Princess Seraphina
THE CHAPTER 29

Aldi sees Seraphina in poor shape. He looked at her seriously, "Tell me, what happened during our separation?"

"It's okay, just a little confused. There's someone helping me, so I can get here now."

As the meeting was about to begin, Aldi put aside his concerns. He took Seraphina to the meeting room while holding her hand. Shortly after, they arrived at the meeting room. Inside the room, several important figures from the various branches and the supreme head of the headquarter were already present. None of them were men who had previously collided with Seraphina. Aldi sat on a chair in particular, while Seraphina sat beside him.

Head of headquarters stood up, leading the attention of the room. "Good morning, dear managers. I am Andreas Widyantara, the top manager at Almart. I would like to extend my greetings and thank you for the presence of the managers and their representatives."

Then, a woman who was also part of the head office leader stood up. "Good morning, fellow managers. I am Princess Ananda Moon, the representative of Mr. Andreas, and I will preside over the meeting today. According to the rules, I'll check attendance."

Ananda popped a hologram from his tablet. "Well, let's start from branch A representative, Manager Irfan Chandra Hamdani. Branch B representative, Manager Erik Sanjaya. Branch C representative, Manager Budi Tri Santoso. And finally, representatives from the central branch, Manager Aldi Pangestu Irawan, as well as Deputy Manager Seraphina. For those I mentioned present, please swipe a special card on the checker card in front of you. After that, we'll start the meeting."

Everyone in the room swiped their cards on special tools, including Seraphina. Data on the topic of the meeting appears on the hologram screen. After checking the data, Ananda began the discussion by reviewing the performance of the stores. Aldi discussed the store he managed, conveying the various improvements and profits that have been achieved thanks to the increasing interest of customers. It also highlights technological advances that help efficiency of work. Aldi then gave Seraphina a turn to discuss employee salaries.

From Seraphina's conclusion, employees in all stores need an increase in working wages because sales profits already exceed the final target. Seraphina added that modern facilities are being added more to provide comfort and interest to the public, but, unintentionally, she felt that the presence of men who threatened her was already in the store where she worked. His concentration was disturbed, even some mistakes occurred while speaking. Ananda observed the signs of incongruity in Seraphina. Although Aldi also seemed worried, he still tried to maintain a professional attitude.

Four hours passed, and the meeting was finally over. Ananda stood up, "As deputy central manager, I really appreciate the results of the meeting from the managers. The proposal that has been submitted is very valuable. And additionally, special Vice Manager Seraphina, I ask you to come to my room after this."

So the meeting ended at 2 pm, and Aldi drove Seraphina to Ananda's room. The room was on the top floor, they went up to the elevator. Because the room was on the top floor, Aldi arranged the elevator to go up to the 85th floor. While waiting for Aldi to say, “Tumben once the deputy manager of the center called someone, let alone you a new person. What's up?“

"Possibly only related to the error of the discussion, I think so," Seraphina replied in a soft voice.

Aldi responded, "Hopefully."

Shortly after, they arrived at the 85th floor. Aldi pointed out the door of the room in question, and Seraphina immediately swiped her card on the examination device near the door. Ananda gave a confirmation from inside, and the door of the room opened quietly.

"Is this related to my mistake at the meeting?"

"No, that's not the problem. I want to know something else. Are you having problems?"  Ananda looked directly into Seraphina's eyes.

Suddenly Seraphina was nervous because she was stared at directly by him, her speech was a bit messy. Ananda noticed his movements in detail, starting from the eyes, facial features, speech and body movements.

"I feel that something is bothering you. This anxiety can be very disturbing to your work if it continues to be left. However, you should know, I used to be a psychiatrist for 4 years from the age of 16. I've helped thousands of people and they're cured. My advice to you, it's better to be honest with me before I prove that your anxiety is real."

Seraphina felt doubtful at Ananda's words. He tried to check using magic, but found no signs of magic in Ananda. His feelings say that most likely his secret can be dismantled by him, because Ananda's great analytical skills are not playing. Although hesitant, he tried to confirm once more, "Before that, can you show me the hard evidence?"

Ananda smiled, then took a tablet from his desk drawer. With a few taps on the tablet screen, the video footage from the surveillance camera starts playing. In the video, Seraphina collides with someone in the building's passageway. Their conversation was clear, including the slow threat the man uttered.

Seraphina was already unable to refute anything from Ananda, all the evidence showed the truth of her uneasiness all along.

"The man was named Jacob, assistant manager of the B branch. He has been in trouble several times, there are even rumors that he has five wives as a result of his threats. And now, it's your turn to explain to me what kind of threat he's giving you."

"He threatened me that I should be his fiancee. If she refuses, she will report the manager as well as my colleagues at the store. Before leaving he also mentioned that in three days, I had to meet him at the coffee shop."

Then Ananda set the schedule on his tablet, it does not take long the schedule work is complete.

"Well, I've arranged a closed-door meeting that will only be attended by a select few, including the chairman of the central manager. We will discuss whether Jacob will only be fired or should be reported further. For now, you better keep your distance from Jacob. Since he already had a target, a single inch would not be released. Do you understand?"

Seraphina nods her head as a sign of understanding. Their meeting is over. Outside the room, Aldi was still waiting for the outcome of the meeting. When Seraphina came out, Aldi immediately approached her. Without saying much, Aldi drove him home. He didn't ask much about the meeting, just making sure that Seraphina was okay.