The Grate Athlate.

"Great athlete." Dendra took a sip of his strong coffee without sugar, then leaned back on his soft guest sofa with a frown on his face. "I really like her." That is sarcasm. The reality is the opposite of what he said.

At this time the tall and athletic man was staring at the laptop screen which was showing the figure of a beautiful badminton athlete with her trademark ponytail. A slender woman who looked more like a model, but in a more perfect shape because she contained several important parts of her body. She seemed to be wiping her sweat before throwing the shuttle back in her hands nimbly. Her face looks serious and full of concentration.

"There's no need to be so cynical, Darling." Claire said calmly as she poured the coffee into the cup that was on the tray on the table. Then she looked at the figure of a woman on Dendra's laptop screen.

"If The Eyes wants to use athletes for their promotions, why should you complain?" The middle-aged woman who still looks beautiful with a slim body and well-groomed skin glanced for a moment at the gold ring decorated with large diamonds on her right hand.

"After all, you'll be directing this commercial."

Dendra looked at the woman sharply. His pitch black eyes, but clear, stared straight at the brown eyes of the woman who was older than him. One of Dendra's best talents, and his most powerful weapon, is his ability to stare at anyone, from a company director to a temperamental actor or actress.

He developed his special ability early on as self-defense, and then polished it to become a strong character. His ability is indeed an attraction in itself, but it has no effect on Claire Maharani. At the age of forty-five, he is the leader of a trillion rupiah company that he has managed to build with brains and courage. For almost a quarter of a century she had done things on her own terms, and she clearly intended to do just that.

For ten years Dendra has known Claire – since he was a rookie aged eighteen and built his career with The Queen Advertising. The woman witnessed how hard he worked in climbing his career from an electrician to a lighting engineer, from a lighting engineer to an assistant cameraman, and from there he rose again to become a director.

Dendra will never make the woman regret her decision to entrust various big advertising projects to his hands. Even from the very first she gave him the opportunity to work on the most valuable fifteen-second commercial of his career. He had done his best and was satisfied with the results he achieved. Advertising was booming and gave the company a huge profit. The sentences contained in the advertisement have even become one that is often repeated in society, becoming memes and icons everywhere.

Intuition is the basis of Claire's success in developing The Crown Advertising, and with intuition also a middle-aged woman who still looks fit because of regular exercise can sense the great talent of Dendra Bhadrika. In addition, Claire knew Dendra and understood the man. Things not everyone can do. Maybe because they have the same basic character, namely ambition and independence.

After a few moments, Denda sighed with his eyes still stared on the woman in the screen.

"Athlete," he mumbled again, looking around his office, which wasn't too big, though not cramped either.

His office looked simple, its pale gray walls decorated with pictures of advertisements he had worked on. There is a long sofa in no less gloomy colors; white, in the center of the room. Quite comfortable, although not luxurious. Even so, many guests are not too comfortable to be there for long. In one corner of the room there is also a white coffee table which is quite aesthetic.

Dendra got up from his sofa and walked to his simple desk. On the table were piles of paper, a goose-neck lamp, and various pens and pencils, some of which were no longer usable. The pens and pencils were crammed into an unused vase made of clay.

"Damn it, Claire. Why don't they just hire actresses?" Dendra threw his body hard on the work chair, then propped his cheeks lazily.

"You know, it's really hard to get those outfield players to pronounce their sentences correctly in front of the camera. Not to mention her rigid style."

With an annoyed snort that gave no one a chance to comment, he pushed the pile of papers there into a mess.

"One call to the agency, I would get hundreds of qualified actors or actresses lined up here and begging for the job."

Patiently, Claire flicked a tuft of thread through the sleeve of her pink suit. "You know that a famous name or a familiar face can increase sales."

"Famous name?" fight the man fiercely. "Who has ever heard Ratu Shabila Kawiswara's name? What a ridiculous name!" he grumbled.

"Every Badminton fan in this country." that gentle smile told Dendra that there was no point in fighting back. Therefore he prepared to continue the debate.

"Come on, Claire. We sell clothes, not Yonexvile or similar badminton racket brands."

"Eight gold medals," Claire continued. "Her strikes are unpredictable and she's also very agile on the pitch. Not to mention the excellent mastery of emotions. She led the Asian Badmiton Championship several times. She knows very well how to be friendly with reporters so that there is never any reproach and slanted gossip. She became favorite court queen of badminton lovers very soon after she started the career."

Dendra narrowed his eyes at the woman closest to him. Since long ago Claire had always been able to make people admire her, "How do you know so much? You don't watch badminton."

"I did my homework. Doing whatever the best I can do." A smile graced Claire's well-groomed, oval face. She has never had plastic surgery or thread implants, but is loyal to her regular beauty clinics.

"That's the reason why I became a successful producer now. And now, you better do your homework too." He got up slowly.

"Oh, don't go anywhere. I have tickets to our Queen's match for tonight."

"What?"

"Do your homework." Claire advised him while winking and pointing a finger at him, before finally disappearing behind the door.

With an annoyed oath, Dendra turned his chair and so he faced the view of the Capital City. Tall buildings, sparkling glass, and heavy traffic.

He also had other sights of Jakarta during his career ascent, but usually closer to ground level. He was currently looking at the cityscape from the twentieth floor. That long distance means success. But the man didn't really care. To do so was to dwell on the past, something he carefully avoided.

Leaning back in his chair thinking about The Eyes project; jeans by well-known national designers, exclusive sportswear with local brands that are able to compete at the international level, and the best leather shoes. They decided to switch from magazine ads to television commercials, so that's why they came to The Crown Advertising, came to them.

This contract has a term of two years with a budget that gives Dendra free space to be creative. The man told himself that he deserved it.

Unlucky! If he wanted this project, and it really was, then he had to work on the athlete. Grimly he spun around in his chair, back toward the table. He picked up the phone and pressed two buttons. Called his secretary who was at the outside desk right in front of his room.

"Get all the information about Ratu Shabila Kawiswara," he ordered, shifting the papers, "and ask Mrs. Maharani what time I have to pick her up tonight." Then put the phone back in its place. Hanging up the call while staring at the empty space in front of him. Staring while thinking of the plans that began to form in his brilliant brain.

"Okay. Let's see how great our Queen is."