4. Hold The Missing

Fahira's smile widened as she recalled Ariel's improving condition after his heart surgery two days ago. Although he still needed some days of hospital care, he appeared much healthier.

"Fahira, are you better now? David said you were sick?" Mira asked with concern as she stood in front of Fahira's cubicle.

"I'm thankful, Mira. Thank you," Fahira replied sincerely, taking off her blazer and placing it on the chair beside her.

"Here, I brought this for you. You need proper nutrition and vitamins, especially since you haven't been coming to the Big Boss's office. He's been quite grumpy lately, and almost everyone here got scolded!" Mira explained, handing Fahira a package filled with food.

"Thank you so much, Mir. But why are you going through all this trouble?" Fahira replied and looked at Mira with gratitude in her eyes. These little acts of kindness touched her heart, and she silently expressed her gratitude for being surrounded by good people.

"It's okay, pretty Fahira!" Mira responded and was about to return to her own cubicle. However, Darian appeared with David, and Fahira quickly signaled to Mira to prepare herself before they received the boss's intense gaze.

With an air of arrogance, Darian walked past Fahira, Mira, and all the employees who stood, respectfully lowering their heads to acknowledge him. After Darian, David followed with a friendly smile, returning the greetings from the women who were ignored by their boss.

Once Darian made sure to enter his office, Mira swiftly jogged back to her cubicle, and Fahira suppressed a laugh at her colleague's comical behavior. Though Fahira felt somewhat intimidated by Darian's cold demeanor, she believed that as long as she did her job well, she had nothing to fear from another human being. After all, all of God's creations were equal, with differences in faith being the only distinguishing factor among them.

Unbeknownst to David, a faint smile appeared on Darian's lips after he encountered Fahira. David left Darian's office after their business was completed and transferred all the work from the last two days to Fahira for review.

"Check everything, Fahira. I've completed everything, and the soft files are on my computer," David said casually before returning to his mostly empty workspace. As Darian's personal assistant and bodyguard, David couldn't be considered an ordinary employee. His work hours were around the clock. Whenever Darian needed him, he had to be ready. However, David also frequently helped Fahira with her tasks when she was overwhelmed or couldn't come to the office.

As usual, Darian acknowledged the sun's greetings, and his heart warmed, much like the unfamiliar feeling he called longing. He sat in his executive chair and turned on the flat screen in front of him. While waiting for his laptop to start, he reviewed the files he had studied the previous day.

The corners of his lips lifted as the aroma of coffee tickled his sense of smell. He took a deep breath, savoring every warm wisp emanating from the brew prepared by his secretary, who hadn't visited his throat in two days. He opened the coffee cup lid, which was only slightly ajar before. According to Darian's instructions, every morning, the authentic aroma of coffee should dominate his space. So, every morning, Fahira headed straight to the pantry, preparing hot coffee for Darian before occupying her work desk.

Soon, a knocking on the door interrupted Darian's activities. Without diverting his attention from the laptop screen in front of him, Darian instructed the person to enter. Fahira entered, carrying several folders containing reports on the company's performance for the past month, as requested by Darian. At the end of each month, Darian meticulously reviewed all reports from the finance director and the human resources director before entering the next month.

Suddenly, the distinctive vanilla lace scent of Fahira's body greeted Darian's sense of smell, instantly causing him to inhale deeply, exhaling slowly as he gazed at Fahira placing the files on his desk. Their close proximity shattered Darian's concentration.

"Fahira," Darian called while looking at Fahira with his back against the chair.

"Yes, Sir. Is there something you need?" Fahira replied, daring to meet Darian's gaze.

Silence.

Two pairs of eyes accidentally collided for a few seconds. Fahira's heart raced, receiving Darian's unreadable gaze. Fahira immediately lowered her head to break the contact, then took a step back from Darian's work desk. Darian cleared his throat as the atmosphere suddenly became strange and tense.

"Tomorrow, don't use this perfume again! I don't like its scent!" Darian's statement came out of nowhere, deviating from the topic he intended to discuss with Fahira, who was delivering the files to David in her absence. Fahira stood frozen, her lips open in surprise at Darian's absurd remark. Unconsciously, she raised both arms alternately to smell her own body, ensuring she didn't have body odor. Fahira would feel embarrassed if that happened, as her reputation as the secretary of the CEO of a large company who always presented herself attractively could plummet instantly.

"It smells good! Besides, I've been using this perfume for a long time. Why does the Boss complain now?" Fahira mumbled, confused.

"It's not the smell, Fahira!" Darian sighed in frustration when he saw Fahira's cute and amusing reactions.

"Alright, Sir! Hmm... yes, I will buy a new perfume soon," Fahira replied innocently, then quickly lowered her raised left hand.

"You better leave my office before I get a headache," Darian said, causing Fahira to be taken aback. Darian rarely commented on his employees' appearances. Fahira immediately obeyed her boss's order to leave the room.

"Oh, please make me a cup of coffee," Fahira hesitated with her hand still on the doorknob. Fahira turned around with a furrowed brow. As far as she knew, Darian only drank one cup of coffee a day. Her boss was very mindful of a healthy and clean lifestyle. Darian even regularly engaged in sports and martial arts such as kickboxing and Muay Thai, at least once a week. For this part, David was the one who scheduled Darian's activities.

"It's finished," Darian continued when he saw Fahira still staring at the empty cup on his table.

"Ye-yes, Sir," Fahira replied briefly and hesitantly left Darian's room with the empty cup.

Darian watched Fahira leave, murmuring, "Turns out, you're amusing, Fahira!"

Instead of returning to his work, Darian found himself smiling to himself. He reached for a small remote from the drawer and pressed a button. Slowly, the silver curtains in Darian's room, which had never been opened, shifted. Darian adjusted his seat and gaze to allow a gap of about 5 cm in the window's curtain.

The gap revealed Fahira's empty cubicle, as the owner of the chair must have gone to the pantry to return her used coffee cup and, of course, make another cup of coffee as instructed. From his position, Darian could easily stare at Fahira's beautiful face whenever he wanted. Before long, Fahira arrived with a tray containing Darian's ordered coffee and carefully placed it on the table.

Fahira left before her heart started working abnormally again every time she received Darian's unfamiliar gaze. Since that night, Fahira became quieter, while Darian's behavior reversed. He now frequently observed Fahira discreetly.

Coincidentally, as Fahira left Darian's room, David came in. With a lot of question marks in his mind, he stopped Fahira, "For the Boss?" Fahira nodded and quickly walked away.

Now, what Darian was doing was observing Fahira's movements, looking serious in front of the computer screen. Through the small gap, Darian could clearly see Fahira's various expressions, from seriousness to frowning, annoyance, and occasionally a smile. The flower-patterned blouse Fahira wore seemed to infect Darian's heart. Darian's lips lifted at the sight of Fahira biting the end of the pen and blowing on her bangs covering her forehead. The movement of Fahira's bangs up and down succeeded in making Darian chuckle. Since forever, she had always maintained a simple appearance, her straight hair usually tied into a ponytail with bangs hanging.

"Hey, Darian, remember she's just an ordinary woman, not on your level, especially since she's willing to give herself willingly just for money! She's just a promiscuous woman after your money!" Darian's heart warned, instantly wiping the smile off his face. Darian's hand clenched tightly, then roughly grabbed the remote and closed his room's curtains tightly again.