In the lobby, Ian Garber stood in front of Val, the old man smiling and praising him incessantly. This was unusual. Some staff, like Anwar and Alex, excused themselves to leave.
"Boss, we're heading back now."
Ian nodded. It was very rare for the big boss to smile so much; it was a very rare thing indeed. The two staff members quickly left.
Jason came out of the building and stopped when he saw Val and his grandfather standing in front of the lobby. What was the old man talking to Val about that made him smile like that? Was the old lecher starting his act? This couldn't be allowed. Jason went down the stairs towards Val.
"Grandpa, aren't you going home yet?" asked Jason.
Jason looked at what was on Val's hand; he picked up the small wooden table, about arm's length high.
"Here, let me carry that," said Jason while his other hand unconsciously pulled Val's waist closer to him.
"Thanks, Boss" Val was used to Jason taking whatever he was carrying. Ian watched with a suspicious smile.
"Why are you still here? Didn't Bob arrive yet?" Ian glanced around, not seeing Bob's car nearby. Jason held Val's hand, his arm around him. Val was actually a little embarrassed that his boss was doing that in front of the Big Boss; what would he think? But, how could he refuse him?
"It's already midnight, Gramps, why would I go home now? Besides, I have a meeting with the supplier tomorrow."
"You can do that online, you don't need to go to the office."
"Yeah, but other staff will be there too, so I might as well go. It's late now, Grandpa, you should go home soon, you'll arrive home around dawn."
Ian saw his grandson holding Val's hand tightly, even linking their arms; they both looked so close to each other. His gaze made it clear he wished the old man disappeared from his sight.
"This brat," Ian grumbled.
Jason waved his hand.
"Then, we'll excuse ourselves now. It'll take at least ten minutes to walk to the apartment, it's very late. Come on, Val." Jason pulled Val's hand to walk with him.
Ian just pursed his lips as he watched his disrespectful grandson stroll away, while Val stammered and could only bow his head to Ian to excuse themselves.
"Good night, Boss."
Jason cheerfully pulled Val away from his grandfather, walking towards the pedestrian bridge. Val looked back, where the Big Boss's luxurious black car was already pulling out of the lobby area. At the roadside, Ian even lowered his car window to look at them. Val stammered; he was sure the Big Boss was going to greet Jason, but Jason completely ignored him.
"Boss."
Jason just pursed his lips.
"Just leave him be, that old man, who knows what's going on in his head. Don't get too close to him, okay? He's dangerous."
Val looked thoughtful, his innocent eyes staring at his boss.
"What do you mean, Boss? That's your grandfather, why would you talk about him like that?"
"And what were you two talking about? You seemed close," Jason asked, his voice slightly sarcastic.
Val smiled broadly.
"He didn't ask much, Boss, the big boss asked about college, what major, and he also asked about the situation at the office. He said that if I wanted I could get a good position in the office, just tell him, that's very strange, is that really okay? Then I want to be a director."
Jason smiled. This young man was really cute. He pinched Val's cheek.
"This kid, you're too naive,"
Val groaned, looking at his boss with sharp eyes.
"Boss, why did you pinch me?"
"You deserved it, who told you to flirt here and there during dinner? Unbelievable," Jason couldn't forget how Val played with the other staff members. Their cheeks were getting so close together. Even though they were separated by the balloons, it still made him annoyed.
"Bos, who's flirting, I'm not,"
Val puckered his lips until he now freed himself from Jason's grasp and walked ahead of him, Jason widened his eyes.
"Val, hey where are you going?" Jason chased after him up the stairs to the pedestrian bridge.
He tried to grab Val's hand, but the kid kept pushing him away.
"Boss, I'm still mad, how come there is discrimination between staff and interns, it's really inhumane,"
Jason continued to try to grab Val's hand.
"Hey, you're still talking about that, it wasn't my idea. It was the Big Boss's. Besides, that was alcohol, you're still underage, you're not allowed to drink it,"
Val tried to free his hand from Jason's tight grip. Luckily, it was already midnight, and there was no one else on the bridge except for them. Jason kept chasing Val like a teenager.
"Yeah, Bos should have asked how about our feelings. Besides, I'm twenty years old, that's not underage anymore,"
Jason tried to persuade Val.
"That's still underage. Alright, next time I'll buy you a beer, why are you so vengeful?"
"No need, I can have it by myself," Val looked annoyed.
....
It was past midnight when they arrived at the apartment. Val had just finished showering and was sitting on his bed. Jason had been standing in front of the bed fiddling with the air conditioner remote, which seemed to be broken. He'd been unable to use it even after replacing the batteries.
"Ugh, why did it break now of all times?"
Val sat watching him, drying his wet hair. Jason looked at him and pursed his lips.
"What do we do? The remote's broken. I think it's because it fell in the water yesterday when we were cleaning up. You can't turn on the AC tonight," Jason said, looking sad.
Val pursed his lips, looking at the AC which remained stubbornly off. It was an automatic; there were no buttons anywhere except on the remote control.
"Well, what now, Boss? It's pretty hot tonight. Should I just open the window?"
Jason looked at Val's sad face, then grinned.
"Hey, how about you sleep in my room tonight?" Jason grabbed Val's pillow from the bed and gently pulled him up. Val hesitated.
"But Boss, isn't that a good idea? You'll be cramped."
"Well, what else can we do? Do you want to sleep in the heat? It's fine, you're small, and you won't take up much space."
Jason enthusiastically pulled Val out of the room and towards his own, down the hall.
"But Boss…"
It didn't take long for Jason to prepare a sleeping space for Val, right next to him. He helped the young man dry his wet hair.
"You're still washing your hair this late at night? Is it really that important? You always do this. You'll get sick sleeping with wet hair like that."
Val smiled. His boss always did this for him. It was becoming a habit, he thought.
"It's just… Boss, it's really hot tonight."
"What's hot, look at this, your forehead is so warm, what did I tell you?"
Val pursed his lips. It is, he'd been getting sick easily lately, all because of his medication. He couldn't let his boss know. His boss would definitely forbid him from working, and he'd lose his income. At least he needs to hang on until his internship is over.
"Like I said, Boss, the weather is so hot."
Jason took Val's hand, looking at the young man's face for a moment.
"I'll get a thermometer. If you have a fever, you have to take medicine, or better, we go to the clinic, okay?"
Val stopped Jason as his boss was about to stand up.
"No need, Boss, it's just because of the heat. It'll be normal again after I sleep. Besides, tomorrow's Saturday, I can rest all day."
Jason sat back down, looking at Val. Maybe he was overreacting. He resumed drying Val's hair with the towel.
"Okay, then. Don't go anywhere tomorrow, just sleep in your room. After I'm done with the meeting—it won't be long—we'll go out to find something to eat. Think about where you want to go. We'll have fun tomorrow"
Val nodded. Smiles broadly.
"Yes, Boss."