9: Doomed
"Crap! I'm doomed!!!"
The werewolf swam so quickly to the border of the pool and got out before wiping himself dry and typing something on his phone with impressive speed. Carl thought that if there was an Olympic race for typing, Kaew could be, for sure, one of the competitors.
"What's wrong?" Carl asked the boy who was looking up at the moon and down at his phone.
The silence was all that he got from the boy. If Kaew was in his dog form then it made sense that he couldn't speak. But this…
"So you're not going to tell me?" Carl's deep dark eyes kept staring at the boy who was sitting on the poolside chair next to him.
He sighed and decided to look at the moon in silence instead of trying to get the answer out of this werewolf boy. They were both in deep thought until Kaew's bright brown eyes finally glanced at the man next to him. Kaew swallowed hard before speaking in a monotone, very unusual of him.
"Mister… You really have to take me to work with you tomorrow, alright? You can't leave me alone here."
"And why so?" Carl turned his head looking at Kaew.
"Because I'm begging you."
"…"
"I really want to be right by your side."
"…"
"If you're not taking me with you, I'll be so sad."
"…"
The boy shook Carl's arm while shooting his puppy eyes at him. Seeing that Carl kept his poker face, Kaew then started massaging the man, trying to convince him even more. He pulled off the highest level of his cuteness.
"…!..." Carl's heart skipped a beat for a split second but he remained his expression.
"If you're not taking me, I'll go with Dom instead. I'll convince him to take me out for a walk…"
"Who is Dom!?"
"That kind man in a black suit who always takes me out for a walk, gives me treats and wipes me dry. His name is Dom," Kaew tilted. He's your staff. How could you not remember his name? Duh.
"You're coming with me tomorrow." Carl ended the conversation before heading back to his bedroom.
"I pray to all dog gods. Please, protect me." Kaew prayed to St. Bernard.
Since western gods' names always started with Saint: St. Gabriel, St. Nicolas, or St. Michael. He was certain that one of our dog gods must have been St. Bernard. Kaew thought to himself as he started to believe in his own assumption. The dog gods from the Alp would definitely be on his side. Amen!
After that thought, Kaew got up, headed to the shower, and got changed. He decided to work a little longer, trading, buying investments, checking the balance in his account, and assuring that his important belongings such as his ID card, credit card, phone, and charger were all set. He packed his favorite pair of shoes in a packing cube before putting them in his backpack. Kaew looked at the bed that he had been sleeping on for a couple of nights, patting a pile of clothes and other stuff that Carl bought for him, his brown eyes flashing sadness.
"Don't you dare, Kaew. You can't cling to him like that. Suck it up."
He slapped both of his cheeks lightly with his pale hands to encourage himself. He intended to follow to Carl's bedroom and guard the man in case he slept in again. However, the door to the master bedroom was locked. Though Kaew tried knocking at the door, Carl didn't answer. Kaew assumed that he must have been sleeping.
Kaew walked back and forth for a while before walking to get a pillow and a blanket to sleep on the couch in the living room. I won't miss it this time. I even set the alarm 5 minutes before sunrise. Zzz…
Carl heard the alarming sound from the living room. He even woke up before the furball who was the one setting the alarm. The man, who intended to keep his distance from the werewolf boy last night, hesitated whether he should walk out of the room or wait for the boy here. Halfway there, he saw the boy reaching out to turn off the alarm and stretch his body before crawling to sit on the floor.
The sky during the dawn was shining in light gold. When the first light of the day touched the swimming pool, it reflected shining waves through the big window and the whole living room looked like it was underwater.
Kaew finally stood up. He took off his pajama shirt and followed with his pants before folding his clothes and putting them on the side table nicely. He rose the tip of his nose up in the air as if he was taking in deep fresh air into his lungs.
Carl stood still, and couldn't take his eyes off the boy's naked body which was soaked in the sunlight. Suddenly, his slim arms and legs as well as his long black-pitch hair disappear from sight. The mafia was stepping forward, startled, heading to where Kaew was standing. This time, the black-and-white Thai Bangkaew was raising his chin up, looking in the direction where the sun was at.
