Sekutu

Mesyuarat itu dihadiri oleh hanya empat orang. Nama sahaja mesyuarat penjelasan tender, tapi sebetulnya lebih tepat dipanggil temuduga. Dua orang dari syarikat pemberi tender, dan dua lagi dari syarikat pemohon tender.

“Can you explain again why the price that you’re asking seems to be higher than the market price?” Amir bertanya.

“We have to take into account all our overheads, in addition to all other costs related to this project. We would have liked the price to be lower of course, but we are being realistic. But… perhaps we can find a cheaper supplier. Give us two more weeks and we’ll revert back to you with a revised price,” Faizul menjawab.

“We can’t do that. We need to get this project moving as per planned. Talking of which, why do you need extension for the stipulated timeline to complete the project?” Giliran Liew pula.

“We’re a bit short on resources at the moment. But surely three days don’t make that much difference?”

Tiba-tiba kedengaran bunyi dering telefon.
“Excuse me for a minute, I have to take this urgent call,” ujar Liew seraya melangkah keluar dari bilik kecil itu.

“Bang, abang kena tolong kami. Siapa lagi yang nak tolong bangsa kita untuk berjaya kalau tak kita sendiri bang? Kalau abang tolong kami, kami boleh tolong abang balik,” terkejut Amir mendengar ucapan ringkas Faizul yang begitu lancar, bagaikan dia sudah bersedia, dan sedang menanti-nanti sahaja saat yang sesuai untuk meluahkannya. Bait terakhir diutarakannya dengan nada perlahan, bagai cuba menyembunyi maksud sebenar.

Mujurlah satu minit Liew kekal satu minit.

“Okay gentlemen, I think we should wrap up the meeting now, if no one has anything else to say. We’ll be in touch. Thanks for making the time for this clarification meeting,” Amir menutup bicara.

“We look forward to hearing from you,” Faizul memandang tepat ke mata Amir sewaktu berjabat tangan.

Di kala tetamu mereka sedang bersurai, Amir masih berasa sedikit keliru.

“Jangan pening kepala, Amir. Petang nanti kita discuss ok?” ujar Liew. “Eh, it’s almost 1 o’clock. Let’s hurry to the mosque, or we might miss the khutbah.”

“Ok, let’s go!” Riak muka Amir tenang kembali. Diingatnya Allah, berlalulah baki sangsi di hati.

The story above is absolutely fictional, and the names are random.