I couldn't take my eyes off the man as he stepped out of his house. What kind of illness was this? Since when did being sick make someone look fresher? Annoying. If I had known it would turn out like this, I wouldn't have bothered coming to his house when he could have just picked up these documents at the office himself.
"What illness did Mr. Damar have? He looks perfectly fine now," I remarked sarcastically. My mouth couldn't hold back from commenting on what I was seeing.
"I had a fever this morning, but now I'm feeling better," he replied.
"This is from Mieke," I said, handing him the brown envelope I had brought. Once again, his cologne filled my lungs as I moved closer to give him the documents Mieke had entrusted to me. Just his scent alone was enough to irritate me.
"Alright, I'll be going now," I said, stepping away from him. I didn't want to feel more suffocated just because of his cologne. Did he bathe in perfume or what? The scent lingered even as I moved farther away.
"Come inside first. I don't know which parts need to be signed," he said, making me gape. As if I would know.
"Just call Mieke, Sir. I only came to deliver the documents," I replied.
"There's something else we need to discuss while I go through these papers," he added.
Discuss what? Office hours were over, and all I wanted to do now was go home. But in the end, I had no choice but to follow him inside.
This was the first time I had entered Damar's house after only dropping him off outside a few times before. My eyes wandered across the unfamiliar space. His living room wasn't very big, and everything was white—the sofa, the table, even the wall decorations were dominated by white. I sat down right away, even though Damar hadn't invited me to.
"Give me a moment, I'll finish this first," he said after taking a seat across from me.
I should've just left him with his documents. I had a feeling his excuse about discussing something was just a ploy to make me wait so I could bring the signed papers back to the office tomorrow.
I let out a deep sigh as I realized that "give me a moment" meant nothing at all. Fifteen minutes had passed, and I was growing more restless. My gaze drifted toward Damar, who was focused, reading each document carefully before signing them. Just watching him was making me bored.
A knock at the door caught my attention, and Damar turned toward it as well.
"That should be my food delivery. Could you get it? It's already paid for," he instructed, his eyes still on the papers.
Excuse me? So I was only here to pick up his food now?
I glared at him as I handed over the package. This man was really good at taking advantage of the situation.
"I think I'll just go home now, Sir. It's already late… and it seems like you'll be busy with these documents for a while," I said, unable to wait any longer.
"Can we discuss what you wanted to talk about tomorrow morning instead? I'll come in early," I continued.
"I'm done," he said, pushing the signed documents toward me.
"Is this about the partnership with Mr. Fujita?" I asked quickly. I didn't want to waste my time staying here longer than necessary.
"That's one of them," he replied.
My forehead creased. So there was more? Why not just wait until tomorrow?
"Are you not planning to come to the office tomorrow?" I asked.
"Of course, I'll come in unless something comes up," he answered.
"Then let's just discuss it tomorrow, Sir," I said, almost pleading. What kind of boss made their employee work after hours like this?
"Alright," he agreed.
My eyes widened in disbelief. He gave in so easily? Without wasting another second, I quickly gathered the signed documents. I'd take them home with me—just in case he decided not to show up tomorrow.
"Eat first. I accidentally ordered too much food. You know, people who are recovering shouldn't eat too much," he said, making my hand freeze mid-air.
Accidentally? This wasn't the first time I'd seen him order too much food. How many times could something be an accident?
"It would be a waste," he added.
If it was a waste, why didn't he just order less in the first place?
"Sorry, Sir, but I really have to go now. Someone's waiting for me at home," I lied. As if anyone was actually waiting for me.
Damar cleared his throat as he started opening one of the food containers.
"It won't take ten minutes," he said, handing me a box.
Was he really expecting me to believe that? And was he seriously taking out even more food?
Without caring about my refusal, Damar began eating at a leisurely pace. Then suddenly, he stopped.
"The longer you wait, the later you'll get home," he said.
"You can eat it, Sir," I said, getting up to leave.
"Bulan…," he called, making me stop in my tracks.
"It's rude to turn down a meal when you're hungry and haven't eaten," he said.
What kind of nonsense was that? And how did he even know I was hungry?
"You're the one being rude by making an employee work after hours," I shot back.
He chuckled. His laugh only irritated me more. Did he think this was funny?
I walked toward the door determinedly, but just then, a loud clap of thunder rumbled, followed by a bright flash of lightning. Within moments, heavy rain started pouring down.
Great. Now even the weather was siding with my annoying boss.
I exhaled sharply, convincing myself that I could still go home despite the rain. My car was only a few meters away—I'd get a little wet, but it wasn't a big deal.
"You're really going to leave in this downpour?" Damar asked.
"Of course. It's just rain," I replied.
He stepped closer and stood by the door, staring outside for a long moment.
"You won't make it through this storm," he finally said.
"Says who?" I snapped, taking one step outside—then I remembered.
I was carrying important documents. It would be ridiculous to get them wet just because I was too stubborn to ask for an umbrella.
"You should hold onto your documents, Sir," I said, handing the brown envelope to him. I was sure he wouldn't want important company papers getting soaked either.
But wait… I just remembered something crucial.
My windshield wipers were broken.
If I drove in this rain, I wouldn't be able to see a thing. I hadn't bothered getting them fixed because I thought it wouldn't rain for a few more days.
Now what? I had been so confident about going home earlier.
"Why haven't you gone home yet?" Damar asked.(*)