"Who was that, Nin?" asked a woman, standing next to Nina while looking at the girl in wonder. Nina had just realized that someone else was watching her. She turned her head and was surprised to see who was beside her.
"Auntie Sophie?" Nina said as if she couldn't believe it, "When did you come? Why didn't you tell me?"
"I've been here since late afternoon. I thought you had gone home from work, but you haven't, so I've been waiting for you on the terrace in front of your room." The woman was a little annoyed, "I've called you many times, but your cell phone is not active," she added.
"Oh, I'm sorry, Auntie. I have to work overtime today because I have work to finish." Nina said as she opened her bag and took out her cell phone, "O God, my cell phone is out of power. I haven't opened it since the afternoon, so I didn't know it was out of power."
"By the way, who drove you earlier, Nina? If I look at the car, it's not an ordinary person, and it's a high-class car."
"Let's go inside first, Auntie. We'll talk about it there." Nina invited her Auntie into the rental house she'd lived in for so long.
"You have a lot of groceries. Let me help you carry them." The middle-aged woman took the shopping bag Nina was holding.
"No need, Auntie. Let me carry them myself."
"Uh, don't underestimate my strength; I'm still strong; I can still carry you." The aunt and niece laughed as they moved up the stairs to Nina's room.
"There, Nin. I've been waiting for you here all afternoon until I fell asleep. It's a good thing no one was passing by."
"Geez, I'm sorry, Auntie, I didn't know," Nina said as she opened the door, and the two went inside.
Nina's room was reasonably complete for a single. There was a function room that could function as a living room, a small dining table connected to the kitchen, full cooking utensils, and two bedrooms.
Auntie Sophia placed Nina's groceries on the table; the pretty girl opened the fridge and took out two cans of cold drinks.
"Drink first, Auntie, it'll be refreshing." Nina handed one can to Auntie Sophia. "You must not have eaten yet."
"I have, just now. I was returning from the restaurant in front, and when I was about to return, I saw you getting out of the car."
"O, no wonder you were wandering the road," Nina smiled.
"Well, you haven't answered yet. Who drove you earlier." Auntie Sophia again asked the owner of the luxury car that had driven her niece earlier.
"Oh, that's Nathan. Uh, I mean, Mr. Nathan," Nina replied nervously, trying to avoid her Auntie's gaze.
"Mr. Nathan? Is he your boss, Nin?" asked the aunt curiously.
Nina nodded. "Yes, Auntie. Isn't it okay for a boss to escort his subordinates?"
Auntie Sophia sighed and looked at her niece, her face serious. "It's not that it's not allowed, Nina. But what will people say? They'll think negatively about you; they'll think you're the boss's mistress," said her Auntie with concern.
"Are you sure, Auntie? Just because the boss is driving me, people will think I'm the boss's mistress," Nina argued. "Mr. Nathan saw me alone at the bus stop, and he was worried about my safety, so he gave me a ride."
"But I didn't see it that way," argued Auntie Shopia.
"What do you mean?"
"Nina, answer me honestly. Do you like your boss?" Auntie Sophia asked Nina urgently. The girl became nervous, but she quickly smiled to hide her nervousness.
"Awww, come on. Don't overthink, Auntie." Nina laughed
"Nina, I've known you since you were a petite girl. You're like my own daughter. I know how you're feeling right now, even since you exited the car." Auntie Sophia was silent momentarily, watching her niece's suddenly downcast face. "So, you can't hide it from me, Nin."
Silence, no answer came from the girl's mouth; Nina was downcast, her hands playing with the can of drink on the table. Suddenly, Nina raised her face to look at her auntie, who had been watching her.
"It's true, Auntie, I do like Mr. Nathan."
Auntie Sophia sighed again. "Does he love you too?" she asked, and Nina nodded.
"Do you know his status? His background?"
"What do you mean?"
"Who knows if he's married, right? Then you'll get into trouble, people will call you a harlot, and you'll be his plaything."
"'Auntie, Nathan's not like that, I'm sure."
"How can you be sure? When you don't even know his background?"
"'Auntie, as I've observed, Nathan never goes out with women. Every day, he focuses on work and work."
"Okay, well, let's say he's sincere and loves you; then what about his family? Because your social status is different. What about your work environment? Because he is your boss."
"As for the workplace, no one knows yet, Auntie. We agreed to keep our relationship a secret."
"As good as people are at hiding carrion, it will be discovered. One day, they'll find out about your relationship. You can keep your mouth shut, but your gestures, you can't always pretend."
