S. F. - 28

***

New.

"Hon??! The fuck are you talking about? Don't tell me you have feelings for me? Oh my gosh, New. I'm already marrying Off!"

I rolled my eyes as Gun's overdramatic ass started whining on the other line.

I turned on the car's ignition as I was dying to get away from that place or I wouldn't be able to control myself and get back inside.

"Duh, I like tall guys and you obviously don't make the cut," I scoffed as I placed the phone on loudspeaker and started driving.

"Tsss.. At least Off and I look cute whenever we're together because of our height difference. Wait? Where are you? Are you still at our house? Gosh, I didn't get why Off was so adamant at spending the day out until I remembered you and P'Tay. So, did you guys do it? How many rounds?"

"The fuck are you talking about, Gun. I'm already driving home, okay? I didn't know what went inside your husband's head for setting me up with Tay, but I don't give a shit about that asshole, okay? He just can't expect me to welcome him with open arms. I'm not some fucking weakling."

I scowled as he snickered on the other line and it irritated me that he had the audacity to laugh at the situation that I was in.

"Do you think this is a laughing matter, Gun??" I raged over the phone. I could feel my face heating up as I tried my best not to cuss Gun.

"Gosh, New. I witnessed how you mourned over your lost love. Tsss. I regretted not taking a photo of you and Tay last night. You looked incredibly sweet. But seriously, New. You should really give him a chance to explain. I mean he wouldn't leave without any reason, right?"

"What the hell are you talking about? And besides, it was him who left without a trace, Gun. You can't blame me for my pent-up anger for him."

"Yeah, yeah. But you can always talk it out. New, I gotta go. Off's whining about riding this swing me away thing. Bye!"

"Hey wait! Tsss. That midget!" I exclaimed as he abruptly ended the call without even clarifying about what he meant.

I tried remembering what happened last night but I could only recall bits of it. The last thing I remembered was falling into the pool. I didn't even how the on earth I ended up sleeping beside Tay.

"Tsss. That jerk really has his way of ruining my mood."

***

"Didn't know you're close with Mr Tawan Vihokratana."

I furrowed my eyebrows at Mr Phassakorn, our Chief Marketing Officer. I was about to enter my office after grabbing some late lunch on a Tuesday afternoon when I met him in the hallway.

"He already secured your position as the CEO of the company despite your poor performance. Some members of the board filed a complaint, but he must have pulled some strings to secure your position. Now tell me. What's going on between you two?"

I cleared my throat and held my head high as the look on his face was definitely instigating that I tell him about my relationship with Tay. Mr Phassakorn had always been arrogant, something he inherited from my uncle.

"I don't think it's any of your concern, Mr Phassakorn. Now if you may, kindly go back to your post and do what you're paid to do."

I immediately went inside my office and closed the blinds to avoid attracting attention from the employees.

I hastily dialed my mother's number and fidgeted with my fingers as I waited for her to pick up.

"Mom! What the hell is happening?"

"Don't you dare raise your voice on me, New. I suppose you already heard the news."

"Mom, are you serious about this? You just can't give up the company to some, some, someone else!" I ran a frustrated hand through my hair as I searched my mind for a name to call Tay but failed.

"The deal's been closed already, New. You should be thankful for him because he made sure you're still the CEO of the company."

"But, mom. I didn't approve any of this!"

"But I did and so did the board. And besides, it's the only way to save the company given the amount of money your father owes to the Vihokratanas. So instead of whining, start thinking of ways to get the company back on track before Tawan regrets keeping you as the CEO."

I heaved a deep sigh as she ended the call.

"Ugh! What the fuck are you doing Tawan?"

***

The tires of my car screeched as I abruptly halted in front of the Vihokratanas' main office.

With a compelling desire to get an explanation from him, I furiously stormed in their company not even minding the several stares coming from the employees.

"Good afternoon, Sir. How ma—"

"I want to speak with Mr Tawan Vihokratana."

"Do you have an appointment with him, Sir?"

