As he had for much of his life, Palm rose with the sun. Nueng began to stir next to him, but Palm pulled the sheets back over his shoulder and kissed his cheek, causing Nueng to settle back down. Palm then stretched his muscles and prepared to continue on with his day.
"Morning, boss," several fishers called out to Palm as he walked down the pier. Several boats had already left to begin throwing nets and Palm smiled as he saw the fleet out and about.
Palm climbed upon his boat and his best men and fishers gave him half-hearted sloppy salutes. "So, you managed to tear yourself away from the young master this morning?" teased one of the men. Palm gave him a look.
"I did," Palm said in a deadpan voice as he took the wheel. "At great personal cost. Now the nets better be sorted properly or I'm going to actually be annoyed."
When the sun reached its zenith, Palm's boats returned to the pier. Fresh catches on piles of ice dominated the pier with hotel staff picking their favorites of the bunch to cook for the day. Palm left his men to sell the remaining fish to locals as he caught a ride back to the resort further up the beach from the village with the rest of the hotel staff.
As Palm got into the truck, a fresh bottle of water and cool towel were immediately handed to him. "Thank you," Palm said as he accepted. "Has Khun Nueng had any problems this morning?"
"Not at all, sir." The driver tipped his head. "Staff said he was as annoyed as ever to wake up alone, but that's not anything new anymore, is it?"
Palm sighed and smiled fondly. "I'll make it up to him I suppose. Is he in a meeting right now?"
"Right as usual, sir." The driver paused as he checked the street before taking a turn. "Next meeting is with Young Master Chopper in an hour. You're expected to join them for lunch with Khun Ben."
"So they've come to visit?"
"Quarterly report, sir. Making sure all family businesses are running smoothly after the split."
"Which also means," the driver smiled. "Young Master Chopper is expecting you to report on how the fishing fleet is doing."
"I hired accountants for that," Palm grunted as he checked his bag for his cell phone. "Khun Nueng fought me for a month to make me hire those accountants. Didn't they send that report?"
The driver shrugged. "Should have hired a secretary too, sir."
After a quick shower, Palm quickly dressed himself in business casual and made his way down to the hotel dining room. There he was immediately escorted to the private dining room where Nueng came up to pull him to his seat.
"Khun Nueng," Palm said with a smile before kissing the back of Nueng's hand.
Nueng sighed and rolled his eyes. "We're married. We've been married for years."
"And you'll always be my Khun Nueng." Palm kissed Nueng's cheek. "How long until Chopper and Ben arrive?"
"They arrive right now," Ben said as he walked into the private room, Chopper not far behind, still chatting with someone on his cell phone. "Long time no see, friends."
"Ben, Chopper." Palm shook hands with them both before Nueng hugged his cousin.
"Looks like everything's been going well here," Chopper said as he pat Nueng on the back. "Clean up on my end has been going well too since we sold off the casino."
"I'm glad to hear it. The recent negotiations for the land agreements have also cleared up," Nueng said as he motioned for everyone to sit. "But let's have lunch first. Catch of the day courtesy of Palm."
Palm only shrugged as everyone's eyes turned on him. "Red snapper anyone?"
After lunch and finishing actual business with Chopper, Nueng retreated to his office after a quick kiss. Palm was also forced into his office where the runaway report Chopper had asked for had found itself along with several apologies from the accountants. Palm could only sigh and sent a text to Nueng agreeing to hire a secretary.
Several signatures later, Palm ran for the private swimming pool of their suite. The cool water was soothing on his nerves and when he came up from the meditative state of swimming laps, it was to find Nueng relaxing on a pool lounger, dressed in casual shorts and a t-shirt. Knowing better than to splash him, Palm pulled himself out of the pool and Nueng shifted his sunglasses to look at Palm directly.
"Your secretary starts tomorrow," Nueng said as he settled back down. "I made sure to pick the most competent one we had on file."
"Khun Nueng knows best," Palm said as he dried himself off. "I appreciate the help."
"You could always tell me to back off," Nueng said without looking at Palm. "We could cut down the size of the fleet, let the men have the boats and still buy the fish from them. No one will lose a job at all. Less actual accounting and management for you."
"I don't dislike having a fleet or the investment," Palm said as he sat down on the edge of Nueng's lounger. "I dislike how disoriented I always feel."
Nueng took his sunglasses off and tugged on Palm's wrist. "Do you regret it? Coming here with me? Starting everything over like this?"
"I will never regret choosing you." Palm raised Nueng's hand to his lips and kissed the knuckles. "I'm just not good at this. I'm best at being by your side."
"Sappy," Nueng said, but there was a smile on his lips. "You're doing a lot better than you think. Chopper was pretty impressed."
"Well, the one I'm the most worried about impressing is right here." Palm leaned in and rubbed the tip of his nose against Nueng's. "And I heard I have to make it up to you since I woke up early again."
"We'll have to discuss corrective actions in private." Nueng picked up Palm's towel, hooked it around his neck, and then pulled Palm forward towards their bedroom. "And I do hope you'll take the criticism constructively."
Palm followed obediently and smiled. "I aim to please, Khun Nueng."
