Intimate Talk

Abel felt heat rushing through his body; his voice trembled as the explanation came out of his mouth. Abel turned his body to get closer to the door and then left and returned to the room while his right hand wiped away the tears falling down his cheeks.

While Alex was still silent, as if Abel's words made him freeze, Alex tried to digest the words coming from the woman in front of him.

Alex's eyes seemed unable to take his eyes off Abel's back.

"Why weren't you honest from the start?" Alex asked the question in a gentle but firm tone.

Instantly the question made Abel's footsteps stop, and then she turned his body back. With a dazed gaze, Abel's round eyes stared at Alex while his footsteps walked straight towards the man who was still staring at him without expression.

"Was it with me being honest from the start you would accept me? Are you going to treat me like this?" his voice was loud as she tried to hold back the tears that would soon burst out.

There are pent-up regrets. Alex tried to stay calm, look relaxed and not get carried away in this situation.

Alex came closer then his hands immediately hugged Abel tightly, without a single word coming out of his mouth as if there was a feeling of sadness that he couldn't hold back, there was a regret that he couldn't repeat; there was a tightness that burst out in his chest.

The sound of silence in the room described the situation of the two of them, which was indeed not well; the sadness seemed to be locking them up, the hierarchy in the company seemed to have disappeared, and there was no longer any distance between the boss and his secretary.

"Forgive me!"

Alex let go of his hug with a flat face and a faint smile. He assured Abel that he had no intention of embarrassing him in front of his schoolmates.

Abel took his eyes off Alex.

"Whatever has happened cannot be repeated."

* * *

Under the crystal chandelier that emits yellow light, it makes the atmosphere above the elegant dining table in the hotel even more pronounced. Alex led Abel to sit down and then listened to his explanation regarding the misunderstanding.

While opening the conversation, Alex made two cups of coffee and ordered a typical Dubai snack: a shawarma containing lamb served with vegetables, pickles, fried potatoes and garlic sauce. Bread of the hareem, which looks like cheesecake.

"Black coffee or caramel macchiato?" he asked. His hands were busy selecting the coffee powder provided by the hotel.

Abel fell silent as if she had no appetite at a time like this.

"How can Alex offer food and drink at a critical time like this?" muttered Abel in his heart.

Seeing that Abel didn't answer his question, Alex approached him.

The burly man glanced at it and rubbed Abel's back gently.

"Do not worry about it. Everything will be fine; the past will be the past. And the present will be ours," Alex said, making Abel's heart beat even more.

"Ours?" muttered Abel in his heart.

The woman with long flowing hair looked up and smiled. Abel tried to cover up his doubts about the man before him.

"Does he love me?"

Abel's head flashed a beautiful image and the romance that would ensue. She imagined how Alex kissed his cheek, treated himself like Cinderella and defended him whenever Airlangga tried to approach him.

Abel then closed his eyes, saying, "No. Don't expect something that might not happen. Moreover, Alex just found out that Abel is his past."

* * *

Airlangga had just arrived at the company lobby; while carrying his briefcase, he greeted his employees in a friendly manner.

"Hi, beautiful," said Airlangga to the receptionist on duty that day.

All employees, especially women, could only smile when Airlangga teased them, not because they felt honoured as employees but because they were reluctant to face crooks like Airlangga.

"Good morning, everyone!"

All the employees in the meeting room lowered their heads. Today there is an important meeting regarding the cancellation of cooperation with a cooking oil company.

When Airlangga had just arrived, almost all the employees whispered about Airlangga's behaviour, which according to him, had become arrogant and made arbitrary decisions since the CEO was on a business trip to Dubai.

"Well. We will start today's meeting by discussing the cancellation of a contract with a cooking oil company," Airlangga shouted.

The meeting began with the tension that existed; several employees who disagreed with Airlangga's decision tried to ask for a direct statement from Alex to hear the decision.

"Unlucky! If you can't follow my words. Go out!"

Everyone was silent, silent without a sound.

* * *

"It's so hard to influence Alex's men!" Airlangga said while leaning on the soft chair at his mother's house.

In the evening, Airlangga took a brief look at his mother's house to provide information about what he had been doing at the company during Alex's absence.

Airlangga and his mother's rotten intentions to destroy Alex's reputation in front of his clients by suddenly cancelling the work contract are unlikely to bear fruit.

Airlangga did not lose his mind. He knew his brother's current weakness very well, the woman who had just become his secretary. Yes. Gabriella Cantika, his secretary, is his weakness now.

"Feel you, Alex. You will fall in front of everyone!"

Airlangga is more confident because he has the support of his mother.

Airlangga had already made plans to delay Alex's return to Indonesia to carry out his mission and to bring Gabriella home alone.

* * *

While enjoying the snacks Alex and Abel ordered, they talked about their past. Alex explained why he could be like that to Abel then.

"Yes. All of that happened because there were things that even I couldn't solve the problem myself," explained Alex.

Abel frowned "what problem?."

"At that time, since my father's death, my family's situation had become even more chaotic. My brother, as you know, Airlangga hates me….," Alex swallowed his saliva to continue his story "then I don't understand how I should feel when everyone tells me that you like me. I thought, what made you like a boy with a broken family?"

Abel was stunned to hear Alex's explanation; it turned out that all this time, the reasons he had made for himself in his mind were just illusions.

"Then why should Alex do something like that?" muttered Abel.