I walked out of Mr. Hardi's office in a daze, especially after clearly hearing that he would be sending both me and Damar. This was a record for me—not just Damar, but I would also be attending the event.
Mr. Hardi gave me until tomorrow to decide. If I wasn't willing, he would send another employee.
I knew about the Annual Sales Meeting Mr. Hardi mentioned. It was the company's yearly meeting, as well as an awards ceremony for the best employees at Niachemical. Not everyone had the opportunity to attend the Annual Meeting so easily.
If I recalled correctly, last year, Mr. Hardi himself attended the event, and now he had chosen me and Damar. There really didn't need to be Damar; just hearing his name annoyed me.
Now it was my turn to be confused about Mr. Hardi's offer. I really wanted to go to the event, but not as Damar's partner. This was truly frustrating—why did I have to go with him?
I had planned to take leave to avoid that man, but now the exact opposite was happening.
I needed to make the best decision possible and not regret it later. If I refused Mr. Hardi's offer, I could take my leave and enjoy a peaceful vacation without seeing Damar's face. But if I accepted, my days would be filled with his presence—though attending the Annual Meeting had always been my dream.
The phone on my desk suddenly rang, startling me. Just great, right when I was deep in thought.
"Come to my office now," said the voice on the other end. I didn't even need to ask—I already knew who it was. Damar must have called me after realizing I had just left Mr. Hardi's office. He definitely wanted to talk about this with me.
I took a deep breath, already feeling exhausted so early in the morning. Well, more like my mind was exhausted.
"So, did Mr. Hardi approve your leave?" he asked the moment I opened his office door. What a fake question. He definitely knew about Mr. Hardi's offer.
"I don't know yet," I answered honestly because I hadn't decided.
"I have until tomorrow to decide," I added.
"Decide what?" Damar asked, looking confused.
"Whether to take my leave or not," I replied, feeling increasingly unenthusiastic about this conversation.
"Why do you even need to think about it?" he responded.
"Of course I need to think about it," I snapped, irritated. If he weren't going to the event, I wouldn't have to think this hard. How could I have peace of mind if I had to see this annoying man's face all the time?
"Look, Bulan…." Damar's expression turned serious, which only irritated me more.
"I know this is a very personal matter. But please allow me to give you a little perspective," he said. I cursed silently. A perspective? How pretentious.
"Why are you suddenly getting engaged? I've never heard of you being in a serious relationship with anyone," he continued. What was he talking about? Why was he bringing up an engagement?
"What do you mean? I don't understand," I replied, frowning.
"Are you getting engaged because of an arranged marriage?" he asked. I almost burst out laughing at how ridiculous this conversation was. Why couldn't he just ignore the completely fake excuse I gave for my leave?
I hadn't planned to respond, but seeing his serious face made me want to mess with this annoying man a little. I paused for a moment, pretending to be sad as I prepared to deliver my next line.
"Yes, this is all because of an arranged marriage, and I can't easily refuse it," I replied. Damar's expression became even more serious.
"Especially since the marriage was arranged because my family owes a debt of gratitude to my fiancé's family," I added. Oh, crap. Why was I making up this story so easily? This was so ridiculous I wanted to laugh.
"A debt of gratitude?" Damar asked, his brow furrowing. I wasn't sure if my eyes were deceiving me, but he looked like he was trying to suppress his anger. He couldn't possibly be mad about my nonsense story, could he?
"Yes," I answered, faking a sad look.
"That's why I asked Mr. Hardi for time until tomorrow to decide whether to accept or refuse his offer. If I delay my engagement, I'll have a lot to handle," I explained. What the hell? Why was I spinning this story even further? But for some reason, I was enjoying watching Damar's serious reaction to my words. Did he really think arranged marriages due to a debt of gratitude still happened in this modern era? He must have watched too many soap operas.
"Why don't you just talk to your family if you don't want this arrangement?" he asked.
"No one would listen," I replied, staring blankly into the distance. Hopefully, Damar would never find out I had played him like this.
"Do you need me to talk to your family?" For a moment, I was stunned. Who did he think he was, offering to talk to my family?
"No… no need. I can handle it myself," I quickly said, worried he might actually contact them.
"I just… I don't feel at ease hearing about the situation you're in," he muttered.
I didn't mishear that, right? Not at ease—or was he actually enjoying this?
I glanced at Damar, who seemed to be deep in thought. What was he thinking? Was he just pretending to be concerned while secretly happy that I couldn't attend the Annual Meeting?
"I think I'll cancel my leave," I said, making Damar's face instantly change. Now I was really confused—why did he look so excited about me canceling my leave? Was he planning something?
Oh no… why am I thinking so negatively?
"Alright, I'll call Mr. Hardi now," he said, as if ready to make a phone call.
"Don't. I'll do it myself. I still have a few things to consider."
My little drama was too convincing—I was starting to wonder why I had gone this far when all I wanted was to avoid Damar. I didn't actually care that much about my canceled leave. What was on my mind now was this man and the Annual Meeting. I wanted to go, but not with him. Unfortunately, I had no choice.
"It would be a shame if Mr. Hardi gave the opportunity to someone else," Damar said. His words made me imagine Mas Geri, Rien, or someone else replacing me at the event. Just thinking about it made me feel unwilling. Mas Geri, who never contributed at work and just spent his time drinking coffee and wandering around, would be the one attending? Absolutely not.
My eyes shifted until they met Damar's gaze. Honestly, I wanted to keep dragging this out and act like I was playing hard to get. I couldn't make it seem like my engagement had been canceled in just a few minutes—that would be too obvious.
"Give me until noon. I need to contact my family first," I said with a fake sad expression. In the end, I really couldn't avoid this man, no matter what I did. If I had known things would turn out this way, I wouldn't have bothered lying and acting in the first place.
"Just give me your decision now so I can have Mieke arrange our transportation and accommodation. After all, you don't actually want this engagement, do you?" he pressed.(*)