Coffee and the Dangerous Deal

Victor seeing "Play Nice" became the name of the café. He has never been to this place yet. He didn't know that cafes for coffee like this exist.

Viewed from the outside, there is a very small café lobby. On the right side of the café there is a garden with maple trees standing. There are already leaves of red and yellow color. If the wind blows hard the next afternoon, the red leaves will fall. Victor imagined hometown when he saw it.

This café doesn't look expensive, but it definitely doesn't look cheap. Victor could not guess the price of the menu would match the beauty offered or not.

The lobby café is just an empty space with a wall that says welcome to "Play Nice". They still have to walk through the stairs, descending about a metre down to reach the cashier and the area for visitors.

They were until the moment when the sun had set, so colorful lights greeted them at the entrance of the cashier. Victor's eyes opened wide, he saw a new world.

Victor entered the greenhouse area. The café was arranged in such a way as a garden. Many expensive trees and houseplants are on the inside with beautiful benches neatly arranged so that visitors can sit and enjoy the atmosphere with their ordered drinks and food.

Victor and Mario are standing in front of the cashier now. They have to order the menu and pay for it directly.

Victor ordered an americano, and Mario also ordered the same. As promised, Victor paid. The clerk at the checkout then gave them the table number. Later, there will be a waiter who delivers orders according to the table number.

Mario took Victor to sit in the middle. From there, they could see the entrance. The light at the start of the steps made it look like a sacrificial altar.

"Do you come here often?" Victor asked.

Even when he was sitting in chair, Victor still couldn't believe there was a café that dared to offer a green concept like this in a big city.

Mario nodded. "It's amazing, isn't it, there is a place like this in a big city."

Victor nodded. "To the point that I thought we were going to the suburbs."

"On the outskirts of Jakarta, there will be no place like this. They made it specially. I invested in them for the beginning of development," Mario said.

Victor's eyebrows raised at the sound of Mario flexing his wealth casually.

"Do you always talk like that?" asked Victor.

"Like what?"

"It's like saying where you invest is like just buying fried beans," Victor said.

Mario laughs as he realizes that he's not talking to someone whose daily life isn't the same as his. Mario will talk about this investment and that like everyone else is talking about just watching this movie and that at the cinema when hanging out with his friends.

This can happen because of the difference in economic class between them. Victor is a working man, who has never made investing a part of everyday life. Workers will think of money being used to pay for their living needs, generally for the next month. They save money or save for the security of their lives not to be duplicated into money in investment techniques.

Mario sighed.

A waiter delivered two cups of americano to their table. The waiter took the table number because the entire order had already been delivered.

After the waiter left, Mario said, "I'm sorry, it's a habit. When I are with my friends, we often discuss investment."

Victor felt inferior instantly. Just now he felt that he could talk to Mario openly like a friend, now with just one word, his confidence is reduced. However, Victor quickly mastered himself. Isn't Mario a target to become a VIP customer? If he can invest in the café business, surely he also has no problem with being a VIP customer, Victor thought.

While Victor was organizing himself, Mario cared about what Victor was thinking now.

"Are you offended?" Mario cautiously asked.

Victor shook his head.

"No. I'm the one who has to get used to it. This made me realize that the difference between us is very clear. Usually, people like me will talk about where to go on vacation when the holiday comes, what to watch to entertain ourselves, what to do to reduce the tension of daily and monthly work targets. People like you must have never worried about the price of rice going up," Victor said. His last sentence was followed by laughter.

Mario didn't realize it was a joke. People from the lower middle class often make the price of rice rise as a joke. That's because joking around is the only way to keep life's stresses from hurting.

Mario actually learned new things from Victor.

"Do you often not be able to buy rice?" Mario asked with concern.

Victor so smiled wryly. Only then did Victor realize the difference in sense of humor between them. Mario will never make the price of rice a matter of conversation and making fun about it. In Mario house, there are always servants taking care of everything, so Mario will never know the changes in the price of groceries.

Rice is the main foodstuff, if it is difficult to reach, wouldn't Victor's life be very miserable? Mario thought that way when Victor was silent.

"Not really. I can still eat well," Victor said awkwardly. To reduce the awkwardness, Victor drank an americano.

"How is your work, is everything smooth?" Mario asked casually. He also didn't want their conversation to make their distance even farther later. He had tried to subtly approach Victor, so he didn't want it to lead to failure just because he couldn't appreciate the differences between them.

"My job... everything went well," Victor replied casually and thought quickly that this was an opportunity to ask Mario to be his VIP customer. "It's just..." Victor spliced up the previous sentence and deliberately made a short pause.

"It's just...?" Mario responded, like a fish eating bait.

"It's just that my performance is the lowest among new employees," Victor said.

Mario pitch his head. "Why is that?" he asked, pretending not to know when in fact Mario had received a report file from HRD. They will send him a work report every month. The file can even be accessed by Mario using his smartphone right now.

Victor used this as an opportunity to explain the problem. Victor doesn't care if explaining the matter now is an improper action. Victor was already starving when it came to achieving achievements.

"So you want to increase sales by making me a VIP customer for you, this month?"

Victor nodded. He felt that Mario had agreed behind the confirmation question. However, Mario fell silent and Victor couldn't read other people's minds. So, Victor became hesitant and discouraged again. Victor lowered his head and thought that maybe he should find another target.

"If I agree. In return, what will I get from you?"

Victor felt a happy tremor in his heart. He turned to Mario, looking at him with a big smile. Subconsciously, Victor had already made Mario see the blood side and the dragon aura hidden in him was seen by Mario's Unicorn eyes.

"Whatever!" exclaimed Victor who was carried away by happiness.

"Anything I will do for you, as long as I can make it happen. I will definitely do it!"

Victor's face shining in Mario's eyes evoked something. Mario swallowed hard and held back as hard as he could.

"Anything?" Mario repeated Victor's words with deep interest. There was a butterfly flying in his stomach.

"Yes! Anything!"

Mario laughed to get rid of himself again. If there was Yoshi there, Yoshi would say silently, "Victor has already said two very dangerous words unconsciously."

"Can you promise to do anything? Whatever I will order you in the future?"

Victor, still overcome by the euphoria of successfully taking Mario as an excited VIP customer, replied, "I swear I'll do anything you tell me to do as long as I can make it happen!"

Victor even raised his hand, opened a palm in front of Mario, making a pose like he was swearing in front of the altar.

Mario smiled and a deal was struck between them.

The next day, Victor came to work, stood guard in the store as usual and waited for Mario's arrival until his working hours were up. Mario does not show up and Victor feels disappointed.

Victor lowered his head when he entered the locker room for employees. Inside the area for male employees, Victor meets Luis.

"What's the matter? Why is your face bent?" asked Luis as he changed clothes. His work shift was also over, so he was getting ready to go home.

Victor let out a long sigh. "I thought he was coming. We have agreed. He will come to be my VIP customer and I will do anything for him. I thought he would come today to fulfill his promise."

Luis realized what Victor was talking about.

"Maybe he is busy. Did he promise to come today?" asked Luis.

Victor raised his face, then was disappointed with himself. "Ah, that's right. I didn't ask when he would come."

Luis shook his head in surprise at his friend. Why can such a basic thing be forgotten?

"If so, please ask him. You have the phone number, right? Send him a message," Luis suggested. Then he patted Victor on the shoulder. "I won't congratulate you until you actually do the transaction success with this person. Good luck man."

Luis leaves Victor alone. Victor had seen Luis leave with a neat appearance and a little dressed up.