[4]

Olive blinked slowly. She didn't expect this kind of response from someone she had just met.

"Are you still going to stand there?" the man interrupted Olive's reverie.

"Oh, no, sir," Olive replied, folding her lips, trying to smile genuinely, though her heart suddenly felt incredibly heavy. How could her first meeting with her boss give her the impression that her new workplace would be uncomfortable? Oh my gosh! She then walked to the spot indicated by Thomas.

Handsome but annoying like this, his level of handsomeness has decreased significantly! Olive grumbled inwardly.

"This is my transfer letter, sir." Before being asked, Olive had already given the letter to Thomas, who was busy with his reports again. Her mind immediately compared Sonia's and Thomas's treatment.

"Sonia would never be like this. Geez... it's only the first day, and he's already getting on my nerves!" Olive looked at her interlocutor, who was also her boss.

"I've read the letter," Thomas said briefly without bothering to lift his gaze. Thomas was quite busy this morning. The headquarters had requested numerous reports, and today, Marta had an irreplaceable leave. Olive was supposed to meet with Marta this morning, and Thomas had to handle several other matters properly. "Wait, I'm still busy."

No one spoke after that because Thomas himself still had to finish the last part of his report. There should be no mistakes when providing information, especially when it involved data.

Meanwhile, Olive remained silent while observing the room that was now in her field of view. The room had cabinets on both sides with many folders and a sofa large enough for five to six people to sit on. There was also a showcase or a refrigerated cabinet filled with various canned beverages.

"Where is your house?" Thomas suddenly asked, which made Olive slightly uncomfortable. Besides being surprised by the sudden question, that kind of question was also a bit... odd, according to Olive. "I need to know your journey from home to here. If you're late? The branch's assessment will be negatively affected."

Olive's mouth opened wide, like a gasping fish out of water, but fortunately, she didn't have to gasp for breath. This was all because of Thomas's remark, which sounded incredibly annoying.

"I'm not late, sir. I came here today," Olive emphasized the words 'today' so her boss would know she wasn't intentionally late. She had been around the building for an hour, but the letter stated she should meet Marta at 9 o'clock in the morning. "On time," Olive said with a tone she had to restrain, careful not to sound annoyed.

"Good. I hope you'll keep it that way. There are rules here, different from Gajah Mada."

"I know," Olive quickly interjected.

Her recent remark prompted Thomas to lift his gaze from the row of reports. "You know?" he asked skeptically. "Try listing them."

"The basic rules are almost the same everywhere, right, sir? We're under the same management. The rules and SOPs we follow are also the same. So what's different? Did you create your own rules in CBD?"

Thomas stared at Olive in disbelief. "You were supposed to meet with Mrs. Marta today."

"I actually wanted to meet with Mrs. Marta," Olive replied without feeling guilty. Their eyes locked for a moment. It wasn't for admiration but for judgment, each silently evaluating the other. In Thomas's eyes, Olive was too bold. Where Olive saw Thomas, he was incredibly annoying. So...

"Come with me," Thomas said while adjusting his tie, even though it wasn't necessary. He strode away with wide steps, hoping to quickly wrap up their introduction. After all, Olive would be on the ground floor later, meeting with customers and providing the best service while working here. Even if he felt Olive was working carelessly, he could retract her probation as head teller.

If Marta were back at work, she'd have to discuss Olive with her deputy. Hopefully, this was just a matter of not liking her because the girl was too bold. Thomas didn't want CBD's perfect and highly acclaimed image to crumble just because of Olive's presence. If it came to that, Thomas wouldn't hesitate to kick her out.

Thomas could still hear Olive's footsteps behind him. He didn't want to talk much; not only did he lack other conversational topics, but he could also tell that Olive was quite talkative. He preferred not to engage with overly talkative people.

Olive descended the stairs with a slight sigh, trying to shake off the sudden frustration. She didn't want her new boss's treatment to affect her performance here. Was this what she wanted? She was surprised by the transfer. She shouldn't feel like a disposable staff member. She refused to be treated that way. Thomas's first impression was that Olive was just a teller who could be shuffled around because of her inadequate performance.

"Good afternoon, sir," greeted one of the front liner staff. Fortunately, there weren't too many customers on the floor making deposits or dealing with the cashier section. There were only two people at the customer service desks, both of whom were already being attended to.

"Oh, a representative. Someone needs to be at the front," Thomas ordered, and his subordinates complied without a word. Dela and Yossie were in the teller section, Ayana was the head teller, and Liana was the cashier who also served as a teller for priority customers.

Della took over the teller section since there weren't many customers yet. The limited time allowed Thomas to introduce Olive to everyone.

"As Mrs. Marta mentioned, there's a teller joining you here. We know Ayana will be resigning in the next three weeks," Thomas explained, glancing in Ayana's direction. "I can't say much except to support Ayana's decision."

"Thank you, sir," Ayana replied with a genuine smile.

