Pete had a splitting headache as he drove around aimlessly. He craved a hot cup of black coffee but didn't have the energy to stop at a cafe. So he kept driving. And driving. The streets of Bangkok felt like a long, dark tunnel with no light at the end. The bustling outside was contrasted by the emptiness he felt inside.
He replayed the images from earlier and groaned when he remembered that a few boys had taken videos of the altercation with the biker. He didn't want the video to go viral or to trend on Twitter. He will have to tell Off to take care of it.
Off would know what to do. Like he had done numerous times before for Pete. When a paparazzi reporter took pictures of him making out with an old flame from college. Or when he broke the nose of the bastard who threw up on him at the party. Or when his actress ex-girlfriend threatened to go public with intimate details after their breakup.
And on many, many more occasions, Off had handled it all sensitively. He never asked for details nor did Off tell him. But he knew there was a lot of money involved. It finally came down to that. Money. They would always toe the line when they see the amount credited to their account. And anything or anyone that jeopardized his position would disappear quietly.
He went home after an hour of driving around and realized his parents were already there. Once his father handed him the reins of the company, his parents had retired to a farmhouse in the suburbs. His father stayed as a board member, though he didn't involve himself in the company operations. They were enjoying the peace and the quiet after the rollercoaster life they had, building one of the biggest construction empires in the country.
Off was also there, and by the look of it had already explained the Mint situation to his parents. He didn't have the strength to recount it to them. He was grateful to Off.
It has been always like that with him and Off, who was the son of his father's PA. Since his mother died young, Off spent a lot of time at the Vihokratana household growing up. The two boys had struck a thick friendship, that grew stronger with age.
Off, however, was always cognizant of the difference between him and his friend. Even with all the love and freedom the Vihokratana family extended, he never forgot that he was the son of an employee of the family. He was loyal and would do anything for them, but he was very careful not to cross the boundary and consider himself one among them.
And in his world where one couldn't even trust their own shadow, Pete trusted Off with his life, and more importantly with his secrets. Off was his rock, his friend, and his brother. So, when Pete took over the business his first call was to ask Off to join his team.
A wave of reassurance passed over Pete as he recounted what happened on the road. Off just nodded and took notes on where it happened and when. "I'll take care of it" were his only words. No pointing fingers, no chiding him for his immaturity, no judging of the way he behaved. Pete sighed, he can now brush aside the little glitch in his day.
Oh boy, how wrong he was! He never had a chance to forget about it, as for the rest of their lives, Kao would gleefully narrate the whole incident in detail (with some extra additions of his own) to anyone who asked "So, how did you two meet"?
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Priceless - A PeteKao Love Story
FanfictionPete has lived all his life believing that money can buy anything and anyone under the sky. He is a cold, ruthless billionaire businessman who has jaded notions about relationships. Kao is an activist who has dedicated his life to helping his commu...
