Chapter 6
Anne just got home. She had a long day, but she couldn’t hide her excitement for tomorrow. She’s going to start working in Thasarit Hotel and Resort. When her father’s business got bankrupt, she knew that she’s on her own. But she promised to herself that she will rebuild herself their family business. Her father died two years ago, fresh from her memory how she promised to her father that she will do everything to get back their family business.
She still have grudges to her relatives, she don’t think she’ll ever forgive them.
Anne let herself rest on the couch, she tried to get some sleep but she couldn’t. She stood up as she decided to get some milk from her fridge, it might help her to get some sleep. She ended reading some newspaper of today. She had no time to read the newspaper that was sent to her this morning.
Anne turned the page to the business news page. Reading the latest news and accidentally saw the picture of a man who handshake the Thasarit Group of Companies shareholder, Thasarit Phuntrathrit approves the dealing between his two sons who manages the Thai Airline Company and Thasarit Hotel and Resort. Kane Theeradeth and Rome Patchata approved something about helping the tourism, and this will bring a new perspective of the said companies.
Literally, Anne just realized that the man in the newspaper, Kane Theeradeth is the one who manages Thai Airline Company. She didn’t know not until she read the newspaper and that the hotel and resort owner Rome Patchata and him are brothers. She instantly remembered what she needs to prepare tomorrow because a group of people from Thai Airline Company will pay a visit. That means their lives cross again, her enemy Kane Theeradeth.
Her mother entertains another set of visitors—in fact her suitors of the week. Before Ploy plans to entertain them, she already found out about their profiles. However, she ends up dumping them as she don’t want to entertain some bunch of scammers and that the only reason why they are courting her is because she’s the heiress of her great grandfather’s pearl farm.
Therese, her mother doesn’t know what to do with her anymore. She’s afraid that her daughter will grow old with no future. But for Ploy, the pearl farm was her future. She’s couldn’t ask for more and she loves being at the seashore all the time.
“Mom, for how many times I told you… I don’t want you to invite somebody without my permission!”, she scolded her mom as Ploy’s getting tired of her mom’s excuse. Her mother was the one who invited them and Ploy doesn’t want to entertain anyone.
“Ploy, you know the reason why I am doing this, right?”
“Yes. But I don’t have plans to get married right away like you want to!”, she head upstairs and ignored her mother kept calling her name. Everytime she head upstairs to go to her room, she always say to her mother to get rid of the visitors.
“Dad, what the hell did you do with the Sperbuen family?”, Barry entered his father’s room. He didn’t knock because he was certainly enraged to what his father did to Yaya’s family.
“And may I ask what you are doing in Sperbuen’s residence?”, he asked him back without even answering his son’s question.
“Dad, Yaya’s is a good friend of mine. How could let your men destroyed their home!?!”
“Do you even realize what they did and how much her father owes me? 800 million baht! How is he going to supposed to pay that!?!”, he raised his voice for the first time after he got ill and the doctor didn’t allow him to do something to complicate his condition.
“But—“
“No, buts… I am not going to argue with you! Their house is my property now and I can do whatever I want with it. In business, Barry, you just can’t be friendly. 800 million baht is no joke and you should know that! Now, leave my room!”, Thasarit said to him.
Barry couldn’t do anything after all. His father is the god of this house, his way and his rules. Now, how is he going to save Yaya from his father?
Sririta waited for her grandfather to come back from Bangkok. He has business there and he usually gets home very late. Aside from worrying about her grandfather’s condition, one thing she wants to talk about is the one that Rome mentioned before. The vacant lot in their farm, she really wanted to discuss that to her father.
As far as she can remember, Sririta and her grandfather made a deal before. She doesn’t want to do anything about the vacant lot as of now, but in the future, she will think of something useful to use the vacant lot. But surprisingly, she didn’t expect to hear from Rome that he is going to help her grandfather to make something about the vacant lot.
Som Helbert just arrived and Sririta hurried to approach her grandfather, the owner of Dutch dairy Farm. “Pops!”, she calls him that.
“Rita… You are not asleep yet?”, he asked and kissed his granddaughter’s forehead.
“I… I was waiting for you, as usual”, she said.
“I see…”, Som doesn’t seem too much old. He’s only around 60’s, he’s way to strong to be care by others. He doesn’t have vises and living a healthy life, that’s what makes him keep it up until now.
“Pops, there’s something I would like to discuss with you…”, she wrapped her arms to his other arms.
“And what is that?”, he asked and showed his best smile to his favorite one and only granddaughter.
