Chapter 14: Chapter 14

Having Rachel as her assistant was the right decision. The woman was a hard worker with perfect and satisfactory results. Therefore, Helene could always rely on her in various situations, including taking care of Helena's Cafe. However, it didn't mean Helena could relax and only received the report from her. Helena kept an eye on everything and gave the necessary directions.

They had known each other for five years. At first, Helena refused to hire an assistant. What for? She felt that she could be able to do everything alone. But, George, her eldest brother, insisted. He said the presence of a personal assistant was beneficial. Even though Helena was not interested in joining the family business, her assistant could help her take care of her assets. Correction. It had given to her. While she was engrossed in her hobby, cooking--she was running a blog about food recipes--Rachel could replace her by monitoring her finances.

At first, Rachel's work was limited to that. Then, Helena added her blog business to her. And currently, the cafe. Not to mention her personal things, which also relied on the woman, for example, regarding her wedding. Without Rachel's help, she would have been distraught, especially with a relatively short deadline.

"For future progress, you can discuss it with Rachel. She will oversee the renovation of this place," said Helena, ending the small meeting between herself, Rachel, and Fynn, who would design the interior of her cafe. He was the same person who had designed her first cafe. She deliberately rehired him because his professionalism didn't disappoint her.

"Okay," said Fynn, then began to tidy up the papers scattered on the table in front of them. "I will work on the design as soon as possible, and I will let you know when it has finished," he added.

Helena nodded her head while saying, "Okay. Thank you." Her eyes observed the movements of Fynn, who had finished with her activities. "Are you sure you don't want to join us with lunch?" she asked again.

"Thanks for the offer. But, I still have a client to meet."

Helena nodded. "Okay."

"Then, excuse me and see you soon," said Fynn before leaving the place.

Then, Helena and Rachel were left sitting side by side with a glass of water in front of them. Their meeting was held at a restaurant close to her future cafe after observing the venue. It also signaled the start of their long work. Helena and Rachel still had many things to think about for the smooth running of their new business.

"Do you want to come upstairs?" Helena asked to break the silence between them.

Rachel shook her head quickly. "I'd rather be here than be there between you and Aaron," she replied casually as she leaned back in her chair. That was their relationship. While she was working, she would act formally like a subordinate because it was part of her professionalism at work. However, once her job was over, she would be as relaxed as a friend.

"What if I tell you to accompany me?"

Instantly, Rachel straightened her body. "I'm ready, Ma'am. We're going straight upstairs."

Helena chuckled in amused while seeing Rachel's attitude, which changed drastically when Helena ordered her. No worry, she was only kidding. Helena didn't need her help for that one. "I'm kidding. You can wait here. I'll be back after lunch break is over. Is it all right?"

Rachel knew that her boss wasn't serious about her words. Helena clearly said that she just wanted to have lunch with her husband alone. "Yeah, I'm okay. Call me when you're done."

"Okay. I'll go first."

Helena began to walk away from Rachel and out of that place. Her destination was none other than Aaron's office, which was located a few floors above the mall. A handbag she carried using her left hand while her right hand was busy typing a short message for Aaron.

- I'm going up. -

Helena did have a lunch plan with her husband. She was already at The Houston Mall. Why didn't she stop by his office?

It was Aaron's wish, not her, and it was the man who forced her to visit him at work. So, the lunch that she offered to Fynn was just a mere chit-chat. Even if Fynn agreed, Helena would still leave him alone with Rachel because of the promise she had already made to her husband.

"Should I leave my ID?" Helena asked, repeating the security officer's request when she arrived on the floor that became the office area.

"I'm sorry. It's the rule," answered another security officer, firmly.

Helena could not argue nor refuse the order. Instead, she was happy that they were doing an excellent job by implementing the rules. That was for the sake of security because the office area was attached to a shopping location. "I see," she said, chose to follow the existing rules. She left her ID and got a visitor's card to enter the area.

She stepped carefully along the corridor, trying not to interfere with the work of the employees there. Sometimes, she slowed down to catch a glimpse of those working behind the not-fully-enclosed glass walls. They were looking seriously at their computer.

Helena thought it might be fun to work in the office too. But, she immediately shook off that thought when she remembered the busyness of her father and her two brothers taking care of the family business.

Her family never forced Helena to work with them. They gave her complete freedom. If she took a position in her company, it was all at her own will, not forced by others. She could say they spoiled her because of her status as the youngest child and the only daughter in the family. And she made good use of that freedom by exploring her potential and then starting her cafe business two years ago.

Besides a cafe, she also wanted to open a restaurant. Not a luxury one but a family restaurant that could not only be enjoyed by certain people. However, she was still thinking about what menu to sell. Indonesian, oriental, or western cuisine? Maybe later, after her new cafe was over, she could focus her thoughts on it.

Suddenly she remembered her blog. She hadn't checked the site in a long time, even though every month she got an email containing her monthly income from there. Oh, sure, Helena wanted to turn her hobby into a small business. She was even planning to open a Youtube channel to expand her small business. Should she do it? Cooking was not difficult. The tricky part was taking the video and the editing process. But clearly, she could recruit someone to do the job. Right?

Unconsciously, Helena had arrived at the top floor where Aaron's office was. She followed a sign that led her to a quiet alley that was pretty secluded. Maybe, because there were not many employees working on that floor as before, the atmosphere was calmer. But, for her, who came there for the first time, the situation felt a little bit scary.

Helena's feet swung towards the table in front of a room that she was sure was Aaron's. She saw Beatrice, her husband's secretary, there. The young woman was looking down and busy with her work. "Excuse me." She said slowly to get Beatrice's attention.

Beatrice looked up, then immediately stood up to greet her guest. "Oh, Mrs. Houston. What can I help you, Ma'am?" she asked, still unable to hide her surprise.

"I want to meet Aaron. My husband is inside, right?" Helena asked as friendly as possible with a smile on her face.

"What do you need, Ma'am?"

"I’m going to have lunch with Mr. Houston."

"But, Ma'am, this afternoon, Mr. Houston has an appointment for lunch with someone else."

A frown appeared on Helena's forehead. A lunch appointment with someone else? He didn't tell her about it in the morning. If so, he shouldn't have asked her to come. "Is that?" Her tone was ambiguous. "Then I'd like to see my husband for a moment." She continued.

"Sorry, Mrs. Houston. But-"

"Or should I just come in?" interrupted Helena quickly.

Beatrice swallowed back the words she couldn't say. Her expression changed, and there was no more friendliness there. "I'll ask Mr. Houston first," she said, openly showing her annoyance.

Beatrice picked up the receiver and called her boss. "Sir, Mrs. Andin is already here. She said she wanted to meet you."

Helena watched Beatrice in silence. Her eyes were fixed on Beatrice in every move, including the expression on Beatrice's face. Beatrice was great because she didn't hesitate to show her emotions in front of Helena.

"You can come in, Ma'am."

Helena could catch Beatrice's displeasure in that words. She didn't even look at Helena when she said it and seemed busy with the paperwork on her desk. However, Helena was silent. Helena didn't want to make a fuss about something like that because it would only waste her energy. "Thank you." She tried to keep her intonation as flat as possible. Without a second thought, she left Beatrice and walked towards the closed door not far from her. In one jolt, she pushed the brown door to open.