You Kissed Me First!

What A Weirdo

(Jasper)

I arrived in Bangkok with Sophia, my assistant. She was walking by my side as we walked out of the airport. The car was already waiting for us to take us to the hotel where we will be staying for a day and then first thing tomorrow we are flying to Krabi. I am going to stay here for more than a week. I plan to wrap up the deal here in a week and then fly back to Singapore. Or maybe I would spend a few days here – just to clear my mind and relax. I love Thailand, but I would rather be here on vacation than on business, so maybe after sealing this deal, I will send Sophia back home and stay here for a few more days.

“What do we know about the woman that owns and runs the resort, Sophia? Can you please tell me one more time?” I asked her politely with a smile on my face.

Sophia smiled back and nodded her head, “Of course,” she replied and took her tablet out while we drove to the city. It was a hot day in Bangkok. I squinted my eyes and looked up at the clear sky from inside the car. It doesn’t look like it will be raining. Although the monsoon season is here in Thailand. The week I am planning to stay here can get very drenched and moist. That’s not a problem. I have started to appreciate rain since I moved to Singapore.

I looked back at Sophia as she was searching for the folder with the owner’s information on the tablet. Sophia has been working for me for the past 3 years. She is the best secretary I could have asked for. She lives in Singapore all alone, just like me. Her family lives in Canada but she is of Singaporean descent. She used to work in New York, but when I moved here, I offered to move to Singapore with me. I didn’t want to lose her because I was changing countries. I wasn’t sure she would agree, but when she did, I didn’t waste a minute putting work in the process for her. It also helps that she speaks fluent Malay because of her parents.

“Alright,” she muttered and tabbed on the screen a few times, “So, I don’t have a lot of information on this on me right now,” she started.

“You already told me that,” I cheekily interrupted.

Sofia only rolled her eyes softly at me before she continued, “Anyway, the resort is run by a woman named Silvia. She is American. She has been living in Thailand for the past ten years and, oh, yes, her niece lives with her. From what your father told me, the niece helps her run the resort.” She added. I hummed and nodded my head. She continued, “The resort has been generating more business in the past three years. From locals, it was confirmed that it is one of the more recommended places to stay in Krabi among the tourists.” She paused and pulled her eyebrows together while looking down at her tab, “No wonder, she doesn’t want to sell the place.” She muttered.

I was already told that the place is generating a lot of profit. I understand why the owner refuses to sell the place to us, but I think I can make them change her mind. With a greater price, I don’t think they will be able to say no. If I am persuasive enough, I think I can make them sign this deal with us. I have already been told that this owner can be a bit difficult to deal with. That is why I carved out more than one plan to make her change her mind. I am pretty positive that in a few weeks, she will be signing the property to us. It is not like we are stealing the property from her. Dad has offered a huge amount for that piece of property, way more than its value.

“So, what are you going to do today?” I heard Sophia asking me. I looked at her. She heaved a sigh and had her head rested on the back of the seat. She looked tired. She must be since it was only yesterday that she came from Canada after meeting her family, and today, I dragged her to Thailand with me.

I shrugged, “I was thinking about doing some extra research on the property and the owner and then maybe going out for drinks. You know, just stroll around the city.” I shrugged.

She squinted her eyes, “You sure love doing that, don’t you?” She asked.

I chuckled, “Doing what?” I asked.

“Strolling around the streets,” she replied.

She is right. I do like that. I like walking among people who don’t know me. I do it every time I go to a new country. I like it when people assume that I am just some random tourist exploring the city. I like to talk to the locals, even if they can’t speak my language. I would rather communicate in broken sentences and bad grammar than not interact with them at all. I like to try the local food, even if I don’t like it. I just like to try new things in a new place. It makes me feel like I am starting over. It takes me out of the feeling of being stuck somewhere, so I will be doing the same tonight as well. I have been to Thailand before and I strolled around the streets last time, but I am willing to do it all over again as I am here for the first time.

Once we got to the hotel, Sophia told me that she would be resting for a while and asked me to wake her up if I needed anything which I would not be doing. I know how tired she is. I told her to rest well before I went into my room. The first thing I did was take a shower. I don’t care if my flights are long or short, I must take a shower each time after my flight. After I showered, I wrapped the towel around my waist and went out. I will be alone in the room, so it doesn’t matter even if I roam around naked. Being completely naked, even when I am alone, is a bit of a stretch for me, so I just had a towel on me as I made myself some coffee. It was an instant coffee and it tasted bad, but I didn’t feel like going down to get myself a fresh cup of coffee.

I put the cup in my hand and went out onto the balcony. I was staying in a suite with a city view. I took a sip from my cup and sighed. I inhaled the fresh air. I could feel the humidity in the air. The warmth of the sun glazes my skin. Also, the soft smell of the ocean lingered in the air as well. I smiled. Bangkok smelled tropical. I was enjoying the stale cup of coffee when I was startled by a soft groan. I pulled my eyebrows together and looked toward where the noise was coming from.

I was so engrossed with the view and the serene atmosphere up here that I didn’t even notice that there was an adjoining balcony next to mine and a young woman was standing on it – hardly a few steps away from me. She had her head lowered to the railing of the balcony while she continued with a soft groan. She sounded like she was in pain. I got concerned. Maybe she needed help, so I spoke. “Umm, excuse me? Are you okay?”

The woman didn’t respond immediately. She still had her head bowed and all I could see was her ruffled hair. After a few seconds, she finally lifted her head and turned to look at me. She was a Caucasian woman, probably a tourist. She looked horrible. I am pretty sure that it was makeup from last night on her face and it was completely smeared everywhere on her face. Her droopy eyes were circled with something black. Awfully looked like shoe polish, but I am sure it was not that. I’d like to believe that it was her eye makeup that was smeared all around them – making her look like a hungover panda. Her bright red lipstick was everywhere but on her lips. She was wearing a nose ring – she even had her lack of makeup staining her nose. I don’t know if I was seeing too much or if they were really dried tear stains trailing down both her eyes. Her eyes were swollen. Wow, this girl was badly hungover. I wonder what she took to be like this.

She muttered something, but I couldn’t catch a word she said. From the short tight dress she was wearing, I am sure she had a wild night last night. I just hope she is okay and was not hurt by whatever happened to her. Before I could ask her again if she was okay, her eyes fell on the cup of coffee in my hand, “Is that coffee?” She hoarsely asked.

I looked down at the cup in my hand and slowly nodded my head, “Yes.”

“Fuck yeah,” I heard her mutter under her breath and before I knew it, she leaned over the railing separating the balconies and snatched it from my hand.

I frowned, “Hey! What the hell?!” I asked her as I watched her drink the coffee I made for myself.

She winced and made a face after taking a few sips, “Ugh, this is awful.” She groaned, but instead of giving it back to me, she drank it like her life was depending on it. I looked at her in a particular way. After she drank the entire cup in just a few sips, she handed me the cup back, “Ugh, thanks for the worst coffee I ever had,” she said to me.

I was speechless. What kind of person is she?! I scrunched my nose at her. She exhaled and turned around to get back inside her room, but before she went in, she stopped for a second and looked at me from head to toe. I was suddenly extremely aware that I was half-naked. She raised her eyebrows and tilted her head before she looked me in the eyes, “You are hot.” She smirked and winked at me before she walked back into her room – leaving me flabbergasted.

What a weirdo…