Chapter 6: Cell phone

"Has the agreement been signed?"

"Yes, sir."

"Take it to my room."

Leonard put his intercom receiver back down and let out a long sigh as he loosened his tight shirt. He took a deep breath, closed his eyes to rest. It was already eight o'clock in the evening. He skipped his dinner. Because he persuaded Fiona earlier this afternoon, he had missed an hour of work. But, that was enough, the girl couldn't fight him. He could show Frischa that he would officially marry the girl of his choice, not through an arranged marriage.

Damn it, Leonard muttered. If only Frischa stopped being his shadow during these ten years, maybe he could live in peace. His mother would stop praising Frischa as if she were the only noblewoman in the world.

Just as Leonard was about to send a message to Fiona's number which he named—Drunk Girl—someone knocked on the door. Leonard looked up and told her to enter. A soft-faced woman with heels muffled on the carpet of the room walked over to him. She handed Leonard a document, showing the agreement letter just discussed.

"Okay. When is the meeting? The Interior Consultant is ready to make a presentation to the client."

"Mr.Dede said the day after tomorrow. Do I need to enter a schedule, sir?"

Leonard nodded slightly, returning his focus to his phone.

"Just send your subordinates, Rika. You just go home. Overtime for days is not good for girls," Leonard said without moving. The woman smiled and put the document on the edge of Leonard's desk. She bowed slightly, then said thank you. While leaving the room, Leonard was busy typing messages to Fiona. Right when sending it, Rika gave a small shriek at the door.

Leonard was flabbergasted, saw his assistant bent down, like picking up something then turned around.

"Sir, is this a cell phone...?"

The cell phone screen lit up, Leonard's new message stuck on it. He furrowed his brows, the image of earlier that afternoon when he carried Fiona into his arms flashed by. The girl's phone falls.

Leonard took it from the confused Rika.

"This is my girlfriend's phone."

"Girlfriend?" Rika confirmed.

Leonard smiled faintly, "I'll introduce you the day after tomorrow. Thank you, just go home then."

Rika just nodded stiffly and then turned to leave the room. The sound of the door slamming faintly, Leonard sat on the living room sofa, examining Fiona's cell phone. The screen is on, there is an incoming message. Editor

Sky G: can you please read my email? It's been 2 weeks since you became silent again. Come on, we need to talk.

Repulsed wallpaper cell phone with a picture of a woman's body at the end of the ferry with arms outstretched to greet the wind. Her hair fluttered, and the curves of the woman's body were very familiar to him.

"Who knows that Frischa will be beaten by a drunk girl like you, Fi?"

Then as he left, Leonard put Fiona's cell phone in his jacket pocket and turned back to his desk, continuing his work.

*

Fiona was sitting near the city park a few hours after Kian told her to wait there. The night was stretched, between the tall buildings and layers of interchanges, she stared up at the dark sky. With the emptiness that had been seeping into her, Fiona closed her eyes for a moment. Feel the air of Jakarta gently brushing her face. It's still the middle of the month. It's still spring in Paris. The air there must be cool. Sometimes Fiona likes the relaxing atmosphere away from the hustle and bustle of the streets throughout town. Even though people say Paris is the city of fashion, for Fiona who grew up with a variety of literature, Paris is more than a city. Paris is life for her.

As she was imagining her life in Paris these past few days, suddenly in the dark, Fiona was jolted by the image of Leonard's face being squinted. She straightened her body as if trying to escape the feeling.

"Fiona?" a voice made her realize, she looked back, it was Kian. The boy was tall and almost drowned her if she hugged him. Still wearing the same hoodie as this morning, Fiona smiled faintly.

"Hey, sorry for this morning—"

Kian kindly waved his hand, "It's okay. By the way, have you eaten yet? Let's go to the cafe where I usually eat, shall we?"

"Café?" asked Fiona to make sure.

"Yes, while we chit-chat together."

Talking about it openly like this makes it even more awkward. But she did not reject Kian's invitation. Fiona grabbed the sagging jacket over her slender frame and walked beside the boy.

The cafe was close to the city park, only a three-minute walk. They had arrived at a small cafe that was lined up with other shops. The bell rang as Kian opened the door. He appears to be greeting a cashier while Fiona walks silently to a cornered table next to the glass. From here, a view of the city bustling with densely packed cars could be seen. Streetlights hit the deserted sidewalk, and only a glimpse of a worker who had just returned crossed the shoulder of the road. Kian ordered something, she chose to wait while taking off her jacket.

