WHEN I FELL IN LOVE

Chapter 36

All the ingredients my mother needed to make the cake I bought. Now I just have to wait for Jayadi who is buying pineapple fruit, for stuffing nastar cake. Jayadi and I wanted to go together to a fruit store not far from the Source Cake store. Probably only about two miles. But to shorten the time, Jayadi decided to go alone to the fruit store, while I waited for Mr. Selamet to prepare the items I bought at the store Source Cake.

While waiting for Jayadi, Selamet and I talked a lot about business. Yes, Mr. Selamet is the most appropriate person to talk to about business, because his maturity in the business world is no doubt. Just look at the Sumber Cake store, a store that he started when he was young; when he was twenty-four years old, he said. According to his story, his business had plummeted, even almost bankrupt during the 1998 monetary crisis. “So then. To the extent that any item I sold didn't take Ben's profit. Sell loss! If the market people say,” he said.

Mr. Selamet had to survive for almost two years fighting for his store so as not to go bankrupt due to the monetary crisis of 1998. Tenacity, maturity in strategizing, and patience, those are the things that make the store Source Cake can survive and succeed as it is now.

Something surprised me, when I was busy talking with Mr. Selamet. As Lela said her greetings, then walked into the shop.

For a moment I was silent when I found out his presence. I looked at him confused and awkward. There was a very strong refusal from within me to meet him at this moment. The scene of him crying while looking at me, when I strangled Erwin's neck during a muddle on my last day working as a salesman at PT. Source Intisari Indonesia, still so imprinted in my head. It's something that makes me ashamed to meet him. Lela had seen the wildest side of me, and I doubted that she still thought of me as the old Bento.

But what I fear about his judgment to me since the showdown at the office, is disputed. Because the first thing Lela did when she was already inside the Source Cake store was, smile at me, then she said, “Bang Ben?” Lela greeted me, said my name, and walked up to me. As usual.

I greeted him back, then asked him about the state of the office since I left Jayadi. Said, “so it's quieter, Bang.” Percis as Boris said.

Then Lela delivered a news that really surprised me. He said, “Jessica submitted Bang's resignation letter. He will work until the end of this month only.”

“What's the reason?” ask her. Of course I was very curious about what made Jessica decide to resign, shortly after Jayadi and I did. Because all I know is, Jessica never complained about her job. All this time he seemed to be having fun, even really enjoying his profession, and he never told me about the plan to resign, be it to me or other friends.

“Jessica anyway, want to help her parents business Bang,” replied Lela. “But in my opinion anyway, it's because he slightly objected to the new rules applied Mas Erwin.” I just nodded in response to Lela's reply, because in a bit, I understood what she meant.

So, when Boris came to my house. Boris told me about the many new rules that Erwin applied the day after the commotion. Actually, from what Boris told me, the new rules Erwin gave the salesmen were normal. However, there is one thing he asks the salesmen to do every day, which I think is a little excessive; he asks the salesmen to make a lot of reports; sales reports, bill reports, and so on, reports on per-outlet transactions, and reports on visit effectiveness. And you know who's gonna check those reports? The lela.

Of course, these additional tasks are increasingly burdensome to the work of salesmen. For me Erwin was like chaining and whipping his subordinates so that his honor which was tarnished after the commotion with me and Jayadi, he could get back. He seemed very trying to regain his honor by instilling fear (rule), and also gave as many tasks as possible. There is one mistake Erwin made by applying this concept, in my opinion. Erwin forgot the advice: everyone you whip, sooner or later will definitely leave you. Jessica's first, maybe Boris will catch up soon.