Damn it! I'm Starting to Like His Smile!

I took a deep breath, enjoying the aroma of the food I ordered. The food was still warm, I even can see the smoke when I opened the package. And now, the delicious smell of my lunch filled Steven's ward, and that's exactly what I was hoping for. Honestly, this dish is not my favorite one, maybe it's only 7 out of 10. I'll give my father's butter fried chicken a 9. But, today I ordered this food not because I like it, but more for revenge satisfaction.

Hohoho, do you know what Steven's face looks like when I open my fried rice? Of course with lots of pickles according to his dreamy food yesterday. Hahaha, I'm quite satisfied to see the wrinkles on his forehead, and of course, I'm also a little comforted to see his smile melt like sad ice cream.

"Oh, so that's how it is?" he said as if he understood the purpose of this veiled revenge.

"How is it, sir?" I said pretending to be stupid.

"No, it's okay," he replied annoyed with a more furrowed forehead and of course a gulp of saliva that I could see from the bulge of his neck.

I immediately took the spoon and slowly fed it into my mouth. If this was a scene in a movie, the director would use the slow-motion effect when I put a spoonful of this sexy fried rice into my mouth. Or, maybe in Steven's vision, his eyes will add slow-motion mode by themselves. Please, take a good look at the way I chew his favorite food!

"Sandra…, give me one!" he said annoyed as he watched me scoop my lunches one by one.

"I want to, sir, I can buy another one. But Mr. Steven, do remember the doctor's order, right? You can eat greasy food. Later if you get sick because of this fried rice, work in the office is getting neglected, projects are not completed on time. Ma'am Anna can be angry, and, your career? Ugh, I can't even imagine it," I said to tease him.

Sandra, oh, Sandra, I don't know where this crazy idea came from, but it's absolutely brilliant. Attention, attention to Sandra's brain, once again…, attention, to Sandra's brain, I want to say a lot of thank you for this pretty epic idea of revenge.

"I think I understand now. You meant it, don't you? You ordered fried rice on purpose, to make fun of me, didn't you? Ck ck ck, I wonder what happened to your career, after you tried to annoy me," said Steven a little threateningly.

"No… No, sir. I don't dare to...," I replied, shaking slightly. Don't worry, the vibrations in my body don't come from fear.

"I don't know why I suddenly want to eat a big portion of fried rice with an extra fried egg. Maybe because this morning I had to carry so many documents from the office and that makes me so hungry now, sir," a beautiful diplomatic answer to an explanation of my grudge this morning

I don't want to brag, but believe me, Sandra is good at acting. In high school, I got a play the role of Juliet's mother in my class theater Romeo and Juliet show. And I got a 9 just for the angry grumpy scene. Indeed, my abilities are not upgraded to the level of a soap opera artist, but I hope that my pretend acting can make me more famous in Ruanna's office. Can you imagine how Nia, Sri, or Miss Chien would react if they found out I did this to a boss who was known to be cold and annoying? They will definitely give me an Oscar soon, hahaha.

I glanced back at Steven's face, wishing I had hit his temper a little. I don't know what got into me to do such a ridiculous thing. Yes, this is pure revenge, my brain is very aware when ordering this food via online motorcycle taxis. However, there was a strange feeling that prompted me to press the button on my cellphone for a big portion of fried rice. The feeling when I want to collect a lot of memories to be able to tell one day. The story of how I worked at Ruanna with my cold boss named Steven.

"Hey, newbie," Steven said when he saw me staring at him.

"Hmm..?" I answered with my mouth full while chewing the best-fried rice in my life.

"You remind me of someone. And for that reason, today you are forgiven," Steven said with a smile.

I should have asked straight away, who did I remind him of? However, my mouth is suddenly locked just because of his smile. I didn't expect to see his smile just because of a meal. A smile I never expected would leave the lips of a Steven Joshua. I don't know him, but in all the time I've worked for him, it's the first time I've seen such a warm smile hanging on his lips. I have to admit, with his warm smile, he looks handsome.

I don't regret if I have to order fried rice again just to see his beautiful smile once again.

"Ew... Sandra, what the hell!" my mind snapped me out of my useless daydream. I immediately shook my head to get my sanity back. I quickly finished my lunch and went back to work. I must complete this task as soon as possible. But, um...?

"Sir?" I asked Steven.

"What?" he said who was also working on something on his laptop.

"If I may know, when is the deadline for this project?" I said, starting to suspect that Steven was going to prank on me again. I admit I've always had bad thoughts about Steven, but it wasn't entirely my fault. The bad thoughts came because he often assigned something at a very tight time so it always made me stay up late and give up my sleep time.

"Um," Steven said while he opened his cellphone. "Thursday the 20th, which means 10 more days."

