Chapter 13

• Especially when the schedule was delayed and chaotic, she often felt guilty. Internal meetings with employees and managers were usually more forgiving. If it was an external meeting with clients and vendors, fortunately, some vendors understood.
• Her parents never complained about her coming home late or working overtime because they saw it as her path to progress. However, her boyfriend Nathan didn't like it when she took this job because the secretary's image was often negative, even though it wasn't the case.
• Now, she had adapted to her role as a secretary and thoroughly enjoyed it. In fact, she considered Harvey her friend now. They could talk about anything, and they often had lunch together. Back when she first started working here, the man wouldn't even look at her.
• "Poppy." "Yes, sir." "I'm off to meet a client."
• "Alright, sir." "You take care of the office. I'll be back at two." "Okay, sir."
• Poppy watched Harvey leave his office and then stepped out to find her friend, Bella. Entering the public relations room, she saw Bella sitting there, smiling. Her friend took a vacant chair.
• "Has Mr. Harvey left?" Bella asked.
• "Yeah, he's gone."
• "Where do you want to have lunch?" Poppy inquired.
• "I don't know, where's good?"
• "I'll accompany you. I'm still full from brunch with Mr. Harvey earlier."
• "Alright, let's just eat in the pantry. I don't feel like going out."
• Bella temporarily left her work, and they headed to the office pantry. The company provided lunch for its employees. Poppy made a cup of hot tea to accompany Bella's meal. They sat while gazing out at the Jakarta city view. Bella opened her lunchbox and looked at Poppy, as she knew her friend had just returned from New York, and Poppy hadn't said anything yet about her experience there with Harvey.
• "Are you still with Nathan?" Bella asked, knowing that her friend was dating a very religious guy like Nathan, whose Instagram was filled with spiritual content. She admitted that it was good for inner peace.
• "Yes."
• Bella laughed. "What's it like dating Nathan, Pop?"
• "He's a good boy, Bella. He's a good future husband."
• "Being a good boy and being religious doesn't guarantee happiness, you know? I mean, I know Nathan is okay, financially stable, kind, very religious, even too naive, to the point of being stiff. Not really my type."
• "Well, we're different. I feel protected when I'm with him."
• "Maybe it's because of him that you get your spiritual dose."
• "Seems like it," Poppy chuckled.
• "By the way, you haven't told me about your time in New York. How was it with Mr. Harvey? Did Nathan get mad that you went with Harvey?"
• Poppy took a deep breath, looking at Bella who was eating peacefully. "Well, what can I do? It's my job. My parents were perfectly fine with me going to New York. Nathan was upset, though. He sulked for a couple of days because I went to New York. But, you know, what can you do."
• "Go on," Bella urged.
• "Regarding Harvey, I was there for work, met with some clients, signed contracts, and then returned to Jakarta."
• "Did you share a room with Mr. Harvey?"
• Poppy smiled, patting Bella's shoulder, knowing that Bella was bound to ask this.
• "At first, yes, because our trip was sudden. The hotel had only one room left, and it was late. We had to wait until the next day for another available room. So, we had to share that night."
• "And then?" Bella grew more curious.
• "Well, nothing happened."
• "You're lying," Bella retorted.
• Poppy just laughed. She felt embarrassed to admit that she and Harvey had shared passionate kisses and had been carried away in the heat of the moment during their stay in New York.
• "Okay, I'll be honest. Harvey and I did kiss at some point, maybe because of the cold atmosphere in the hotel room. But it didn't go further, we both realized it, and we didn't do it again. The next day, we got separate rooms."
• "Wow, I had a feeling," Bella chuckled.
• "What? Hot?"
• Poppy laughed. "Kind of hot. Let's not talk about Mr. Harvey anymore."
• "Why?"
• "I feel embarrassed."
• "Oh, come on, don't be shy. I often sleep with my boyfriend, it's no big deal."
• "Everyone in this building is probably gossiping about Mr. Harvey, considering he's a handsome company owner. They must be curious about which girl could melt the super cool Mr. Harvey."
• "For sure, it's not me," Poppy replied.
• "But you and Mr. Harvey look perfect together. You both match so well when you're together, one handsome, the other extremely beautiful."
• "You keep praising me."
• Poppy and Bella laughed together.
• "Oh, by the way, Bel."
• "What?"
• "Nathan proposed to me. What do you think?"
• "Well, it's up to you; you're the one living it."
• Poppy took a sip of her hot tea. "I'm actually still confused, kind of torn. I don't really understand why. I mean, I used to want to marry a guy like Nathan. But the more time goes by, it's like there's a barrier."
• "Maybe you're not in love with Nathan, Pop."
• "Really?"
• Bella sighed and looked at her friend. "What's so great about dating a guy like Nathan? He's so conservative, with old-fashioned views. Women should stay at home, be good mothers, and obedient in religious matters. If it were me, I wouldn't want to date someone like Nathan. It doesn't fit in with the current times."
• "Nathan isn't fun, not enjoyable, and not exciting at all," Bella added as she took a bite of her food.
• "I just feel safe around him, like I'm protected. He's caring, he's religious, he's not involved in anything shady, and he's not naughty at all. It's really hard to find a guy like Nathan."
• "But it's boring," Bella said.
• "Exactly," Poppy laughed.
• "What time does Mr. Harvey come back to the office?"
• "At two."
• Bella glanced at her circular watch, which showed 1:00 PM. Lunchtime was over, and she had to return to the office. She didn't want to be caught off guard if Harvey suddenly arrived and his secretary was still lingering here. That could be problematic for her.
• ***