"Kaew," called Carl with his deep voice.
"Nggg…"
Kaew's bright brown eyes looked at him as if he was smiling at Carl. His fluffy tail was wagging while his pointy ears rose with joy. The four-leg furball walked to Carl and nudged his head at Carl's leg and his nose into Carl's palm, asking for a patting.
'Am I a good boy? I woke up by myself. I wasn't such a sleepy head.' Of course, Kaew couldn't say it but the way his eyes reflected made Carl believe so.
"Did you have a good sleep?" What a nonsense question.
The big Bangkaew started stretching his legs, bending his back, and arching his fluffy bum. He yawned with his mouth wide open so that Carl could see his pink tongue rolling inside. Kaew walked over to scratch the door as if saying that he wanted to go out. Carl nodded at him calmly before heading to take a shower and get dressed, so they could leave for work.
The businessman took his time as usual to get ready in the morning. When he walked to the kitchen, he saw that his secretary was having breakfast, waiting for him already.
"Where is Kaew?" Carl frowned.
"Good morning, boss. I told one of our staff to take him downstairs for a potty."
"…" He untied his frowned eyebrows.
"He said that the dog needs a potty break once it wakes up. Otherwise, it might make a mess in here. They should be back soon."
Speaking of the devil, the big door was opened and it looked like Kaew was about to jump in. But when his staff who took Kaew out earlier started yanking the leash and the furball stopped immediately. When he commanded Kaew to sit, the doggy boy obeyed him nicely, waiting for praise and pats.
"Finish that man!" Carl grumbled in his throat.
"What?"
"…Nothing."
For a split second, the secretary could see the killer mode activated on his boss's face. But Carl suddenly put on his poker face like usual. His back straightened wide, remaining his pride. He glanced at the Bangkaew who was sitting and waiting for his staff to wipe off his four paws. Once the big furball was cleaned up, he walked to the dining table merrily.
"…"
"Nggg… Nggg…" Kaew put his fluffy head over Carl's lap, looking up trying to please him.
"Let's get in the car," said Carl before heading out immediately.
Kaew took his backpack with his mouth to follow the man. But Carl snatched it from Kaew and held the backpack by himself. His sharp eyes looked at Kaew's belongings and his eyes reflected something.
"You're Dom, aren't you?"
"Yes." I've been working with him for nearly three years and this is the first time he calls my name!
"Don't use the leash on him. Don't pull him too hard. Don't scratch his belly. And don't get too close," commanded Carl in his low tone.
He didn't like to see Kaew with a leather collar and a leash in someone else's hands. Carl flashed back to when the boy didn't even accept the necklace that he gave. And now he let someone put a leash on him? That yank was quite rough that could make Kaew fall on his back. If it left a single scar…
"But when I take it out…"
"Call him Mr. Kaew. And it's a he." Something upsetting in the air left Dom no choice but to obey and swallow a hard lump of concern down to his throat.
"Nggg… Nggg…" Kaew whined in his throat, feeling uncertain about the pressuring atmosphere in the room right now.
The fierce eyes glanced at the dog and his own staff, feeling the itch in his chest as if Kaew was complaining to him for scolding people under his supervision. Eventually, Carl let out a sigh before heading to the van that they would use to go to work today.
The heating atmosphere in the van was even heavier than the weather during the midday in the Dasht-e Lut desert in Iran, which was well-known as the place with the hottest temperature. Kaew could have overexaggerated it, but the fact about the desert was at least the truth.
Carl was reading the news through his tablet, his face all grumpy, his eyebrows tied up like a knot. Looking from Mars, anyone could tell that he was really upset.
Kaew who was sitting next to Carl looked out at the window, his ears rising and his back straightening up. He was so fascinated by everything out there, giving no single care in the world.
