Jason chuckled softly, shaking his head. She had sent the first two messages minutes after he left the hospital. Interesting, he thought. The timing said more than the words themselves. After all, it meant that he had left a good… impression.
Well, he had worked very HARD to IMPRESS something upon her for sure.
Anyway, it was time to reply. With a smirk, Jason began typing a response he thought of on the fly.
[It’s okay. If you lose your job, I’ll take care of you for the rest of your life. If you lose your mind… You might as well lose your clothes too once you’re around me.]
The message was bold, a blend of confidence and reassurance, designed to elicit a specific reaction. Jason imagined her reading it, her heart racing, cheeks flushing, torn between disbelief and excitement.
He was selling a dream. And for all intents and purposes, she was going to buy it. Smirking as he read through his message again, he closed up the messaging app and turned his mind to other things.
Returning to the couch, Jason found Veronica watching him curiously. "What’s got you smiling like that?" she asked, tilting her head. It seemed she was done with her phone business. Or maybe Jason’s chuckle was making her curious.
Jason smirked. "Just texting someone," he said nonchalantly.
Veronica arched an eyebrow. "Someone special? A friend? A girlfriend?" As she said this, she leaned back, her breasts bouncing under her shirt. Maybe she knew what she was doing. Maybe she didn’t. Anyway, Jason only noticed it with his peripheral vision. He focused on her, making sure to view her pretty face as the main focal point.
Curiosity and Mystery! People hated open loops! They hated cliffhangers! That was why they tried their best to resolve any curiosity they had no matter how irrational it was. Since Jason said it this way, she was going to have a million questions in her mind. And that was how he would hook her into a conversation with him.
Jason shrugged, leaning back. "Depends on what you mean by special."
He meant that. Isabella was technically not that special. But she was interesting. She was a canvas on which Jason was painting, learning his craft. It sounded terrible, but it was what it was. However, even though she was not special, she was important. Very much so. To the point where Jason might get territorial if someone else ever dared to put his hands on her.
Veronica narrowed her eyes, her curiosity piqued. "Oh, come on. Spill it. If you get another girlfriend, I won’t care. I just hope she’s not materialistic like the other one." She leaned forward, now showing him another view of her cleavage.
Jason looked at her for a moment, and then he leaned back, breaking rapport even more. Yeah, she was seriously pulling out all the stops now. Maybe she was doing it unconsciously because it was a set of behaviours that had worked with men before, but still. The fact she was doing it meant it worked.
Leaning forward, making herself look small and vulnerable while flashing something so very beautiful to him... It was purely meant to affect his mentality. That was why he was taking time to think. He could not allow himself to act irrationally.
Jason took his time to think it over, looking to the ceiling and this seemed to annoy her even more, but before she could speak, Jason smirked and came back, leaning closer, his voice dropping to a near-whisper, his tone playful yet disarming. "Why do you want to know, huh? Are you really that interested in me?"
Veronica blinked, momentarily caught off guard. She quickly recovered, rolling her eyes. "Interested in you? Hardly. I’m just curious how cocky you’ve gotten since starting that sales job. That sales job that I~ had connected you to, by the way!"
Seeing how she said that last part with an incredible gusto, Jason laughed. She was so adorable. It was just refreshing being around her.
"Maybe I have gotten cocky," he admitted, his tone teasing. "But can you blame me? Living under the same roof as someone as beautiful and hardworking as you? Hard not to feel a little… Cocky."
Veronica froze, her lips parting in surprise. The words hung in the air, heavy. Beautiful? What the hell did he mean beautiful? And cocky? Was that a sexual innuendo?
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She stared at him, searching his face for any sign of a joke. But Jason’s expression was earnest, his gaze steady. Seeing him like that, she didn’t know how to react. He meant his words. All of them... This cocky... no, damn it!
She stood abruptly, crossing her arms. "Don’t… don’t joke about things like that," she said, her tone defensive.
Jason watched her stand up, keeping his expression calm. There was no need to lie or joke around with her. He had made that a sexual innuendo, and he did it on purpose. People fall to the lowest tolerances they held themselves to. If she tolerated this kind of sexual innuendo, then Jason could float more of them to her in the future.
