Chapter 8 - Anxious
1573 Words
Usually, Eva buys breakfast after exercising. It's the same now. At the moment, Eva is carrying a plastic bag containing rice wrapped in banana leaves that she bought at her favorite place. Entering the gate, Eva sees a car parked next to her motorcycle.
Although she doesn't know all the tenants of the ten-door boarding house closely, with six units on the lower level and the rest above, Eva knows very well that no one here owns a car. Yes, everyone has a vehicle, but only motorcycles because most of the residents here are from the lower middle class.
"Don't forget, Eva. He's the warehouse manager."
Although it's a bit surprising why he chose to live here…
Trying not to care, Eva then climbs the stairs next to the parking lot. The morning atmosphere is still quiet, and Eva doesn't encounter any other residents.
Honestly, Eva initially preferred living downstairs. However, when she moved in, all the units downstairs were full, so she had to stay upstairs temporarily. Yes, the plan was temporary because when a unit downstairs became vacant due to a tenant moving out, Eva would move.
However, when that happened, Eva had already become comfortable living upstairs. Even now. Especially since there was a corner unit that was often empty, allowing Eva to store her belongings there several times.
"And now I can't store my stuff there anymore because it already has a tenant…"
The downside of living upstairs like this is being ready to go up and down the stairs every day, even when tired after work. However, almost five years have made Eva truly accustomed to it.
Upon reaching the upper floor, Eva immediately notices the corner unit with its door open. If she recalls, the last time there was a tenant in that unit was about eight months ago or… a year ago? Eva doesn't remember because it's been so long. During that time, she repeatedly stored her personal belongings there.
The corner unit is right next to Eva's unit, so her steps seem to approach a middle-aged man who has just closed the door from the outside and locked it.
Eva, who has arrived in front of her unit, spontaneously smiles at the man her aunt refers to as "bapak-bapak." Indeed, the man who now turns to her is quite fittingly called a middle-aged man.
Wait, if Eva remembers correctly… his name is Mr. Gatot, the new warehouse manager of Savanna Branch 069. Instantly, Eva is grateful that last night, despite being lazy, she managed to retrieve her belongings. That way, their business doesn't have to be prolonged.
"Morning," the man greets Eva.
"Morning," Eva replies.
"Are you a resident here? Nice to meet you… I'm Gatot."
"Yes, this is my place," Eva says, pointing to her residence's door with her thumb. "I'm Eva," she continues.
"Well then, I'll excuse myself," Gatot says as he leaves.
Eva nods politely while giving way and allowing Gatot to pass by her. It doesn't take long before he starts descending the stairs and disappears from Eva's view.
At least, he doesn't seem like the flirtatious type….
Having neighbors is sometimes advantageous and sometimes uncomfortable. If the neighbors are nice and not strange, that's good. It's considered a benefit even if it's not monetary. Yes, when living in a rented unit, having neighbors who aren't annoying is like a luxury.
Whereas having neighbors who make you uncomfortable is… clearly bad news. There are only two possibilities: waiting for the neighbor to move or moving yourself.
However, Eva's first impression of the man named Gatot wasn't too bad. She feels Gatot isn't the annoying or flirtatious type. In other words… whether her new neighbor is there or not won't affect Eva's life.
Ah, little does Eva know that her new neighbor isn't Gatot.
***
Today is Ardi's first official day as the branch manager of Savanna 069. Yes, the branch of a company engaged in the sale and distribution of retail products is indeed numerous and spread across almost the entire country.
Although Ardi met the primarily female staff yesterday, he feels the need to gather them again. Just imagine—seven out of ten staff members here are women because most of the men work in the warehouse department.
Ardi gathered all the staff not to reintroduce himself but for their first meeting.
One, two, three… nine. Ardi silently counted that there were nine staff members already seated in the meeting room. That meant one staff member was missing. Of course, Ardi knew who hadn't come. It was Eva.
