Forget Me Not

Chapter Five

Korn returned to work after spending the night with Mew. There had been no question of him staying over; not when he would have had to make the half-hour ride back to Chang Mai in morning traffic if he did. Mew hadn't questioned him and he hadn't offered. They had just ordered room service, spent the rest of the evening alternating between eating, making out and emptying Mew's mini-bar.

When it was time for him to leave, he'd dressed up and left Mew fast asleep in bed.

Back to work the following morning and Korn had felt lighter on his feet. Like spending time with Mew had given him more energy instead of draining him of it. He felt refreshed. He didn't realize how much better his mood was until P'Song pointed out that he was smiling.

"I don't think I've seen you look this happy since you started working here. Did something good happen?" She asked sitting on the edge of his desk.

"I don't know what you're talking about but I'm the same as always," he said pushing her off his desk with the edge of the QC folder he was looking through, "But these numbers are far from normal."

"I know," P'Song agreed having already taken note of the number of flawed products that had been sent back or didn't even make it through inspection.

"The number is inching towards unacceptable levels," Korn pointed out.

This was nothing new. He'd just underestimated the speed with which it would happen. He'd been giving them another six months before things became dire. It looked like that was closer to a month—two at the most. That nobody was willing to do anything, when it was literally the source of every single CYZ Fabricators employee's livelihood, struck Korn as gross negligence.

He was about to launch into another complaint on the subject when he caught himself. It was useless to get frustrated with P'Song. She was on his side and nothing came of trying to convert the choirboys.

"I need to file another report so can you go back to your office instead of staring at me like I'm one of your QC deformities?"

"Wow...are you asking me to leave, politely? Something definitely happened. You are a lot nicer today and I think you should come out with us tonight. Maybe you'll be easier to deal with, now that you're human."

Korn pretended to throw a pencil at P'Song. That finally got her out of his office. Her laughter still reached him as she made her way back to her office and he couldn't help smiling back. Perhaps she was right; he was a little more sociable. He didn't want to believe it had anything to do with the time he and Mew had spent together, but just that thought was enough to bring another smile to his face.

Korn schooled his face back to his normal mask of indifference. Looking around to make sure nobody had observed his temporary lapse, he turned his attention to the file on his desk. All his good humour disappeared as he took in the details of the latest report.

Opening a word processing document, he proceeded to draft another report with the same recommendations he'd been making for the past few months. He sent it to Khun Sap and copied everyone he thought might be interested in what he'd uncovered. He knew nobody would listen but he was unwilling to sit back and do nothing.

Trying to make it appear different from all the other recommendations, Korn cited the cost of running the machines and producing substandard products as an expense they couldn't afford. Then he pointed out the solutions that could be made for the moulds, the electrical supply and the breakers. Finally, he compared the financial ramification and concluded with how making the necessary changes was a sound business solution.

Satisfied that he had made a strong case, he printed out the report and hand-delivered it to the main office. Each of the departments had a pigeonhole. Dropping a copy in Khun Sap's box, Korn debated his next move for a few minutes before he dropped a second copy in the C-suite box. He hoped he had done enough to ensure that someone read it. He didn't hold out much hope.