8 September 2023
The 43rd floor, the top floor of Baven Tower, lived up to its reputation. Its design diverged significantly from the uniformity of the lower floors.
To gain access to the executive floor, Kiran required a different access card and elevator than before. Since she lacked the requisite access card, she was escorted by a senior security officer from the lower floors.
Upon exiting the elevator with the security officer, Kiran found herself in a grand corridor adorned in golden-brown hues, boasting towering ceilings. Two receptionists greeted them warmly, mirroring the courteous protocol of the ninth floor.
Past the receptionist’s desk lay a grand, opulent room designated for Baven Group’s esteemed guests. Adorned with plush sofas and classical statues, it exuded the ambiance of a five-star hotel lounge. Specially uniformed servants busied themselves preparing refreshments for visitors on the 43rd floor.
Jevan’s team occupied the left side of the corridor, while Selia’s office graced the right. According to Kiran’s escort, the shareholders’ meeting room was on the 42nd floor, just beneath the upper echelon’s workspace.
Upon entering the left side of the corridor, Kiran encountered a more formal lounge area, flanked by four adjacent rooms. One housed Jevan’s office, another Paskal’s, one was designated for Jevan’s secretarial team, and the last served as Jevan’s break room.
Kiran’s heart leapt when she spotted Dika in the secretarial team’s room. The two embraced joyously, prompting the security guard to discreetly excuse himself.
“I heard you were in the hospital. Why are you here now?” Dika inquired once they were alone.
“I just got out this morning and didn’t have to come in today,” Kiran replied with a wide smile. “But since Aldi mentioned it’s Baven Group’s anniversary today, I decided to come by. Besides, I was curious to see our new workplace.”
“That’s why you’re still wearing your receptionist uniform?” Dika asked, eyeing Kiran’s loose uniform with a puzzled look.
“We are not supposed to wear this uniform anymore?” Kiran asked back in confusion.
Dika burst out laughing. “Kiran, the only ones who need to wear uniforms here are the receptionists, security guards, and special staff like cleaners. We can now dress like other employees, in casual business attire. However, we are required to wear shirts, suits, or blazers for the female staff.”
“Really? No one told me about that,” Kiran mumbled in surprise. Her focus then shifted as she remembered something. “I recall your dad is sick, right? How come you’re here?”
Dika’s mouth spread into a wide smile at Kiran’s question. “Last night, I was contacted by Mr. Sobar, the head secretary here. He said I was being transferred and had to sign a new work contract. Also, my younger sister, who just graduated from college, arrived from Surabaya to take turns staying with my dad in the hospital. Fortunately, my dad’s condition has improved too.”
“I can’t believe my luck,” Dika continued. “Initially, I was scared when I was told I would be working as Mr. Jevan’s assistant. But when Mr. Sobar mentioned that my salary would increase by four times, I immediately agreed. That’s why I rushed here this morning to sign the contract before they changed their minds.”
Despite his enthusiasm, Dika suddenly frowned as he remembered something. “I’ve been working here for almost three years, but Mr. Jevan has never spoken to me once. Maybe it’s because you greeted him so over-the-top at our office that he suddenly became interested in us, the Baven Technology reception team?”
Kiran scratched her head and laughed. “Ah, it can’t be because of that! Maybe we’re just lucky.”
“But our contact with Mr. Jevan was only when he came for meetings at our place, right?” Dika said, still puzzled. “By the way, did your salary also increase by four times?”
Kiran nodded. “But my previous salary was just the standard entry-level pay. So even multiplied by four, it won’t be as much as your salary now. I’m sure your salary is on par with the managers here.”
“Do you know that the executive floor’s annual bonuses are supposed to be huge?” Dika said, eyes sparkling with enthusiasm. “According to the contract, as Mr. Jevan’s assistants, we’ll also get help with car loans if we want, or we can choose taxi vouchers instead. Plus, we get communication allowances and hefty overtime pay.”
“I just found out about that too,” Kiran responded, her eyes lighting up with joy.
“Didn’t you read your contract? It’s all in there.”
Kiran shook her head. “The contract was too long, so I just signed it after seeing the salary amount.”
“So you didn’t notice the strange clause in our contract?” Dika asked again. “Mr. Paskal himself drafted our contracts. Even Mr. Sobar wasn’t allowed to read my contract; he just asked me to sign it in a sealed folder and then put it on Mr. Paskal’s desk after signing.”
“What strange clause?”
Dika glanced around before whispering, “We’re not allowed to talk about anything related to Mr. Jevan to anyone unless we’re asked to. They have the right to take legal action against us if we break this rule.”
“It seems,” Dika continued quickly, “that our jobs will involve a lot of interaction with Mr. Jevan’s privacy and daily life. That’s why we’re asked to live in his house and keep everything about him confidential. There’s a minimum fine of ten billion rupiahs if we leak his privacy to the public, depending on the level of damage caused to Mr. Jevan.”
Kiran’s face turned to shock. “MINIMUM TEN BILLION?! So if he’s involved in a legal case, we can’t talk?”
