Within My Stratosphere • SOTUS

Chapter 9. White Gardenias

[Arthit]

Arthit grabbed the large bunch of gardenias on the table before heading out. This had been his weekly routine for about a month now. As he stepped into the backseat of the black Rolls-Royce, the door slammed shut after him.

Kongpob had been serious when he asked him to be his floral designer. When his portion of work for the joint project was complete, Kongpob contacted him, as if he had already known.

This was back in mid-March. Since then, he had been going in once a week to create arrangements for whichever room or area was requested. It was a simple and easy job.

Now that a little over a month had passed, they were sort of friends. Kongpob was always there when he was working. He would either be off to the side doing his own work, or sitting next to him striking up a conversation.

He was good company; they talked about life, work, and the little things in between. Their conversations waxed and waned throughout the day, and he enjoyed the time they spent together.

As it is the case for any working relationship, there good moments and bad.

There was one distinct trait of Kongpob's he had to get used to early on.

He was very stubborn about certain things.

For instance, this Rolls-Royce. He personally thought it was excessive. To Kongpob however, it was mandatory that Arthit let the driver take him back and forth. Sometimes, he just didn't understand him. He blamed it on the blue blood. Kongpob was merely wealthy.

The driver commented on the fragrance of the gardenias, making him smile. The centerpiece this week was going to be for Kongpob's personal office. This was going to be the first time he entered his room on the 168th floor. Like he had said, excessive. Who needed 168 floors of anything?

Arthit shook his head at the idea before taking the flowers and entering the building. He had ordered a larger set of white flowers to be delivered, but gardenias were an afterthought that became a reality.

Though he had never seen or been inside Kongpob's office, he could already guess the basic theme. Clean. That was the reason he chose a white-colored palette in the first place. He decided to included gardenia's because it not only matched in color; but, the over powering fragrance would change the dynamics of the room.

In his opinion, Kongpob needed to loosen up and relax. He was always so tense. Arthit would often catch him frowning over a document, lost in thought.

The idea was that the fragrance would counteract the stressors. 'Subtle aromatherapy'. He was opposed to the possible formation of a wrinkle in between the handsome brows. Not that it mattered to him.

Kongpob was going to be late today. He was still flying back from wherever he had gone for business. It turns out the private jet was utilized quite often. He flew out for work related issues several times a week.

This month was exceptionally busy with the launching of several new projects, which was the reason behind him running late. Just thinking about the workload overwhelmed Arthit, making him shudder.

The elevator arrived on the top floor. Two receptionists immediately greeted him and guided him towards a large set of double doors. By large, he meant gigantic. It was a door created for a giant. Everything about this floor was exorbitantly excessive.