of my spine, and I could feel his soft pillowy lips explore every corner of my mouth. I moaned lightly and tilted my head all the way to give him better access. When my hands finally found Sarawat's shirt buttons and I went to open them slowly, but right then — Sarawat's phone started to ring.
I groaned in frustration, but we kept kissing, ignoring the vibrations coming from Sarawat's pants which definitely weren't coming from where I wanted them to come.
All frustrated, I finally, broke the kiss. "Wat, just pick up the call."
"No, fuck the call." Sarawat crashed his lips on mine again as the phone finally stopped ringing and I had no objections getting to taste Sarawat again. In this lifetime, it would never be enough. But right then Sarawat's phone started ringing again.
"Wat, just pick it up and get it over with it."
"Its probably someone unimportant. I don't care." Sarawat tried to kiss me again, but this time, I dodged and moved away.
"Didn't you just change your phone number? It's probably someone important Wat, pick it up already."
Sarawat sighed. He shuffled his pocket to take out his phone but his facial expressions suddenly changed when he looks at his phone screen. "Fuck."
He got up from the sofa and sat on the chair instead, before picking up the phone.
"Hey Dad." He whispered. And that's when I realised what I had done — I had made out with Sarawat Guntithanon, in my own office, while his father was probably sitting a few floors above us.
"Um.. am I at the office right now? Why—why do you ask, Dad?" Sarawat looked back at me in horror. "Ah. Yes. I am at the office right now. How—how did you know?
.
Oh.." He expression finally relaxed. "Oh you saw my car in the parking lot? Of course you saw my car in the parking. How else would you know? Yeah, I came back to the office from the lab to pick up some reports from Tine..."
Sarawat looked at me, and I angrily mouthed my words — WHY THE FUCK WOULD YOU MENTION MY NAME?
Sarawat ignored me and went back to the phone instead. "Ah yes, dad I got the file.
.
No dad, I can't go home with you because—
.
No. I don't have any more work here.
.
Sarawat sighed listening to his dad. "Fine, I'll come home with you. I'll come down in five minutes."
When Sarawat put down the phone, I spoke up. "What—what did he you say? Why is he calling you down? Do you think he knows we are here?"
"Tine, he doesn't know anything. He just asked me to go home with him and have dinner because I haven't been home much in the last week. I guess, I was a bit too occupied watching late night movies with someone special."
"Oh." I realised what it meant — It was time for him to go. I stared sadly at all the dinner laid out on my desk, which I would now be eating all alone. "Yeah. Yeah. You should go have dinner with your family."
I got up from the sofa when I felt Sarawat circling his arms around my waist "I am sorry I have to leave."
I tried to laugh it off, the best I could. "What are you sorry for? We literally had dinner together the whole week — you should obviously go have dinner with your family, Wat. I really don't mind."
In an instant, Sarawat pulled me closer to him, and for a second, I forgot to breathe for a second. "I guess I am just sorry for myself for not being able to kiss you more tonight." Sarawat pressed his lips on mine again and gave me a quick peck.
"Wat, you should seriously go before I change my mind."
Sarawat pulled me even more closer, pressing his hands resting on my waist. "What happens when you change your mind?"
I chuckled. "I guess you will never know." Tine pushes him away. "Go now. Your dad must be waiting."
/
/
/
/
/
It was almost close to midnight when I checked the clock, as I sat in front of my TV, watching a movie mindlessly. The sofa somehow felt bigger than usual and the quilt lying on the sofa, still somehow smelled of Sarawat.
I was just about to close down the TV and drag my soul back to my bedroom, when my phone started to buzz.
Sarawat calling...
And just like that, I was smiling again as I put the phone to my year. "Hello?"
"Hey you.. had you slept already?"
"No. No. Just watching a movie. How was your dinner?"
"Ah.. well, the airplane food sucked."
"Airplane food?"
"Ah yeah. I am in Singapore"
"Singapore? Singapore as in the country Singapore?"
"Yep, they tricked me saying it was dinner, but dad drove me straight to the airport instead. Mom and Phukong were already waiting for me in the jet."
"Wow. Your family... is eventful, I guess? And really rich, if I might add."
"And may be, just may be — you could be dating this rich family's son."
I shook my head trying to ignore his obvious pickup lines. "Why are you in Singapore, Sarawat?"
"Mom thinks we have all been busy in our own lives and we should spend more quality family time, whatever that means"
"I think that means she just misses you, Wat"
"And what about the fact that I miss you?"
"We literally met two hours ago."
"Actually, we met about 4 hours and 12 minutes ago."
"Sarawat?"
"Yes?"
"Go to sleep"
/
/
/
/
I somehow got through my boring weekend which mostly involved ordering takeout food and binging on some old 90's romcoms that my Netflix kept recommending me. It seemed like watching all those old romcoms with Sarawat every night made my Netflix believe that's all I really watched. Sarawat did text me here and there through the weekend, but we didn't talk much. I assumed he was probably busy with his family.
When I reached the office in the morning and sat on my desk, my phone buzzed with a message from Sarawat.
