My Crazy Boss Wants Me to be A Chinese Food Restaurant's Cashier

Hi! Sandra here! Do you miss my story? Oh My God, why do I sound so narcissistic like my boss, Steven? Shit! Is narcissism contagious? I hope not! Let's not talk about narcissism, shall we? Can We talk about something more important? I know what makes you all curious. Yes, Yes... you must be curious about..., drum roll please... how was this afternoon's meeting with Mr. X? Right? Well, first of all, I don't know, that meetings with a client don't always take place in a room as cold as Elsa's frozen castle. And not always with the stare of eyes which pierce the heart. And most importantly, meetings aren't always as scary as... meetings with... that person..., you know? Madam Devil. And luckily Mr. X is a very pleasant funny person.

Mr. X arrived a little late and was immediately greeted by Steven. And because of Ma'am. Anna was going on vacation with her beloved husband, yes she went on holiday. I heard that information from Steven and Mr. X's conversation. She will certainly be absent from this meeting. But for the next meeting, maybe she will be happy to join us to discuss the design. Which I hope, should not happen. I should avoid my encounters with that demonic woman as much as possible. It will be better for my mental health too.

Now, back to my story. So, we talked for a while in the office, then Mr. X moved our meeting to his friend's café. Hooray, Yay! I'm going to the café again today, goodbye soul-absorbing cold office. I guess some people in Team A will get a little jealous of me. Especially when Steven asked me to come with him for a meeting at the café, but I didn't care. I studied this project until I didn't have time to sleep, so I guess, I deserve a little recreation.

"Hahahaha," laughed Mr. X to show his satisfaction. He was happy to hear my concept for the design of his house. Or rather, a concept I just came up with a few hours ago. And of course, after hearing his crisp laugh, my heart wanted to laugh too. Not a happy laugh, but a more evil laugh like a witch who would punish Steven into a frog. Look, Steven, I can do it, I'm an inexperienced newbie, but that doesn't mean I can't do the job, so please turn into a frog. "Bibbidi- Bobbidi-Boo...!"

"It's amazing, I love it," says Mr. X, holding his quirky mustache and beard. He smoked his cigarette. And from his expression, I could tell he was really satisfied.

"Thank you, sir," I replied with relief. At least I'll sleep peacefully today without the threat of dismissal. My lips smile so wide to celebrate my success today, and I look at Steven with a slightly wry smile. Maybe, he thought I was going to fail, but, sorry, this queen won again today, and will win again later, O, yeah!

The three of us chatted while we sip coffee and tasted some snacks. And because of that, our meeting finished at 9 pm. I don't blame Mr. X to have a long chat with us, when we find a new friend who clicks and is easy to talk to, I can chat for hours. We chat not only about work matters but also about family, beliefs, ideals, hopes, outlook on life, everything. And fortunately, Mr. X is a very comfortable person to talk to. I don't think he's my client, because it's felt like we're an old known friend. There is no seniority in his mind, and I have great respect for his principles. Respect, Mr. X. Maybe, if one day Mrs. Anna fires me, I'll apply to work in Mr. X's studio. Looks like he will accept me with open arms.

"See you later! Thanks for the nice talk today," he said when the car picked him up at the café's drop-off.

"See you later, sir. Thank you for the treat," said Steven, bowing slightly to salute. Uh, wait, if Steven just bowing, I have to do the same? My boss is bow down? How could I not bend my body a little bit? And sure enough, Steven glared at me because my body was still as straight as a sun go kong's stick when he was almost turning 90 degrees.

I smiled and immediately bowed. "Thank you very much, sir," I say.

"Ah, you guys don't need to do things like that. Don't bow like that. We're human beings," he said kindly. "There is no need to bow to a being, who has the same fate, both happy and suffering, we are all the same," he says wisely.

I almost clapped and give him a standing ovation for his super wise remark, but I didn't. Maybe it's because I still know a little about the meaning of the word called 'shame', even though the real reason, I want to do it if Ma'am Anna's is here. At least I want her to know if we only have different experiences, so don't look down on someone who is just younger, less famous, not rich, and... Oh my..., suddenly I realize, that my caste is indeed much much lower than Madam Devil.

"Ng, Sandra, careful. It's getting late, it's dangerous for women to come home this late," said Mr. X worried for my safety.

"Ah, no problem, sir. I'm used to..."

"I'll take her home, sir. You don't have to worry," Steven cut me off. My jaw suddenly dropped from my skull when I heard Steven's words. Hahaha, maybe I think too much because, for him, it's just lip service right?

"Ah, well then. Be careful, see you next time," said Mr. X, leaving us both in front of the café.

Huh..., finally, my day is over. And I'm ready to go home. I opened my cellphone and immediately got ready to order an online motorcycle taxi.

"Oh, so, after I was willing to take you home, would you rather go home with the random unknown motorcycle driver?" quipped Steven who was peeking into my cellphone screen.

"Well Sir, you don't seriously want to take me home, right?" I say to confirm his intentions one more time. I understand, If it is just lip service in front of clients. He doesn't have to explain it more. Maybe all the women in the world would be very happy if they were driven home by a handsome man with his luxury car. I'm not a woman like that. But.... wait, if he takes me home, I can save money, right? At least, I don't need to pay the taxi fare tonight.

