Not to Bad... Right?

"Sluurrrrrpppp... slurrrrpppp..."

That sharp staring eyes looked at me so annoyingly, but I didn't care. I'm already tired of all this shit.

"Sluurrrpp...," I took another sip of my ice coffee until it was completely gone to the bottom of the glass. Usually, I'm not very greedy with food and drinks, but today... I'm going to sip this drink until the last drop. Neither because my throat is dry, nor because this is the best taste iced coffee I've ever had, but, because it was the first treat from my annoying new boss, and of course, also because I'm still mad at him.

"Come on..., the situation is under control. You don't need to be shocked like that. Fun fact, your stomach will get bloated if you drink water with a straw along with the air," said that annoying man while sipping his hot coffee slowly.

Hahaha, so funny. My stomach has been bloated since a few hours ago, when he almost got me beat up by thugs I don't ever meet before. I didn't know he was good at punching and kicking, if only I had known from the beginning, I wouldn't interesting to join his annoying little game.

"Still angry?" asked Steven who looked at my face that was still showing curly sad lips.

Is he...? Is he truly asking that stupid question? How does he think am I supposed to act in this situation? Happy? Like smiling as if nothing happened?

"Who wouldn't be angry? You almost got me beaten up by that thugs," I said annoyed.

"The truth is..., it didn't happen, right? No scratch on your body, and after all..., you should be happy, because I already treated you a drink. But please put it in your mind, this treat is not as an act of apology, but more as a thank you note," he said with a smile that was very, very super duper annoying which make me want to punch him in the middle of his handsome face.

"So, you did plan it on purpose, right? To beat the thugs? But why did you have to bring me along?"

"Well, please think about it? if I beat them myself, I could end up in jail with a lot of lawsuit charges. For your information, the thugs didn't come of their own will, they were just ordered to make a riot by their big boss. And the bad news is... their boss, a little slippery to get so...."

"That's not explain anything. I don't understand. So why did you ask me to come to that location this morning? Are you hoping me to help you beat them up?" I asked annoyed.

"No. I can handle them alone. But I need you as a good reason to beat them up."

"At my expense?"

"As an excuse, yes, because I will win the lawsuit when the CCTV camera shows that two thugs about to attack a weak, poor, little woman. And of course, as a true gentleman, I can't just stand still and watch you beaten. But, the most important thing is that it didn't happen, you are still healthy, not injured at all, and seemed happy sipping the iced coffee I bought."

Ha...ha...ha..., mind-blowing, ladies and gentlemen, please give him a standing ovation... My mind wants to explode after hearing his word. I don't even know what to say. Just this morning I had the pleasure of pissing this guy off, and now, he's pissing me off. Without needing a long time, he has equalized our score to 1 to 1.

"But what if I get hurt? What if I get hospitalized" I asked. I need to know what kind of responsibilities he will give me if a worse situation happened.

"Oh, come on, It will not happen."

"Why? Anything can happen, right? If you lose the fight with them, we will end up in the hospital."

"Nah, it won't happen. Maybe you are just a newbie, so let me tell you a little secret. Steven Joshua never loses in a fight, uh, sorry, I made a little mistake, I mean, Steven Joshua never loses in any other case."

Oh, Lord, please, help Your poor daughter. I can't stand working with the human species like this. Why did You create a human with this type? Don't You know, this kind of person would be troublesome for someone like me, no, not only me, he would be troublesome for the entire world's population.

"Ok, case closed. Don't think about it anymore. Ok?" he said casually.

Don't think about it anymore? Oh no way, I'm still curious about what happened.

"So what happened to that apartment construction project?" I asked curiously.

"Nothing special. Just normal things," he replied as if nothing had happened.

"What are normal things? Can you explain?" I asked again.

Steven looked at me and rolled his eyes. I know my question sounds a little stupid to someone like him, maybe not a little, maybe a lot. But come on, I'm new to this working world, how am I supposed to know what's going on here?

"Usually, a person comes to the construction project to ask for a little 'donation' on behalf of the residents. Oh, sorry, my mistakes, sometimes not only individuals but also legal organizations. They will threaten the owner. They will make a riot if they are not given a little pocket money, and unfortunately, this usually happens in every project. They will block the trucks which transporting materials to the project, incited the construction workers, and did a lot of trouble."

"Then? Is it also the architect's job to deal with such things?" I asked. I have to ask this question. I don't want to find myself trapped in a world of medium pay, a lot of hard work, less sleep, and now, the fact that this job is also life-threatening.

"This is not the architects' responsibility. Usually, the owner or contractor handles this kind of problem. However, sometimes they are not brave enough to face problems like this and always solve them by giving the thugs what they want. That's why the practice of 'forced donations' like this will always exist in this country. Especially if the owner is a minority, they are more willing to pay than to cause trouble with the majority. Understand?"

