Chapter 9 : The Boss
2427 Words
The drive felt unusually long.
BSD was indeed quite far from the office...
But sitting between two men who each carried a different history with me made every passing minute feel strangely heavy.
A tangled mix of emotions settled inside my chest.
"Nam."
"If you're thirsty, there's bottled water in the door compartment."
Mr. Rian's voice pulled me out of my thoughts.
"I brought my own."
I held up the reusable bottle I carried everywhere.
I drank a lot of water every day, so bringing my own bottle had become a habit I never forgot.
"We'll stop for lunch at the mall first, Yo."
Mr. Rian glanced at Mister X.
"Fine."
Mister X barely looked up.
He was still staring at the tablet in his hands.
A few moments later, my phone vibrated.
An email notification.
From him.
Since I synchronized my work email with my phone, I could still reply whenever I was outside the office.
Even during a business trip...
Mister X never stopped working.
I opened the email for only a second.
Then closed it again.
Too lazy to read it right now.
"Have you read it, Nam?"
I nearly jumped.
He didn't even lift his head from the tablet.
How did he know?
Then it hit me.
Read receipt.
He must have enabled read notifications.
The moment I opened the email...
He'd been notified.
"I..."
"I'm reading it now, Sir."
A terrible lie.
"Study it carefully."
"We can't interview the CEO carelessly."
"If he doesn't like our questions..."
"He'll throw us out."
Mr. Rian burst into laughter.
"Yeah."
"The ones getting kicked out would be me and Namira."
"You?"
He looked toward Mister X.
"Your dad's the CEO's older brother."
"The largest shareholder in the family's main company."
"Who's going to throw you out?"
"Oh, would you stop talking?"
Mister X frowned.
"Can you focus on work for once?"
His voice carried genuine irritation.
That was when I realized something.
I already knew the owner of the publishing company had another business.
A publicly listed food manufacturing company.
A much larger corporation than the magazine where we worked.
What I hadn't known...
Was that Mister X belonged to that family.
He wasn't just the CEO's nephew.
His own father was the largest shareholder in the family's flagship company.
Then...
Why was he working here?
This magazine wasn't exactly a corporate giant.
Most of its revenue depended on advertising.
Why would someone like him choose this place...
Instead of joining his father's much larger business?
Rich people...
Really were difficult to understand.
My mother's words suddenly echoed inside my head.
Marry a handsome man.
Marry a responsible man.
But never marry an idealist.
Life will only become harder, just like mine.
She always blamed my father's principles.
He had once worked for a government office related to taxation.
When corruption became unavoidable...
He refused to participate.
Instead of compromising...
He lost his job.
Mother often said our family had struggled because Father refused to bend.
Yet somehow...
I'd always felt our difficult life was blessed.
Mother still smiled beautifully despite wearing inexpensive clothes.
Father laughed more often than wealthy people I knew.
And somehow...
The two of them had managed to send all of us to college.
If Mister X truly was an idealist...
If that was why he'd chosen to work here instead of in his family's empire...
Mother would definitely object if we ever got married.
I suddenly giggled.
What nonsense was I thinking?
As if he'd ever marry me.
The woman he'd kept waiting for three years still hadn't become his wife.
What chance did someone like me have?
I was nothing more than a fan...
Daydreaming about the impossible.
"Is my briefing really that funny?"
I snapped back to reality.
Mister X was staring at me.
Oh no.
He thought I was laughing at his email.
"N-No, Sir."
"I was reading a friend's status."
"It was funny."
"Nam."
"It's still working hours."
"We haven't even reached lunchtime."
"Instead of reading my email..."
"You're busy checking social media?"
"Oh, come on, Sir..."
"I was just—"
"You two seem awfully close."
Mr. Rian suddenly interrupted.
Silence.
Instantly.
"Darn right we're close."
I laughed loudly.
"He even knows exactly how much I make."
Mr. Rian laughed with me.
"Oh, right!"
"He's also the one who keeps deducting your meal allowance."
I nodded dramatically.
Mr. Rian stretched his left hand toward me, asking for a high five after successfully teasing Mister X.
Laughing, I leaned forward from the back seat to slap his palm.
In that brief moment...
My shoulder brushed against Mister X's.
He instinctively turned his head.
So did I.
Our eyes met.
Five seconds.
Maybe less.
Maybe more.
The laughter still lingered on my lips.
Neither of us looked away.
For a fleeting instant...
Time folded back on itself.
Ten years disappeared.
I was seventeen again.
Standing in that hallway.
Smiling at him.
Watching him smile back.
Five unforgettable seconds.
