CHAPTER 7
The good news came in just before lunch.
Gilang had just finished opening the client’s email when his eyes stopped at the last line. He read it from the top once more, then returned to the same section.
WE’RE HAPPY TO MOVE FORWARD WITH MARIPOSA.
The campaign proposal he’d been carrying for the past few weeks had finally been approved.
The project was big enough to make him come home later than usual several times. As a Senior Account Executive, Gilang had been in direct contact with the client from the beginning, bringing their brief to the team, handling revisions, and making sure the final presentation went according to their requests. Sera was involved on the project side, mainly making sure the materials and internal needs were ready every time Gilang brought in a new request from the client.
Gilang let out a long breath. It wasn’t complete relief so much as finally being able to stop holding his breath.
He immediately opened the PAYDAY DEVOTEES group.
Gilang: Clear your schedules tonight. I’m treating. The client approved it yesterday.
Dina replied less than a minute later.
Dina: The one keeping us alive from revision to revision?
Gilang read the message with a small laugh.
Gilang: Yep. That one.
A new message appeared from Miko.
Miko: So it’s a deal?
Gilang leaned back in his chair before typing.
Gilang: Deal. They’re moving forward with us.
Dina immediately sent a celebration sticker.
Dina: OKAY. I’M READY TO EAT TONIGHT.
Gilang had just set down his phone when Sera appeared beside his desk carrying several sheets of printouts.
“The client from that campaign yesterday?” she asked as she placed the documents on Gilang’s desk.
Gilang nodded. “They approved the proposal. We’re officially moving forward.”
Sera smiled right away. She picked up one sheet that had been placed incorrectly on Gilang’s desk, then glanced at his laptop screen, which still displayed the client’s email.
“No wonder you’ve been grinning all morning,” she said while straightening the papers in her hands.
“You’ve been watching me?”
“Don’t flatter yourself.”
Gilang leaned back in his chair. “I’m handsome, huh?”
“Handsome? No. Annoying? Definitely.”
Gilang laughed. “I’m treating tonight.”
Sera looked at him for a moment, then pointed at Gilang’s phone, which was still open to the group chat.
“Yeah, I saw.”
“So you’re coming?”
“If I don’t, Dina might order a whole table for herself.”
Sera returned to her desk after saying that. Gilang shook his head with a smile and went back to reading the client’s email.
At least tonight, he had a reason to celebrate something.
They arrived a little after seven at a fairly busy restaurant not far from the office.
The moment she saw the menu, Dina lifted her head.
“I just want to make sure one more time. You’re really paying tonight?”
She stared at Gilang while still holding the open menu, as if the wrong answer would make her stand up and leave immediately.
Gilang gave a small laugh. “Yes. I invited you all to dinner, so I’m paying.”
Dina nodded in satisfaction. “Okay. Now I can eat in peace.”
Miko, sitting across from her, immediately leaned back in his chair. “Don’t relax yet. You usually lose control once you see the menu.”
Dina closed the menu for a moment and looked at him. “I’ve learned my lesson.”
“Learned what?”
“Learned that when someone else is paying, I don’t need to open mobile banking.”
Adit, sitting beside Miko, burst out laughing. He shook his head as he picked up his own menu.
“I don’t think that’s the lesson Sera meant yesterday.”
Dina pointed at Adit with the edge of her menu. “The important thing is, I’m making progress.”
Sera smiled at them, then went back to reading the menu. “You’ve only been sitting here five minutes, and you’re already being loud.”
“And we’re already at peace,” Dina said as she opened the menu again.
Gilang merely laughed. He’d already set a budget for dinner before inviting them. He had no intention of showing off or making it look like he had extra money. He just wanted to celebrate the project they’d finally won, and eating alone wouldn’t have been nearly as fun.
The server came over and began taking their orders.
Dina had already found what she wanted. “I’ll have the chicken steak.”
Adit pointed to a page as well. “I’ll have the seafood fried rice.”
Miko was still reading the menu when Sera finally closed hers. “Just the aglio olio.”
Gilang handed the last menu to the server. “Steak. And mineral water.”
As soon as the server left, Dina started the conversation again.
“I’m still curious,” she said, looking at Gilang. “That final pitch was super tense, right?”
Gilang nodded. He picked up the glass of water in front of him before answering. “A little. They actually liked the concept from the start, but the budget made things difficult for a while.”
Sera chimed in, leaning back in her chair. “They weren’t just unhappy with the budget. They asked for several changes to the campaign direction two days before the presentation.”
“Which ended up making us change the deck late at night,” Gilang added, glancing at Sera.
Sera nodded. “And you still had the nerve to say, ‘Relax, I’ll handle the client.’”
Dina immediately laughed. “Oh, yeah. I remember that line.”
Gilang raised both hands slightly. “I did handle it.”
“Handled it while sending us revisions at eleven at night,” Sera said with a small laugh.
“Because the client didn’t send them until ten.”
“I know.”
“So don’t blame me.”
Sera shook her head with a smile. “I’m not blaming you. I’m just reminding you.”
