Jason’s voice broke through the silence, smooth and calm as he spoke up. "Life has a funny way of dealing cards, doesn’t it? Sometimes you’re overloaded and overlooked no matter how much you think you deserve a break. You’ve felt that before haven’t you?"
Simple set-up and question. It was something he used often. A generalised statement, with presuppositions, and then a loaded question that would lead him to make some kind of assumptions in line with the question.
Porter gave a small, bitter laugh, looking up and Jason with annoyance. "That’s life, kid. Doesn’t matter. No matter how qualified you are, no matter what you have or who you know. Some people just have it easier." As he said that, his eyes flicked to Jason’s face again, as if to say, like you.
And Jasoy had nothing to say to that. After all, it was partially true. He had been lucky once in his life. He had grown up in a rich family, with opportunities galore. And yet he had lost it all. That was why to an extent, Jason was not lying.
People worked with what they had. Jason had nothing right now other than his connection to Veronica, and his job. And he would work on them and then make them better. After all, he had nothing.
Jason did not flinch. He leaned back in his chair, feigning nonchalance as he flipped through the contract that he had just been given. "You know I’ve been there," he began. His tone was laced with just enough emotion to hook the man’s attention.
"When my family passed away, I had nothing. No support, no direction. It was just me, staring at the mirror and seeing a monster that no one wanted to see."
Porter froze at that moment, not knowing what to say or do. Jason saw the man’s pen floating in the air, and then he inwardly smirked. There we go, Established rapport. Now we begin, changing the perspective, slowly, steadily, and making real progress into the man’s psyche.
He continued, painting a story, a picture of his darkest days, even while flipping through the contract as if he was reading over it. He spoke about his darkest nights, and how he was rejected by his friends and lost his girlfriend to someone "better". He even told the man to look it up. It was all real. He was the infamous Jason Cross.
Each word seemed to land heavily on Oliver, and as the man sat there with his mouth open, his hand twitching with the pen having been already placed on the table, Jason sat there, reading the final pages of the contract.
"But then," Jason said, his voice’s tone changing ever so slightly, "I met someone who changed my perspective on everything. It was a man who showed me that the only real enemy I have ever had was myself."
Follow curr𝒆nt nov𝒆ls on fɾeeweɓnѳveɭ.com.
Porter blinked, drawn into the story even despite his reluctance. "What’d the man teach you?" he said, his words coming out of his mouth before he could control them.
Jason finally raised his eyes from the Contract page, staring at the man in the eyes. It was time to go ahead and break all those beliefs. Jason locked eyes with the man and then began speaking.g
"That everything… every failure, every success, it all starts here," Jason said, tapping his temple. "The mind. Once you control it, everything else falls into place."
Porter shifts in his seat, his defensive walls crumbling slightly. Sighing he said, "You make it sound so easy. How many times have people heard something like that?"
Jason shrugged, "It is. Simple doesn’t mean easy though." Jason paused, letting the silence do its work. Silence was the best, not only to make things seem more important but also to make him seem like he was more profound. "The real tragedy happens when we blame others for our failures, instead of looking inward."
Porter’s face tightened, his eyes darting to the contract Jason held. After a moment, he laughed, though there was no malice in it. "You’re so good... You might be too good."
Jason feigned confusion at that moment. "What do you mean?"
Porter sighed, leaning back. "The contract you’re holding. It’s the wrong one. I switched it out earlier. Figured someone like you didn’t deserve the real deal. It would have put you down for pay as an Intern instead of a full-time Salesperson. It would be something irreversible before you finish your three months probation."
Jason already knew this though. He couldn’t help but raise his eyebrow as if he was surprised, "I see. And why would you do that?"
"Because guys like you," Porter began, hesitating as he spoke, only to smirk in defeat. "With your good looks and charm, you always get everything handed to you."
Jason tilted his head, his smile faint, but his eyes still locked on the man. "And here I thought I was here because of my skills. Tell you what… If I can teach you a thing or two, would you change your mind?"
Porter’s scepticism was evident, but his curiosity won out. "Teach me? About what?"
"About how to get what you want," Jason replied. "It’s all about Social Engineering. Understanding people. You’ve got the intelligence. You just need the tools, and I will teach them to you. You will get out of this dingy dark office, and make your way up there into Sales where you belong."
He was selling a dream. He had been the entire time. And since this man had bought in, he would finally be given the value that he was seeking by buying the things he was buying.
