Chapter 38 - Dinner with Jean and Katia (1/2)

Finland was very happy at work that day. Subconsciously she was humming almost all day while completing her reports on the computer. Her colleagues were surprised by this change in attitude. They have never seen that girl so happy.

[Dinner with Katia Sorrenson at De Lune Restaurant at 8 pm is confirmed. Do you want to go to my place first or just go there directly?]

An SMS from Jean came in after lunch. Finland thought for a moment and replied.

[I will stop by Robertson Road. See you later.]

Finland felt that every opportunity she could spend with Jean had to be used as well as possible. They rarely met, and if after three years she decided to be with Caspar, she would probably never see Jean ever again.

In three years, Finland would be 26 years old. She would be older than Caspar who was forever 25...

Although the man was willing to wait indefinitely, Finland realized that sooner or later she had to decide.

***

When Finland arrived at Jean's apartment, the guy had just finished his workout in the gym and they met in the hallway. Jean slanted his cat eyes when he saw Finland arrive. He felt a different aura coming radiating from his best friend, but he wasn't sure what it exactly was.

”What happened to your face?” he asked, pressing the passkey button into his apartment. ”Why does it look so sad?”

Finland shook her head, ”I'm not sad...”

Jean opened the door and invited Finland inside. He placed his duffel bag in the corner of the room and poured water for them both.

”Let me take a shower first. Make yourself at home; feel free to watch TV or read a book.”

”Okay.”

Finland watched Jean with a sad look as he entered his room. The man knew her well. He didn't guess wrongly when he said that Finland had a sad look on her face. She was sad because she couldn't imagine living a long life without Jean in it.

Finland decided to kill the time by working while she waited for Jean. Her new assignment was to organize B2B meetings in Jakarta with prospective distributors for a new brand that worked with LTX International. She read various company profiles in her database and made brief summaries.

”You are a workaholic, aren't you?” Jean commented after coming out of his room with a fresh look. He closed Finland's laptop and scrambled the girl's hair, shaking his head. ”Work stops here. Don't work if your office doesn't pay overtime.”

”I don't know what to do if I don't work...” Finland shrugged.