"No. Just tell him I need to talk to him."

The receptionist flashed an apologetic smile.

"I'm sorry, Sir. But you need an appointment to see him."

"Just damn tell him I fucking need to talk to him," I said through gritted teeth and gave her a vicious glare. I knew I was being rude but given the frustration I had at the moment, being polite was definitely out of the picture.

"O-one moment, Sir."

I watched her intently as she picked up the phone, probably to call Tay's secretary.

"Hello, someone wants to see Mr Tawan. Wait, what's your name, Sir?"

"New," I replied sparingly for I figured that he wouldn't need my complete name to know.

"It's Mr New. Okay. Thank you. You may now proceed to his of—"

I didn't let her finish her statement and just grabbed the visitor's pass she handed. I'd been there already, so it wasn't difficult for me to figure my way in.

"New. What's with the sudden visit?"

I was greeted by Tay who was grinning from ear to ear. It looked like he was happy? And I didn't know why. I didn't give a fuck rather.

"What the!" he exclaimed as I gave him a punch on his face. "Wait! What's wrong with you?!"

With my fist still tightly clenched, I aimed for his other cheek and gave him a strong blow.

"Wait, New. Oh, shit!"

I was breathing heavily as I watched him groan in pain. To hell with being dragged by the security or being sued, I just wanted to show him how outraged I was for what he did.

Aiming for my one last blow, I clenched my fist again. But as I was about to give him yet another punch on the face, he grabbed my wrist and aggressively pushed me down the nearby couch.

"Let me go," I snarled at him as he grabbed my other wrist and pinned them against the couch, making me powerless as my legs were stuck between his.

"Not until you calm down and stop throwing punches at me."

"You fucking deserve those punches, you jerk! I told you to get your hands off the company, but you still continued your plans. Why the fuck are you so adamant to buy a company that's so small compared to yours??"

"Can you calm down first and we'll talk about this?"

His voice sounded tender and I didn't even understand how he could still be calm after receiving those punches.

I swallowed the lump in my throat when I noticed that his lower lip was slightly bleeding.

"Let me go, will you?" I tried wriggling my hands off his grasp but my attempt proved to be futile as he only tightened his grip on me.

I gasped as I felt him tighten his legs around mine, trapping me even more underneath him.

"Fuck off, will you??"

It was when we heard continuous knocks.

"Come in!"

My eyes widened as he told whoever was at the door to enter his office.

"What the fuck, Tay??" I exclaimed as our position at the moment was definitely something not appropriate for others to see.

"Si-sir, I thi-think I'll just come back later."

I caught a glance at the surprised face of his secretary who was obviously surprised at what he just saw.

"Just say what you want to say," Tay replied without his getting his eyes off mine.

"Aren't you gonna get off me??" I exclaimed lowly as I could sense the secretary's conscious stares at us.

"I would just like to remind you of your meeting with the marketing department 30 minutes from now, Sir."

"Postpone the meeting. I have something more important to do."

"O-okay, Sir.. I'll be off then."

"By the way, Ssing. Don't let anyone inside until I say so."

"Aren't you gonna let me go??" I blurted out the moment his secretary left the room.

He let out sigh before loosening his grip on me.

"Tsss. I seriously wanna bury you alive right now, Tay," I muttered as I straightened my dress shirt.

He plopped down on the couch beside me and gave me an intriguing look.

"I'm not taking the company from you, okay? I know how important it is to you. I just wanna help you save it. I heard your father also borrowed money from the bank aside from us and your house is on collateral."

I glanced at him and noticed that he was observing me intently. It was as if he was observing my every move.

"Where the hell did you get that?"

"Your mom told me."

I heaved a deep sigh as I remembered the day I received a notice from the bank. Apparently, my dad also borrowed a large sum of money from the bank and had our house as collateral, without even telling my mom about it.

"So are you happy now?" I asked without removing my eyes from him.

"What do you mean?" he asked in confusion based on the furrows on his forehead.