"Ahem."
Mr. Rian deliberately cleared his throat.
Both Mister X and I snapped back to reality.
I immediately leaned away.
Heat rushed into my face.
Had Mr. Rian noticed?
Had he realized we'd somehow become trapped in a completely different time...
Unable to break eye contact?
Trying to distract myself, I opened the email again.
This time I actually read the attachment.
It wasn't long.
Just a neatly organized list.
THE CEO LIKES:
- Chess
- Competition
- Collecting antique coins
- Black coffee
- Salty food
- Faithfulness to one's wife
Family-oriented men
Cleanliness
Simple women
Humble women
Sincere women
I read the last three items twice.
Simple women.
Humble women.
Sincere women.
Suddenly...
I understood why Mister X wanted me to conduct the interview.
At least in his eyes...
I fit those descriptions.
I dressed simply.
Mostly because affordable clothes were all I could afford.
No one could accuse me of being arrogant.
How could I be?
But sincere?
I wasn't sure I deserved that word.
One question still refused to leave my mind.
Why had he insisted on pairing me with Mr. Rian?
Why not someone else?
Was he...
Trying to bring us together?
The thought hurt more than I wanted to admit.
Being matched with another man...
By the person you secretly loved...
Was a pain difficult to describe.
About an hour later, we finally arrived at the CEO's residence in one of Tangerang's most exclusive neighborhoods.
We had stopped briefly for lunch at a fast-food restaurant so we could eat quickly before continuing our trip.
Unlike many wealthy businessmen who preferred South Jakarta's luxury districts...
Mr. Subagyo had chosen the quieter surroundings of BSD.
Elegant.
Peaceful.
Far from the city's endless noise.
His property occupied nearly eight hundred square meters.
There was no towering front gate.
Like most upscale residential clusters, a narrow stone pathway led from the street to the house.
Flowering plants lined both sides of the path.
As I admired the garden...
I noticed a woman trimming the shrubs.
She looked to be around forty.
"Tante!"
Mister X called out warmly.
I blinked.
Tante?
Wait...
Was that the CEO's wife?
Impossible.
Wasn't she only two years younger than Mr. Subagyo?
That would make her nearly sixty.
Or...
Was she his second wife?
Good grief, Namira.
You're gossiping inside your own head now.
I really was losing my mind since meeting Mister X.
The woman looked up the moment she heard Mister X's voice.
A warm smile spread across her face.
"Gio."
She walked toward us with pruning shears still in one hand.
Mister X immediately bowed respectfully and greeted her.
Mr. Rian did the same.
I hesitated.
Should I greet her too?
Would that be too forward?
After all...
Who was I?
Just an employee.
"This is..."
The woman looked at me with obvious curiosity.
"Your girlfriend?"
She pointed at Mister X.
Then shifted her finger toward Mr. Rian.
"Or yours?"
"N-No, Ma'am."
I answered so quickly that everyone laughed.
"I'm Mr. Gio's employee."
"Oh?"
She smiled teasingly.
"So employees aren't allowed to become girlfriends?"
My face instantly grew warm.
Unable to answer, I simply lowered my head.
Instead of teasing me further, she walked over and stopped right in front of me.
"I'm Subagyo's wife."
"You can call me Auntie."
She extended her hand.
I shook it politely.
To my surprise, she gently pulled me closer and kissed both of my cheeks.
Such a graceful woman.
Everything she wore looked simple...
Yet I could immediately tell every piece came from an expensive designer brand.
She carried herself with effortless elegance.
Earlier I'd guessed she was around forty.
Now that I knew her real age...
I was amazed.
She was almost sixty.
Maybe...
Happiness truly was the best skincare in the world.
"Your uncle has everything prepared in the gazebo."
She smiled at Mister X.
"He was surprised when you said you wanted to interview him for the company's anniversary."
"Usually the previous General Manager only asked for budget approvals."
"Never an interview."
"Now he's curious about what you're planning."
"I don't think I've seen him this excited in years."
We deliberately hadn't told Mr. Subagyo about the concept.
We wanted the anniversary celebration to remain a surprise.
Mrs. Subagyo led us through the backyard.
Behind the house stretched a beautifully landscaped garden.
A swimming pool reflected the afternoon sunlight.
Beyond it stood clusters of leafy trees that shaded a large wooden gazebo.
Mr. Subagyo was already waiting there.
Because of my position in HR, I attended executive meetings three times every week.
After six years...
We'd grown fairly familiar with each other.
"Come."
He waved us over.
"I've already asked them to prepare snacks and drinks."
"Would you like to eat first..."
"Or should we begin immediately?"