Nina was silent, and the girl just looked down at the table. On the one hand, auntie Sophia was very fond of Nina; she was worried that something terrible would happen to her niece because of her romantic relationship with the boss.
On the other hand, auntie Sophia could understand how Nina felt then; she had also been young and how a girl fell in love with her lover.
"Nina, I'm not against your relationship; I'm just worried that something bad will happen to you because your relationship is precarious."
"Auntie, I'm ready for any risk. We'll face whatever it takes as a test of our love."
"All right, Nina. I can only wish you the best," said Auntie Sophia, seeing the persistence of her beloved niece.
"Thank you, Auntie." Nina was touched; she needed this support from her Auntie; since her mother died, Auntie Sophia is the one who took on the role of her mother.
"Okay, you just rest, Nina. Let me take care of your groceries."
"Thank you so much, Auntie." Nina smiled, got up, and was about to go to her room, but she remembered that she still had no idea what to make for breakfast tomorrow.
" Auntie..." Nina hesitantly said, "Tomorrow morning, I want to make breakfast for Nathan, but I still have no idea what to make. Do you have any suggestions?"
Auntie Sophia smiled. "You said you didn't have any ideas, but here you see all the ingredients for a sandwich, including whole wheat bread, beef, cheese, and everything else. You must be thinking of making a beef sandwich, right?"
"Oh, I was thinking of a sandwich, but I'm unsure what kind of sandwich I want to make. Okay, then I'll make a beef sandwich." Nina rushed into her room. Happily; Auntie smiled and shook her head.
Nina remembered her unplugged cell phone, so she immediately connected it to the charger. As soon as her cell phone turned on, the girl was surprised because there were many unanswered incoming calls, including Auntie and Laura's numbers.
Suddenly, her eyes fell on a number she didn't recognize. There were three calls from that number, and even though Nina was very selective in giving her number, only her family and close friends knew.
"Whose number is this?"
Nina was stunned; she tried to remember who knew her number because she had separated unique and work numbers. "Ah, maybe it's a wrong number or a prankster," she muttered. Nina hurried to the bathroom, cleaned up, and changed her clothes. But when she returned to bed, her cell phone rang again, an incoming call from an unknown number. The girl was stunned; she hesitated to pick it up, worried about pranksters or marketing offering goods or services. Finally, Nina picked it up; if it was a prankster, she was ready to block it. "Hello," greeted Nina, "excuse me, who is this?" Silence, no answer from the other side. "Hmm, okay, maybe you have the wrong number, good night." Nina was just about to disconnect the call when suddenly, there was laughter on the other end. "Hello, who are you? Please don't play the fool!" Nina scolded irritably. "Yes-yes... so fierce, dear." There was a voice on the other end. Nina was stunned by that familiar voice. "Hello, Nina. Don't you recognize m
Laura was stunned, her best friend silently watching someone from a distance. What exactly was going on with Nina? Laura returned to the figure that had captured her friend's attention. An arrogant and cold figure, ready to freeze anything more complicated than the ice at the North Pole. "Mr. Nathan is handsome, isn't he? But unfortunately..." Laura hung her words to provoke Nina. "What?" asked Nina absentmindedly; the girl seemed to have just woken up. Laura chuckled, teasing Nina that she was interested in the iceberg. But Laura didn't expect her best friend to ask a question that almost made her eyeballs pop out. "Ra, is Mr. Nathan married yet?" asked Nina casually. "What?!" responded Laura in all her surprise, "Nina, you didn't take the wrong medicine, did you, Nin?" Nina shook her head in confusion; what was wrong with her question? She explained the meaning of her question because she was curious about the boss's attitude; maybe he had problems at home or in his family, so
A man Nathan knew walked in; he looked surprised to see Nathan coughing; he looked at the table; there were some appetizing-looking sandwiches. Nathan quickly grabbed a glass and sipped water to neutralize his gagging. "Asshole! Why didn't you knock first?" he scolded. The newly arrived man scratched his hair and grinned, "He he, sorry boss, I forgot," Michael replied innocently. Without prompting, he sat down next to Nathan. "Well, that looks delicious, Tan. Didn't you offer it to me?" Michael whined as he stared at the sandwiches on the table. "You haven't had breakfast yet, Mike?" asked Nathan as he continued eating; Michael shook his head. "Well, just take a piece, no more," Nathan said. "Ha ha ha, since when has this boss been so stingy with breakfast, he usually gives me food to finish." Michael laughed and grumbled, but his hand was actively reaching for a piece of sandwich. "Tsk, noisy, this is different, it's special." Both men were busy munching on the food on the tabl
