Salma's POV
I knew it. Working with Adrian was only going to add more stress to my already overloaded mind.
“Adrian, when someone’s explaining something, don’t just cut them off!” I shot him an annoyed look.
“Your explanation took way too long, Salma. I was getting dizzy just listening to you—imagine how the client felt.” Adrian entered the office ahead of me and sat at his desk with an entirely innocent expression.
I huffed in irritation and went straight to my desk. “Ugh. Next time, I’m just presenting with Angga. Working with this stone-faced human is giving me high blood pressure.”
Adrian answered from his desk. “If your blood pressure’s high, it’d be better to lower it.”
I immediately threw my bracelet at him. “Adrian! Watch yourself!”
This afternoon’s presentation had been so annoying. He actually interrupted my section and told me to just sit down. Then he explained everything to the client as if he understood it better than I did.
“If profits drop, the company is the one that loses money. At the very least, we need to have the data to answer the client’s questions.”
There he went, bringing it up again. I’d only suggested a fifty-fifty profit split as our initial partnership arrangement. I was going to increase my share later. Was I wrong?
“Never try to fool a client by offering an even profit split at the beginning. That’s an old trick.”
Adrian came over to my desk with the report he’d brought. “I think the data I provided is valid. If we set the price a little higher and offer more benefits, the client won’t run off. How can someone on the marketing staff not know something like this?”
I yawned as I listened, covering my mouth with one hand. Ugh, Adrian was seriously annoying.
“We also need to be good at negotiating so the client doesn’t run off. Don’t just explain and explain. No wonder Mr. Bayu often tells me to explain Jaya Perkasa Group’s products to clients.”
Adrian went back to his desk. I immediately focused on my laptop. I really wanted to smack Adrian upside the head. I knew all that stuff too, but people forget things sometimes.
Riko came into the room with Angga.
“Whoa, you two look like you’re having a great time alone together. What’s going on? Don’t tell me someone’s about to start dating?” Riko said, raising and lowering his eyebrows.
Adrian answered before I could.
“Salma already has a boyfriend. She announced it in front of me this morning.”
I whipped my head around. “So what if I have a boyfriend? Are you jealous? Aw, poor thing, all alone and single.”
Having a Virtual Boyfriend was useful after all. I could complain to my heart’s content, and I didn’t care about the office kids’ teasing anymore. The important thing was that I was free.
“Relax, Ri. There are plenty of curvy women in this office. Salma’s flat-chested and hard to look at, and when she talks, she makes your head feel like it’s about to split. I’ll introduce you to someone from design later. Damn, she’s smooth—like a KFC thigh.”
I quickly turned to Riko. “Oh, you want a KFC thigh? A McDonald’s thigh? I don’t care! What does any of that have to do with me?”
Once we got off work, I was going to drag Riko to the parking lot. Even though I was taken now, I still wouldn’t accept being compared to anyone.
Riko’s mouth was seriously cursed.
Quitting time finally arrived. I got ready to leave, grabbed my bag, and hurried out.
As soon as I reached the first floor, I contacted my Virtual Boyfriend.
My Virtual Boyfriend’s name was Jay. I’d gotten him after an hour of getting to know him through chat.
[Baby, I’m so tired from work… My coworkers are such a pain :(]
The message finally went through. I’d sent it to Jay.
[It’s okay… The important thing is that you’re done with work, right? I’m just about to head home from work too… See you at home, okay? See you, I miss you. We’ll call later, okay?]
I’d only had a Virtual Boyfriend for one day, but I was already so happy. At least I had someone at home to complain to about my day at work.
As I walked out of the office building, I saw that Riko was really introducing a designer named Safira to Adrian. I watched them from a distance.
“Oh, so that’s the person he was going to compare me to? She really does look like one of those roadside KFC girls.”
Adrian looked so friendly with Safira. He was completely different from the way he acted with me—where he was incredibly annoying.
But then again, all the guys in the real world were annoying. Maybe I really was better off living in the virtual world.