Love For The First Time

FIVE

"What's the matter, Sir?" I asked Mr. Hendry, who suddenly stood near my desk.

Lily and Ariel, whose desks were near mine, happened to be out of the office. Ariel was accompanying Lily to check the venue for the event that would be held this weekend.

"Are you busy today?"

"Not really."

"Do you have any plans to go out of the office?"

"Not today, Sir."

I was supposed to meet with one of the well-known merchant owners this afternoon. He wanted assistance with some of his branches joining our e-commerce in the food delivery section. But he requested to reschedule for tomorrow.

"Maya isn't coming in today."

"Yeah?"

"Mr. Eric asked for one of you here to assist him. His work is quite packed today. Plus, he has a meeting scheduled with a client outside the office."

I swallowed hard, already understanding Mr. Hendry's implication.

"I want you to help Mr. Eric today. Can you do that, 'An?"

"Why me, Sir?"

"Because I trust you to assist him right now." Mr. Hendry sighed. "As for the others, I guarantee they won't focus on work. They'll be trying to charm our boss."

I chuckled. Mr. Hendry himself could see how the women in this office adored Eric. If only he knew that I still had feelings for our new CEO...

Alright, I'll agree with Mr. Hendry's request. Besides, who knows, I might have the chance to talk to Eric about our personal issues when we're outside the office.

"You have to agree, An? I don't have any other choice."

I nodded.

After Mr. Hendry returned to his desk at the far end, I stood up and headed to the CEO's office. Upon entering, Eric, who was typing something on the Mac-Book in front of him, immediately stopped and looked at me intently.

"Is there anything I can help you with, Sir?"

"Oh, you're the one Mr. Hendry asked to cover Maya's duties today."

"Yes, Sir."

"Why does it have to be you? Isn't there anyone else?"

Does he really not want me near him? My chest felt tight. But why do I still hope for him? I already know that his attitude towards me since his first day as CEO has been anything but friendly.

Love, indeed, sometimes makes people foolish. No matter how painful it is to hope alone, there's no intention of giving up.

"I don't know about that either," I replied, trying to keep smiling. "But if you're uncomfortable, I can ask someone else to replace me."

"Hmmm. Well, just you then, rather than looking for someone else again. It takes time. There's a lot to be done."

Eric asked me to come closer and explained what I needed to do today. He seemed serious while talking, while I was a bit nervous, especially when his arm accidentally brushed against mine. My heart skipped a beat.

"Do you understand?" Eric asked after finishing explaining every detail of what I had to do.

"I understand, Sir."

"Alright, go out then! Everything needs to be done before lunch. At 2 PM, you'll accompany me to a meeting outside."

I nodded. "Excuse me, I'll be leaving now."

Eric cleared his throat.

"Anita?"

Just a few steps towards the door, Eric called me. I turned back to face him.

"Why didn't you follow what I prohibited last week?"

The corner of my lips lifted into a smile. Of course, I knew what he was talking about. After thinking about it, why should I follow what he said? He only did that to me without any clear reason. No one else was reprimanded. Besides, I thought my attire was still appropriate.

At the same time, this was my way of expressing my annoyance with him by ignoring his words. I was still upset, recalling what he said during the meeting with my division.

I walked up to his desk. "Can I ask why I'm the only one you're reprimanding? What's the reason? I think what I'm wearing is still decent."

"Oh, that, I'll talk to the others later too," he said evasively.

I rolled my eyes internally.

"Previously, Mr. Arman had no issues with what we wore every day. I'm confused why you're suddenly dictating how we should dress?"

"Did you forget? I'm the boss here. I can dictate everything about my employees, including their dress code, to make sure the company looks good to others."

"No one's complained so far."

"You keep talking back. You should be aware of your position here. If I wanted to, I could..."

"Could what? Fire me? Go ahead then! I'd be happy to leave this company because it's frustrating to have an arrogant, bossy boss who treats employees like me unfairly."

I can also get emotional if Eric acts recklessly. If it continues, I'll end up being emotionally drained.

Trust me, this is just a bluff. Deep down, I still want to see Eric every day. It's sad because I'm the only one hoping for this.

"What I mean is..."

"Do you have a personal vendetta against me?" I asked, squinting my eyes. "If so, weren't you the one who said not to mix personal matters with work?"

***

Not wanting to argue with Eric, I had to go along with his wish to stop by a shopping center first. He bought me 10 pairs of pants just because he could.

From there, we went straight to a luxurious restaurant where Eric and his client were meeting.

I felt uneasy when the client kept sneaking glances at me. From his look, it was clear he was interested in me.

"Next, you can communicate with my secretary, sir," Eric said politely to the man who looked to be in his 30s.

"Oh, alright then." The man turned to me with sparkling eyes. "What's your phone number, Anita? I, umm... my secretary will contact you later." He handed his phone to me.

Eric brushed the man's hand away.

"Anita is not my secretary, sir. She's my fiancée."

I gaped at Eric's words.

"My business card has the office phone number on it. My secretary will answer that call."

Eric put his arm around my shoulder, then kissed my forehead briefly, leaving me stunned. Unable to speak.

"I purposely brought my fiancée here because after this, we're going to watch a movie together. A date. We're going on a date after this."

Once we got back to the car, I wanted to ask, but Eric spoke first.

"Don't get any ideas from what happened earlier. It was just my way of protecting you from that sleazy guy," he said coldly.

"What?!"

I wasn't getting any ideas, just surprised by his actions. I still have feelings for him, after all. Naturally, my heart raced when he put his arm around me and kissed me, even though I knew his intentions. He wouldn't just do that without a reason. Especially since he's always seemed reluctant to have me near him.

"I'm curious, how do you usually handle clients like that?"

"That's none of your business. The important thing is, I handle it well."

Eric didn't respond further; he started the car's engine and began driving at a moderate speed.

We sat in silence.

We both didn't speak to each other again, just like when we left earlier. It was already 5:15 PM. I felt like going straight home if I didn't remember that I had left something at the office. I have a file I need to take home and work on. I was busy helping Eric with Maya's tasks today, so some of my own work was left unfinished.

I glanced at Eric, who was focused on driving. I opened and closed my mouth several times before gathering the courage to bring up what had been bothering me for the past 6 years.

"Why have you changed, Ric? Did I do something wrong to you?" I asked, unable to contain my curiosity any longer. We're outside the office, and it's not working anymore. There's no harm in discussing personal matters with him, right?

Eric glanced at me briefly before focusing back on the road ahead. "Think about it yourself," he replied curtly.

"I don't think I've done anything wrong."

Eric gave a cynical smile. "You're a hypocrite."

"What?! What did you just say?"

"Your ears still work fine, don't they?"

I let out a dry laugh.

"I really don't understand you, Ric. Why would you say that? Please explain, what did I do wrong?"

Just as Eric was about to speak, his phone rang.

After finishing his conversation on the phone, Eric said, "Sorry, it seems I can't take you back to the office. I'll drop you off just after we past the next traffic light. You can reimburse the taxi fare at the office."

Not long after, Eric stopped the car by the side of the road. Before I got out and opened the door, Eric spoke again.

"Let's not bring up our past again. You and I were done the moment I went abroad for further studies. You haven't forgotten, have you? For now, our relationship is just boss and employee. Don't overstep just because you think we once had something special. Because right now, you're nothing more than just an employee. You're just like any other employee to me, there's nothing special about you."