Alice repeatedly checked the watch on her left wrist. It was already 12:00, but Ashton was still nowhere to be seen entering his office.Maybe the meeting he was attending was running long, or perhaps her boss and husband was still deep in conversation with his guests. For now, Alice decided to wait patiently, even though it had been over thirty minutes.Finally, at 12:15, a restless Alice decided to try contacting Ashton. Besides being very hungry, she feared he had forgotten their lunch appointment. Just great, she thought."Hopefully Ashton answers my call," Alice muttered while searching for Ashton's contact on her phone. She dialed his number, hoping he would respond quickly.However, after almost three attempts, there was still no response from Ashton. Alice figured he might be too busy to answer. She tried to stay positive and decided to send a text message instead, hoping he would read and reply.Alice: Ashton, where are you? Are you done yet?Without hesitation, Alice sent th
Realizing that their guests were busy conversing with the staff, Ashton excused himself and got up from his seat. He headed to the cashier and ordered several dishes to go.Yes, Ashton had made a decision. He planned to leave early and fulfill his promise to Alice."Alice, please answer," Ashton muttered as he tried calling her back. He knew why she wasn’t picking up. She was probably sulking because he had ignored her earlier. Ashton swore he didn’t do it on purpose."Hello."Ashton felt relieved when his fourth call finally got a response. He had almost given up hope because Alice hadn't answered any of his previous calls."Hi, Alice. I ---""Did you invite me to lunch just to mess with me? You're unbelievable!" Alice interrupted immediately. On the other end, she was venting her frustration. Anyone would be angry after being kept waiting for so long, especially when they were extremely hungry. "Do you think I'm joking or lying when I say I'm really hungry and want to have lunch soo
"Alice, don't hang up yet. I'm not finished—" This was the last thing Ashton said before Alice ended their phone conversation. He hadn’t even finished speaking before Alice cut him off.Ashton was only trying to help. He had called Alice to let her know about Dimas, who he saw enjoying time with another woman.It really wasn’t Ashton’s business who Dimas spent time with, but it was different because Ashton knew Dimas planned to confess his feelings to Alice soon. Somehow, Ashton couldn’t accept this. He didn’t agree with Alice getting close to, let alone accepting, someone who was clearly involved with another woman. Besides, Alice was his wife. How could she consider dating another man?Since he didn’t get a good response from Alice, Ashton decided to go to her office. Carrying the food he had bought, he went to find her."Alice isn’t here, sir," said one of the staff as she saw Ashton standing and knocking on the door to Alice's office."Oh, really?""Yes, sir," replied Adinda, the
"Alice... where are you going?" Ashton asked when he saw his wife descending the stairs and heading straight to the living room. Instead of having breakfast together as usual, Alice seemed to be in a hurry this morning. He wondered what she was up to."I'm going to the project site in PIK.""To the project site on Saturday? It's a holiday today."Alice nodded. While arranging the contents of the bag she was going to carry, she responded to Ashton's question. It was no wonder Ashton was wondering. Because on Saturdays and Sundays, almost all Quandra employees were off duty."Yes, today is indeed a holiday. But, in case you forgot, who gave the deadline to the civil and field workers that everything should be finished by Monday?""Well, it was me." Ashton didn't deny it. He was the one who gave the task. However, he couldn't let Alice go today. "But, you can't go. There's an event at Mama's house this morning. It wouldn't be right for me to go alone."Alice also knew that there was an e
Alice never thought that just because of the office birthday party, she would end up being this busy. After all, she's just an intern. Somehow, Rumi's crazy idea made her one of the organizing committee members.As a result, for the past few days, almost all of her time has been spent preparing for the event. Luckily, the workload these days hasn't been too heavy, so she could focus. Plus, Rumi formed a team with quite a few members, so they could handle all the event preparations quickly."Alice, have you checked and discussed the event schedule for the week with Mr. Rumi?" asked Dita, who is the head of the event organizing committee.Currently, they were all sitting in one corner of the room, which the company had designated for small meetings or casual gatherings. All the committee members seemed focused on their respective tasks, including Alice."Yeah, Ms. Dita. It's been approved and signed off," Alice replied."Okay," nodded Dita. "So, tomorrow we'll start with some competitio
"Is Mr. Ashton going crazy or what?""Why crazy?""Well, yeah, crazy. Yesterday he sent lunch from that super expensive restaurant with a ton of food. And now? He's sending all sorts of breakfast foods for all of us. Is this just some kind of reward? Seems kinda weird.""Weird how? I don't get it.""Oh, come on, don't be dense. Just think about it. He says it's a reward, but is it really necessary multiple times? Mr. Ashton never used to do this before. Could it be that he's deliberately sending food for Alice?""Meaning? Ohhh, I see. Mr. Ashton is deliberately sending food to get Alice's attention?""Yeah! That's what I mean. Like what Mr. Dimas does. But Mr. Dimas is upfront about it. Whereas Mr. Ashton is being sneaky. Sending lots of food deliberately, including for us, so it's not too obvious that he's actually got something going on with Alice.""True! Suspicious, Mr. Ashton is smitten with Alice.""If he really is, it'll be interesting.""Why interesting?""Well, because Alice
Alice looked anxiously hopeful. From earlier, even since at home, before she really left for work, she already looked uneasy.Although she was known for being an extroverted person who was easy to get along with and blend in with anyone, Alice felt that this time her aura was different.For some reason, she still felt nervous when she realized that today she had to participate in a competition and be watched by almost all the employees of Quandra. Especially since the higher-ups were also present. Considering today was the first day that marked the beginning of a series of events for the next seven days.If she could have refused, Alice would have preferred to just be a spectator. Cheering, encouraging, or if necessary, being a supporter in the front row. But, because of Rumi's antics, she had no choice but to struggle to participate in all the activities that would take place. So tiring!"Why are you so tense? It’s like you’re about to go to war."Dimas, who had been standing at the
Meanwhile, on the field, Dimas was already lined up with the other competitors. Holding the relay baton, he looked ready. Listening carefully and waiting for the whistle to start the event."All participants, get ready!!!"The announcer started giving instructions. Looking at all the participants, and then, on the count of three, blew the whistle to start the race.Dimas in his position started running. The man in a white T-shirt seemed to excel and was able to get ahead of the other six participants.Usually, a relay race team consists of four athletes, but this time it was made different. Each team had only two people. Moreover, the winners of the first, second, and third places had to compete again to determine who would take the top spot.When he was about to reach the meeting point, Alice focused and got ready. As Dimas approached, Alice immediately reached out her hand, grabbed the baton from Dimas, and then ran as fast as she could.Luckily, before the race started, Alice had d