Story: Surprise!

I was late.

Since my car was being serviced, I decided to take the MRT to Menara Ilham, off KLCC. “I don’t know if I can get used to this,” I thought, feeling like a fish out of the water taking public transportation after having for long being chauffeured around in a Mercedes. “Chin up,” I consoled myself, determined to take this change in lifestyle with an open mind and heart. To my surprise, the ride on the MRT was quite fun, being sandwiched between the working class in rush hour and having to stand for the entire journey. Apart from having been stripped of my Datin title, now I have to battle with the plebeians for a place to stand in a train.

I stopped by Optimist Coffee by the Ampang station to perk my spirits with a jolt of caffeine. While queuing up with other eager beavers for the much-needed caffeine fix, I bumped shoulders with someone familiar.

“Hey Alicia, good morning!”

It was Danial from the singles party. I never thought that I’d meet him here. “How do I look?” I thought, suddenly feeling nervous and self-conscious.

“I’m just about to go to my office at Menara…”

“Menara Ilham?” I interjected his sentence. “I’m about to head there too. You’re not going to RR Capital’s office, are you?”

“No, I’m on the 75 th floor. It’s a private equity firm. But hey, if you’re going that way, let me walk with you.”

It was the most pleasurable walk I’ve had in many weeks following the Jamie incident. I laughed wholeheartedly and was immersed in such an engaging conversation with him. When we finally arrived, Danial held my hand and caressed it a bit as we reached the lobby.

“If you’re not going to be long, why don’t we spend the afternoon together and have lunch around the corner? I know a great place.”

“I’d love to,” I chirped immediately. “I won’t be long, wait for me in the lobby in about an hour.”

He nodded and walked to the elevator and his eyes met with the concierge as he greeted him with a salutation, “Good morning, Dato’.”

He disappeared into the elevator while I fumbled in my bag to get my driver’s license out. “RR Capital, 22 nd floor.” The concierge looked puzzled and asked, “You’re not going to Dato’ Danial’s office?” “No,” I said firmly, slightly irritated.

“Oh,” the concierge looked away and handed me the visitor’s pass.

He mumbled for a bit and the only words I heard were, “Dato’ tu anak Tan Sri Khalid.”

“Tan Sri Khalid?” That revelation left me astonished. That guy practically has all of Malaysia’s wealth under his name. If Danial came from old money, not a hint of it was detectable to me.

“Wish me luck,” I said to myself as the elevator hauled me up to level 22.

As it was time to leave, I saw Danial pacing up and down, waiting impatiently for me as I was almost half an hour minutes late. Despite that, his smile radiated across the room to welcome my presence when I finally walked up to him.

Danial held my hand and ushered me to a car parked outside. It was a small, grey Proton Iriz, not a chauffeur-driven continental car I had expected. “This guy is full of surprises,” I thought. I sat on the passenger seat expecting more shocking revelations.

Danial started the engine, pulled down the hand brake and swerved the car out of Menara Ilham, hitting the accelerator hard. I swayed from left to right in excitement and exclaimed, “Where are we going?”

He turned to me with that ravishing smile and said, “You’ll see!” Before we knew it, we were already entering Karak Highway.
“What else has this guy got under his sleeve?” I wondered, as I awaited the next surprise with much
anticipation.

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