“That’s Mr. Paskal’s cleverness. According to the law, we can still report Mr. Jevan to the police if he breaks the law. But even if his case is processed, they still have the right to enforce the fine on us as per the contract.”
“This clearly makes people afraid to do anything, right?” Dika continued. “Mr. Jevan can get away because he’s rich, while we have to pay at least ten billion if we report him to the police.”
“The thing I’ve heard,” he added, “is that Mr. Jevan is someone who often gets into trouble, but strangely, he always gets away with it. I’ve heard that he and Mr. Paskal are like mafia bosses who have people to do ‘certain things’ for them.”
Kiran could certainly confirm the rumors about Jevan always escaping legal troubles, but she chose to remain silent as she began to feel suspicious about her own contract.
“But Kiran, who would want to report Mr. Jevan to the police?” Dika said, suddenly laughing again. “Our salaries are too high to care about the risks. It’s better to live safely by pretending we don’t know anything about what he does out there. Hahaha!”
That’s true, Kiran thought to herself. My monthly salary is already equal to my mom’s six-month earnings from her food stall, so why should I worry about that clause?
Kiran then exhaled. “Have Mr. Jevan and Mr. Paskal arrived? The nurse at the hospital said Mr. Jevan insisted on leaving the hospital early this morning to attend Baven Group’s anniversary event.”
Dika shook his head. “In previous years, if it’s the office anniversary event, he usually only arrives in the afternoon, and it’s just for a short time to give awards to outstanding employees or teams. He usually attends the full anniversary event held specially for all our important guests outside. That event is tomorrow at Demartz Convention Centre.”
“Oh, I see…” Kiran muttered, nodding. “So where is everyone else? Why is there no one here besides you?”
“Did you forget? I already told you that employees usually get the day off on Baven Group’s anniversary. They’re all downstairs right now, eating and playing games,” Dika replied. “I was asked to wait here by Mr. Sobar just in case Mr. Jevan arrives earlier.”
“Do you want to go down and join them?” Dika asked her. “There must be a lot of fancy food and various prizes for the employees down there. Once Mr. Sobar comes back up, I’ll join you.”
Kiran nodded. “But maybe I can’t stay long because I haven’t prepared my things to move into Mr. Jevan’s house this Sunday. You were also asked to move on Sunday, right?”
“Yes, but I asked to postpone it until Monday because I still have to take turns watching over my dad in the hospital,” Dika said. “But you know that executive floor staff are required to attend the Baven Group anniversary event tomorrow, right?”
“We’re also required to attend?” Kiran asked back in surprise.
“Mr. Sobar told me earlier. He said it’s best if we come even if we’re not working. That event is always attended by shareholders and Baven Group’s most important guests. So by attending, we can start to get to know them more quickly.”
“But I don’t have any party dress at all. It must be a big event, right?”
“I think for things like that, you can ask for help from Ms. Selia’s team,” Dika said as he stood up. “The public relations team under the corporate secretary usually has a stock of dresses that can be worn for big Baven Group events. They all care a lot about appearances, so they won’t let our people just show up in front of the guests looking random.”
Selia?
Kiran suddenly snorted at the mention of that name by Dika. Although Jevan had said yesterday that there was a mistake regarding her dismissal, Kiran had already learned from Aldi earlier that Selia was the one who fired her. That’s why even though she was now back working there, she still felt incredibly annoyed when remembering what her former best friend had done to her.
As if on cue, the person Kiran had just thought of suddenly appeared there along with Vira, another high school friend of Kiran’s, who had previously helped Kiran with makeup at Baven Technology office. Upon seeing Kiran there, Selia looked slightly surprised, but she then smiled warmly and approached Kiran.
“Jevan has told me that he appointed you as his personal assistant,” Selia said with a tone that sounded pleased. “Congratulations, Kiran! From now on, we’ll be meeting more often.”
Kiran once again stiffened awkwardly when meeting Selia. “Oh, um, thank you, Ms. Selia.”
“Jevan will be here soon,” Selia said again. “Are you surveying the situation here? The secretaries’ room seems like it will be full. Have you got your desk yet?”
Kiran shook her head. “I haven’t been told where I’ll be working. Maybe—”
“What do you mean?” Dika interjected with a puzzled look. “You’ve already got a desk, Kiran.”
Kiran raised her eyebrows at Dika. “I’ve got a desk already?”
Dika nodded. “Mr. Sobar was asked by Mr. Paskal to set up another desk for you. But because they’re worried the secretaries’ room will be too crowded, your desk was specially requested to be placed in Mr. Jevan’s break room. They said you’ll just work from there.”
“What did you say?” Selia asked, turning to Dika with a surprised expression. “Kiran’s desk isn’t placed with yours in the secretaries’ room?”
“They said so, Ms. Selia,” Dika replied, nodding. “Mr. Sobar said, it’s a request from Mr. Paskal. So, Kiran will be working alone in Mr. Jevan’s break room.”
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Kaget kan Selia huhuhu…Upaya apalagi yang akan dilakukan pd Kinar?
Semangat Thor. Mampir nih, karena ga bisa move on dari Gendis dan Yoga. Siapa tahu season 2 nya sudah ada. Semua novel otor keren 2.