However, there was a bit of a problem here. She was denying her reality. Maybe it was due to the age difference, or maybe because she was just not geared towards getting male attention, but Jason would have to slowly undo the beliefs that were holding her back.
"I’m not joking. You’re Hardworking and Beautiful. It inspired me to be the person I need to be. After all, I was serious about becoming the most successful man in my lineage." After saying that, Jason turned to the side and sighed and Veronica’s gaze softened slightly in response.
Was she being unreasonable?
"I haven’t—" She stopped herself, her voice faltering. "My beauty... I haven’t even thought about anything like that since my husband passed."
Jason softened his gaze too, his demeanour shifting from playful to serious. He stood as well, maintaining a respectful distance. "I’m sorry," he said quietly. "I didn’t mean to make you uncomfortable. It was just a passing thought. Maybe I shouldn’t have said it. But best believe, I am being completely honest with you. I have never lied to you. Unless it was a joke. This was not a joke, though."
Jason, understanding that he had a bit of momentum at that moment, continued speaking, saying, "Veronica... have you ever noticed how some people have this timeless beauty about them? Like there’s something that just draws you in regardless of their age... It’s because we know... it’s not about the years they’ve lived but the energy they bring into life. That is their power. That is your power."
Jason was referring to multiple things here. Not only was he talking about her age, but his too. He was effectively saying that he was drawn to her, and also implanting the idea that she might be drawn to him too, due to the energy he brought into her life.
Veronica frowned, her defences wavering. There was something disarming about his honesty. "Why would you even say something like that? Calling me beautiful… It’s… not good. It’s not okay," she said, her voice quieter now.
Jason met her gaze, his voice low and deliberate. "Because it’s true. I mean every single word. When I look at you, I don’t see some number... I see someone with this amazing presence. There is a beauty about you that’s not just skin deep. It shines through everything you do. It’s captivated me."
He paused, letting the words settle. The key to his influence lay in pacing and leading. He acknowledged her feelings first, then subtly guided her toward a new perspective.
Veronica looked away, her cheeks tinged pink. "You’re impossible," she muttered, though there was no malice in her tone. Jason saw that pink on her cheeks and neck, and it brought a smile to him that he never showed outwardly.
Jason smiled softly. "Maybe. But I mean what I said. And I hope it doesn’t make things awkward between us. I don’t know if you feel it too, but there’s this connection between us. It just feels... NATURAL. I can’t fake this no matter how much I try. I value what we’ve got here, even if it’s just… unspoken."
Veronica said nothing, but Jason merely smirked, saying, "I am willing to keep watching you being beautiful and inspirational, as long as you let me. For the rest of our lives, even. I will keep doing it. So please let me, okay?"
Veronica sighed, her shoulders relaxing. "Fine," she said, though her voice lacked conviction. "But you’d better not say things like that in public, especially not to people who know nothing about the simple meaning of the words."
Simple meaning? Yeah... no. Jason had practically just proposed being together forever. There was no simple meaning here. It was all real, all serious. She might not realise it now, but with enough effort, she would realise it in the future.
But in the next moment, she looked at him and then laughed. It was pretty impressive. She couldn’t help but turn away, not being able to handle the intensity of his aze.
Jason laughed, the tension easing. "Deal," he said, holding up his hands in mock surrender. "I’ve had a long day. Got ordered around as the new guy. So tiring. Good night, Veronica."
It was important for him to leave first. She had to watch him leave, to see the sight of him leaving her life in the case that she did not take him seriously, take this connection he was talking about, seriously. And that is exactly what happened.
As he walked to his room, Veronica watched him go, her gaze lingering. Her mind raced, filled with conflicting emotions. Jason’s words had stirred something in her she hadn’t felt in years. It was something she wasn’t sure she was ready to confront.
In his room, Jason leaned against the door, exhaling deeply. His heart was pounding, but not from nerves. He was exhilarated. He had planted the seed. Now, it was only a matter of time. He just needed to water it. Again and again. Every day. Soon he would have a tree with the ripest fruits ready for harvest. Smiling to himself, he put down his stuff.
All he had to do was be around her, reassure her, and then show her his masculinity and attractiveness to assure that she was making the right choice, and just like that she would find herself falling for him.
It was only a matter of time. Timing, after all, was everything.