"Are you happy to see me suffering after leaving without a word?"

I might have regretted asking that question as I didn't wanna ask it in the first place. But I figured it was the only way to let out the pent-up anger I had for months, to confront him and get my answers though they were way too overdue.

"What do you mean, New? It was you who said you didn't wanna see me. You even sent me a message on your graduation day telling me to fuck off."

"What the hell are you talking about? I didn't send you any message! Oh come on. So you're tryna weave lies now to cover your coward ass. You shouldn't have made me head over heels for you if you were just gonna leave me hanging. My goodness, Tay! You already have a family and you fucking flirted with me? I'm not some fucking mistress, you idiot!"

I grabbed the throw pillow and with all the force I had in me, I hit his face before heading towards the door.

"Oh my, shit! Wait, New. God, that hurts," he staggered as he followed me.

I was about to grab the door open but he was quicker and pinned me against the wall.

"Let me go, you motherfucking asshole!" I tried whisking his hand away but he just pinned me even more.

And before I could let out another word of protest, I felt something soft against my lips.

I held my breath as Tay's lips moved against mine. I never responded. I should never. I must never. I just stood there feeling his kisses whilst mentally reminding myself why I should never cave in to the sudden surge of emotions that was starting to make a crack on the barrier that I built.

"New. Frank's not mine, okay," Tay whispered as he looked at me. "Please believe me. I'll explain everything to you."

I gulped as I noticed him staring intently at me. His hands were now on my waist, encircling it in the most gentle way and I couldn't help but be mad at myself for I knew that if I stayed any longer, I would definitely give in.

And I must have completely lost my mind as I found myself responding to his kisses the moment he closed the gap again between us.

I knew I would regret it but all my rational reasoning went out the window the moment Tay deepened the kiss and all  I could do was wrap my arms around his neck, grabbing him closer to me.

I could feel my heart racing against my chest and for some reason, I could feel his as well. It was as if both of our hearts were dancing to the same rhythm and all I could ever think of was his lips against mine.

And I knew it to myself that I missed his kisses. I missed his touch. I missed his warmth. I missed his voice. I missed him.

We were in the midst of the daydream we both created when my phone rang, waking us up from the trance that we just walked in.

I immediately grabbed my phone from my pocket and gulped as I saw Earth's name on the screen.

"He-hello?" I evaded Tay's eyes and looked at the furniture in his office instead.

"New. Where are you?"

"I-I'm out of the office. I had matters to take care of."

"Okay. By the way, I'll be back tomorrow. Have dinner with me by then, okay?"

"Okay. Let's do that."

"Great. I have to go. By the way, New, I miss you."

I swallowed the lump in my throat as I glanced at Tay who was looking at me intently and I could feel his breath fanning my face as he was so damn close. I immediately avoided his stares and looked at my feet.

"Y-yeah. Me too."

"Oh come on. Say it. Don't you miss me? I won't come back if you don't say you miss me."

I chuckled as he whined on the other line. He had always been like that to the point I already got used to it.

"Fine. Okay, I miss you too. Come back in one piece, okay. Bye."

"Bye, hon! Can't wait to see you! Mwah!"

"Tsss. Silly," I chuckled as he ended the call.

"Was it Earth?"

I gasped as I lifted my head and met Tay's eyes who seemed to have never left me.

"I have to go," I slightly pushed him away as the distance between us was making me uncomfortable.

"You're not with him, right, New? You're not with him."

I swallowed the lump in my throat as I looked at him. His eyes looked hopeful

... or was I assuming things?

"It's none of your business, Sir. You don't have the right to invade my privacy. I have to go, Sir."

I immediately turned my back on him to open the door just to be frozen on the spot.

"You're not getting away from me, New. What's mine is mine and I definitely don't like sharing."

***

A/N: sorry for the late update. I was supposed to update yesterday but my right eye hurt so much that I spent the day doing literally nothing but sleeping.

anyway, I hope you had fun reading this chapter. 💙💕

_ladycrookshanks