Sarawat[09:32am]: Got back late last night. Driving to the lab right now. I missed you
Sarawat[09:33am]:Date, tonight? I'll come pick you up at the office.
Tine[09:34am]: Do you mean dinner tonight?
Sarawat[09:35am]: No, I mean a date. You and me on a date
Tine[09:34am]: I'll think about it
Sarawat[09:35am]: I will pick you up at 7pm, babe
"Why are you smiling like a teenager?"
"What? Why? How?" I looked up to realise May had magically appeared inside my office cabin "Why are you in my office suddenly? You should have knocked."
"I did knock, but you were too busy giggling at your phone."
"I was not!"
May rolled her eyes. "Sure, lets believe that for now because I don't have the time to get into your compulsive denials. Anyways, first things first — You have a meeting with Mr Guntithanon in half an hour."
"EXCUSE ME WHAT? Meeting with Mr Guntithanon? That was not on my calendar."
"Yeah, his secretary called a minute ago to tell me about the meeting. I assumed you might know something about it."
"I—I don't know anything." I started to think back over what the meeting could be about when I suddenly remembered the events of Friday night. "Wait, what if he knows about us..."
"Knows about what?"
I looked up. "No, nothing. Never mind. I guess I'll just go see him in half an hour and hope I don't die."
"Wow. Way to be overdramatic, huh?" May shook her head. "Anyways, second thing on the agenda — A lot of team members have kind of been discussing why Sarawat has suddenly disappeared. It looks like they did find out he has been working in the R&D labs, but now they are even more curious about why a newbie here has been suddenly sent to the R&D department. What do you want me to tell them?"
I sighed and rubbed my forehead. This could easily go down badly with the team and make them feel like Sarawat is getting preferential treatment, especially when they realise who he is.
"May, we have a team meeting at 4 today right?"
"Yeah."
"Good, I'll handle this discussion with the team about this. I think it will be good to share with them that Sarawat has worked with some breweries in Germany before he joined here."
"He has?"
"Yep."
"Oh I didn't know that. Also, speaking of Sarawat, can you give me the credit card receipt and bill for Sarawat's phone? You told me to use your personal credit card because you needed the new phone in a rush, but we can file it to get a reimbursement."
"Oh. That. No need. for that"
"What? Why?"
"Reimbursements take too much time. I am fine without it. Its okay. I don't care"
"You literally just have to give me the receipts and I can handle everything."
"It's okay May. I don't need it"
May squinted her eyebrows. "You are getting suspicious by every passing day, Teepakorn."
"Goodbye May. I need to prepare for my meeting."
/
/
/
I did think about calling Sarawat before my meeting with Mr Guntithanon, but I decided against it. May be I was just overthinking about it all. Calling Sarawat would only worry him more and I just — I just didn't want to do that. He was probably tired from his trip already.
So, I took a deep breath, and finally entered Mr Guntithanon's cabin, praying I come out alive.
"Tine, good to see you again." He was sitting at his desk, exactly how I had seen him before.
"Trust me sir, the pleasure is all mine."
"Please take a seat, Tine"
"Ah. Thank you." I sat down, slowly and carefully, still wishing I wasn't here at all
"First of all, I am sorry for calling you here on such sudden notice. This is the only time I had free today. And secondly, I must congratulate you. I heard the beer festival was a great success. We are already seeing good results from it. You did some great work, Tine."
"Thank you but I can't take all the credit for it. The team worked incredibly hard on it. It was all them, I was just overseeing things, that's all."
"Humble as always. Sometimes it's good to take credit, Tine. Sarawat actually told me how much work you put into the beer fest and how much attention you pay to every small detail."
"Oh, Sarawat said that?"
"Yes, yes he did. In fact, he also told me that your speech at the Digital Marketing Forum in Phuket was very inspiring and well received."
"Oh umm.. Thank you. I had no idea he had told you about it."
"He does tell me about work from time to time. Although recently he's been very busy and I hardly ever see him around. Actually, I called you in today because I wanted to talk about Sarawat."
And that's when I started to feel that anxiety burning up inside me again. It took a few deep breaths to calm myself down.
Tine, he could not have known you made out with his son in your own office cabin in a building that is entirely owned by him. There are no cameras in your cabin, you already spent the last half an hour looking for hidden cameras in your office. And if he knew about what you and Sarawat were up to, you would have probably been out of the office and your job by now.
"Oh. " I tried to look as innocent as possible, but my palms were getting sweaty. "What about—what about Sarawat?"
"How has he been performing at work?"
"Oh, you wanted to discuss his work performance? Of course, yes, yes, that makes sense sir." I sighed of relief,
"Yes. Sarawat suddenly asked me about moving to the R&D lab. I did agree with him but I am not sure if that's a good move. I really want to get your opinion on this since you are the one who worked closely with him here. I hope there weren't any issues with him here?"
"Ah no, there were no issues at all, sir. Sarawat, he was doing amazing here with the team. He handled a few marketing campaigns himself and even managed to shortlist some of the best restaurants for the beer festival. He only went to the R&D labs because he wanted to — and I thought it was a good decision"
He smiled. "Is that really your honest opinion, Tine? I hope you are not just saying that because he is my son."