“It’s about the vacant lot…”, she said and he stopped all of a sudden. It figures out that he already knew that she found out what he’s going to do with the vacant lot. “I assumed that you already know that I found out about it…”
“Where and how did you found out?”
“Pops, Rome told me… I was the one who delivered that the resort ordered”
“So, you finally meet him in person, your long time crush?”
“Pops! Stop it!”, they walked again until they reached the balcony. They decided to talk it over there. “Anyways, why you didn’t tell me about it? Why do I still have to find out from someone else?”, she asked.
“Sririta, it’s not that. I was planning to tell you about it. In fact, the reason why I shared this plan to Rome is because I want to his brother in person…”
“Who?”
“Por Thrisadee. He owns one of the largest farm in our area and I believe he’s the only one who can help me that can suggest if what kind flowers I can put at the vacant lot”, he explained.
“You’re going to start flower farm business?”
“No. Just some flower field I want to filled that area with flowers because in three years time, it will be your grandmother 20th death anniversary”, he continued. “I am sorry if I failed you with our deal, but I hope you understand the kind of feeling that I am missing your grandmother…”, he ended.
Sririta stood in silence for a moment. Realizing that her grandfather loves her grandmother so much. She remembered how they took care of her after her parents died in a car accident when she was little. Her grandparents filled her with love and affection as a child, though she had her rough times during her adolescence stage, but it was good that she realized her mistakes. Eventually, she helped her grandparents in their farm and until now, she never stops helping her grandfather. She thinks that she needs to repay them to everything that they taught her. No grudge at all; she loves her grandparents as well as her parents.
“Fine, Pops… if it’s for grandma, there’s no problem with me”, she hugged him and tells him again “Everytime you mention about grandma’s name, it reminds me how many years since she died already. And I kept missing her everyday…”, she ended.
“I know… and I miss her most”, he said.
The next day at Aum’s office, he set his schedule today to meet up with some women. After his work, he promised to meet all of them and though he couldn’t guess if what will happen later, he said to himself that he’ll just go with the flow.
When he received a call from Mark, he shared his plans to him. However, Mark didn’t call to let him share his plans about getting a woman to present to their father. His own brother is dealing with some problem, far from the usual topics they talk to about women.
Their topic eventually jumped to the situation with ‘what ifs’—Aum doesn’t know how to solve if he was at certain situation. He probably wants to be in the scene first, before he reacts and starts resolving. He wondered why Mark was asking this kind of problem. But there’s only one thing that Aum thought about if it happened to him right at this very moment.
“If I would be accused as the father of a child, I would definitely take the risk…”
“What kind of risk?”, Mark asked.
“If father wants us to get marry and expect some grandchildren. I would contact the mother and the child, I’ll just let them pretend that I really do have happy family…”, while Mark was listening to him. He realized that his brother is not in the position to talk like that. He just can’t use someone like Mint or her child who claims that he is his father.
Their conversation didn’t last. Mark was too busy to handle his curiosity over Mint Chalida and her child. He doesn’t want to think about the child, but Mint reminds him a lot since he saw her again. The child was probably playing a prank on him and Mint. He still got stuck up with Mint’s image yesterday and ended up viewing her profile in facebook.
At Thasarit Hotel and Resort, Kane is not planning to argue with Rome if why of all chefs the person he chose was Anne Thongprasom, his enemy. As far he can remember, he’s at fault. If he only knew that the one who made those desserts he ate was Anne’s creation, he should have known earlier and maybe their lives won’t cross again.
An hour ago, she thought she wasn’t coming and attended her first day in the kitchen. But there she was; standing and being introduced by Leena, the manager to all the kitchen crew. Anne was nervous, but she already has a plan for this day if she comes to meet up-close personal Kane again.
She waited for her call. The Thai Airline board members paid a visit to the resort. Rome Patchata, the one who manages the hotel and resort was there to introduce the chefs in different courses. Anne was delighted to be introduced as the pastry chef of Thasarit Hotel and Resort in front of the board members, but seeing Kane again was definitely she’s expecting with. After reading such news, there’s no turning back. Knowing that Rome and Kane are brothers.
Rome gave the signal to Leena, letting the chefs to start and present their work in front of the board members. Anne was last, but surely, she caught Kane’s glare at her. Before she gets back inside the kitchen, she had to visualize if what kind of scene she can imagine later.
He waited the moment she get back inside the kitchen and then he calls for Rome. “How long does it take?”
“Of what? The dessert?”, Rome joked as he always know that his brother has weakness for sweets.
“I actually didn’t have time to discuss this to you last night, but the pastry chef you hired yesterday is my enemy…”, he told him.
