He Wants to Hire a Genie. Not Me!

After almost being late, almost being tortured by thugs, and ending up with ice coffee treats, I guess today wasn't too bad. At least not as bad as yesterday, but the day isn't over. My work is not finished yet. At first, I was hoping after lunch, I just need to follow Steven for a bit longer and then I can go straight back to the boarding house. Lay down my head into a soft pillow, and go to the dreamland. But just a ringing from Steven's phone shattered all my dreams away. Take a guess! Who crushed my dreams behind those calls? One... two... right! the one and only Madam Devil.

"Hello, Afternoon Ma'am," Steven said as he picked up the phone. No, I didn't want to eavesdrop on their conversation, even though I was a little curious. Um, sorry, I have to correct my statement. Not a little, I feel very-very curious. But I'm will not eavesdrop. c'mon, I'm not that kind of person, I know the etiquette. How could a newbie like me try to eavesdrop on the big boss's conversation? Is not polite. Right? Nah... not really, actually I feel disappointed that I can't eavesdrop. Because I really want to. If your two bosses are mean people with unique perspectives, of course, you want to get information to determine what your next step is. But nope, I don't get any information.

"Hey, newbie, let's go!" asked Steven after ending the call.

"Where are we going now?" I asked curiously.

"Somewhere! Come on!" replied Steven who didn't answer my question. Well, Sandra, you had no other choice but to follow him. Remember! It still working hours. I don't know if my heart is strong enough to work with someone as mysterious as Steven. Maybe I will get other crazy surprises like what happened this morning. Well, let's hope he's not too mean to throw me in a thug's den again.

"Hi, Newbie? Are you daydreaming?"

"Oh... sorry!"

I walk in a hurry, following him into the parking lot.

"Enter!" he ordered after opening his car.

Just so you know, if I were a materialistic woman, I would love to ride his car. A very luxurious car for an architect's salary. Wait, can I ask him how much his salary is? It is too... you know... too personal to ask? Well, don't misjudge me, I don't want to be around Steven to have a romantic relationship with him, but I wonder if I had a successful career in this architectural world, Could I buy a car as cool as his?

"This is an office inventory," said Steven seemed to understand what flashing in my mind. "I didn't spend a penny to get this, and as long as I work for Anna Gunadi, I can use it for daily activities. So don't you even think about it."

"I don't think anything!" I said disapprovingly as I got into the car.

"Good! So I don't need to explain any further," he said with his annoying smile and we quickly left.

"By the way, what style do you like?" asked Steven.

"Everything as long as cool, tall, handso..., Um.., sorry what style do you mean, Sir?"

"Architectural style, what style do you think I asked?"

"Oh, sorry, sir. Please, let me think for a while... um... what kind of architectural style I like?" I need time to think any further. "Architectural style? I think I like the tropics. Minimalist tropical, modern tropical, whatever as long as tropical, green, and sustainable building," I replied.

"Tropical? Why?"

"That easy, because we live and work in Indonesia. Doesn't architecture always adapt to the local climate and culture? Sometimes, I get a little annoyed when I see people design a building that doesn't suit the local climate and culture. And they take pride in themselves, feel like they had a great better taste than the locals. Like... my house is classic European, complete with a statue of gods on the pillar in front of the house, with corinthian columns up soaring to heaven, oh, bullshit," I said while covering my mouth. OMG... I accidentally swore in front of my boss. I can't even tolerate myself saying things in front of My boss like I'm talking to my friends.

"But as an architect or contractor, you will get a lot of money if you build a house with European classics. More details equals more money, and the majority of rich people like that kind of style," replied Steven who didn't seem too concerned with my choice of words.

"Agree, a lot of details, a lot of work, a lot of material use, of course, it adds a lot of income. But maybe as an Indonesian, I would be very ashamed of the Dutch."

"Ok, do tell..."

"Dutch people who came from Europe, when they colonized Indonesia, they still paid attention to the climate here and make buildings that are different from those in their own country. The roof has a high slope, the roof is quite long. They know the rainfall here is high and European buildings don't fit here."

"So in your opinion, European classic buildings not fit in Indonesia?" asked Steven which irritated me. I guess he couldn't possibly know, he was just pretending to be stupid and I was afraid to fall into his trap again.

"The statue of gods in the courtyard of the house will look like crying in a few months after continuous rain. Do you know that? The black lines left by the raindrops? And if the statue is naked without clothes, I guess it's not just look crying, but looks like he peed his pants."

"Hahahahaha....!" Steven laughed loudly. He seemed to love my sarcastic humor. His laugh sounded very crisp and make me laugh as well.

"Isn't that right, sir? How strong wall paint is, the weather always wins. The paint will fade and crumble if it's not protected from heat and rain.

"Yes, but that will happen after a few years. That's why you need to renovate, paint again like the new one," Steven replied while trying to stop laughing.

"Well... I don't know, maybe I'm just a reluctant person, sir. Are you? If you can maintain as little as possible, as rarely as possible, why do we need to waste any money on repairs."

"Dear newbie, believe me, rich people can renovate their house as often as they want. Even once a week painting the house is not a problem for them. You don't have to worry about it."

