Darian’s New Hobby
Putra Corporation, also known as Putra Property, is one of the Indonesian property companies listed on the Singapore Stock Exchange. Not only that, Putra Corporation also has subsidiary companies in major cities in Indonesia.
Putra Corporation has long-term investments in commercial buildings, hotels, and resorts, and is involved in property development and leasing in Indonesia, Singapore, and Malaysia. And once again, Setiadi Property will build real estate in the Kuningan area of South Jakarta.
This afternoon, Darian, along with his team consisting of David, Ray, Fahira, Susi, and Mira, is discussing the maturity of the development concept that will be built in the real estate in the Kuningan area of South Jakarta, as per Darian’s request, before the meeting with the directors tomorrow morning.
“In my opinion, if we build affordable housing for the middle-to-lower-class, with public facilities like a beautiful playground for children and sports facilities, the residents will feel comfortable. They won’t have to go far from their homes and waste time in traffic jams,” Fahira explained, adding to Mira’s explanation.
“What do you think, Sir?” Ray asked, agreeing with Fahira’s opinion.
Silence. Everyone turned to Darian, who remained motionless, following their gaze. Fahira, who realized she was now the center of attention, cleared her throat loudly to snap Darian out of his trance, as he was still gazing at her beautiful face. Fahira was puzzled by Darian’s increasingly ambiguous behavior. Could it be that her boss was possessed by an evil spirit haunting his office, or was he experiencing a brain concussion from a hard blow to his head? Fahira didn’t want to think about it. Her brain couldn’t comprehend Darian’s way of thinking. What was clear was that since that hot night, Darian’s personality seemed to change.
“Sir! Mr. Darian,” called David, who still couldn’t snap Darian out of Fahira’s charm.
“Sir!” David whispered, nudging Darian’s leg.
“Oh, yes, I agree!” Darian responded, finally coming to his senses. He quickly glanced at the concept that Fahira had just explained, which was still displayed on the projector screen.
Darian didn’t care about the questioning looks from his four employees. To him, nothing was more blissful than gazing at the beautiful face that now filled his heart and mind. Everyone in the room exchanged glances, not daring to speak up as Darian appeared serious, re-reading the documents in front of him. It was unusual for Darian to act like this during a meeting; he was always focused on work. And one more thing, he never smiled. But this time, Darian smiled several times, albeit subtly. The eerie face that usually adorned him now looked serene.
After the internal meeting in Darian’s office was over, they immediately tidied up all the documents and said their goodbyes before leaving. Fahira, who was closest to the door, quickly moved and headed for the exit before her boss could embarrass her again. The door creaked open as her name was called out.
“Fahira!” Darian called without looking at the person bearing the name who was desperately trying to maintain a composed expression.
“Oh my,” Fahira sighed, turning her body back with a pounding heart. She felt she couldn’t handle the horror-filled gazes of her colleagues who were all staring at her, demanding an explanation.
“Please reprint the documents you just presented.” A sigh of relief escaped Fahira’s lips. “Sure, Sir!” Fahira replied shortly, opening the door and leaving, feeling relieved.
The next day, the directors’ meeting was held in a conference room on the 20th floor of the company building. Fahira and Darian were ready with their presentation materials. They both entered five minutes before the meeting started. The chairman’s seat, located at the front end of the room, was waiting for the company’s largest shareholder. Darian owned 65% of the shares, while the rest belonged to other investors.
The meeting was attended by the finance director, human resources director, marketing director, and HRD. The meeting began, and Darian explained the plan to build a building in the real estate located in Kuningan, South Jakarta. Everyone listened and took notes of Darian’s explanations. After Darian sat back in his seat, the discussion began. Yulia, the 32-year-old marketing director, was the first to speak. She was always the most active during management meetings. In addition to being beautiful and smart, Yulia was known for being a disciplined and stern leader. Furthermore, it was widely known among the employees that Yulia had been interested in Darian for a long time. She always took every opportunity to meet with him and sought his attention during meetings. Unfortunately, Darian never noticed her feelings in the slightest.
After the meeting ended, Darian and Fahira returned to the 34th floor to go back to their respective offices. Inside the elevator, Fahira, who had been annoyed by Darian’s behavior since yesterday, gathered her courage to start a conversation. “Sir, may I ask something?”
“Of course, go ahead!” Darian replied calmly, his expression flat as he avoided looking at Fahira, who was standing beside him.