“So? That’s nothing to do about me, right? You see, this is business and Chef Anne is one of my best pick. She’s new but from what I have seen yesterday from you eating her desserts, I think it’s reasonable enough why I hired her. And it’s still nothing to do with you and her being enemies”, Rome explained enough. Kane feel sorry for himself and wished he never mentioned about anything.
“I don’t care if you don’t care that we are enemies. But my concern is I am the boss and I have the right to choose people to whom I want to work with. With your pastry chef, I will bet starting this day and in the near future, you are free to watch the war…”, he said. Rome just thought about the future, though he still couldn’t picture the war thing but if it’s his brother threat, he just can’t let him ruin his business.
Rome walks out, going in fact in the kitchen. He just wanted to hear the other side story of Anne Thongprasom. He walked inside and found her preparing the dish. “Hey…”, he greeted her with a smile.
She wasn’t amuse with his greet and she knew why. “Mr. Patchata, right? Owner of the Hotel and Resort”
“Not exactly but in the near future, I will take it as a yes. My father, Thasarit Phuntrathrit owns this place as well as the Thai Airline Company, that Kane Theeradeth-“
“You don’t have to put it in details. I don’t need to know what exactly you or your brother owns”, Anne continually doing her dish. “I just didn’t expect that I accidentally applied to a place that would led me to meet Kane Theeradeth, your brother?”
He wanted to say that Kane is not his brother by blood because they are both adopted by Thasarit from the foundation. But there’s no need to tell her that either. “What’s up with my brother? Why are you mad at him?”
“Yes, I keep wondering why you are mad at me Miss Thongprasom”, Kane suddenly interrupt their conversation. The first dish was destroyed just like how her world turned upside down when Kane walk in and meet his glare.
“Oh, you don’t remember Mr. Kane Theeradeth?”, Anne said with a sarcastic smile on her face.
“Kane, what are you doing here? You are supposed a customer and customers are not allowed inside the kitchen”, Rome said.
“Brother, I just came here to inform you that I want to cancel dessert in our order. I would prefer someone else to do it”, he looked onto Anne and to her dish that was destroyed.
“Kane, you just can’t request like that. The original pastry chef in my kitchen is now in France. Chef Anne here is the newest pastry chef”
“Then cancel it! I wouldn’t want her dish to serve in my plane”
“Okay, then, Mr. Kane Theeradeth Phuntrathrit. You can cancel your order as long as you requested to. But that doesn’t mean I will cancel the orders from your board members. Besides, I am working with Mr. Rome Patchata here. I didn’t applied here to be the chef of your rust aircraft”, Anne immediately make another dish, replacing the ruined dish before.
If it wasn’t for Aum’s request, Aff wouldn’t come and visit him at the car company. Wearing her usual outfit and glasses on, Aff brought the images that Aum requested awhile ago over the phone.
“Get me to Mr. Aum Atichart. Tell him, it’s Aff”, she said to the sexy receptionist. Aff never missed a thing how Aum started to manage the car company. Eversince he started to manage this building all the employees, especially the ladies are all good-looking. She remembered what Aum said that, it is part of advertising and that he believes that beautiful women bring fortune to his business.
To hell with his beliefs, if Aum preferred pretty women, why does he need to befriend with her? Yes, Aff thinks of herself discounted among the beautiful women here in Aum’s company. “Miss Taksaorn, you may go see him now to his office”
After being informed by the receptionist, she went straight to the elevator and while she’s walking. Most women looked at her; she knows what they are thinking. Who the hell she is? An avid fan of Aum Atichart? She’s not pretty at all. That’s what those women think whose looking at her.
“Aum, here are the profiles you are asking for. I need to go now, staying here is what I can’t stand!-“, after giving him the profiles. Aum immediately stopped her. “Hey! Wait… why in a hurry?”
“I have other things to fix and I am not done with your car yet!”, she lied.
“The car and other things to fix can wait. Have a seat first…”, he could have guess already why she’s in a hurry and all he needs to do is to apologize.
“Okay, I am sorry about yesterday. But Thor gave me a solution about it, that’s the reason why I need these profiles”, he look at it and with her curiosity, what is he going to do with the profiles then?
“Are you gonna date all those women in the list?”, she guessed.
“Yup. And but I am planning to make them pretend as my wife in front of my father. But we are all alone, she can do whatever they want and I will do the same thing…”, he said.
“I see… so that’s it. That’s your plan?”
