Chapter 323 - Shit, Not This Again
Rangga didn't have the heart to sit idly and do nothing after he heard Lisa's story. As the person who once hurt her to the point that she lost her job in her former office, this man owed her a lot. Right, even though Lisa didn't personally ask for help, Rangga didn't want to make her impression of him worse. He wanted to improve their friendship, which was once destroyed from his mistakes.
Without saying much, the man made a call and waited for it to be picked up from his car's bluetooth speaker. A dial tone started ringing a few seconds before someone from across the line greeted him.
"Hello?" The man's voice sounded very heavy and hoarse, as if he was a 2 meter giant.
"Hello David, it's me Rangga. You still remember me, right?" Rangga asked in a relaxed tone.
The man on the other side chuckled in his hoarse voice. "How could I forget you? What's up dude? It's rare for you to suddenly call me like this. Something must've happened, huh?" He replied jokingly.
It was David Tendean, a police chief who was also Rangga's close friend. The two of them accidentally met when Rangga was still commuting from Jakarta to Bekasi to do business between cities.
David always helped to escort Rangga's important guests whenever he was away for work. From there, David always offered Rangga security assistance whenever the man needed it.
A few moments later, Rangga continued the conversation, "Yes. Remember when you told me that I could ask you a favor any time? I want you to do something for me now,"
"Haha, I see. So what do you need this time? Do you need me to escort special guests from abroad?" David replied cheerfully.
"No, this is actually trivial. I have a close friend, she was a victim of slander and rape a few days ago. I'm just asking for help to find the rapists," Rangga replied seriously.
"Wait, are you sure you're not afraid of 'her' if she finds out you're helping out your female friend?" The man asked hoarsely from across.
"She's nothing but a friend, just calm down. What if I buy you dinner tomorrow?" Rangga replied, his tone relaxed.
"Okay then. By the way, can I ask for a picture of the attacker if there is one?" The head of the police chief asked.
"I'll send it later!" Rangga replied confidently and firmly.
"Ah, fine then. See you tomorrow night!"
The call was closed right after. The atmosphere in the car was quiet again after Rangga phoned his friend in the police department.
Beside him, Lisa was sitting still speechless, stunned by what she had just heard. She didn't know what to say and felt confused.
"Lis, I'll ask for a picture as evidence from your office and give it to the Bekasi police chief for further investigation," Rangga said seriously. His face suddenly stiffened.
"No," Lisa said a little clumsily. "You don't need to help me this far, I didn't really ask—"
Not finished with the sentence, Rangga immediately interrupted, "Come on, I've hurt you and it's hard for you to forgive me because of it. It's time for me to fix our friendship!"
"Okay, I'll ask Alia to give me the picture later," Lisa said resignedly. She could no longer refuse Rangga's help even though she was actually reluctant. historical
Lisa immediately contacted Alia to ask if she got a hold of the picture that showed Lisa was being ganged up on by the two mobs in a narrow alley a few days ago. Fortunately, Alia took a picture without the manager's knowledge.
She immediately sent the photo to Lisa, which was then forwarded to Rangga and ended in David Tendean's hand, the head of the Bekasi police chief.
"Hopefully, we can quickly find the culprit," Rangga said, trying to calm Lisa's heart.
***
An hour later, the two of them arrived at the Cendana hotel. Along with Lisa getting off the car, Rangga's cell phone suddenly rang. The man told Lisa to sit back down and wait. It looked like good news was coming their way.
"Hey, it's me. I have found the culprit. They are both thugs in this area. Not very well known though so don't worry, I'll handle it," David said from across the phone.
Hearing David's statement relieved Rangga's heart a lot. He could breathe freely now.
"Lis, the rapists have finally been caught," Rangga said after sighing heavily.
"Thank god...!" Lisa replied briefly. She also felt relieved as if she was releasing a heavy burden from her heart. "Rangga, thank you very much for helping me. You've helped me a lot since the incident in that alleyway.."
"Hey, don't say it. I'm your friend, remember? Anyway, if you plan to bring this case to court, don't hesitate to ask me a favor. I can't let you get hurt like this," Rangga said sincerely and earnestly.
Lisa nodded in return. "Thanks, I'll go first, okay? Hopefully my manager will believe that I'm innocent."
"Good luck!" Rangga replied then sped away from the Cendana hotel.
***
Lisa sauntered with accelerated steps towards the finance department room. Her heart was definitely beating fast with anxiety. She didn't know what could happen if the whole room stared at her with condescending looks.
Hopefully, nothing bad would happen, she wished.
When Lisa walked into the room, it was true as she thought. All of the employees there stood with their arms crossed and their eyes on Lisa. Only one of them didn't look at her with a harsh and contemptuous look— Alia, Lisa's new friend at the Cendana hotel.
The atmosphere in the room was suddenly cold and tense. It felt the same as when she was humiliated in front of many employees at Rangga's company back then.
A petite woman with a short haircut then came up to her. Her face looked sympathetic as she said, "Lisa, the manager is waiting for you in his room."
Lisa nodded. Without saying much, she immediately walked into the manager's room with a pounding heart. She saw the manager was sitting silently looking straight ahead with a serious and displeased face.
"Excuse me sir, are you looking for me?" Lisa asked, still maintaining her good manners even though she was a victim of slander. She stood in front of the man with a shaky leg, afraid that she'd utter something stupid and made her situation worse.
The middle-aged man did not pay attention to her. Instead, he gave Lisa the worst look.
Oh no, that middle-aged man obviously didn't like Lisa a lot.
"Why are you just standing there?" The manager asked furiously. Hearing the sentence just now, Lisa immediately sat on the chair in front of his desk. She sat idly by, taking a deep breath.
"Lisa, do you know why I called you here?" The manager asked with a sinister look.
"Yes, I know," Lisa replied briefly. Her voice choked a little.
"Then you know and really understand what you did a few days ago, huh?" The manager asked again.
Lisa was silent, she didn't really understand what the man was saying.
The middle-aged man then opened his drawer and took out a photo that showed Lisa with two unknown men. He threw it on his desk with burning anger.
"What does this mean?!? Do you want to ruin our hotel's image by doing something as disgusting as this !?"