Work Text:
Lisa works in a massive hotel conglomerate. Her job is stable, the pay is decent, and her daily highlight is looking forward to what to eat for lunch.
The happiest thing to happen lately is a trip she took last week to a southern island with her high school friends. It is a heavenly vacation. Walking on the beach, playing in the waves, sipping cocktails, gorging on seafood, and huddling in bed all night chatting with the girls.
Oh and she must tell everyone about the local bar they found.
The owner is... so😍 damn😍 handsome😍
He is tall with broad shoulders and a killer smile. Even his teeth are perfect. The way his arm muscles flex while he mixes drinks keeps them all transfixed. Lisa and her friends went two days in a row. They claim they love the "vibe," but clearly they are just there to stare at the owner.
If she has one complaint, it’s that the bar has the same name as her boss: Nuengdiao. What a total buzzkill. But it doesn’t matter. Palm’s smile makes up for that mistake.
The most painful moment for any corporate drone is facing work after a vacation. It feels as if her entire life force for the next three months has been drained in advance. Now every time she opens her laptop, she feels like dropping dead on the spot.
Physically she is back at work, but her heart is still sitting at the beach, so she slacks off and texts with her friends.
“He is sooooo handsome. Why didn’t we ask if he’s single?”
“And he’s so nice! We went back the next day and he recognized us! He gave us free onion rings!”
“Lisa, if you’re just a little braver, you’ll have a shot. Stop being so shy!”
At lunchtime, just as she is about to head out for food, she suddenly realizes...
Her AirPods are gone! She probably left them at the bar! She is screwed—those are expensive!
Lisa messages the Nuengdiao Bar & Café Instagram account with a sliver of hope and receives a reply almost instantly. The earbuds are indeed there. Thank god! Lisa quickly sends her office address and offers to transfer the postage.
“I’m heading to Bangkok in two days. I can bring them to you. —Palm.”
Lisa lets out a silent scream right at her desk.
Palm is coming to Bangkok! To see her! (That’s not what he meant but)
Her group chat instantly explodes.
“Oh my god, this is literally a rom-com plot!”
“Buy him coffee! Tell him you want to thank him for coming all this way. You have to!”
“Go for it, LISA! He’s basically delivering himself to your door!”
Stop it, you guys!!!
= = =
Palm says he is coming to the office today. Lisa has already rehearsed the entire scenario.
First, her internal extension will ring. The lobby receptionist will notify her that a visitor is waiting. Lisa will say, “Okay, I’ll be right down.” She’ll calmly apply a spritz of her "battle perfume," check her bangs, and take the elevator down to the first floor for an elegant entrance. Palm will be waiting on the sofa. She will flash her cutest smile, thank him, and invite him for coffee or lunch. During the conversation, she’ll naturally ask for his personal Instagram account or add him on LINE.
Perfect. Perfect.
“When is your handsome bar owner coming?” “Can we go down and see how hot he is?” her colleagues ask. A bunch of gossips! Isn’t the photo she showed them enough?!
“Excuse me, is Lisa here?”
A deep, masculine voice rings out.
Lisa freezes.
Palm is standing right at her office door. Tall, broad-shouldered, with that same charming smile. But he looks different—he isn’t wearing the casual floral shirt and shorts from the beach. Instead, he’s in a light-colored crisp shirt and black trousers, looking sharp and stylish.
Is it even legal to be hotter than he was at the beach? He is so bright she can barely keep her eyes open.
Lisa’s brain goes blank for three seconds. Her colleagues are already craning their necks, and some are literally spinning their chairs around.
“I-I’m Lisa...” She bolts upright, her voice higher than usual. Luckily, it doesn’t crack.
So much for the elegant entrance!!!
Palm walks toward her and places a familiar little object on her desk.
“Your AirPods.”
Lisa looks down. It is indeed her beloved AirPods.
“Th-thank you for making the trip... you really could have just mailed them...” she stammers, feeling her face beginning to flush.
“It’s fine. It was on my way. I come to Bangkok often,” Palm answers simply.
“But... how did you get in…here?” Lisa can’t help but ask.
“I just took the elevator.”
Is my company’s security system just for decoration?
“But we have a keycard access system.”
Palm gives a small smile but doesn’t answer.
The colleagues aren’t even pretending to work anymore. Every single one of them is staring with pure curiosity.
Lisa is just about to summon the courage to ask him for coffee when she spots a familiar figure appearing at the office door out of the corner of her eye.
Standing there in a perfectly tailored suit is their high-and-mighty CEO, Nuengdiao. The look he uses to scan the office is as cold as an iceberg (they should probably keep an iceberg’s distance, too).
“Khun Nueng!” Lisa’s supervisor was enjoying the drama, but as soon as the big boss appears, he rushes over to greet him.
“It’s nothing. I’m waiting for him,” Nueng says, gesturing toward Palm with his chin.
The entire office darts their eyes back and forth between Khun Nueng, Palm, and Lisa.
“I’ll head out now. Good luck with work, and come visit us again!” Palm says, giving Lisa another heart-stopping smile before walking toward the door.
“Mission accomplished. Let’s go,” Palm says, and then he reaches out to take Nueng’s hand.
Interlocked fingers.
Lisa’s jaw is about to hit the floor.
Nueng’s icy gaze lingers on Lisa’s stunned face for a second before shifting to Palm. His eyes instantly turn soft and sweet. Is that a smile on his face? Lisa has never seen that expression before.
Only after the two of them disappear into the elevator does Lisa dizzily sink back into her chair. She pulls out her phone and opens her group chat.
“That insanely hot bar owner just came to see me,” she starts typing.
“And then he walked away holding my boss’s hand.”
This is too much. She should take a half-day off just to recover from the shock.