"I like to have lunch here when I'm in college. They had a unique tamago sandwich. Do you want to try one?"

Kian came with three menus on his tray. This made Fiona smile a little.

"What is this?" Fiona asked, pointing at a bowl filled with something like schotel macaroni.

"It's a normal schotel, but it’s delicious too. This one is a banana sandwich if you like something sweet. Now, which one do you like?"

Secretly, Fiona held back a laugh. So this is how the innocence of college students in Jakarta is? She doesn't have any friends around here, she usually hangs out in the Unusual Bars and Cafes area while enjoying a drink at Little Red Door Paris in one of the cafes. The location was not far from the flat where she lived in Paris. Usually, Fiona will enjoy the view of the city from the cafe with a variety of sticks and processed menus typical of foreign countries. They will also only go to bars, find motels and then make love if they want to find a girlfriend. But the way to serve the three choices of food is quite sweet and unique. She had never seen menus before. Fiona took the tamago sandwich that Kian offered, then took a bite with a smile.

The sweet meat and egg-layered bun were sucked in her mouth. It tastes quite savory. Kian looked at her enthusiastically.

"Favorite," Fiona said, nodding. Satisfied, Kian agreed.

"By the way, why do you want to find a girlfriend through Candy Pink?" asked Fiona in between her chews, looking seriously at Kian who was a bit nervous.

"Actually, I just want to prove it to my campus friends anyway."

Fiona frowned, so making me as a toy?

"Do you mean like a contract relationship?"

"No, it's not. I'm actually a bit nervous. Yes, I studied all the time, but I'm also tired of being told by my friends that until now I still don't have a girlfriend."

Fiona didn't understand, so she asked again, "What’s with your girl campus friend? They are not enough to interest you yet? Oh! Or..." Fiona's eyes narrowed, "Do you like girls who are more mature?"

Kian's smile blossomed sweetly, "No. It’s not like that. Do all adult girls think that way?"

Fiona blinked in confusion. She thinks not.

"I just like it when I'm looking for a girl who isn't from the campus. I already know them too well, so it's awkward to be gossiped about."

Fiona chuckled softly, took another bite of her bread, and nodded in understanding.

"Okay. So where should we start?"

Kian's eyebrows furrowed in confusion, "What start?"

"Our relationship," Fiona replied casually.

When she asked, a group of teenagers entered the cafe. They paired each other and were busy making comments here and there, attracting Kian's attention a little. When they met each other's eyes, a tall boy with brown hair pointed at Kian.

"Hey, Kian! What are you doing here?" The guy made a bunch of his friends walk over to their table. Fiona held back a sigh, was the way of socializing in this area still old-fashioned? Fiona was tired, she wanted to sleep.

The tall guy and his friends smiled at Kian. But Kian just smiled crookedly, sipping his lemon tea. His movement is a bit cool.

"Beib, Don't you have any friends for Kian? Tell him to accompany you like that. You're too smart to need a life partner too, bro," he said, making Fiona a little offended. Kian looked at Fiona who glanced outside. By reflex, his friends stared in the same direction. As if he had just realized Fiona's existence, that's where he turned towards them.

The boys stared in amazement and were silent for a few moments.

"That... is your girl?" asked one of the other boys. Fiona was holding back laughter, that's how surprised he was?

Kian smiled faintly, looking at the group of boys sarcastically, "Why are you taking care of other people's lives? I already told you, you guys should be the ones studying. Don't be like the women who are always sarcastic."

The boy's gaze looked at Fiona more and more restlessly, as if there was both disgust and amazement. Uneasy at being stared at like that, Fiona let out a long sigh.

"I don’t believe him. Sorry, I'm Alex, a friend of Kian's major. These are our club friends. Which campus are you from?"

One of the guys stretched out his hand, but Fiona glanced indifferently, she stared at Kian for a moment before answering. The boy's skeptical gaze made Fiona even more compelled to do it.

She got up from the chair, went to Kian's lap, who jerked slowly, then clung to the boy's body. Kian's firm facial features were now only inches from her lips. Then without saying anything, she pulled Kian closer, tilted her head, then reached for the boy's lips, and took a sip like taking a deep breath. Kian glared in surprise, then Fiona raised her eyebrows and smiled as she broke off the short kiss.

Turning to look at Kian's male friends, Fiona said quietly, "Haven’t left yet?"

***