Adit laughed too. “When you two talk about the project, it sounds like you’re in court.”
“Because you don’t know how bad the client was,” Sera replied as she picked up her drink.
“It’s over now,” Gilang said. He smiled as he said it, and this time it was obvious how much the victory meant to him.
Dina raised her glass.
“Well then. To the new project.”
Adit raised his glass too. “To Gilang, who can finally sleep.”
Miko lifted his glass slightly. “And hopefully the project doesn’t kill us.”
Sera raised her glass with a smile. “Amen.”
Gilang laughed before raising his glass as well.
“To Mariposa.”
Their glasses clinked lightly.
That night really did feel like a small celebration.
No one opened a laptop. No one checked their email every five minutes. They ate slowly, talking about the client, the office, weekend plans, and Adit’s story about his kid stubbornly insisting on wearing two different-colored shoes that morning.
Dina even managed to forget that she’d still been busy counting her balance a few days earlier.
Until her food arrived.
She looked at the dish the server had just placed on the table, then looked at Gilang.
“Can I order one more thing?”
Sera burst out laughing before Gilang could answer. “You just finished saying you were going to learn how to manage your spending.”
Dina shrugged. “It’s not my money.”
Miko gave her a flat look. “That’s not a very good defense.”
“It’s good enough for me.”
Gilang picked up the dessert menu and glanced through it. “Go ahead.”
Sera turned to him. “Are you sure?”
Gilang nodded with a laugh. “Just this once. We’re celebrating.”
Dina immediately pointed at Gilang. “See? He gave permission.”
Sera shook her head. “Don’t say I didn’t warn you later.”
“I won’t say anything,” Gilang replied with a laugh.
They ended up ordering an extra dessert.
Then one more drink because they were still sitting there for quite a while.
No one felt like the night had gone overboard.
At least not until the bill arrived.
Gilang picked up the white sheet the server placed in the middle of the table. He read the bottom figure, then raised one eyebrow slightly.
Dina, sitting across from him, immediately noticed.
“How much?”
Gilang turned to her and told her the amount.
Dina grimaced. “Oh.”
Adit looked at the bill from the side. “That’s a decent amount.”
“I’ll chip in,” he said, pulling his wallet from his pocket.
Gilang immediately raised a hand to stop him. “No need. I invited you all to dinner.”
Adit was still holding his wallet. “But there are five of us.”
“I know.”
“You’re really okay with this?”
Gilang smiled as he handed his card to the server. “Really. I’m treating tonight.”
Adit finally nodded and put his wallet away.
Dina looked at Gilang with a hint of guilt. “I ordered too much dessert, didn’t I?”
Gilang gave a small laugh. “If I say yes, will you stop?”
Dina thought for a moment.
“Nope.”
“Then there you go.”
They all laughed.
The payment went through. No drama. They left the restaurant in good spirits.
Gilang was still laughing when Dina and Miko started arguing about the last dessert.
When he got home, Gilang was still thinking about dinner. It wasn’t about the bill, because he’d prepared the money from the start to celebrate the project they’d finally won. He didn’t regret inviting the four people who had been working themselves to the bone on that pitch with him for the past few weeks, either.
It was just that after opening mobile banking and looking at his remaining balance, he remembered one thing that hadn’t factored into his calculations at all earlier.
His savings goal for this month.
Gilang opened his financial notes. There was the amount he’d set aside every month for the down payment on an apartment. It hadn’t changed, at least not for the past few months. He’d calculated it based on his paycheck, regular expenses, and a little room for fun.
Tonight had taken up part of that room.
He entered tonight’s expenses into a calculator, then recalculated how much he could still deposit this month. The result made him let out a long breath.
Technically, he could still make it work if he pushed himself. But if he wanted to keep living normally without adjusting his other expenses, he’d have to reduce this month’s deposit.
Gilang leaned back in his chair and stared at the numbers on the screen.
“Well, all right.”
It wasn’t a big problem. His goal was only being pushed back a little. It was still annoying, though, especially since he’d worked so hard to maintain his savings amount every month.
His phone vibrated.
A message came in from his younger sibling.
Don’t forget tomorrow, okay, Bro.
Gilang read the message with a small smile. He typed a brief reply.
Yeah. I’ll send it tomorrow.
After sending it, he reopened his savings notes.
Dinner had changed his calculations, but he also knew it wasn’t the only reason. Over the past few months, he’d started eating out more often, taking taxis home when he worked too late, and occasionally buying something simply because he felt he’d worked hard enough to deserve it.
Everything was still within what he considered reasonable limits.
The problem was that reasonable things could still add up to a lot when combined.
Gilang rubbed his face before finally closing the app.
His apartment goal was still there.
He just had to chase it a little longer this time.
The next morning, the Mariposa office was once again filled with the sounds of keyboards, the coffee machine, and people already complaining about emails before nine. Gilang was sitting at his desk when Sera arrived carrying her laptop and a folder containing materials for their new project.
