Hey! Somebody Tried to Steal My Work

"Tick... tock... tick... tock..." The sound of the clock on the wall was heard loudly in this quiet room. The truth is... The room would not be as quiet as a graveyard if only one person would speak. But the problem is... none of us intend to speak our mind, we don't even dare to squeak.

I saw Mrs. Anna's face which was a little unfriendly, very-very unfriendly to be exact. Her expression crumpled like paper balls I always throw into the trash. And, for my own safety, I will not seek new problems with her today. After what happened in this room a few weeks ago. And the incident of the 'expecto patronum' joke just now, I have no intention of seeking more trouble with her. Even though my mouth wants to comment on the design that Angga has just shown. But I kept my mouth shut, just sat quietly, taking notes, watching what was going on here.

"I don't like it!" It was the first word that came out of the mouth of Anna Gunadi this afternoon. Yay, she finally said something to break the silence. I would love to make a poster quote for the first words she just said.

"I don't like it!" Anna Gunadi 2021

The words, plus an artistic image of her in black and white, I will display the poster in jumbo size in front of my cubicle table. Surely, the poster will whip me like a thing they use on the slavery to make people willing to work harder, faster, crazier. Maybe my brain gimme a weird thought. But, I don't know, my ambition suddenly emerged from inside. Whispering to me, If I want to be a great architect, then the first step is to impress the Madam Devil. It seems if I can make her proud of me, then everyone will never doubt my ability. Anna Gunadi is the most perfectionist architect I ever met, so I set her as the highest standard in my career.

"It's too boring. It seems that the shape, the structure, everything is boring," says Mrs. Anna in response to the design that was just presented by Angga. And can you guess what Angga's face looked like when he heard those words? I describe Angga's face as the saddest face I've ever seen while working at Ruanna. His forehead was wrinkled and his face was looks desperate, believe me, he looked pathetic.

I know that kind of word is very hard to hear. I remember when I stayed up all day finishing a design project. When I come to the lecturer to ask for his opinion, and what do I get from my hard work? Just a word is written in technical letters which means capital letters with a red marker. "BAD, Please REPEAT!" A polite word, but when I read it, the world was like an earthquake and made me crumble to pieces. For your information, the feeling of rejection by the lecturer makes a feeling of rejection from the declaration of love to a boy you like, just like a kindergartner.

"I don't know, Angga, I am very disappointed. Repeat the process from the beginning until the shape looks perfect," says Ma'am. Anna.

"Okay, ma'am," say Angga, desperately.

"John, can you help him! He needs more tech info to make his design looks more futuristic," says Ma'am. Anna while lighting her cigarette.

"Yes, Mam," said John who was also quite tense in this presentation.

"Steven...," called Madam Devil to the man whose face still looked pale.

"Yes, ma'am," he replied, wiping the sweat off his forehead. I don't know that Steven can get nervous when talking to Ma'am. Anna, but my brain reminds me, that the sweat on Steven's forehead isn't because he is nervous, but because he is still sick. I can tell from the look on his face that he still has a fever.

"I went abroad for 14 days, and I left the work in the office to you. Now, I ask your responsibility!"

Without further ado, Steven immediately took a USB from his bag and threw it in front of me. If there wasn't Ma'am. Anna in this room, I would throw the USB back in Steven's face. I know I'm a newbie, it's not a reason Steven can't be so rude like that. At least not to me.

"Open the file!" said Steven, glaring at me, pushing me to immediately open the file on his USB. Oh My God, that glare again? Did he know he has an annoying glare? I plug the USB into the laptop. I wanted to argue with him, express my displeasure at his impoliteness. But in front of Madam Devil, I have no other choice but to remain silent. Inevitably, with an irritated heart, I immediately opened Steven's presentation file and streamed it on the projector.

"This is the latest development of Mr. X's residential building design. According to his request, I have revised it to be more open spaces, and we will start designing in more detail..."

"Wait, Mr. X has agreed to your design?" Madam Devil asked Steven.

"Yes, ma'am. Yesterday he asked to speed up the meeting because he had an exhibition abroad. And the time was not right if we waiting for you to come home."

"Why didn't report it to me?" There was a fairly high tone pitch of Ma'am Anna's words. She seemed quite disappointed because Steven had presumptuously preceded her without any prior notice. But, wait, as I remember, didn't it happen like that? I remember that Steven said that Ma'am Anna herself ask me to present in front of Mr. X. And apparently, Ma'am Anna did not know about our meeting with Mr. X. Why do I seem to smell the stink of manipulation around me? Why did Steven lie to me?

