AT THE END OF THE NIGHT

"Good, your driving skills have increased by ten percent." Lace glanced at her assistant briefly, then left Ryan who was still stunned in his place.

"Looks like he's going crazy!" cursed Ryan. He immediately chased after Rendra, before the mad tiger roared again.

The meeting that afternoon went smoothly as usual. Rendra can always attract their clients to cooperate with their company. His very attractive and persuasive speaking ability never makes clients think twice about working with his family-owned company. Moreover, the company has grown since Rendra served as CEO of a company owned by his family. The company's name has soared. In fact, the father plans to open a branch in a neighboring country.

Rendra's life is quite perfect isn't it? Not only have abundant wealth. Besides having a handsome and dashing face, the man's intelligence is also unquestionable. He is a woman's dream man. Except for Aleeta. Yes, for some reason a woman who has a heart as cold as the north pole is quite difficult to conquer. However, difficult doesn't mean impossible, right?

Dark clouds seemed to begin to cover the night. It looks like the sky will spill its water again soon. The moon that should still be shining, but was forced to disappear behind a collection of dark clouds.

Rendra was lying on the sofa in his workspace. Still with his eyes closed, but not really asleep. His mind was wandering, thinking of someone who was nowhere to be found right now. The drizzle slowly turned into heavy rain.

"You go home first. Malika must have been waiting for you."

A message Ryan received was enough to make the man widen his eyes. In fact, the cell phone in his hand almost fell. It was unusual for his boss to tell him to go home first. "Okay, I'll take this opportunity before he changes his mind," Ryan thought.

He hurriedly cleared the file in front of him. Put it in his bag and say goodbye to his boss.

"See you next Sunday, Sir." Ryan bowed his head as a sign of respect.

That man walked quickly while humming. However, Rendra made a sound when he just grabbed the doorknob and intended to open it.

"So glad you left me?" Rendra said without opening his eyes. He put one hand on his forehead.

"Ah, it's not like that, boss. I'm just happy because I will meet Malika," said Rendra quickly before his boss changed his mind.

"Hey, it's 12 o'clock at night idiot. Don't lie to me."

"Who's lying, Sir? Really. I'm just happy because I'm going to meet my girlfriend," Ryan said trying to sound reassuring.

"You mean it?" asked Rendra getting up from his sleep.

"Of course, Sir. I'm a person who really doesn't like to lie," said Ryan, placing a hand on his chest.

In the blink of an eye, Rendra's expression turned sinister. Ah, poor Ryan, it seems a quiet night will just be a dream.

"What are you going to do by asking my cousin to meet up late at night like this?"

"Sorry, Sir. You seem to have misunderstood, I didn't mean to meet you in a literal sense. I meant to meet Malika in a dream." Ryan answered calmly. Cheering in your heart because you feel you have succeeded in tricking the boss.

"What did you dream about with my sister? If you do anything wrong to her I will not stay silent. You are not married, not lawful. Falling is a sin."

Ryan looked silent without changing his expression. He understood very well that his boss was indeed strange. Especially behind this. All because of Aleeta, a woman who acts cold and ignores her boss. However, it makes the man curious and fall in love.

"You seem to have misunderstood again, Sir. Usually I only dream of a video call with your cousin nothing more." Ryan deliberately put more emphasis at the end of his sentence.

"Are you sure it's just a video call? You didn't ask for anything else, did you? For example, asking him to undress for example?"

"Absolutely not, sir," said Ryan. He was starting to get annoyed with his boss. "Because he took off his clothes voluntarily," he added in his heart of course.

"I still can't believe you."

"Come on, sir. You know I'm not that kind of pervert. As old as you are, we don't realize we've spent 20 minutes talking. Then I'll excuse myself, sir." Ryan lowered his head once more. Then, leave the room quickly.

Rendra laughed after his assistant left. At least he got a little entertainment by pranking Ryan every day.

Not long after, Rendra left the office. Towards a house that must be quiet, because no one is waiting for him. A cold place without the warmth of other people. At night and lonely it always makes him think about unusual things. Makes him long for the friendliness and attention of others to him.

From a distance, his eyes caught the figure of a woman standing on the side of the road beside a car. It seemed that the woman was having a hard time because her car broke down. Slowly, Rendra pulled the vehicle over and intended to help.

"Excuse me, the car broke down, huh? Need a ride?" asked Rendra to the point. Because the time has shown at 00:35 WIB. He needs rest to face tomorrow which may be tougher than today.

"Yes, sir. Thank you, but my driver is already here." The woman seemed busy fiddling with her car.

"Then may I accompany you in the wait? Well, it's late and you are a woman. Of course it can lead to crime. Isn't crime done not by desire alone, but also by opportunity."

The woman seemed to have stopped what she was doing. Closed the hood and looked at Rendra.

"Ah-"

"Eh-"

Rendra and Aleeta looked surprised. The woman did not think that the man who offered to help was Rendra, and vice versa.

"Hm, it seems that God wants to comfort me after a tired day of work. Thank you for your understanding, Lord." Rendra chanted gratitude in his heart.

"Sorry, Mr. Ryan. I thought you were a prankster who stopped by after seeing my car break down," said Aleeta.

The man laughed. It was as if what Aleeta said was commonplace. "That's fine. If I were you, of course I would do the same. So are you going to wait or want me to take you home?"

"It's okay, I'll just wait, Mr. Ryan." Aleeta is still steadfast in her stance.

Rendra took a deep breath.

"Okay, Miss Aleeta. Then I'll try to help see the condition of your car." After opening the car door, Rendra immediately ran to Aleeta.

"Sorry, I didn't bring an umbrella," said Rendra as he stood beside Aleeta when it suddenly started raining. "Let me take a look first." Rendra re-opened the hood of the car that had been closed by Aleeta.

"Thank you, Mr Ryan. But if you want to go home first that's fine. Besides, it's very late, you must be very tired." Alleta feels shy with Rendra.

Rendra stopped his activities for a moment, turned to Aleeta. For a few seconds their gazes met.

"You don't have to worry, Miss Aleeta. I don't have any intention. I'm sure my boss would do the same if he were in my position." Rendra returned to focus on checking Aleeta's car.

However, Aleeta looks increasingly uncomfortable with Rendra. The woman even became afraid if Rendara misunderstood her words. He was a little suspicious of Rendra, but he didn't expect that Rendara's words had succeeded in creating guilt in his heart. All this time he had felt that Rendra was attracted to him. From the way the man acted, it was enough to make Alleta more confident in her feelings.

"T–that's not what I meant, Mr. Ryan. I mean… Aahhh." Before Aleeta could continue her sentence, the woman screamed in surprise when suddenly thunder boomed. Rendra swiftly grabbed the umbrella in Aleeta's hand and took the woman to her car.