“Melati…” The sound of someone’s voice made Melati turn around.
“Yes, sir. I’m Melati,” the girl replied.
“Just go on in! Mr. Reno wants to see you.”
The man speaking pointed toward a room. Melati followed the man named Gery.
“Excuse me, sir! Melati is here.”
The man who appeared to be the company’s CEO immediately shifted his gaze. For a moment, he stopped what he was doing.
“Have a seat!” Reno told his new employee.
A little hesitant, Melati obeyed Reno.
“Welcome to the company.”
Melati nodded. “Yes, sir. Thank you so much!”
Reno glanced at Gery, who was still standing beside Melati’s chair. “Did you prepare the documents I asked for?”
Gery immediately gave his forehead a light smack. “Oh, right! Just a second, sir.” Gery hurried out.
Melati remained silent. The room fell quiet for a few moments.
“After looking over your résumé, I think you’re exactly the person I need. Besides that, I really hope you’ll make use of all the abilities you have,” Reno said after a while.
Melati lifted her face slightly. Before she knew it, her eyes met Reno’s. She quickly looked away.
“Thank you, sir. I’ll do my best.”
Reno nodded. There was actually something else he wanted to say. But for some reason, he felt a little awkward.
Reno cleared his throat softly, trying to settle his own feelings. He normally wasn’t the type to act like this.
Melati felt awkward too. Of course she did. At a first meeting like this, Reno turned out not to say much. He wasn’t like her previous boss.
“Gery will explain the rest of your work to you later.”
“Sorry, sir, was that Gery earlier?”
Melati asked only to make sure she hadn’t mistaken him for someone else.
Reno nodded. “Yes, he’s my personal assistant. For the past few months, he’s been handling the secretary’s work,” Reno explained.
“Oh, all right, sir.” Melati nodded in understanding.
“In that case, you can go see Gery. He’ll take care of everything you need, Melati.” Reno gave her a faint smile.
“Thank you, sir. I’ll excuse myself.”
Melati quickly left Reno’s office. Just as Reno had said, she went straight to Gery.
There were two desks outside Reno’s office. One of them was apparently meant for Melati.
“Excuse me, Mr. Gery!” Melati called out.
Gery, who was busy working on the laptop in front of him, shifted his gaze to Melati, who was standing at his desk.
“Sorry to bother you, sir. Mr. Reno told me to come see you,” Melati said politely.
“Oh, right! Melati, your desk is over there. I’ve already put all the documents you’ll need to study on it.”
Melati glanced in the direction Gery pointed, then nodded.
“Thank you, sir! Can I start working right away?” Melati asked hesitantly.
Gery smiled. “Of course, Mel!”
“Hey, I’m going to call you Mel. Melati’s kind of a mouthful when we’re chatting. Wow, I’m acting way too familiar already,” Gery joked with a laugh.
Melati laughed along with him. This time, the atmosphere felt completely different from a few minutes earlier. She had felt a little awkward with Reno, but not with Gery. At first, Melati had assumed Gery would be just like Reno. She had been wrong.
“That’s okay, sir!”
Gery scratched the back of his neck. “You make me sound really old when you call me ‘sir,’ Mel. Don’t call me that!”
Melati furrowed her brow. This was completely unexpected. Melati, who usually found it very difficult to get close to people she had just met, felt relieved by Gery’s attitude.
“Then what should I call you, sir?”
“See? You called me ‘sir’ again. I don’t think we’re that far apart in age.”
“How about calling me Mas instead?” Gery continued.
Melati looked hesitant. How could she possibly do that? He might think she was being disrespectful.
“B-but… sir.”