Secret Admirer

9. Lure away

Kayu took a few seconds to catch his breath. He had run all the way from one end of the resort to the other, as soon as he was beckoned over. He was not the athletic kind. The run had him wheezing like an old cow.

He wiped his sweat and rearranged his disheveled appearance to look presentable before walking to Ciro.

"Khun Ciro, Khrab," He greeted his boss.

Ciro raised his gaze to look at his secretary. "Took you long enough." His voice was cold.

"I am sorry for the delay, Khrab." Kayu apologized immediately.

Usually, he would always keep his phone close to him. But June hated that habit and would take his phone away from him, putting it on silent mode. 

That was exactly what happened today. June felt that the phone would be a distraction and that Kayu wouldn't be able to enjoy the trip. Kayu's phone had been in June's custody all day, causing him to miss all the calls from Ciro, which was a taboo in his dictionary as a secretary.

"I am really sorry Khrab, Khun Ciro," Kayu felt guilty. There were more than thirty missed calls when he finally managed to get the phone back from June. 

"Secretary Kayu, do you think I enjoy leaving missed calls and messages on your phone?"

"No, Khrab."

"Oh? Really? Then do you think that I called you because I was bored and had nothing better to do that I decided to call you?"

"No, Khrab." Kayu greatly regretted letting June put his phone on silent.

"So you must have thought that I am your lover boy who keeps pestering you, right?" Ciro knew that he was being unreasonable.

It was the day of the company outing and all his staff including Kayu were supposed to be relaxing and enjoying themselves. They were not supposed to be working.

He couldn't blame Kayu for not picking up his calls on such a day unless it was really important.

"Ciro, please buddy. Please help me." Buri begged.

"How exactly do you want me to help? By asking Kayu to break off his engagement for you?" Ciro rebuked. 

His friend had gone crazy after watching June proposing to Kayu. He too was not really happy about the proposal either. What made his mood worse was how easily Kayu said yes to the proposal. 

He felt that it was very disrespectful of June to propose in front of so many people as he had noticed how Kayu looked awkward and uncomfortable rather than excited about being proposed to. 

Though the proposal was casual. There was indeed a lot of public pressure on Kayu as there were so many witnesses.

Kayu had always been the kind of person who preferred keeping his private life private. Ciro knew it well and this made his dissatisfaction with June intensify.

"I don't know. Can you distract Kayu? Or. Or call him away? I just need a few minutes. No half an hour to talk to June," Buri looked at his friend with eyes full of anticipation.

"Are you sure that you will be done in 'half' an hour?"  Yen gave him a judgmental look from head to toe.

Buri looked down at his pants thoughtfully and then at Ciro. "Can you make it an hour?" He scratched his head. "No, buy me as much time as you can. I haven't met him for a long time and there are a lot of things to discuss."

Looking at the creepy smile on Buri's face, Ciro groaned.

"There won't be a next time, Khrab" Kayu mentally noted that he had to talk to June about the matter of keeping his phone away. As a secretary, he had to be available on the phone twenty-four-seven.

Ciro nodded. "We will have to cut this trip short and return to Bangkok tonight."

"What?" Kayu was surprised. "But why, Khrab?"

"I got news that Khun Thomson is coming to Bangkok tonight. We need to meet up with him."

Thomson was one of the big fishes that Ciro wanted to rope in as their client. Getting an appointment with Thomson was very difficult. Kayu didn't want their company to lose the appointment and thus the chance to collaborate with him. 

"Khrab. But if we notify all the staff now..." Kayu didn't like the idea of having everyone's trip interrupted like this.

"Others don't have to go back. But you have to return with me tonight itself." Ciro said firmly. There was no way that he was going to let Kayu stay the night with June. He didn't trust June.

"Just me?"

"Yes."

"Khun Ciro, can you give me a few minutes? I will run back to my room and get my things."

"We don't have any more time to waste, Kayu. We need to get going right away." Ciro objected to Kayu's suggestion knowing that his friend must be having a 'conversation' with June right now and he shouldn't let Kayu interrupt it.

"But mt things..."

"You don't have to worry about your luggage. I will have the resort staff send it back to you."

"Khrab," Kayu agreed and followed Ciro to the parking lot. He dialed June's to inform him of the emergency and his need for departure. But no matter how many times he called, the latter was not picking the call up, leaving him in distress.

"Are you not going to get in?" Ciro looked at Kayu who had already reached the car but was too busy calling his fiancé to get inside.

"Khrab, I am coming." Kayu quickly went to the driver's seat. Typically, driving Ciro around was his job.

"I will drive. It's night and you look tired. Go, get on the passenger seat" Ciro took the car keys from Kayu and opened the door for him.

Kayu entered the passenger seat and buckled in while Ciro went to the other side and got in the driver's seat.

As the car started moving, Kayu decided to text June about the situation as the latter was not picking up. He assumed that June might be in the bathroom as the call was not going through.

Ciro peeked at Kayu time and again. The diamond ring on his finger was really shiny. The shine irked Ciro's eyes as much as the one who put it on Kayu's finger did.

"Why didn't you tell me that you had a boyfriend?" Ciro probed. 

"That... we hadn't been dating for that long. Khrab," Kayu replied with a hint of hesitation. 

"You haven't been dating him for that long and you accepted his marriage proposal?"

Kayu was tongue-tied. He couldn't tell Ciro the truth.  "June... He is a nice guy, Khrab."

"A nice guy? Is that enough for you to get married to him?" Though Ciro was staring ahead at the road and driving, Kayu could feel the sharpness in his gaze.

The lack of response from Kayu's side pissed Ciro off further. "How long have you guys been dating?"

"A few months." Kayu's voice was very soft.

"You just dated him for a few months and you are ready to marry him," Ciro scoffed mockingly. "I didn't know that you were so desperate to get married, Kayu."

Kayu frowned at Ciro's tone, feeling offended. "Khun Ciro Khrab, though I had only dated him for a few months, I have known him for a few years. He is nice to me and he makes me feel secure. That's all I need."

Ciro slammed the brakes hard, causing the car to halt mid-road. Fortunately, it was night and the road was not a main road, or else there would have been a traffic accident. 

He turned his body and leaned towards Kayu, causing the latter to lean away. "You had known me for a few years as well. I am nice to you and I too make you feel secure. So, if I had proposed to you, would you have said yes?"