The path I was walking on at the moment felt a little wet due to heavy rain this afternoon. The scent of the rain that still smelled by my nose somehow calmed my mind, which had been confusing because I had to deal with my piling up work. And dismissed my two colleagues, who were fighting just because one of them wanted to get the banana-flavored Soyjoy that was on my desk. After arguing for a long time, they finally reconciled as soon as I told them that I still have a pack of apple-flavored Soyjoy that I haven't had time to eat since noon. Then I could finally refocus on my work. What troublesome colleagues.
While listening to Linkin Park - In The End, I shook my head, remembering the incident that occurred this afternoon. I stepped my feet out of the office building where I worked to a cafe, which was located not too far from my office. The song was actually quite old, but it left a deep impression on me. As well as giving memories that maybe only I still remember. I ignored the invitation of my colleagues, who invited me to hang out at a bar that I did not know and did not want to know where it was. It was not that I did not like drinking. But purely because I did not like spending my time with people like my colleagues, who were unfortunately too noisy for me. Every now and then, I came to the bar to visit my high school friends, who work as a bartender there. But this time, I just wanted to enjoy my own time at the cafe, accompanied by a cup of cappuccino and cheesecake or maybe a strawberry shortcake.
Following the tune of the song I was listening to right now, I accelerated my footsteps until I arrived in front of the cafe. The name was Selena Cafe, with a crescent moon icon next to the cafe's name hanging near the entrance. I glanced at the name of the cafe for a moment before turning down the volume of the music on the headset I was wearing and opening the cafe door, stepping my foot towards the cashier.
"One cappuccino and a slice of cheese cake, please." I said to a female cafe employee who seemed busy tidying her appearance, which was actually not that messy. She immediately corrected her stance and greeted me with her business smile.
"The cheese cake is not available. Do you want to replace it with red velvet?" she asked after checking the cake rack next to her. I also looked at the cake rack in front of me, and I have to admit that what the cafe employee said was true. Taking a deep breath, I cursed myself for not checking the cake rack in front of me before ordering the one I wanted to enjoy. My eyes then searched for other types of snacks sold in this cafe until I found a croissant that was quite large compared to what I usually buy at a cake shop near my house.
"Just a croissant, please." I said, pointing at the croissant I was pointing at. She nodded her head and took the croissant I had pointed at earlier, placed it on a small plate along with a tray and a small fork and knife.
"The cappuccino will be delivered later. Where will you sit?"
I looked around me. For a cafe that was not that big, it was a busy place too, I thought, while still busy looking for a seat. As I recall, it was not the weekend, but oddly enough, almost all the seats were filled with two or three people talking, which of course, I could not possibly choose those seats. I almost gave up on eating at the cafe. Until finally, my eyes caught sight of one of the benches that were only occupied by a man in a gray formal suit. He crossed his legs while enjoying a cup of espresso coffee and a strawberry shortcake.
"Over there." I pointed at the bench that I saw earlier. She nodded her head and calculated the amount I had to pay. I nodded and took out the money from my wallet according to the amount of my bill before I took the tray and walked over to the bench I saw earlier.
"Excuse me. Sorry, but may I sit here?"
The man looked surprised when he saw me standing in front of him. He immediately invited me to sit down while his hands immediately tidied up his table, which did look a bit messy. I put the tray on the table and thanked him for allowing me to take his seat. Then I took off the headset that I was wearing earlier and turned off the song from my smartphone earlier.
"Linkin Park?" he asked, taking a quick glance at my phone screen.
I nodded before putting my smartphone and headset back into my bag. "You also like Linkin Park?"
The man nodded his head while sipping his coffee. "That means our taste in music is the same."
"I think so. Tatiana Beatrix."I said, extending my hand towards him.
"I know. Lucas Stark." he replied and shook it tightly. A smile adorned his stiff-looking face for a moment before turning back stiff as before.
"What do you mean? Have we met before?" I asked, slicing off my croissant a little earlier and popping it into my mouth.
He shook his head. "No. We have not met before. But I have been eyeing you for a long time."
I choked when I heard his statement that sounded straightforward. He was about to get up from his chair and help me, but I immediately refused.
"That is okay. I am fine."
"Are you sure about that?"
"Yes. I am pretty sure." I replied, having managed to reduce the side effects of his earlier statement. "That means you also work in the same office as me, huh?"
"Don't you feel familiar when I said my name earlier?" he asked, raising an eyebrow with a look of astonishment at the question I had asked. I shook my head and sliced a little of the croissant back into my mouth.
"What's wrong with your name earlier? Sounds quite normal to my ears. Besides your last name which is similar to my favorite Marvel character."
"You mean Tony Stark? Iron Man?" he asked, to which I answered with a nod of my head.
"As I thought that you would think there. But I was surprised to know there is still one of my employees who does not recognize me. Even though I have introduced my name earlier."
Just a second. One of his employees? It meant he is not in the same position as me. Looks like I have heard his name before somewhere. But where did I hear his name? I started to close my eyes, searching for information related to him, who was in front of me right now in my brain. Until finally, I remembered a conversation with one of my colleagues who had discussed the name of the person in front of me right now.
I immediately opened my eyes and pointed at him. "You… Are you Lucas Stark? CEO of Stark Corporation?" I exclaimed in a muffled voice.
He lowered my index finger, which was still pointing right at his face. "Wow. Very polite to your own boss, huh? Good thing you are not in the office now."
"Sorry. I apologize for my impudence earlier." I said, getting up from my seat, bending my body towards him. He felt uneasy and immediately asked me to sit back in my chair.
"Never mind. No need to be that formal. At least you already remember who the person in front of you is now."
"Yes. Again, I apologize for my fault." I said, once again lowering my head to apologize to the person in front of me right now.