"Sir, with all due respect, if I was someone who sugar-coated things to his boss just to stay on his good side, you would not have told me to mentor Sarawat, would you?"
He chuckled. "You are right about that. I guess, I am just shocked at someone complimenting Sarawat like this."
"I get that. Sarawat's playful personality hides his talents easily. It almost made me not want to take him seriously. But he is brilliant at his work. I have seen his reports and case studies — They are all meticulously written. He tries to focus on the emotions of the customers instead of just looking at marketing numbers, which is very rare in marketing people today."
"So, you think he should have stayed here in the office instead of going to the labs?"
"Ah, no, quite the opposite actually. Even though he is good at marketing, Sarawat truly shines when it comes to food and flavour profiles. You know, when you told me, Sarawat was behind two of our most successful bear flavours, I almost couldn't believe it. I thought it was just some beginner's luck at his part.
But the more time I spent with Sarawat, the more I realised, he has an impeccable knowledge of food and flavours, and a lot of raw potential. It would be a shame for him to not harness it."
"That's true. Sarawat has been really mindful of flavours ever since he was a kid, and I think its all because of his mother. She is an incredible cook."
"I agree." I smiled back. "When I ate the fish she cooked, I almost felt like I had gone to heaven. It was so, so good."
Mr Guntithanon gave me a confused expression. "You—you have had my wife's famous fish? I didn't know Sarawat had invited you to the house?"
Well, I have been to the house.. or mansion, as I saw it. But that's another story, I guess.
"Ah. no. no. I haven't, of course not. How could I?" I tried to give my best fake laugh.
"Its just, one time, Sarawat brought some fish at the office and shared some with me.. I mean the entire team. He bought the fish and shared it with the entire team. It was really delicious... that's what everyone said."
"Sarawat did? Wow, he was never the sharing type but I am happy to see he is growing up." He stared down at his desk and looked up. "You know Tine, I had my reservations about Sarawat before, but I think after talking to you, I feel a lot relieved — proud even, and I believe a lot of it is because you have been mentoring him well."
"I haven't done much, to be honest.."
"You encouraged Sarawat to join the R&D team, instead of just letting him stay at the marketing team where I put him, I think that was a great decision on your part. As you said, Sarawat is talented, but sometimes, he just needs the push in the right direction. But if you push him too hard, it might backfire on you."
Tine laughs. "Well, I have never seen it get backfired on me... yet."
"But you did well, Tine. And I hope you will continue to guide him in the right direction, even though he is no longer working with you. Coming to the office has had a very positive effect on Sarawat, he seems to be working hard everyday, he is more independent now, he has new ideas for the company, and he even moved out recently.."
"He moved out?"
"Ah yes, yes he did. By the way Tine, now that you aren't directly supervising Sarawat anymore and he will mostly be working with R&D Labs, do you want to start the process of your transfer to Japan?"
I stared at Mr Guntithanon in shock. The moment I had been waiting for, for the last 12 months was finally here. I could finally go to Japan, just like I hoped. Get away from all the people here, get away from all the grief that had been following me and finally start afresh. But something, something just didn't sit right with me.
"Is it okay if I get back to you about this in 2 months, just like we had previously discussed? I still have a few things here that I need to take care of.
/
/
/
I had a pretty constructive meeting with Mr Guntithanon. We discussed about a lot of things but everything boiled down to one thing, or rather one person — Sarawat.
The rest of the day was spent thinking and overthinking about what had happened.
I still didn't know what was this thing with Sarawat but somehow I was already risking my promotion and my job over it. I finally was offered a transfer to Japan, finally, after so long, and I rejected it without even thinking twice. All for Sarawat? God. What was wrong with me?
I stepped into the office elevator after the end of a rather stressful day, watching my reflection in the elevator mirror. Wondering what Sarawat even saw in me, I was just a small town kid, trying his best to survive in this big city life. His family took out jets to another country when they needed quality time together, and my family — we just did a 30 minute video call together to catch up when we missed each other.
May be it was better to draw a line before things got too serious. I and Sarawat were from different worlds, there might be serious consequences if people find out he is involved with the boss's son. I had worked too hard to get where I was to lose everything like this.
That's when the elevator door opened — and he saw Sarawat standing right outside, smiling at me. A smile so bright, it could lift even the dullest of my days. And just like, all of the worries over my head suddenly evaporated.
"Hey, what took you so long?" He asked, as he stood there in his black shirt, black blazer, and his well-fitted black pants. "I missed you."
I couldn't help but smile back at him. What was I even thinking? I could probably get another job somewhere else, but I could most definitely not find another Sarawat in a lifetime. I have no idea where this would go, but for now, I just wanted to pretend he was all mine.
--
A/N: Get you a man like Tine who defends you and compliments you in front of your father so much, that he has no other choice but to be proud of you. HAHAHA
I know most people like Sarawat more here, but I love Tine in this story. I love his vulnerabilities and I love his conviction. That's all I want to say for today because its super late in the night, I am super sleepy, and I am sorry for any typos.