“Yeah.”, he was sure enough that this plan will work as long as the woman he’s going to hire will play her character very well”, he smiled at her and at this moment, aside from browsing the images of the women in his list he was watching a lakorn related to what he’s planning to do.
He kept laughing and Aff wondered what he is watching to. “I just started to watch this lakorn awhile ago. Mark recommended me to watch this…”, he explained and Aff frowned. “What?”
“Tell me now, Aum. How sure you are that your plan will work? Do you think watching lakorn can help you pretend a woman to be your wife in the long run?”, she seriously asked him. He wasn’t even as if paying attention to his problem. “How sure you, Mr. Aum Atichart Phuntrathit?”
“A hundred percent sure. Aff, you know that the type guy like me will never get serious, so it’s better they’ll eventually know the real me…”
“I suggest you find a paid actress, at least they will take your condition and the only thing you can do is to pay them…”, she suggested.
“That’s not a very good suggestion, Aff. Mark already told me the disadvantage if I have to hire some paid actress...”, he said and crossed his arms. Now he’s getting serious, but she was right. The women in his list will never agree to his conditions. They will end up dumping him only. So the only solution to convince them…
“Aff, you’re coming with me later”
“Where and why?”, Aff couldn’t read his mind.
“Mr. Sperbuen, I am sorry but I did everything I can already”, Barry said to Yaya’s father. She was right beside her father, caressing his back. “I am sorry, Yaya…”
“It’s okay, you help enough and I thank you for that”, she said. While her father stood up and wanted to end this conversation. “Yaya, pack up your stuff now. We need to go-“, her father said.
“Wait, where are you going?”, Barry asked if why they in such hurry.
“Your father’s men will come later and this house doesn’t belong to us any longer”, he explained. He looked outside from the window, it was very hot and they just couldn’t go out on a broad daylight.
“Wait-“
“Barry, stop it already. You helped us out and that’s enough”, Yaya said and he sees her eyes getting teary. “Wait. Let me help you for one last time-“
“No, that’s enough”
“I just can’t let you and your father walk out from this house on a broad daylight”, he stood up and reassures their security for one last time.
“Barry, it will waste your time to help us for one last time. I don’t want to find out that the next thing will happen, the reason why you got beaten by your father was because us”, she said.
“You’re jumping too much to conclusions. That will never happen and please let me help you for one last time. I will give you a ride—no, I will let you live to a place where my father couldn’t find you”, Barry was getting worried and he doesn’t want to happen to what happened yesterday. What matters to him at this moment is to save Yaya and her father.
Mark was done with his photoshoot, but as soon as he received a phone call from the hospital, he is needed there and so he had to go there. Someone called coming from an avid fan who wants his presence, most people and especially his fans know how dedicated he is and fulfilling a patient’s wish to see him is not so hard for him to do so.
He got inside of his car and as soon as he parked his car, he accidentally bumped onto Mint who’s in a hurry to get inside the hospital. He wondered why she’s in the same hospital with him. He ignored as he watch her headed to the elevator while he went straight to the receptionist to find the room 310.
As soon as he reaches the third floor and found the room 310. The next thing happened he was surrounded by some nurses as they were thrill to see him there. He was on his way to the room 310 and so he asked one of the nurses to show him the way to the designated room he was looking for.
Por uses his binoculars to locate the pearl farm island. He was on his way to visit the said island, the promising island that will give him more opportunities in the near future. Asking the man who controls the yacht “I am going to this island”, Por let him showed the brochure of Dream Pearl Farm.
“The pearl farm island?”, he just repeated what the brochure obviously says.
“Yes”, he simply answered. The man doubts if he can really bring him to his destination. “Is there a problem?”
“I don’t know if I can really bring you to that place. Are you really sure that you’re planning to go the pearl farm island?”, he just nodded and do as what he’s asking for. “I will tell you, the pearl farm island is not for sale…”, the man said all of a sudden.
“What?”
“You see, if you’re here to buy the island. Well, I tell you now, it’s not for sale and the caretaker doesn’t plan to entertain someone like you”, the man warned him with his glare.
Por would never have thought that his father would hire to protect the island all these years. “I am sorry, but I am not here to buy the island”
“Let me guess, you are going to that island to court the island owner’s daughter?”, the man smiled as if he was joking. On the second thought, Por never realized that his father would have a daughter.
“A daughter?”, he asked.
“Stop pretending. You’re here to court the island owner’s daughter. Don’t tell me you don’t know Ploy Chermarn”, he said. “Aside from being the caretaker of the island, she’s highly known as the mermaid’s island. She’s called by that because she loves to dive all the time and she loves her grandfather’s island”, he continued.