Where are you, Eva? You managed to exercise, which means you woke up early, so you shouldn't be late… unless you went back to sleep after exercising…
"It seems like someone hasn't arrived," said Ardi, pretending not to know.
"Oh yes, sorry, I forgot to mention it, Sir," said Dinda, one of the female staff who was quite close to Eva.
"Yes?" replied Ardi.
"Eva messaged me earlier, saying she'd be a bit late today. She wanted me to convey her apologies to everyone, especially to you, Sir Ardi."
Ardi nodded, although he was actually curious about why Eva was late.
"What's up with Eva? It's unusual for her to be late," asked another staff member.
"The twins insisted on being dropped off at school first," replied Dinda.
"Oh my. I thought it was something else."
So, it's because of her twins…
Now Ardi understood why some companies prefer hiring candidates who aren't married—because this is what happens when you're married, especially with kids. There's always an excuse.
"In that case, how about I start the meeting now?" asked Ardi, who was actually still a bit annoyed. How could Eva be late on his first day in this position?
***
After taking the twins, who suddenly threw a tantrum wanting Eva to go with them to school, Eva was now sitting next to Dika, who was focused on driving.
"I'm really sorry, Eva," said Dika, looking straight at the road. "Lukas and Lily have done this repeatedly, and I can usually handle them. I don't know why they were so hard to manage this morning."
"It's okay . Luckily, Savanna isn't too strict. Being a little late isn't a problem," replied Eva.
What Eva said was true; her boss before Ardi was a woman known to be strict, but she could still tolerate staff who were late, provided there was a clear and truthful reason.
The problem is… Eva's boss now is Ardi. Eva knew well what kind of man Ardi was, but she didn't know what kind of boss he would be. Would Ardi make an issue of Eva being late even though he was informed of the reason? Eva wasn't sure.
Not long after, the car Dika was driving arrived in front of Eva's office.
"So, how will you get home later?" asked Dika, who had just pulled over.
"Oh my , the office is really close to home. I almost jog around this area every day. So, it's not a problem if I walk home later," replied Eva. "That's why when Dika offered to take me home to get my motorbike first, I refused and preferred to go straight to the office."
"If I get home early, I'll take you, okay?"
"..."
"I know it's close, but because you helped me—"
"Even if I wanted to, I could catch a ride with a coworker. Seriously , don't trouble yourself."
"Alright then. Once again, sorry and thank you, Eva, for being willing to be late to work because of the twins."
Eva nodded with a smile. "In that case, I'll get off now ."
After that, Eva got out of Dika's car. Shortly after, a horn sounded as a sign that Dika was leaving. Sure enough, the car driven by her brother-in-law started to move and drive away from where Eva was standing.
Eva then entered the office, and of course, the meeting was already over. Her coworkers were already busy with their computer screens. Some were also focused on checking several documents.
Eva smiled awkwardly at all of them. After that, as she was about to pull her chair… she suddenly changed her mind when one of the staff called her name.
"Eva…"
"Yes?"
"The boss wants to see you."
"What?" Eva was a bit surprised.
"Maybe because you missed the meeting and there's something work-related to discuss, that's why he wants you in his office," explained another staff member.
"Yeah, that's right, Ev," added Dinda. "Mr. Ardi said that when you got here, you should go straight to his office."
Eva then nodded. Her colleagues were right; it must be work-related. But strangely, Eva felt nervous. Is it because this is the first time they'll talk one-on-one? Talking after five years since their divorce?
Yesterday during the introduction, it was clearly in front of many people. The problem now is that they will be alone. Eva tried her best to stay calm and act normal, but her heart was pounding erratically. What is this?
With heavy steps, Eva climbed the stairs to the second floor where Ardi's office was located. She kept telling herself it was just work-related, especially since this was the office.
Still, Eva couldn't deny that she felt… maybe the man who once made it hard for her to move on had a certain intention.
Oh God, Eva's nervous!
- Writer
