The Dying of the Light

Chapter One

The subtle rays of the predawn sub broke through the wooden slats of the windows and landed ever so gently on the young tanned man's face. His eyelids fluttered as he slowly raised his hand to rub his tired eyes. As he opened his eyes, he tried to focus on the whirring ceiling fan, but he couldn't quite see it clearly. Confused, he sat up in bed and rubbed his eyes.

What's going on with my eyes, he asked himself as he squinted while looking around the room. Swinging his legs over the side of the bed, he steadied himself while walking towards the bathroom. The image in the mirror was still a little blurry but became clearer as he stood there.

What the hell? Clearly, I need to get some more sleep. I'm working too hard, but what can I do?

Work had indeed been a struggle lately. As the young son of the Chairman, Kongpob Suthiluck had done the impossible. He had graduated at the top of his class from Thammasat University with a degree in Business Administration in three years instead of the traditional four. Having been groomed by his father Kekkrai his entire life, the time had come for Kongpob to take over as President of Suthiluck Corp after his father retired to become Chairman of the Board.

Kongpob was under immense pressure to succeed as his father had been strongly urged by the Board of Directors to cede his position as President to a more seasoned successor. Although everyone knew Kekkrai wanted his son to succeed him, the Board wanted Kekkrai's longtime Vice President of Operations, Channarong Khemkhaeng (whose name means strong warrior) to be the next President. This was not lost of Channarong. Having started as a low-level assistant right out of university, who worked his way up through the ranks, he felt entitled to the presidency. After Kongpob had been installed as President, Channarong, backed by a minority faction of the Board, had decided to bide his time waiting for Kongpob to fail.

He believed that although the young man had the support of the stalwarts on the Board of Directors, his inexperience would inevitably cause him to make a mistake so egregious that the Board would have no choice but to turn to him as its savior.

It had been six months since Kongpob took control of Suthiluck Corp and the stock prices had finally started to climb. Much like certain members of the Board, a rather vocal group of stockholders made their displeasure known as the market adjusted to the change in leadership by taking a dip in price. It had been a Herculean task for Kongpob to lead his team through two profitable quarters that restored the stockholders' faith in the company's leadership.

Now as Kongpob stared at himself in the mirror, he could see the result of many sleepless nights and Channarong constantly nipping at his heels waiting for him to make a mistake. His eyes had developed dark circles and his faced had thinned making him look older than his 21 years. His reverie was interrupted by an alert from his phone.

M-VP: Kong, don't forget we have a meeting with our newest supplier. We're supposed to tour their facility and then meet to discuss the terms of their contract. The driver will be waiting downstairs for you in less than an hour. Don't be late.

Kong read the message, grabbed a towel and turned to take a shower. He stopped just short of getting into the shower when he remembered something.

Kong: M, make sure we end the day early today. I need to meet my parents this evening for dinner. Mae says my presence in nonnegotiable this week.

M-VP: Noted. I'll let everyone know we have a hard stop at 4:00 so you can make it to your parents' home on time.

"Thank you, Mr. Suthiluck. We are looking forward to doing business with Suthiluck Corp and we promise not let you down. We really appreciate the opportunity to prove ourselves," said the President of the newest supplier to Suthiluck Corp. Channarong was burning with jealousy as he watched the lovefest. He had openly opposed the selection of this supplier as he wanted to stay with the one they had been using for years. Darvid, Inc., however had submitted the lowest bid, so Kongpob and his team had decided to take a chance on the new company. Having conducted weeks of negotiations and research prior to signing the contract, Kongpob was confident he had made the right decision. Channarong, however, was hoping this would be the tipping point that made Kongpob fall on his face.

"You are quite welcome Mr. Darvid. My team and I are confident that this will be a long and fruitful relationship."

"Please, sir. Call me Kiet. We'll be working very closely over the course of this project, so I think it's time we call each other by our first names."

"Yes, Mr., I mean Kiet. My Vice President of Customer Relations, Mongkut Thinnakorn, will be the lead on this project, so he will be your primary point of contact. I will, however, check from time to time to see how things are progressing."

Mongkut stepped forward to wai Kiet before he shook his hand.

"I'm excited about this project and I can't wait to get started," said Mongkut as he smiled and stepped back by Kong's side.

As they were headed back to the office, Kong checked his watch to make sure he was on schedule and able to make it on time for dinner at his parents' home. 3:15, good I still have time to drop off Monkut and head to mom and dad's. He took out his phone to check his email when he realized the text on the screen was blurry. He blinked several times and rubbed his eyes, but he still couldn't focus.

"Is there something wrong, Kong?" asked M.

"I think I just need some rest. My vision is a little blurry. Now that this deal is closed and the Board has been satisfied, I might take a couple of days to rest. Make arrangements for me to use the house inPattaya this weekend." Kong placed his phone back in suit pocket and laid his head back on the car seat for the rest of the ride.