Dance with the Dragon [Mile x Apo] [MileApo]

Chapter 4: Blown Away

"Sir..."

"Hmm?"

"You know this whole thing can blow up in your face, right?"

"What thing?"

"This. The Sade deal...Khun Nattawin...all of it."

What was Preethi talking about now? As soon as Apo left, she scrambled into the space of his office fully with the details he had requested about the Sade deal, his inside man managed to get the information – the shadow account, the fake name, the shady handlings of his competitor to pay it all upfront, in cash, and take the business instead of merging, all of it. There was a local business in Egypt he had worked diligently with for the past couple of months to make a merger deal that was beneficial to them as well as himself. His family's headquarters was in Thailand, but the oil business boomed in Saudi Arabia, Egypt, places that held a richer culture that he wanted to cultivate while providing grounding for resident owners.

Only for fucking Sade to swoop in like an eagle wrestling with an alligator for a scrap of meat already in its mouth, open in surprise at the audacity to snap shut around the offending creature's neck, agitated without food and satisfaction at its demise at his own doing.

His fingers curled into fists as he wanted to wring out the Englishman's neck himself, always tried to underplay Mile's bid in everything, it was offending at this point. It didn't help they were friend's once when Mile spent a semester abroad in London to study English, European business, and debate whether to branch out there as well or not. His parents talked him out of the endeavor, which pissed Sade off because it was a deal he concocted and just wanted to use Mile's wealth and name for. If it failed, it would have dragged all of them down and Mile didn't think their friendship was worth putting in jeopardy.

Of course the deal tanked with no banking, Sade ignored his calls and correspondance to try to reconcile their broken bond, only to get the 'straight to voicemail' and returned letters. It was Mile's first dose of reality when it came to handling people, he thought he was close to. All of his lovers toppled in after Sade similarly; why could he expect anything different from dishonest people?

His mood fouled, his flow was disrupted, he wanted to punch something. Maybe he needed to go to the boxing gym before heading home to pack, blow off steam with a sparring partner, he sighed to himself.

It felt like he was thrown off kilter the moment Apo wasn't in the room anymore. It wasn't that he put up a front for the actor, there was no need. They weren't affiliated yet, it was just the comfortable presence the actor brought with him, the easy topics of conversation, and even the playful banter that was intelligent, light-hearted, and authentic. A slice of heaven for him when he was used to everyone being two-faced, double-edge swords that sliced into his back instead of frontal attacks. They never gave him a chance to be himself, to be unbiasedly Mile, they always just demanded without giving a bit back.

He and Apo had a quieted understanding that this relationship, wherever it took them, began as a transaction and more than likely would terminate as such. At least that was his presumption from how quickly Apo agreed to come to jet set to Egypt with him. There was a snag of reluctance; however, Mile figured it was just the spur of the moment the actor was probably not accustomed to. He had taken his model and celebrity lovers to the French Riviera, Greece, or Singapore on their batted eyes before, why was this different? It was almost like Mile didn't want to leave to tend to work and the younger disappear from his grasp, slipped through his fingers, and into the abyss of obscurity in Mile's overflowed mind.

They would come to an agreement, draw up the contract clauses that was beneficial to both of them, and it would conclude. As all good things in his life that never stuck around for too long.