"Let's start, Sir."
Mr. Rian and I answered at exactly the same time.
"Alright."
He laughed.
"Come sit."
As we settled onto the floor cushions, I noticed Mister X quietly disappear into the main house with Mrs. Subagyo.
Apparently...
He wasn't joining the interview.
"Have your questions ready, Namira?"
"Yes, Sir."
"Good."
"Let's begin."
I switched on the recorder disguised as a fountain pen.
Then opened the questionnaire on the company tablet.
Although I was the HR interviewer...
Mr. Rian naturally took charge of most of the conversation.
He had a gift for keeping interviews lively.
His jokes made people laugh.
His timing was excellent.
Even serious topics somehow felt light when he handled them.
It helped that he clearly knew the family well.
As Mister X's closest friend...
He was already familiar with everyone here.
The interview lasted almost an hour.
While Mr. Rian kept the conversation flowing...
I focused on taking notes.
Whenever Mr. Subagyo shared something important, I quickly typed it into the tablet.
By the time we finished...
We had more material than we'd expected.
"This should be enough."
Mr. Rian stretched his arms.
"Excuse me, Sir."
"I'm going to use the restroom."
"Go ahead."
Mr. Subagyo nodded.
The moment Mr. Rian disappeared into the house...
Only the two of us remained in the gazebo.
Across the yard, I caught sight of Mister X.
He was sitting beside the swimming pool, talking quietly with Mrs. Subagyo.
The afternoon sunlight reflected off the water behind them.
They looked completely absorbed in their conversation.
"I still wish you'd become my daughter-in-law, Nam."
Mr. Subagyo spoke so suddenly that I almost dropped the tablet.
I lowered my head.
"Sir..."
"I thought we'd agreed to leave that matter in the past."
"I remember."
He smiled gently.
"You broke his heart."
"But you rejected him with dignity."
"You protected his pride."
"That's why he never completely fell apart."
He sighed.
"My biggest regret..."
"Was failing to make you part of this family."
I remained silent.
He looked at me carefully before asking,
"You rejected both my son..."
"And Mr. Rian..."
"For the same reason."
"You said your heart already belonged to someone else."
"Someone you were still waiting for."
His eyes softened.
"So tell me..."
"Did he ever come back?"
My fingers tightened around the tablet.
Back then...
I'd told both him and his son the truth.
That my heart had already been given away.
To someone else.
Someone who might never return.
Someone who probably didn't even remember me anymore.
Back then...
It sounded foolish.
Naive.
Yet...
I'd never stopped believing.
I slowly lifted my eyes.
Across the garden...
Mister X was still sitting beside the pool.
He hadn't noticed me watching him.
"He came back."
My voice was barely above a whisper.
Mr. Subagyo smiled.
"Then why aren't you together?"
I kept looking at Mister X.
"He'll never ask me to marry him."
I smiled sadly.
"There's another woman."
Before I realized it...
My fingertips brushed the corner of my eye.
Stopping the tears before they could fall.
"But honestly..."
"I'm already grateful."
"Just seeing him again..."
"Even if all I can do is watch him from afar..."
"That's enough for me."
I never looked away from Mister X as I spoke.
Mr. Subagyo followed my gaze.
Then chuckled quietly.
"You know..."
"That answer only makes me want you as my daughter-in-law even more."
"My useless son would've become a better man with someone like you."
He smiled warmly.
"A simple woman."
"A sincere woman."
"And someone who knows what loyalty truly means."
He paused.
"Namira..."
"He's still waiting for you."
"If you ever grow tired of waiting for someone who will never choose you..."
"Come to me."
"I'll drag my son to the altar myself."
He laughed softly.
"Hopefully..."
"He still hasn't found someone else by then."
"And hopefully..."
"The two of you are meant to be."
At that moment...
Mr. Rian returned, completely unaware of the conversation we'd just had.
"Ready?"
He gathered the recorder, the tablet, and the rest of our equipment.
We had also taken several casual photographs.
If none of them turned out well, we'd arrange a professional photo shoot during Mr. Subagyo's next visit to the office.
Afterward...
Mrs. Subagyo insisted that we stay for lunch.
The dining table was overflowing with food.
Before we left, she even packed several containers for me.
"You live alone, don't you?"
She smiled kindly.
"I used to live in a boarding house too before I married him."
"I know what that's like."
I accepted the food gratefully.
Not because of the meals themselves...
But because they carried the warmth of genuine kindness.
Soon afterward, the three of us thanked our hosts and walked toward the front of the house.
None of us noticed...
That someone else had just arrived.
- Writer