Fahira felt annoyed by the man’s annoying expression, and she instantly abandoned her intention. If she had superhero abilities, she would have thrown the man next to her far away to the Arctic, where he could live with polar bears, which would be the most suitable place for him. “Sorry, not now, maybe next time,” Fahira continued, biting her inner lip in frustration and confusion. But suddenly, her mind was disturbed by negative thoughts. What if they both got trapped inside the elevator?
“Why?” Darian asked, as if he could read Fahira’s mind. With a smirk, Darian shifted his position to face Fahira. Fahira fell silent, feeling more anxious. Darian stared sharply at Fahira, moving closer. “What do you want to say?” Darian asked again. His eyes locked onto Fahira’s deep black irises, and she could feel the fear in those beautiful almond-shaped eyes. Fahira took a step back, and a faint smile appeared on Darian’s face as he successfully made Fahira shudder. Darian seemed like a hungry bear finding its prey. His steps kept pushing Fahira until her body hit the elevator wall. Darian’s left hand still remained in his left pants pocket, while his right hand was raised, cornering Fahira in the corner of the elevator.
“There’s nothing, Sir!” Fahira replied, daring herself with a trembling voice. She lifted the folder she was holding to cover her face, closing her eyes, but quickly, the man in front of her grabbed the folder and dropped it.
Fahira opened her eyes slowly as she felt Darian’s warm breath sweeping across her face. “Hahahaha… You’re so adorable, Fahira!” Darian’s laughter broke out after he blew on Fahira’s blushing face.
“Don’t you dare kidnap me and lock me up in your apartment!” Fahira’s heart screamed as she struggled to keep her balance. Her legs suddenly felt like jelly. She could even hear her own heartbeat.
Fahira was still frozen while hugging the folder she had picked up when a voice brought her back to reality. “Fahira, what are you doing there?” David asked, who seemed to have been standing in front of the elevator for who knows how long.
“Oh, Mr. David, sorry, I urgently needed to go to the bathroom, sorry, I’ll go first,” Fahira replied with a stiff smile and quickly followed the direction Darian had disappeared to.
David looked at Fahira’s back as she walked away, and the elevator door closed slowly. Fix, it seemed like there was some problem with Fahira and her boss’s personalities.
True enough, Fahira went straight to the restroom. “Fahira, please snap out of it! Don’t get affected, don’t get affected. The boss just wants to use your body to warm his bed!” Fahira’s mind echoed, washing her face repeatedly with water to regain her sanity and freshness.
When Fahira returned to her desk, she was shocked to find her three colleagues waiting for her. Putting on a forced smile, Fahira approached them.
“Sit down!” Mira ordered, patting Fahira’s shoulder to make her sit in her chair.
“Boss…” Fahira muttered, pointing to Darian’s office, which Ray immediately responded to. “The boss went out with David.”
Still maintaining her forced smile, Fahira grabbed a few tissues from her desk to dry her face.This content © Nôv/elDr(a)m/a.Org.
“Honestly, Fahira, what kind of relationship do you have with the boss?” Susi, who had been impatient, bombarded her with questions that had been lingering in her mind for the past few days.
“Okay, fine.” Fahira took a deep breath and exhaled slowly to calm herself. She scrutinized the faces of her three colleagues surrounding her with horror-filled gazes. It felt like she was sitting on the witness stand, waiting for the death sentence.
“Honestly, I don’t know either. Suddenly, the boss started acting weirdly towards me, even though I’ve been his secretary for a long time. If he likes me, why didn’t he do anything before?” Fahira honestly stated, causing her three colleagues to ponder deeply and agreeing with Fahira’s statement. Their expressions showed that Fahira’s statement was true.
“If that’s the case, just take advantage of the opportunity. Make the boss fall in love with you,” Ray suggested, giving Fahira encouragement.
“Although I’m jealous, I agree with Ray’s suggestion. I noticed the boss has been smiling a lot, and most importantly, he stopped getting angry. Remember yesterday when we were in his office? See how the boss looked at you? His subtle smile almost made my heart jump out of my chest because of his charm. If I were you, Fahira, I would have melted!” Mira chimed in, causing Fahira’s jaw to nearly drop, listening to their crazy statements. Mira’s hand reached out and pinched Fahira’s cheek playfully, teasing her.
“I agree too!” Susi shouted at the same time that Darian and David entered. Everyone immediately dispersed and returned to their desks.
Darian smiled gently as he secretly glanced at Fahira while passing by her desk, but everyone noticed it, confirming their arguments.
Inside his office, Darian could only smile to himself, remembering the various expressions of his secretary just now. “It seems like I have a new hobby now, apart from punching punching bags, a new hobby that is more challenging and enjoyable.”