"Have you replied to his message?" I asked in a panic, unable to believe that I had just met Kalandra—the man whose social media I followed religiously, whose every Instagram post I liked, and whose updates I never missed.
But how could I not recognize him? He had greeted me so confidently.
I was absolutely panicked, realizing how impolite I had been when we met. Sure, I hadn't ignored him, but the problem was that I didn't recognize him at all, even though he had approached me first.
"Of course not! You reply to him yourself. I just wanted to let you know because I was shocked to see a direct message from Kalandra. What kind of dream did you have last night to get a message from Kala?" Rere chuckled after saying that. If she knew that I had actually met him in person, she would probably scream at me.
"Okay, I'm going to edit a video now. Don't forget to reply to Kalandra's message," Rere added before ending the call.
As soon as Rere hung up, the image of Kala—the man I had met earlier—flashed in my mind. Oh my God! His face was exactly like the one I had seen on social media. How could I not recognize him right away?
I quickly unlocked my phone and opened my Instagram account. Just as Rere said, there was a direct message from the verified account of Kalandra Kusumaatmaja. My eyes widened, and without hesitation, I tapped on the message.
Ah! What should I say? I was very interested in his offer, but I lacked the confidence to do a live demo—especially at his company, where it wouldn't just be one or two people watching.
Binar Meheswari:
Hi, Kala, thank you for the offer. But please, no live cooking demos—I'm not confident enough to perform in front of an audience.
I had rewritten my response multiple times before sending it. I needed to stay calm and not reveal that I was one of his biggest fans.
While other women my age idolized handsome actors or singers with beautiful voices, I was different.
From what I had seen on social media, he had a simple style—something I admired. With his wealth, he could easily afford high-end designer brands, but he didn't flaunt it.
He often shared motivational tips that made anyone reading them feel inspired. There were many reasons I admired him, and one of them was the fact that he was still single at almost forty. That was a bonus—because admiring a married man would be inappropriate.
Kalandra Kusumaatmaja:
I was just joking, but you should give it a try sometime.
I replied with a big smile emoji because I didn't know what else to say. I couldn't exactly ask for his phone number, could I?
I let out a deep sigh. My heart was practically soaring—I had just exchanged messages with Kalandra! My eyes darted around as I suddenly remembered what I had been about to do. Ugh! This was all Kalandra's fault.
"Ma'am, the mixers we pre-ordered last month just arrived. Should we put them on display?" Wina, one of my employees, approached me.
"Have you checked them all?" I asked.
"Yes, everything looks good," she replied.
"Display two of them—one in each color," I instructed.
"For online orders, make sure the packaging is secure," I added. Wina nodded and walked away.
I headed toward the storage room at the back of the store—a space about half the size of the shop itself.
"What products arrived this morning?" I asked Bagas, the staff in charge of the warehouse.
"Canned butter and various baking ingredients," he replied.
"After you check them, have the packing team repackage the baking ingredients," I instructed. Then, I entered the storage room to check stock levels and inspect the condition of the remaining inventory. If a product had been sitting too long, I would usually offer big discounts to clear it out.
Everything looked fine, and I had already placed orders for items running low. Now, I needed to think of a year-end promotion.
"Mom, why are you taking so long?" Arkan's loud voice echoed through the shop. I couldn't help but laugh as I saw him running toward me. He must have gotten bored with his game.
"It wasn't long. I just finished," I said.
"I'm bored," he pouted.
"Where do you want to go now?" I asked.
"I wanna go home," he whined.
"Just half an hour more, sweetheart," I coaxed, and he nodded, though his pout remained.
I handed him a pack of marshmallows.
"Wait for me a little longer," I said, gently ruffling his curly hair.
"When I finish this marshmallow, you have to be done, and we have to go home," he demanded. I laughed at his little ultimatum.
"Ma'am, do you have an appointment with someone from Boga Rasa today?" Oci asked, looking puzzled as I walked Arkan back to the cashier's desk. I frowned at her question. As far as I knew, we still had enough stock from Boga Rasa, and I hadn't placed a new order.
"Did they send a shipment?" I asked.
"No, but one of their staff members is here, asking to meet with you," she explained.
"Where are they?" I asked curiously.
"Right behind you," Oci said. Slowly, I turned around.
"Kala?" I whispered, my eyes widening.
"What ... how are you here? I mean, what brings you here?" I stammered, completely baffled. It didn't make sense that someone like Kala—a director of Boga Rasa—would personally visit my store.
"Please, have a seat here," I said, leading him to a small seating area for customers.
If I hadn't known who he was, I might have immediately shooed him away. The way he showed up unannounced was almost unsettling—like a stalker.
"I never expected to see you here, Kala. Is there anything I can help you with?" I asked. Surely, a director wouldn't come all the way here just to promote his company's products.
"I happened to pass by your store on my way to the office, and I remembered that this shop belongs to you," he explained. But that still didn't answer my real question—why was he really here? He wasn't going to buy butter in bulk, was he?
"You probably haven't read my last message," he added, making me frown. Had he sent something important?
"I was thinking of shooting an ad for one of Boga Rasa's products here—starring you," he said.
My jaw dropped. His words made absolutely no sense.(*)