When Stars Collide

Chapter 5

"We're here, Sir."

Gun just finished fixing his tie when somebody opened his car door. Then the ushers came and led him to the giant double doors that opened into the lavish ballroom where the Harvard Alumni Foundation gala night was held.

As he went down the staircase leading to the banquet, he quickly scanned the area and silently went over what their staff told him - the annual alumni ball is held as some sort of celebration for another year of successfully raising money to fund several scholarships around the world.

The Phunsawats are one of the biggest donors, along with their longtime business rival, the Adulkittiporns.

Gun almost choked when Althea mentioned that the Adulkittiporns will be present tonight. All Gun could think of was Off, but he tried to brush off the uneasy feeling of having his boyfriend's last name similar to that of their family rival. After all, the surname was too common. The odds that Off is related to his family's biggest rival was slim.

Or so he thought.

There were at least one hundred people present, but Gun's eyes gravitated to Off only to find him looking back at him in awe. Sitting beside Off was Jaylerr - Jaylerr Adulkittiporn, head of the Public Relations of the Thai conglomerate. He was the face of the Adulkittiporn group of companies, so Gun was more familiar to him.

Gun broke eye contact with Off when the usher ask him to get to his seat since the program
is starting.

"Good evening, everyone, thank you very much for gracing our event tonight. We'll get the ball rolling and start with the presentation of Plaques of Appreciation to our generous sponsors. As our tradition, we would be calling the names alphabetically and will keep the donation amount confidential."

"May we call on stage, Mr. Off Jumpol, Vice President for Operations of the Adulkittiporn Holdings."

The moment he heard the host call his boyfriend's name and his title, Gun knew he was in deep shit.

He's been sleeping with the heir of his family's biggest business rival.

*****

"Lastly, thank you to Harvard Alumni Foundation for giving us the opportunity to help deserving students around the globe." Off finished his short speech flawlessly even if he tried so hard not to look at Gun's direction.

As he went down the stage, he mindlessly went back to where Jaylerr was seated. Thousands of thoughts ran through Off's head:

Did Gun knew he was an Adulkittiporn? Did he purposefully got close to him to...what, spy on him? Get his hands on confidential information? Off went back to every conversation they had, but none of those felt like someone prying for trade secrets.

But why did Gun lie to him about his surname? He clearly asked him his family name not long ago, and he answered Taweesilip. If his intentions were good, why would he lie to Off?

"Man, are you sure that you saw Atthaphan Phunsawat? You did say he rarely comes to these
things, may be you're mistaken."

Before Jaylerr could answer, the emcee called on the next donor.

"Let us welcome onstage, Mr. Gun Atthaphan Phunsawat."

Off watched as his boyfriend stood up and confidently walked to the stage. He might be having doubts about him and their relationship, but Off could not deny how good Gun looked. He wore a customized textured black suit with a white inner shirt and a black tie. He had very light make-up on, but his lips was beautifully emphasized. It was a simple outfit but the way Gun carried himself made it look classy and luxurious.