While the driver, the secretary, and the guy named Dom were all sitting still and stiff. They didn't even dare to breathe too loud.
Once they all reached the building, all of Carl's fellows quickly stepped out of the van and spread out to do their own thing. Carl told Kaew to follow him to his office on the top floor of the building.
Kaew looked around seeking his backpack and found out that Carl left it in the van in front of the building. The big dog then pretended to sniff and explore the area before plopping on Carl's feet.
"I need to take a look at some paperwork. Then, I'll have a meeting with a client," Carl explained his schedule to Kaew briefly. The dog could only wag his tail in his response.
His bright brown eyes wandered around his office, discovering that it was like any normal working office. However, he could smell strong scents of old leather goods, bullets, and a light scent of blood coming out from the staff's clothes. Kaew realized that Carl's business must be something shady. He could even sense the distrustfulness in the air.
At their first meeting, Kaew thought that Carl had an ice-cold vibe whenever he was with other people. He could sense the distance Carl put between these people, impossible to reach him. It was totally different when it was just two of them together. Kaew thought of Carl as a new tiny leaf of grass that grew over the melting ice. Carl definitely had his own soft side.
But that was all. He wasn't his owner and Kaew had a dream to follow. Especially today, he had an emergency that he needed to run away and hide somewhere before it got worse…
Kaew lay down, lost in his own thoughts for almost an hour before letting out a big sigh. Carl looked down to check on the doggy boy. Kaew started whining in his throat, his pointy ears kept rising up and falling down. The dog then walked over to the door before swirling around.
"What's wrong, Kaew?" Carl frowned.
Kaew started being even more dramatic once he got Carl's attention. He lowered his ears, dropping his tail, crying out loud, and trying to nudge his head with the door as if he was trying to say that he needed to get out of the room now.
"Potty break?"
Kaew nodded quickly, walking back and forth to give a sign that Carl needed to get up and take him outside right now. Oh, what timing. The secretary had just come in to prepare for the meeting.
"Call someone to take Kaew out for a walk."
"Sure." The secretary gave a sign to Dom who was waiting outside his boss's office.
Kaew rose his ears and wagged his tail as he followed Dom immediately. He stopped acting all anxious and Carl just couldn't help feeling irritated about it. The dog headed directly to the elevator before the door closed. Kaew turned back to look at Carl and wagged his tail at him.
His bright brown eyes stared straight, feeling confident. Coming out of the elevator to the big hallway, there was no sign of a green zone. There was a big chance that Dom would drive him to a park somewhere. Otherwise, he needed to find another way to get his backpack from that van.
As Kaew thought, Dom didn't use a leash on him as Carl commanded. Instead, Dom held the back of Kaew's neck loosely as he was worried that Kaew would run away out of his nerves. Dom couldn't understand why his boss said so about using a leash. Though Kaew seemed smart and obedient enough, he was still an animal. How could Mr. Carl 100% trust this dog?
"Nggg… Nggg…" Kaew cried, acting as if holding him in his neck was hurting him.
"Hang in there. I'll give you a nice pat once we are in our van." Dom comforted him in a sweet tone.
Bingo! Kaew was so pleased that couldn't stop wagging his tail before following Dom to the van. As soon as he got in the van, he nudged his head under his backpack, trying to wear it on his doggy bag. Right when the driver was opening the front door and Dom was closing the side door…
Kaew took a chance with his dog speed, jumping out of the van and running as fast as he possibly could!
"Hey! The dog's gone!"
"Kaew!!"
Both of Carl's staff called at the same time before following the furball who was heading to the parking lot. In that direction, there was a sidetrack that could lead Kaew to so many small alleys. In just a blink of time, the black and white furball was nowhere to be seen.
"Mr. Secretary, I have something to report." Dom breathed in and out heavily.
The driver who was looking for Kaew in the other direction came back. Both men were sweating hard, leaving big stains on their shirts. Dom's hand was shaking while holding a phone so tight. He was exhausted, that was one reason, but it was more that he was scared for his life.