“Her grandfather?”, now Por is getting more confuse as he doesn’t know what he got into. This man is trying to give him more information about his father? “Look, I don’t know what you’re talking about-“
“I will assume that you’re a foreign who’s on his way to have interest on Ploy’s island. Well, I will warn you now. She doesn’t give out her island just like that, she’s the queen of her territory and so I am warning you to give up”, the man ended.
Por had no idea what he’s talking about, but he’s starting to get the picture all wrong. His father doesn’t plan to let him marry his own daughter, right? But how come, Thasarit never mentioned of having a daughter in the first place?
“Fine. Please send be back to the main”, Por said as he let the man assumed that he’s interested to the island. The man laughed and tapped his back because of his honesty. The man turned the steering wheel as he granted Por’s wish to go back at the main.
Por plans to investigate the island before he goes there by himself. First of all, he doesn’t want his father to find out what he’s going to do and so he spend his own money and try to find more information to the people who stays at the main. He assures that they know something about the pearl farm island just like this man who opened some information to him.
He’s been watching there for so long and never realized that all the nurses were seeking him for an autograph. Mark’s popularity noticed by Mint and her child who’s lying at the patient’s bed, he meets her glare.
He enters without permission and Mint stood up if wondering what he is doing here. Mark even locked the door to ensure that the nurses and other people from outside the room won’t disturb them.
“What are you doing here? Why the people outside chasing you?”, she asked as she approached him.
The child was greeting him but Mark ignored and faced Mint instead. “I don’t know if who called me, if it was you who requested or your son did it. I want to know why…”
“Mom, I called Dad to visit me…”, the little boy said who sit up straight.
“He’s not your father. For how many times do I have to tell you that?”, she looked at her son. “Get out now…”, she said to Mark as she returns her attention to him.
“You just can’t let me get out of this room. I had enough trouble because of your son who called and requested me to see him”, he said. “Let me ask you one thing, how did this happen? If he’s really not my son, then why he keeps insisting that I am his father?”
“It’s none of your business. Please leave now…”, chasing him away.
“Mom, I called dad to-“
“Stop it! I told you, HE-IS-NOT-YOUR-FATHER!”, shouted at her son and grabbed Mark’s arm as keep pulling him away until she reaches the door and as she opens; several photographers taking pictures of them together.
Aum waited outside the fancy restaurant, he wasn’t even waiting for the women he’s going to meet tonight, but he’s rather waiting for Aff. She’s late and Aum can’t go inside if she hasn’t arrived yet.
A few minutes later, a red Ferrari arrives in front of him. He had no clue who owns the car and blocking his way, but definitely he just can’t let this car owner stand a chance against his car. He picked up his phone and plans to call Aff but he cancelled it as soon the person he’s expecting to arrive owns the fancy car.
“Aff?”, he’s still quite shock with her grand entrance. Aff wasn’t wearing her usual attire, he don’t see her nerdy eyeglasses and jumper suit that filled with stained. Like in a movie scene; a woman got out of the car wearing a brown leather jacket with her white razor that serves as her under shirt. There was slight cleavage, so she still looked decent. Then, her overhaul skinny jeans emphasize her long legs and paired it with darker brown boots.
In short, she looked human for the first time. Aum thought that she will look even hotter if she’ll wear that outfit on daylight. However, this is the first time he have seen her wearing that kind of outfit. “Sorry, I am late… caught in a traffic jam”
Aum was still stunned after realizing how pretty she was and if only she could wear that kind of outfit a long time ago, it will be even more pleasant to his sight. “Aum!”, she shouted at him.
Back to reality, Aum finally got back to his senses but he just can’t help how stunning his friend. “Huh? Wait, where’s your glasses? Why are you wearing that kind of outfit?”
“Do I look funny to what I am wearing right now?”, she asked.
“No. I am just asking…”, Aum said and tries to hide the kind of feeling that he’s enjoying staring at her on that moment. Aff grabbed his hand, telling him that they should get inside now.
“Let’s go, your girls are waiting”
Aum followed her as she was holding his hand; he almost forgot he was here for a date with his women in the list. However, will he be able to resist the moment he saw Aff’s transformation. They got inside and took their seats. The first woman who came and joined them is a make-up artist, but not just an ordinary one but rather a famous one. The last time he saw her was at the car event show, she took time to attend when he sent her an invitation.
Aff on the other hand was studying her features, but the woman got insecure as Aff was sitting right next to Aum. Aum felt that the woman starting to feel awkward and Aff distant herself from him a little.
They decided to order before Aum had to start talking about his main problem and offer.