"Understand," I replied. "But it's not comfortable if there are always foreign workers at home hanging around every week. Surely you understand, right? If a stranger building worker is walking around your house every day, it's uncomfortable, because your privacy is disturbed."

"That's why they don't have only one house," said Steven. "If they always have a lot of houses, I'm not gonna complain because we, architects are also the ones who get the benefit."

"But it's not like that, sir. It's not green, it's not environmentally friendly, total waste."

"Ah, I see... Don't tell me that you're an environmental activist? You must be Greta Thunberg fans, aren't you?"

"Well, I'm a big fan of green sustainable building," I replied.

I saw a slight expression on Steven's face when he heard my answer, but he stayed silent without answering my words. He smiled, shook his head slightly, and continued to drive. I don't understand what's wrong with designing sustainable buildings? Environmentally friendly and energy-efficient buildings. Is that too hard to do?

"Ok, we arrive!" Steven parked his car in the yard of a small building. Very artistic-looking small building, and looks so unique. The shape is the cute and very homie. Many plants make the facade of the building looks so beautiful and I love every atmosphere in every corner of the room in this place.

"Welcome to my tiny studio," Steven said letting me in. "You know, I'm rarely in the office. So this is where I work."

I can hardly believe how much I love the design of this place. Everything here is my dream. I want to have a house like this. Small, not big, no need to clean too much, not difficult to maintain, and very comfortable.

"Ok, maybe this is your first time here, so remember the room and the rule. This is a meeting room. We always used this room to discuss a lot of design. Next to it is a pantry, you can make coffee, tea, whatever you want. The only thing you're not allowed to enter is where I live on the 2nd floor. So stay away from the stairs or you'll die!"

"Understand, sir," I said, looking at each room he pointed at. Many architectural models are neatly arranged on the left shelf. I looked at each one and I recognized them. A mockup of the building that was once designed by Anna Gunadi. Apartments, hotels, residences, villas, everything is amazing.

"Hey, newbie," Steven called entering a room and asking me to come inside with him. Honestly, I feel a little bit uncomfortable, my wild imagination makes me feel so scared. Going in alone with My Boss in a room which I don't know what it is. Doesn't look like a great idea, right? Oh, Damn... Maybe it's happened because my friend asked me to watch 50 Shades of Grey, which makes me a little suspicious. No, no... oh no... I don't want to end up like the innocent character played by Dakota Johnson. No Way...!

"Hey newbie!" Steven called again. "Do you want to come in or not?" he asked at the door.

"Sir, can we just talk here?" I asked.

Now Steven is looking at me so intensely. He glared at me, and make me afraid that his eyeballs would jump out of his skull. "It's still working hours, and you still have to obey all the boss' orders, right?" he continued.

"But, sir, that's not my job desk to... you know...," I said defensively.

"Do you know what I'm going to order? Can you read my mind?" he asked sarcastically.

"No sir."

"So, come in!" his orders.

I took a deep breath and peek inside the room. And finally, I feel released. It's not a special room like I think before, it turned out to be his office with a large desk in the middle of the room. Steven immediately went to his desk and handed me a stack of architectural drawings.

"Learn this and don't forget to bring all these documents to the office tomorrow. Ah, Tomorrow we'll work at Ruanna's office, and don't be late or I'll fire you."

"What should I learn, sir?"

Steven looked at me with that glare again. So sharp and feels very annoying. Now I'm starting to think, if people's eyes are made of glass or knives, they surely can stab and hurt deep into the recesses of the heart.

"I mean, is there anything specific that I need to learn? For example, is this building has a good-looking shape? Is the plan already efficient and comfortable? Is it crossing local regulations? Is the roof slope angle lacking? Do I have to calculate whether the lift is suitable for the building's capacity? ? Or the drain does not match the size of the septic tank?"

"I said, you need to study this, didn't I? That means everything. You have to learn everything, and tomorrow, you should understand all about it. Ok?"

The word 'Ok' is usually easy to answer. Let's eat now, Ok! OK! But in the face of Steven Joshua, it seemed like the word 'OK' was the thing that made the throat dry all of a sudden. It's too annoying to not answer and very very annoying to answer. Nothing I can do was right! Study all these documents overnight? Sorry, Asshole, I'm not a genie Aladdin, rubbed, make a request, abracadabra all is here. It's crueler than studying overnight for an Exam.

"Okay, newbie?" He asked once again. That little devil still tries to confirm my answer once again.

Don't Sandra, don't answer... I call to my lips, please don't answer that trick question. Again, attention please, to Sandra's lips, don't answer anything, please, don't answer anything.

"So?" asked Steven who seemed to notice my confusion just now.

"I'll do my best," I replied.

OMG, why I'm so smart! Good answer, right? Very diplomatic. I'm not promising to get the job done overnight, and that doesn't mean I can't do it either.

"You'd better be," said Steven. "Tomorrow is a meeting day with the Client, and if you can't answer the question, then say goodbye to your career. Ok?"

"Oh, SHIT!!!!" those were the only words that came out of my mind, which luckily my mouth was wise enough not to swear.