"Understand. But... if this is not the architect's job, then why did you do it?"

The handsome sturdy man immediately looked at his fists. His hand looked scratched red, a scar which he get from fighting. "It's nothing," he replied. "Sometimes, I just feel tired of designing buildings, so.., once in a while, I need a little entertainment."

"Entertainment? You think beating people is entertainment?" I asked again. I also have to make sure of this, I don't want to work with a psychopath. I will immediately submit a letter of resignation if it turns out to be a severe mental disorder.

"What do you think? Is beating people up like that no fun?"

"Sir, this isn't funny. How could you..."

"So cruel to fellow humans?" said Steven, who had expected me to ask such a question. "C'mon, I'm not that bad. Besides, you must agree those thugs need to be taught a little lesson, right?"

Honestly, I can't answer the question, wait... I can, but I won't. At first, I thought their neighborhood of them was being harmed by a big project like this. It is not a secret anymore that some rich entrepreneurs sometimes sacrifice powerless people's houses to build big projects to fulfill their ambitions. But today..., I also have to realize, that the thugs also use my compassion, only for their gain.

"If you don't answer, it means you agree with me," said Steven, taking another sip of his coffee. "The first lesson you should know is no one is innocent. You have to be smarter in assessing a person's intentions and goals. The weak do not mean innocent, and the strong are not always wrong. Sometimes you have to sort out the problem first before concluding something."

"Then, what did I do wrong yesterday?" I have to admit, my voice trembled when I asked that question. If he's so good at sorting things out, I need to know why I was fired yesterday.

"Because you did pregnant breath in front of the meeting room. hee... he... hoooo, remember?" he answered casually.

"Oh, yes I do remember," I replied sarcastically. "But wouldn't it be fair to fire me just for standing in the doorway and blocking your way?"

"I'm not suggesting Ma'am Anna fire you just because of that. But because you are not confident enough in your design. That pregnant breath has proven that you have no confidence at all. Just that simple."

I could hardly believe what I had just heard. I was fired just because of the breath I used to calm myself? This is crazy.

"All the new workers who are fired because of the first presentation, are just because of confidence problems. We never even saw the design. Except, the design is really bad and not acceptable to build."

"Including Karen?" I asked again.

"Karen who?" asked Steven back.

Of course, he would never remember all the names of the people he had fired. This guy and his big Devil boss have fired a lot of people, and I'm sure he doesn't have much memory to just remember their names.

"The newbie who was fired for spilling coffee on your shirt?" I asked more specifically.

"Oh, hahaha, you must be listening to gossip too much. They must think that I am annoyed because she spill my expensive clothes accidentally. Do you think that I fired her just because of an unprofessional reason like that? Well, to be honest, I did piss off because it's my favorite shirt," he answered proudly with a smile. With his proudly cynical smile.

I don't know what kind of person that I talking to this afternoon. But, there was a quiver in my heart when I saw his smile. And I believe, if it's a feeling of horror, spooky, horror, not some other vibe.

"I've never fired anyone for stupid reasons like that," he replied casually. "I fired her because her hands shook when she held the cup. Vibrated with fear and anxiety. You call us 'devils' right? Well, I do agree, because Devil can smell fear."

"But shouldn't we be given a chance? I know this sounds 'bullshit', but we're newbies and present in front of a big figure. Of course, it made us tremble a little bit. But, I don't think it's an appropriate judgment to fire people."

"Ruanna architectural firm has standards, and our standards are high. In your opinion, architect, design, and client, which of the three sides do you think is more important?"

I hesitated to answer but I tried to be brave. "Client," I replied. "Clients who give us the trust to design buildings according to their needs." Or, better I said, that client had the money?

Steven laughed. Not a pure funny laugh but a cynical one that offended me a bit.

"No," he said, shaking his head. "The answer is the architect. The architect is the one who designs the building. Are you? Because you are the one who studied how to design a building, you should understand. No matter who your client is, you are the one who must design the building carefully. Not a client. You have to have enormous self-confidence, otherwise, the client will prey on you with millions of revisions because of their insatiable ambition. And if you don't have self-confidence, then you should not work in this field anymore. The fired things, which always happen in Ruanna, you need to accept as our kindness. Breaking your dream in the first place, before you waste a lot of time and still end up with disappointment. It would be eviler if I spend the time of their lives with beautiful words, but, I force something they can't achieve."

I don't understand his mindset. He almost made me believe that firing me yesterday was a sign of his kindness. I've never heard a unique perspective like his. However, his perspective slightly changed my view of him. He's not a pleasant human. He even make me bait and almost got me beat up by thugs for fun. He doesn't seem like a good person, nor does he speak like a sincere one, but somehow, I know, at least this little devil, has a heart. Maybe not as big as Mahatma Gandhi or Princess Diana, but, the first day I worked for him, I knew, he was still human. He hasn't turned into a perfect Devil yet.