"I was going to tell you, Ma'am. But considering you're on vacation, I didn't want to bother you," Steven replied. I don't know what stuff Steven is made of? Is he made of hard gemstones that are hard to crush, rubber balls that will get more and more bouncy when slammed, but he's not jelly which is easy to crush. Even in the presence of Madam Devil, there was not the slightest tingle of fear in his tone.

"All right, Steven. Can you tell me what happened?" asked Madam Devil trying to soften up. Hahaha, this is impossible, did my ears hear wrong? Madam Devil softened? She's softened on the face of Steven Joshua. Perhaps, the gossip that Angga said is true, Steven does have a special relationship with Madam Devil.

"On that day, Mr. X called me, if he had to go to France for an exhibition. And he insisted on seeing the progress of his residential design as soon as possible. So I accept it, and I have an urgent meeting with him."

"No... I don't want to hear it!" Madam Devil's voice began to rise. "I know who Mr. X is, I know him so well. He's not the type to agree on something without a full-perfect concept. I know, Steven, you're a brilliant architect, but I also know you can't make..."

" A concept, ma'am. Yes, I know," Steven replied in his super calm tone.

Wait, wait this is crazy. Do I have to admit it? I was the one who made the concept of Mr. X's house. I also presented it in front of Mr. X. I don't want to get Steven into any trouble, but I have to say it right away. I was the one who made the concept for Mr. X's house. I want my part! It's a must..., it's my work, good or bad, I want to get a share of it.

"Excuse me, Miss Anna, that day, I was the one who..."

"Sandra was the one who recorded our meeting," Steven interrupted.

I don't understand what game Steven is playing. I don't understand.

"I know, the building concept and presentation in front of clients is my weakness. However, I am learning. I learned from the best teacher, namely from you. Thank you, Ma'am Anna Gunadi, you always teach us extraordinary ideas and concepts. Isn't that what I need to say, right Sandra?" Steven continued, looking at me with his annoying look.

Oh, shit, I didn't expect it. Steven stab me in the back! Oh, no, he stabbed me in the front, right in front of my own two eyes. Damn, I didn't make the design of Mr.'s house. X, but I was the one who made the concept of the design that day. The success of our presentation in front of Mr. X is also due to my work. I know I was a newbie, but Steven shouldn't take all the credit for my work either. That sly snake took it by force, it took my hard work and recognized it as his.

"Then?" asked Ma'am Anna confused.

"Mr. X? He likes it and has agreed to continue the process of designing his house in more detail. Some areas need to change, but overall, he's satisfied," Steven replied, looking at me. One glare that asks me to close my mouth tightly. Of course, he'd try to shut my mouth, I think Steven could even buy some super strong glue and rub it on my lips so they don't open.

"Okay, we'll talk about this project another time," said Madam Devil believing everything her golden boy said. I think, even if I opened my mouth, he would trust Steven more. I was upset, very upset, but luckily I can still control my emotions. I realized that my position as Steven's assistant was to help with all his work. After all, Steven took only a small part of my work, because the whole design was his handiwork. For this situation, I can still accept it gracefully.

"Next," Steven says and nodding his head at me. Give me a sign to move the presentation quickly to the next page.

"Ok, This is design progress for the Audi Showroom which we will present next week in front of our client. John has provided references for the latest solar panel technology and the best glass insulation model to withstand heat and noise, and produce a design that..."

I don't know why everyone glares at me weirdly. What did I do to make them stare at me so intently? Did I do something wrong? I pressed the computer button to switch the image to the next slide, but if the laptop and projector connection stutters, it's not my fault. I didn't slam the laptop, nor did I bite the connector cable, why do you have to look at me like that? Especially Steven, because right now, he looked like a roaring lion trying to devour my whole body.

"San..." his roar almost came out, but God was still kind to me. Before Steven could roar perfectly, suddenly a big slide of the presentation appeared on the screen. Shows a design sketch of a large megaproject. Unfortunately, it's not the egg-shaped building image I saw on Steven's laptop yesterday. The slide shows a sketch of the new design. I recognized the sketch that Steven showed me on the big screen. I also know it's not his drawing because it's a sketch I drew while waiting for my sick boss to sleep. Yes, the picture on that big screen, is my design.