“Did you see the client’s email from this morning?” Sera asked as she placed the folder on Gilang’s desk.
Gilang opened his laptop wider to show her the screen. “The one asking for a timeline revision?”
“That one. They want to move the kickoff up.”
Sera pulled up a chair beside him and opened her laptop. “I already checked the team’s schedule. If they want to start next week, we’ll have to shift a few things around.”
“I’ll try to negotiate.”
Gilang picked up his phone for a moment to open yesterday’s meeting notes. His thumb paused on the screen for a few seconds before he returned to the client’s email.
Sera noticed the movement.
“What are you doing?”
“Calculating my budget.”
Sera assumed it was related to the project. “The client’s budget?”
Gilang shook his head with a smile. “My budget.”
Sera looked at him for a moment. “Why?”
Gilang slipped his phone into his pocket before answering.
“I recalculated last night. Looks like my savings goal for this month has to be pushed back.”
Sera didn’t respond right away. She opened the presentation file on her laptop, then glanced at Gilang again.
“Because of the treat?”
“Partly.”
Gilang leaned back in his chair. “I already have an amount I set aside every month. Yesterday cut into it a little, and there have also been a few expenses this month that turned out to be higher than expected.”
“Is it bad?”
“No.” Gilang shook his head. “I’m still fine. My goal just got pushed back a little.”
Sera nodded. There was no panic in Gilang’s voice, and there was no reason to panic. He was simply recalculating a plan he’d made for himself.
“What goal?” Sera finally asked.
“The down payment.”
Sera lifted her head. “For an apartment?”
Gilang nodded.
“Wow.”
“Why wow?”
“I thought you already had one.”
Gilang laughed. “If I already had one, I wouldn’t need to save for the down payment.”
Sera gave a small laugh and returned to her laptop.
“Is it still a long way off?”
“If I stay disciplined, not too long.”
Sera laughed.
“Don’t laugh.”
“I’m not laughing.”
“You’re laughing.”
“A little.”
Gilang shook his head as he reopened the client file.
“That’s why I haven’t told Dina. She might say I need to start a new group.”
Sera immediately remembered Dina’s balance problems and laughed harder.
“Don’t. She’ll call it the Down Payment Devotees.”
Gilang laughed along with her.
The conversation ended when the meeting notification came in. Sera immediately organized the documents and stood up, while Gilang picked up his laptop.
“The client’s in,” she said, pointing at the screen.
Gilang stood too. “Let’s go.”
They walked toward the meeting room without discussing the savings again.
But Sera now knew one small thing about Gilang that had never come up at the office before: behind his laid-back attitude, he was also chasing something for himself.
That afternoon, the PAYDAY DEVOTEES group grew lively again.
Dina sent a screenshot of a food promotion.
Dina: Guys, this is so cheap.
Adit replied almost instantly.
Adit: Din.
That one word alone was enough to make Dina send an annoyed emoji.
Dina: I’m just looking.
Miko immediately followed up.
Miko: That’s usually your last line before you buy it.
Dina replied quickly.
Dina: I’m more financially responsible now.
Gilang, waiting for a presentation file to finish uploading, read the conversation with a smile.
He’d just opened mobile banking to make sure tomorrow’s transfer had been included in his calculations when Dina’s next message appeared.
Dina: But this one really is cheap.
Gilang typed.
Gilang: If you don’t need it, don’t buy it.
Dina immediately replied.
Dina: Why is everyone telling me not to buy things today?
Gilang paused for a moment before answering.
Gilang: Because I just learned that too.
Dina sent a question mark.
Dina: Learned what?
Gilang stared at the screen for a few seconds. He could have explained about his apartment goal being pushed back because of several small decisions. But in the end, he decided not to turn the group into a place to vent.
Gilang: When you have a goal, it turns out you still have to count the small expenses.
Miko replied with a thumbs-up emoji.
Adit added:
Adit: Exactly.
Dina sent a crying sticker.
Dina: The longer this goes on, the more you guys sound like my parents.
Gilang gave a small laugh.
From the desk beside him, Sera glanced over.
“What’s up?”
Gilang showed her his phone screen. Sera read the conversation with a smile.
“Look at you, being wise for once.”
“I’m still practicing.”
“It shows.”
Gilang slipped his phone into his pocket. “Don’t compliment me. It’ll go away.”
Sera laughed softly, then turned back to her laptop.
A new email from the client arrived at Gilang’s desk.
He opened it and immediately found three new revision notes inside.
Gilang stared at the screen for a few seconds.
“We only won yesterday.”
Sera turned to him. “What’s wrong?”
Gilang angled the laptop slightly so she could see the email.
“Our client’s already asking for revisions.”
Sera read the email, then let out a breath.
“That was fast.”
“That’s agency life.”
Sera looked at the list of revisions on the screen, then picked up a pen from the desk.
“Well, all right. Let’s get to work.”
Gilang nodded as he opened the project file.
“My down payment gets pushed back, and the deadline gets moved up.”
Sera laughed.
“Welcome to adulthood.”
Gilang laughed along before returning to work.