"Huff," I breathed in relief. 10 days, not a long time, but not a short time either. I'm pretty nervous if Steven only gives me 3 days or even a day. I've gotten used to not being surprised when I hear the deadline for assignments from Steven. Luckily this time I had 10 days. And I think I can work it out as best I can. Only the preliminary design and drawings need to be worked on just for the presentation. I guess that's enough, I hope I can finish it in less than 10 days so I have time to relax.

"There's enough of time, so do it well. Or, try to finish it in a week and report the results to me. So if something goes wrong or doesn't fit, it can still be fixed."

"Okay, sir." I think that's fair enough. The work of newbies must be closely monitored so we will not make any mistakes. I immediately returned to my laptop to work on the floor plan. Showroom space does not need to have a lot of partitions and it really makes my job easier. It's just that, because of its function as a car showroom, I try to keep each column far apart. How do I explain it to you guys?

Oh, I know. This may be sarcastic, but it's a great example. You certainly will rarely see Bollywood films dancing in the car showroom, right? The reason is... that there are very few poles in the car showroom, which means, the size of the structure between the columns must be right. I think the owner of this showroom will immediately stop the contract Ruanna if I design a lot of poles that will hinder the beauty of the luxury cars they display.

“Sir, for the Structure Grid?”

"Just make sure the shape is beautiful, the structure can also be an aesthetic element."

"It's not that, but I'm a little confused on how to set it so it doesn't block the car display?" I asked Steven.

There was a long pause before Steven opened his mouth and since I was waiting for an answer, I quickly turned around to look at him.

"Oh, so, just now you were trying to tease me the fried rice, the food I can't eat, then, now you want to ask me some advice? Tskckck..." said Steven, while shaking his head.

Oh, damn! It turns out that karma does come quickly, huh? This time Steven really got me. Speechless, I really can't answer his question. Usually, I can always answer anything quickly, but this time I don't know what to say just because of the fried rice.

"Hey, Where's your usual Donald Duck's loud babbling, huh? Stuck in the fried rice?" he said smiling proudly.

"I'll try to look at the references again, sir," I said resignedly, trying to avoid Steven's gaze.

"So that's all? I thought you were talkative enough to answer all my questions?"

"Sorry sir, I didn't mean to..."

"Don't apologize, that's not sound like really you. I kinda like your joke."

I don't know what I just did. If Steven is really mad at me, then my career is over. Sweat started pouring out of my forehead and no make-up could hide my worried expression this afternoon.

"Oh, come on. Don't show me that face. That's a compliment, by the way. I really like your fried rice joke," he said with a smile.

Wait, wait, was Steven just kidding me? Is it true that Steven Joshua is trying to joke with me? Should I mark it on my phone calendar as an important celebration day? The day that Steven Joshua started joking with me? Kinda important, right?

"How many grids of columns do you want?" he said again because I didn't answer his words because of shock.

"8 meters by 8 meters sir, so that the space between the columns can be used to park 3 cars."

"Sandra, are you realize? You design a luxurious showroom, not a parking lot?"

" Yes sir!" Of course I realized, that's why I tried to ask him. Because the only design measure about a car I know of is a parking lot.

"Try to find put about the dimensions of objects, especially cars. Find the right size and you enter it in the basic grid pattern to get a more suitable grid. You don't have to stick to a square pattern, it can be a triangle, a rectangle, or any other shape. Don't forget! You also need to think about the efficiency of as many cars as you can put. Make the flow like designing a museum. You have to be able to adjust it according to the flow of visitors you want."

"Okay sir," I agreed.

"Ah, one more thing, the column doesn't have to be straight up, it can be tilted or have a certain geometry. Do the best according to creativity."

How come I never occurred to create a structural grid that isn't square? Sandra, oh Sandra, all of a sudden you're being stupid, or indeed Steven is far more experienced than me. No-no, I have to admit, he is indeed much more creative than me.

Steven the cool genius architect? I remember the conversation I had with Nia and Sri that night. The night I was kicked out of Team B and started working as Steven's personal assistant. A night where I feel afraid if I have to work with someone like him. But, today, all my views have changed.

Now I know, Steven Joshua is indeed a genius architect who not only understands the form of building propositions but also how to design the structure. It's not cheap gossip, it's a fact! I won't deny it. However, one thing that I see from inside this hospital room, his figure is not as cold as people say. He wasn't as ruthless as everybody thought either. I know Steven in many ways, but I'm sure he's not a scary monster. He can be so manipulative, telling me to do things as his heart desires. He was really unpredictable, but who would believe if Steven just joked with me? He even answered my question even though I had annoyed him.

Honestly, I don't understand what kind of magic just happened in this room, but, suddenly his figure intrigued me. Hey, I am the magician, right? They even call me Hermione right? Why do I suddenly feel bewitched by him? Oh, no... This can't be happening.