You Kissed Me First!

The Chaos That Awaits

Jasper

I spent most of the day roaming around the city. I let Sophia rest and do what she wants on her own. We will be leaving for Krabi tonight. There we had work to do, so these couple of days in Bangkok were like a mini vacation for us – separately. I let her enjoy her time alone, while I did the same. I returned to my suite later that evening. Upon returning, I noticed the suite beside mine was open – it was getting cleaned. It looked like the lady that was staying there had left and now the suite was being prepared for the next visitor. I smiled and politely greeted the cleaner, who smiled back at me. I remember her from this morning when she was there cleaning my suite when I was leaving.

I went back into my room when my phone started to ring. It was Sophia, so I answered. “Hey, Sophia,” I answered while taking my shoes off and putting them in the corner. I stretched my limps. I was tired. I was hoping to catch some sleep before we left for the airport.

“Hey, are you back in your suite?” She asked.

I heaved a sigh as I plopped on the bed, “Uh, yes. I just returned. God, it felt so good.” I muttered, “I was thinking about taking a quick nap,” I added.

I heard her softly chuckle, “What about dinner?” She asked.

“I already ate. What about you? Did you have fun or did you eat?” I asked her.

Shopia softly sighed, “I went out shopping for a bit. I spent most of the day sleeping. I was so tired.” She snickered. I felt bad for dragging her around without giving her much of a break. “I needed those two days off. You remember we have a flight to catch in a few hours, right?” She asked. I know she was calling to confirm. She is probably the best assistant I could ask for. Never once did I have to remind her to do her job right – she is a perfectionist.

“Yes, I remember. Remind me again why we are taking a flight so late at night. We could have caught a flight tomorrow morning.”

“Yes, but the weather is said to be a little rough for the next few days there from tomorrow. We can’t risk being stuck here for a couple more days. The sooner the deal is sealed the better. We don’t want to delay this any longer. It is better if we arrive safely tonight. You have a meeting with Ms. Simone tomorrow,” she answered.

I was listening to her when my eyes fell on a piece of folded paper near the door. I knitted my eyebrows and bent down to pick them up. I held the phone between my ear and my shoulder while I unfolded the note. “Hey. I wanted to apologize and thank you for the coffee yesterday. I am sorry if I made you uncomfortable. I owe you a good cup of coffee anyway! – Zombie lady next door!” The note said. I chuckled softly. It was probably from the woman staying next door. I like the name she gave herself. Zombie lady.

I hummed while rereading the note, “I guess I can catch some sleep once we get there. How about I treat you to dinner in an hour? We can go directly to the airport from there,” I asked while I opened the door of my room and peeked out to see the closed door right beside my room. It is probably empty now. It doesn’t matter. I wasn’t planning on approaching her in any way anyway. I just sighed, folded it back, and put it in my pocket before I stepped back into my room and closed the door behind me. It was nice of the woman to apologize, but that’s all about it. I wasn’t going to talk to her. It wasn’t necessary. I am not a big fan of unnecessary interactions.

Shopia agreed to the dinner. We had a small dinner. Shopia doesn’t like to eat before flying, so she opted for something light while I had a burger. After dinner, we went straight to the airport. It was already an overcast night. It was good that we were flying to Krabi right now. I didn’t want to delay my stay here. The sooner we finish our work here the better.

“Jasper, are you sure we will be able to wrap up this deal in a week?” Shopia asked while she inserted a meeting with a delegation from Australia into my schedule for next week.

I sipped my coffee cup in my hand as we waited for our gate to be open. We got here a little early. I hummed, “Yes, I can do it. I don’t think that they will reject what we have to offer for the land.” I looked at her as she nodded her head and fed an appointment to the Australian delegation to me. “Dad offered this lady multiple times already and she rejected them each time. He altered what he had offered, and the lady finally agreed to see us. What does it tell you?” I asked her, shrugging.

Shopia looked at me and smiled, “That she is already considering our offer?” She asked.

I grinned, “Bingo.” I heaved a sigh and glanced at the gates that had just opened. I see people rushing toward the gate as if they haven't already paid for the seats. I shook my head at those fools and looked back at Shopia, “I believe we will be done in less than a week. I think that woman has already considered our offer. All we have to do is discuss the terms and sign the deal. It will hardly take a couple of days.” I smiled. I looked back at our gate, the line was slowly moving forward, “If we are lucky, I am sure we can have a mini-vacation in Krabi,” I added.

Shopia chuckled, “Aren’t you too sure?” She grinned, “What if she asks for more than what you have to offer?” She asked.

I slowly nodded my head, “That will probably be the case, but don’t worry, I got it. She will get only what the land is worth,” I replied.

Shopia looked down at her laptop screen and pulled her eyebrows up, “Which apparently is a lot.”

I sniggered, “Yeah, well – my dad has A LOT, so – all is good.” I shrugged and that’s when we finished our conversation.

A few minutes later, we made it to the gate. We were the last ones on board. Our plane took off on time. It took us around an hour and a half to reach Krabi. The weather was pleasant for me. It was a little windy and it was drizzling from time to time. Shopia didn’t seem so thrilled since it was predicted to rain after midnight. “I hope it doesn’t rain until we get to the hotel,” she muttered as she got inside the car while I helped the driver that was sent to us by a woman named, Silvia. She was probably Aria Simone’s manager or assistant. It was nice of her to send a car for us.

We will be staying at Simmy’s Resort. It is the one I am here to buy. I didn’t want to stay there, but my father said that the owner insisted we stay at the resort. I still don’t understand why Dad agreed, but well – we will be staying there. I am sure it will not take too long and if things go well, which I think it will, it will be our resort in two to three days.

Once, our carriers were loaded into the back of the car. I slid into the back seat with Shopia, while the driver, who goes by the name of Mickey, got into the driver's seat. With a big grin on his face, he looked at us through the rearview mirror, “First time in Krabi?” he asked. His thick accent and the glint in his eyes confirmed that he was one of the locals.

I smiled, “Yes. We are here for work. You work at Simmy’s resort?” I asked.

Mickey started the car and nodded his head, “Yes. Yes. I work there. It is a beautiful resort. The best in Krabi,” he snickered.

I smiled, “That’s what I have heard.”

Mickey pulled the car on the road while he talked to us, “Yes. Yes. Very beautiful. It would be better if Miss Aria didn’t have all her friends there all the time.” He looked at me through the mirror again with a hint of disapproval in his eyes. He twisted his mouth, “She is nice. Her friends are not. Bad for her too.” Mickey disapprovingly shook his head while he drove us to the resort.

Shopia and I shared a curious glance. Neither of us asked Mickey any questions. It didn’t make any sense to me until I met Aria the same night.