Laura was stunned; what else would this jerk come here for? Did it have anything to do with Nina's change in attitude? The girl was still trying to guess and understand the situation. Richard, the man Laura had called a jerk, smiled sarcastically. Laura understood that the smile was intended for her best friend, Nina, because the man's eyes never left Nina's. "Um, sorry, Mr. Richard, it looks like you'd like to join us for lunch," Laura said sarcastically, "but I'm sorry, we only want to eat together, so we're not inviting anyone else." The man looked at Laura and smiled sarcastically. "I don't need your invitation; I'll invite you to celebrate my success in getting a new project from my boss." Laura glanced at Nina; the girl didn't react in any way; she could more or less feel the situation. "Well, is it really that important to celebrate work that hasn't yet seen the light of day?" Laura said sarcastically. "What do you mean?" Richard looked exasperated. "No point," Laura snapp
A man walked with long strides, hurrying to catch up with Nina. To see Mr. Ben, he stopped his steps. "Good afternoon, Sir." Richard greeted Mr. Benjamin with a friendly greeting. He had no idea who the committee members would be, but seeing the middle-aged man standing here, he understood. Mr. Benjamin, the seasoned manager, was one of them. Richard felt annoyed because he was suddenly notified, so he did not have time to find out who the committee members were. Before, he was given a day or two to lobby them to support him. "Afternoon Richard, so you and Nina are presenting this afternoon?" asked the middle-aged man known as Ben. "That's right Mr. Ben, Mr. Nathan himself gave this task to me." Richard said proudly. Mr. Ben looked at Richard while frowning, "Mr. Nathan himself gave this assignment to you?" he repeated. Richard nodded with a smile. "If Mr. Nathan has given it to you, there should be no need to present it to the committee. Because the accountability of this project
Everyone was shocked; Nina stopped her presentation, and they looked toward the source of the sound. Richard stood up and shouted with emotion that Nina had plagiarized his report."What do you mean by that, Richard?" asked one of the committee members."Ladies and gentlemen, you've seen my presentation, and look, what this woman said is exactly the same, she plagiarized my report." Richard said sharply, walking over to Nina. "You know, this woman is just a young girl who doesn't understand anything, but she made a report exactly like mine, that means she plagiarized mine."Now, all eyes were on Nina, asking for an explanation. The atmosphere in the meeting room became tense. But Nina remained calm, not a hint of panic on her face."Miss Nina, is what Mr. Richara said true?" asked one of the committee team members.Nina remained calm and answered firmly, "I have never imitated anyone. Everything I said was purely my ideas and thoughts based on existing data. Since the beginning, I was
Not long after the door opened, two security guards entered; Emy gave a code to Richard, and the two security guards held the man's hands. "Hey wait! What are you doing?" Richard shouted. "I don't want any chaos in this room, negative energy must be removed." Nathan said coldly. "M-meaning how, sir?" asked Richard nervously. "Have you forgotten? Yesterday you came into my room, said that Nina was incompetent and lazy, then you offered to take over the task, and promised that it would be completed by tomorrow morning," said Nathan. "But didn't you agree?" asked Richard, feeling cornered and skinned. "Yes, I nodded, but not to give this task away, that's why this meeting is being held, I'm giving you the opportunity to prove your worth." Nathan gave Richard a sharp look. "But what? you can explain but can't account for it, answering a single question stutters, it proves you don't know your proposal." Nathan's words were piercing, his gaze sharp and cold, making anyone who saw hi
"Don't be happy yet, arrogant girl! I'm not going to stay silent, I'm going to look for ways to get rid of you." The man grinned; his gaze was very sharp, filled with resentment and hatred for Nina; he immediately turned and left the big office. Meanwhile, Nina was getting ready to go home because the time to go home had arrived, especially since tomorrow was a weekend; employees were usually very excited because they could use these 2 days to gather with family and loved ones. "Nina!" called Laura. The girl rushed in and hugged Nina. "Hey, Miss Chatty, what's this?" asked Nina in confusion. " Congrats, Nina. You finally got this big project," Laura chirped. "Uh, how did you know that, Ra?" asked Nina in surprise, thinking that not many people knew about it because it had just been assigned this afternoon. "Hmm, you're so out of the loop, you're now the trending topic of gossip in this office," Laura said proudly. "Oh? Really? How come it's so fast, it was only set this afterno