The Proposal

Earthquake or tsunami?

"I'm with you."

"Fuck you," Gulf pulls his hand out of Mew's palm, "otherwise he will definitely think that we are completely fucked up and have come to him for a blessing."

Mew would have laughed, but the situation is not funny at all.

OK. He himself knows that China is strict with this, but if Gulf is fired now, in fact, for nothing... No. He definitely can't let that happen. Five minutes. Just enough endurance, and then Mew aggressively steps towards the office of their CEO.

"You simply have no right! You can't fire a person because of your personal prejudice!"

Mew opens the door and, forgetting even to say hello in a hurry, blurts it all out in front of the astonished faces of Gulf and their mutual boss.

"Get out of here quickly!.."  Gulf says through his teeth.

"But I won't!" n no time, Mew is next to him and takes his hand — firmly, securely, so that Gulf can't escape. "I don't know what's in your head and I'm not going to change your mind, but you can't fire Gulf just because you saw us in that hotel this morning. It has nothing to do with his professional qualities and how he handles everything here."

"Mew, please..." Gulf's gaze rushes from him to the boss and back.

'Shut up, Gulf!"

Mew turns back to the man staring at him:

"Do you want to know the truth? With all the difficulties that I had as his assistant, Gulf is the best! Yes, he's not perfect, but which one of us is perfect? By firing him for something that has nothing to do with his work, you are making a catastrophic mistake! And also — I'm sure — your competitors will quickly get their hands on such a first-class specialist. Think about it!"

There is a pause. Then the CEO grins, slaps Gulf on the shoulder and gestures to the door, muttering something in Chinese. Gulf bows his head, answers him also in Chinese and, pulling Mew by the arm, pulls him away from the chief's office.

After his recitative and a quick walk, Mew can catch his breath only when they get to his office.

"Gulf, if he doesn't come to his senses, I'll shove my pride up his ass and call my dad. He will hire such lawyers that this CEO on his knees will beg you to stay... damn! Who does he even think he is? Why does he care about your personal life?"

Gulf puts his hands on his hips, lifting the skirts of his jacket with them. Puffs out his cheeks and shakes his head:

"Actually, I was called to be informed about the promotion. The CEO wants to make me the first deputy.

"Uh... fuck."

Mew slaps his forehead, desperately looking into the eyes of Gulf, who is looking at him curiously.

"And what to do now, eh?.."  Mew takes a deep breath. "Calm down. I'll go and explain everything to him now."

"What exactly?"

"What do you mean?"

"What exactly are you going to explain to him? And most importantly," Gulf grins, "in what language?"

"Uh… What are you talking about?"

"Actually, our chief does not understand a word of Thai."

"Okay, then…"

"in English either."

"And what? I still have to explain everything to him!"

"Mew," Gulf rolls his eyes, "you put two and two together somehow yourself, please."

Not right away, but it's starting to sink in to Mew. Exhaling, he still clarifies:

"Exactly... not a word?"

Gulf is grinning again:

"Once he pissed me off and I couldn't help calling him an old asshole. In Thai. A couple of days later, he clarified how it translates into Chinese. I had to lie about 'I totally agree with you.' I just hope he didn't remember and it won't occur to him to use it at some meeting with partners from Thailand."

Mew giggles. And then he raises his eyebrows in surprise:

"Did you really call the boss that?"

"Any doubt?" Gulf plays with his eyebrows in response, "only you are allowed to call a boss an asshole?"

Both remember that conversation. They both laugh.

Here I am a jerk...

But his only intention was not to let Gulf get kicked out of here as well. After the end of his career in Thailand, Gulf may simply not rise if everything goes awry here.

"Well... I mean, it's all right, right?"

Without removing the grin from his face, Gulf stands right in front of him:

"So you admit that I am a first-class specialist?"

Mew shrugs:

"As if I didn't admit it before… Didn't you hear that conversation I had with my father before the picnic?

Gulf grins, biting his lower lip:

"And you started standing up for me again, "the look softens in the halo of eyelashes. "Thank you, Mew."

Mew squints to the side, trying to hide how pleased he is that everything went well:

"Should we expect an earthquake or a tsunami today?"

Gulf jerks his chin up:

"We are not in Japan. Definitely not a tsunami."

Mew wants to put his arm around his waist, but Gulf dodges to the side:

"No one canceled the working day. So get down to business. The assistant."

"Okay... Gulf?"

"What?"

"If I ask you out on a date… Will you come?"

"Well, you invite me first, and then we'll see."

"I'm serious."

"And I'm serious."

"Uh... Gulf. I'm asking you out on a date this Friday. The time and place will be announced later."

Gulf giggles, nodding:

"Okay. But with one condition."

"Which one?"

"I keep my right to change my mind before Friday."

"You won't change your mind."

"So sure?"

Mew straightens up, straightening his shoulders:

"Yes."

"Are you going to try to get me drunk again? Are you probably already flattering yourself with the laurels of an assistant to the first deputy?"

"How clever you are. Here, let's note our common successes on the way to the top of the career ladder."

"Maybe."

"You won't change your mind, Gulf. And you won't run away from me anywhere else."