"So sad," replied Yossie, standing beside Ayana. She leaned her head slightly on Ayana's shoulder, who she considered a big sister. Ayana didn't seem to mind and gently stroked Yossie's arm. Olive, who had been observing them all, also noticed Ayana's motherly aura.

"That's why we have a new teller joining us today," Thomas said, glancing at Olive, who was standing nearby. "Please introduce yourself."

Olive briefly looked at Thomas and then nodded slightly. "Thank you, sir." She took a step forward. "My name is Olivia Charlotte. I'm here as a teller. I hope my colleagues can help me adapt quickly to the office."

Yossie and Ayana smiled, welcoming Olive, and Yossie extended her hand, which Olive enthusiastically shook.

"Welcome to the CBD Family," Yossie exclaimed cheerfully. "I'm Yossie, and this is Miss Ayana."

"Hello, Miss," Olive greeted warmly. One thing she had learned without needing a book was how to address people in a new place. She called everyone "Miss." Not to make someone feel old, but it didn't seem ethical to call someone by their first name when you met them for the first time. Who knows, her conversation partner might be much older. It gave the impression of being impolite, right? Maybe as time went by, she would figure out on her own who she should address with the title "Miss" and who she shouldn't.

"You guys get acquainted. I'm going back upstairs. Olive can start working normally. In the meantime, you can use Ayana's access to generate daily reports. Mr. Matthew said your access here is still in the process of being transferred, including your attendance. Did you try using the fingerprint earlier?"

Olive shook her head slightly.

"Try it now, maybe you can log in with your data."

The blonde-haired girl only nodded without saying a word. For some reason, Thomas had managed to silence her. She had no desire to respond with a single word, like "Yes, sir," or "Okay, sir," at all.

"Have you tried it, Olive?" Ayana asked as soon as she saw the girl entering the teller area. Since her arrival earlier, Ayana had already believed that Olive would be working here, replacing her. Even though she had to go through a trial period first, at least she could take over the tasks she was currently handling.

"I have, Miss," Olive replied with a faint smile. "Later, I'll write a late arrival report so they won't deduct my meal allowance."

"Yes. I'll sign it later. You can give it to Mr. Thomas to process."

Ugh, why did she have to meet Thomas again? "Okay," Olive said with resignation. "What should I do today?"

"Just assist Dela, okay?"

Olive smiled happily. Even though it was just light conversation while handling customers coming and going, the atmosphere created was enough to make Olive comfortable. It felt like she was at the Gajah Mada branch. No one was cold or curt, as Olive had feared. There was only one thing she didn't like about being here: Thomas Adam.

Fortunately, the boss was upstairs. She didn't have to interact with him continuously.

***

Arriving home, her mother was not there as usual. Although she had sped up her return, she had been trapped in heavy traffic at the train terminal. The distance between her home and the CBD took quite a while. That's why Olive set her phone alarm earlier this morning. Considering the time and distance, she remembered Thomas's words, which she felt belittled her.

She also didn't want to be late for work. If she were late, it wouldn't just be her meal allowance at risk, but also her performance. She might miss breakfast, leaving her hungry for quite a while until lunchtime arrived. That's why she tried her best not to be late.

"Ugh! No wonder he's rumored to be forever single. So stiff as a guy. Ew... I hope I never end up with a guy like that!" Olive shivered in disgust. She immediately headed to the kitchen and started cooking dinner. Even though it was just for herself, she was used to eating her own cooking.

Before she could even reach the kitchen, her phone rang loudly. Feeling a bit lazy, she reached for her phone, which she had intentionally placed on the table near the TV in the living room. Darius's name appeared on the screen. Despite her reluctance, Olive answered.

"Yeah?"

"Just got home?" Darius asked, with some noise in the background from passing vehicles.

"Yeah. Did you just finish work?" Olive asked, glancing at the wall clock in her home. Darius should have already arrived at his own home. As far as she knew, Darius's house wasn't too far from the Gajah Mada office.

"Nah," Darius said with a grin. "I'm in front of your street, Liv.”

"Huh?" Olive was taken aback. "Why?"

"Let's grab some food. I'm hungry. You probably haven't eaten yet, right?"

"No need." Olive declined. She didn't want to spend too much time with Darius. It wasn't that she didn't want to talk to the guy; in fact, Olive thought he was a good and polite young man. It's just that if their closeness was interpreted differently by Darius, she couldn't handle it.

Olive still wasn't ready to engage with guys romantically.

"I'm already here, and you're still refusing, Liv?" Darius persisted. "Come on, just this once. Plus, you owe me some stories about your adventures there."

Olive sighed softly.

"I'm not alone, you know. Riana's here too."

It didn't take long for Olive to hear Riana's voice from the other end, which made her agree to Darius's invitation. She had already been getting ready to cook dinner. She got changed into her uniform first. Her eyes were caught by a note on the fridge. There was a memo there, and she knew whose handwriting it was.

Olive, Mom's going to Newcastle for three days. There's a booking.

Olive stared at the handwritten note with a sense of longing.

"When will I have enough money to make Mom stop?" she whispered softly.