Chapter 4 First Day at Work

Her mouth never stopped humming as she buttoned her shirt. When the last button was done, Melva straightened her shirt again and smiled with satisfaction.

Stepping back twice until her entire body was visible in the mirror, Melva spread her arms to make sure there were no mistakes in her outfit. She spun from right to left and vice versa.

Next, Melva sat at the dressing table. She looked up at the wall clock before applying her makeup. Melva had been using her favorite lipstick that Zeon said was too bright. Remembering that Zeon told her to change the color, Melva sullenly stroked the surface of the lipstick and put back her beloved lipstick and took the one she bought yesterday.

Finished spraying perfume on the neck area, Melva picked up her bag and prepared to leave. She ordered a taxi, avoiding the dust of online motorcycle taxis and bus crowds. Melva had to make sure her appearance on the first day of work was perfect.

"Did I turn off the stove yet?"

Just arriving at the door, Melva went back to the kitchen and her room to make sure none of the electronics were still on. She had never been this busy when leaving the apartment.

As usual, a taxi was waiting, but this morning the streets were full of workers and school children. Melva had predicted this. She knew the rush hours of the streets. Melva had prepared extra time for her trip so she wouldn't be late for work.

Around the Zeon company office, there are many eateries. It was a profitable business to open next to the workers' neighborhood.

When Melva got out of the taxi, she saw a small crowd at the shop to the left of the company. Melva naturally passed by on her way to the company. She wasn't too curious, but the shop owner certainly didn't let anyone who passed by his shop just walk away. So the old man prevented Melva from passing by by tapping her on the shoulder.

"Young lady, take this. Our store will have a promotion next Sunday. Please take two tickets. Come with your partner, okay?"

Before Melva could properly digest the old man's last sentence, Melva's hands were already clutching the two meal tickets that were on sale. The old man was no longer beside her, he had a new target besides Melva.

Melva kept the two tickets in her bag and walked towards her workplace.

This time Melva was given another way. It turned out that Zeon had told the receptionist to tell her where Melva should come. And that was the top unit of the building. Melva couldn't imagine how the fire drill would go if she didn't get into the elevator and had to go down thousands of stairs.

In front of Zeon's room, Melva met Rere again at the secretary's desk. They greeted each other. Rere pressed a special button on her cell phone. Melva was allowed to enter afterwards.

Melva entered Zeon's room stunned. This room was like a giant cube. One side was a glass wall that showed the density of the city. There were two other rooms here and a toilet. A desk with two guest chairs in front, a sofa set beside it, and two tall cabinets side by side.

"Good morning sir."

"Morning."

Zeon raised his head. Assessing Melva's appearance. Melva had no idea that the boss would be so particular about what the employees wore. Or maybe in this case only a few of them and Zeon happened to be one of them. Zeon stopped at Melva's lips which kept trying to smile. Zeon nodded in satisfaction as Melva listened to his words.

"Please have a seat."

"Thank you, sir."

"I'm going to give you some additional information that I didn't tell you yesterday." Zeon put down the pen he was holding, looking for something in the pile of papers on his desk.

"To facilitate the work, you will be transferred."

Melva's eyebrows almost knitted together, "Transferred? What does that mean sir?"

"Live with me."

Uhuk!

Melva choked on her own saliva. Realizing her ridiculous expression, she normalized her face again.

What the hell was Zeon's request anyway? His words just came out. So lightly as if inviting her to have lunch together. And what was living together? Does it have to come down to work?

Melva's mind flashed to the scene of a man proposing to the love of his life. The line was almost exact! She'd seen it so many times on cheesy television dramas. Ugh, and now Melva's life was like a cheap drama when it came to that scene in the drama.

"I assure you, my work will not be interrupted by the location of the residence sir."

"You will refuse, I know."

If you know, why are you still saying it? Melva thought to herself.

"But I didn't ask for your opinion, I ordered you to move."

So bossy.

"Never mind, you'll be moving into my place anyway. There will be a moving van after work. So make sure you don't go anywhere. That's all. You can already start learning the job from the old personal assistant. She's waiting outside with Rere. I have a meeting in a few minutes," Zeon explained. He stood up, straightened his suit, and left in a hurry.

Melva hadn't even had time to argue with a single word. She stomped her foot irritably. Squeezing the air in front of her imagined it was Zeon. Melva pointed two middle fingers at the door.

"Damn it, I just paid this month's rent and have to move out?" Melva bent her lips down sadly. Her index finger wiped away an imaginary tear.

The most important thing was certainly not the money. She was going to live with the boss. What would the other employees say if they found out? Were all the previous personal assistants going to live with Zeon? Zeon must have used her for errands. With their distance narrowing and more interactions to come, Melva wasn't sure her life could still be peaceful. She had to ask how Zeon had treated the previous assistant.

Her name was Sarah. She was a tall woman with very straight hair. The reason she resigned was because she was pregnant and her husband forbade her to continue working. It was their agreement when they got married.

"I heard you're a new graduate?" And her speech was very soft and motherly, very appropriate for having a child.

Melva nodded enthusiastically, "Yes..."

"Just call me Sarah."

"Yes Sarah."

The two were on their way to the pantry. Melva had no idea why learning to make coffee was what she would be doing first instead of the main work associated with the assistant position. Melva chose to remain silent, following her training.

"This is easy. No need to boil hot water because you're using a coffee machine. You just need to press this button. But the coffee for Mr. Zeon is a little special. There's chocolate added after the milk. The ratio is the same. So no sugar at all."

Sarah practiced at the same time as she explained it to Melva. She was so dexterous, in a few minutes a cup of hot coffee was ready.

"Well, you can try."

Melva thanked her, picking up the coffee cup. She took a small sip and tasted it to confirm the flavor.

"It's very good."

"The brand of milk and chocolate should always be the same. Mr. Zeon's tongue has memorized the taste. If anything is different he will know. So you should always buy the same stock."

"Ah? I prepare the stock?"

Sarah nodded. She smiled amusedly, knowing exactly what this new assistant of her former boss was thinking. She was equally surprised when she first started working here.

"For things outside the main job, this is the only thing that needs attention. Because Mr. Zeon's coffee is made in a special pantry too, which is his own room. The ingredients are not available in the general pantry. I brought this myself."

"I see."

"Try making it the way I did before."

Melva followed Sarah's previous method. She was confident of the taste. She confidently gave the cup to Sarah to try.

"The hot water is too much."

"Uh, is it?"

Melva thought she only needed to adjust the amount of coffee, milk, and chocolate. She forgot another important thing.

"It's okay to be wrong on the first try. You have to remember this, turn off the switch at the fourth second. That's the easiest way to get the water right."

"So I have to watch the machine, right?"

"Right."

Mr. Zeon is complicated, Melva thought.

The mention of Zeon's name made Melva recall her forced removal from the apartment. Melva had prepared a safe and unsuspecting question about this.

"You've worked with Mr. Zeon for several years, what do you think of him? Is he the type of person who can't be argued with? Like when he tells his assistant to always be by his side? Or does the assistant have to agree if there's something urgent so the assistant moves to an area near his house for ease of work?"

Sarah frowned at Melva's strange question. She laughed briefly.

"No, no. Mr. Zeon is very much a loner. He can't be bothered. I was also ordered to wait outside, right? If there is someone who has business with Mr. Zeon while he is having guests, others are prohibited from approaching and must wait. You can't help but wait for him to finish with his business, and then you can come over."

"So it's like that." Melva grinned awkwardly.