"Hurry up, before I change my mind," Steven says and I quickly follow him to the parking lot.

"But, sir, my boarding house is far away from here."

"Quick Enter! Or I leave you here" said Steven without listening to my words.

I do not refuse, without further ado, I immediately got into the car and sat down nicely. Steven immediately drove his car. And we leave the café behind.

"Where is your boarding house?"

"Near the office, sir," I say.

"Okay," he said as he drove his car safely

"Well, good job today," Steven complimented me. Did my ear mishear his words? Did he praise me...? Yes, he must praise me today. I also want to praise myself for today's presentation. However, I also have to give credit to Ma'am Marie, My literature teacher who taught me how to compose beautiful poetry. Hey, I will not take all the credit, because, for my teacher's strict education, I succeeded in convincing Mr. X today.

"Sir, If I may know. Why don't you just say that you need a concept?" I ask innocently.

And suddenly the car stopped and Steven glared at me. Like a wolf who wants to prey on this weary weak woman. "Please don't be mad," I say to calm Steven. "I mean, you're telling me to learn all about this project when all you need is just a concept?" I protest.

"Oh, so you think my decision yesterday was wrong?" Steven asked dryly.

"No sir. I was just thinking, if you could be more specific about getting me to draft, I'd at least have some time to rest or... sleep."

"Ah, I see. So you're blaming me because you didn't sleep all night?"

Oh, God, please. This sucks. I argued with my Boss like I used to argue with Tyo, my ex-boyfriend and it was so annoying. And I know, I can't possibly win this debate because of Steven's status as a boss. The first rule about this job, the boss is never wrong. The second rule, if the boss is wrong, looks back at the first rule. I get it. But, one of the things I hate the most..., what Sandra Bayu Hutama hates the most in the argument, is already losing in a debate without really trying.

"No, sir. I'm just asking for a little mercy," I answered for calming down the conversation. Or should I say that please gimme mercy, I am just a weak servant, so stop this debate, you win, yay?

"Don't you know? I asked you to study all that because I feel sorry for you. Mrs. Anna herself sent me, assigning you to today's presentation. Now, answer me, how can you possibly make a design concept, if you don't study all the details of the design? "

Well, it makes sense. His answer makes sense. I couldn't have come up to finish the design concept fluently if I hadn't studied it all night.

"Okay, thank you, sir. For made me studied all the design yesterday, so today I can speak fluently about it" I answered sincerely.

I see Steven smiling, pulling his lips to the side, and driving again.

"Hey, newbie, here's my last kindness gift for you today."

"Yes, Sir?" I asked surprised. Gift? Do he wanna give me a bonus for today's achievements?

"It's a suggestion. Please, think about it again. You don't have to be an Architect. There are a lot of careers other than this job? I mean because of what happened in the meeting room yesterday. Since you teased Ma'am Anna, this job will drive you crazy. And while you're still sane, you better think about something else. I guess being an insurance agent isn't that bad, right?" asked Steven.

Hahaha, bye-bye bonus. Turns out Steven's kind gift was telling me to end my career. I wanted to answer him sarcastically, but I stopped my mouth because there was something different about his tone of voice. For some reason, his words felt more sincere than usual. I had the feeling that he had just spoken advice that truly came from the bottom of his heart, without any deceit or teasing as usual.

"No," I answered firmly. "It's never an easy thing for me to be in this position. And I won't back one bit."

"Hey, think about it. You just told Mr. X, if your parents have a Chinese food restaurant in Bandung. I think, becoming the cashiers at the Chinese food restaurant seems not too bad for me," said Steven.

"No," I say annoyed. I don't know what Steven meant by that. If he meant to be joking, maybe his joke could sound funny if his tone wasn't too serious.

"I want to be an architect! That's my dream, and I'm going to be a famous architect," I say.

"Even though it's hard?" he asked testing my faith.

"I went to college for 4 years, with blood and tears. I no longer know the meaning of the word difficult. For me, anything can be done as long as the intention is there. As for the result, I don't really care, because I will do my best."

"Ah, never mind," said Steven who seemed desperate to tell me to stop. Honestly, I also don't know why I want to be an architect? Maybe it would be easy if I became a cashier at my parent's Chinese food restaurant, and I think my salary as a child would be higher than working as a junior architect. A sad junior architect, who was half of my salary has to be spent paying for boarding houses and food. However, I don't want to just give up. I know you might think I'm stubborn, but I am stubborn.

I know, Anna Gunadi is not a pleasant person. She killed a lot of people's dreams, but I will make sure she couldn't kill mine. In the end, I must win this battle. I will design really cool buildings, introduce the eco-friendly architecture, make this world a better place. Don't think that architecture is an unimportant thing, architecture builds social patterns of society, and I know, with my knowledge I can help a lot of people to have a better life. It's not a money issue, it's an ideological one. And I consider myself a true idealist. I won't give up just because of someone like Steven Joshua or even Anna Gunadi. I know what I want, and I will get it.