For the next ten minutes, Jason spoke to the man, carefully telling him simple psychological principles with anecdotes designed to resonate with him. The old man listened carefully, intentionally holding himself back as he leaned into the conversation, asking questions and even practising the things that Jason wanted him to.
By the time Jason finished, Oliver Porter was nodding along. He was even chuckling at some point at the points and jokes Jason was making.
"Alright," Alan said, finally pulling a fresh set of papers from the drawer. "You win. Here’s the contract."
Jason’s relief was genuine. But he kept himself completely calm. "He glanced at the earnings he was going to get. $50000 a year, along with a 5% commission on sales, health insurance, paid time off... It was everything he was hoping for in his first job. It was much better than whatever he had been working at before.
"Thank you," Jason said, standing and extending a hand. "I look forward to working with you."
Porter smiled, hesitating before shaking the hand. "You’re amazing bro. Can we hang out sometime?"
"Sure," Jason said as he stood up, and walked out of the room.
As Jason left, he felt something of a rare sense of satisfaction. This was it. This was what he wanted to do, what he wanted to have. Ad he was working hard
When Jason saw the new panel that had shown up in front of him, he couldn’t help but be surprised at the rewards.
|————————————
|| Master Programmer System || Stats | Missions | Items | Store |
—————
Your Current Mission: System Use Tutorial (100% done)
Congratulations on completing the mission: Convince your Ugly New Friend He Can Be Better. As a reward, you have received the following:
—> Level up + 1
—> 20 MC
—> New Mission: Get Your First Subordinate!
Well Done. Keep working hard and one day you will truly become a Master Programmer.
————————————|
New friend? When did he get a new friend? Jason shook his head. That was not too difficult. It was just getting the man to see the truth through a guided story. And it had worked. Even the man had noticed what Jason had done by the end of it too, forcing Jason to calm him down by giving him a few tricks of his.
Jason looked at this Panel and then smiled. He was getting assigned friends just like that? Did that even make sense? What a crazy thing. Anyway, Jason was more interested in the rewards.
He was going to be level 9 now? With 90 MC in his account. Wonderful stuff. And he had a new mission. Maybe he should turn Oliver Porter into his subordinate. How useful would it be to have a subordinate like that?
Sighing in reverence to the system for giving him free rewards, Jason was about to head out to the place he was meant to go to for his training and team orientation when he suddenly saw something.
It was a familiar face in the lobby. The man he had met the day before, was flanked by his two work friends and he was heading out.
When the man’s eyes landed on Jason, his lips curled up. "Rocking that cheap suit, huh? Guess they didn’t take you seriously after all. You must have been fired yesterday. Hah!"
Jason didn’t respond. He simply walked past them. Giving them attention was not something that would serve him. After all, there was nothing he could do other than pay attention to the things he could control and let go of everything else.
Anyway, this idiot wanted some attention from Jason. He wanted to see Jason with his tail tucked between his ass. Jason would give him none of that. That would be his punishment for his behaviour. Operant Condition.
He had what he needed. He was what he was. Even if laughter echoed from behind him, what did it all matter? Nothing mattered other than who he knew he was right then and there.
As he walked past, those three made more jokes and then walked off to the cafeteria, speaking loudly just to make sure he heard them. But Jason could care less.
Standing at the door to his new manager’s place, Jason couldn’t help but think of the words of Oliver Porter. "Guys like you have everything handed to you."
Jason smirked to himself. "If only they knew."
"If only they knew what?" came a voice behind him, and when Jason turned only to see Samantha looking at him in interest, flanked by her people, he smiled.
Damn… Jason could either half-ass this, or he could go the whole way and destroy this. After all, it would be his first day in this office. He would give her something to remember him by.
"If only they knew how I would walk into this company and change it forever. I will be the greatest hire this company has ever gotten. When that happens, I hope in three months I can come to your office and renegotiate my salary."
Jason said that and then instead of getting out of the way for her since she was the CEO, he opened the door and walked in, leaving the three women standing there, looking at him with weird expressions on their faces.
Well, Samantha’s expression was not weird. It was more interesting than anything. She had been investigating this man recently, and the more she found out about him, the more interesting he became. Now that he said this, she would see I he would stick to his words.
Meanwhile, Jason walked in, with everyone turning to him, to see what he was up to. Today he would take on his role, he would prove to everyone that he belonged here. It wasn’t just to everyone that he would prove this, but he would also prove it to himself.