"Hurry up," he urged, unfazed by the change in my expression. My stomach was growling, but seeing this annoying man's face instantly killed my appetite.
"Our journey is still quite far," he added as if trying to persuade me. I took a deep breath and reluctantly stood up. Why didn't he invite me to eat when we were still in Bogor? There were plenty of delicious options there.
"I already ordered the food," he said as I stepped out of the car. I frowned and looked at him in disbelief. What if I had refused to eat with him? Wouldn't the food he ordered go to waste?
By ordering the food in advance, Damar was showing that he had control over everything—even choosing and ordering the meal. Annoying. I was upset but hungry, so I had no choice but to follow him.
Damar led me to a restaurant at the rest area that served oriental cuisine. The aroma that greeted us as the door opened made me hold my breath. Annoying. This man knew exactly how to make me accept his offer.
I actually wanted to ask why he ordered the food beforehand instead of just taking me straight to this place. But forget it, that wasn't important right now. I was starving, and all I wanted was to eat.
The clock on my wrist showed 3 PM—a late time for lunch.
As I settled into the seat Damar indicated, the food was soon brought to our table. I frowned at the sheer amount of food he had ordered. Was he planning to finish all this?
I stared at him in disbelief while Damar remained indifferent and began eating.
"This is too much," I finally couldn't hold back my comment.
"You missed last night's event, so consider this as compensation," he replied. Compensation? I was starving, but there was no way I could finish all this food.
To avoid further conversation, I quietly started eating. My hunger overpowered my desire to argue with him.
"Still feeling uncomfortable?" Damar asked after a while.
"Uncomfortable with what?" I asked, confused. If he was referring to my feelings about his recent promotion, then yes, I was still uncomfortable.
"Your stomach," he clarified.
"Still," I replied briefly because that was exactly what I was feeling.
"Don't worry, I can continue working after this," I added, realizing where the conversation was heading. I cleared my throat and continued eating.
We ate in silence. In the end, the food wasn't fully consumed, which annoyed me. What a waste.
"Mr. Damar, you ordered too much," I remarked after finishing our meal.
"Do you want to take it home? It could be dinner later," he responded.
"No," I answered firmly. I could order my own dinner. If he knew the food would go to waste, why order so much?
Oh, damn! My words didn't match my actions. When Damar went to pay, I unconsciously asked the waiter to pack the untouched food. Even though Damar was paying, I couldn't stand seeing the food go to waste.
After doing that, I cursed myself internally. I hated my indecisiveness. Damar was probably laughing at me right now.
To appear unaffected, I calmly entered the car and placed the food bag in the back seat. The calmer I acted, the less likely Damar would mock me.
"Next week, we need to meet Mr. Fujita again to hand over the cooperation contract," Damar said as the car slowly left the rest area.
"You can take Rien or Vera. I plan to take leave next week," I replied. I already knew where this conversation was heading, so I made plans for myself. I'm too tired to accompany him out of town every week.
"I'll prepare the draft contract," I added.
"Can't you postpone your leave? It's the end of the month," he reminded me.
"I don't think I can, Sir. I need to return to Semarang for some personal matters," I replied. Personal matters? I hadn't even bought a plane ticket. Whatever. I didn't care what Damar thought. I rarely took leave unless necessary, but right now, I wanted more time off than usual.
Damar fell silent, likely thinking about who could replace me for the Bogor trip or how to make me cancel my leave.
"How important is it?" he suddenly asked when I was about to breathe a sigh of relief, thinking he had dropped the topic. I glanced at him, quickly thinking of a convincing excuse.
If I said a family member was getting married, would he still deny my leave? But what if he asked for proof, like an invitation? Ugh. Knowing how annoying he is, he might actually do that. My parents being sick? No way, that would be too cruel of me. So, what then?
"Ah, it's... something very personal, Sir. I can't say now because it might cause unnecessary gossip," I explained, buying time while my brain scrambled for a better excuse. What nonsense was I even saying?
"A wedding?" he guessed.
"No... not a wedding. But something similar," I replied. Once again, I cursed myself internally for adding another lie.
Damar's silence didn't comfort me. He was probably figuring out how to cancel my leave. While he was deep in thought, I mentally prepared answers for the questions he might throw at me.
I could finally breathe a little easier when he remained silent all the way to Jakarta.
"Are we heading back to the office, Sir?" I asked, trying to make small talk as it was already past office hours.
"Just go home. We'll discuss it at the office tomorrow," he replied.
"In that case, can you drop me off at the nearest bus stop? I need to get my car from the office," I requested.
"What for?" he asked, sounding oddly irritated.
"My car is still at the office," I explained.
"Do it tomorrow," he replied.
"Tomorrow what?" I asked, confused.
"Pick it up tomorrow," he said. I glanced at him. His face looked tense and serious. He must be exhausted from driving all day. His fault for not bringing the company driver.
"If I don't get it now, it'll be troublesome tomorrow, Sir," I reasoned. After all, he only needed to drop me off at the nearest stop. It wouldn't be an inconvenience. But from his expression, it was as if I was asking him to do something impossible.
"I'll take you home now. We'll go to the office together tomorrow," he said, turning up the music volume to signal that he didn't want to hear any objections from me.(*)