The Master Programmer

Jason stood in the soft morning light filtering through the half-closed curtains, watching Isabella's peaceful face. The contrast was striking: she looked so angelic in her sleep, her hair resting on her cheeks, her breathing soft and even. Yet Jason knew better. She was no angel. Last night's events proved she was one of the craziest demons he'd ever encountered. The things she did… Damn. Women were terrifying. The thought made him smirk. And then that same conflict he had been thinking of came back to him again, making him sigh deeply. His fingers brushed against her cheek, and she murmured something incoherent. It was tempting to stay a little longer, but he had to leave. And anyway, with this smile on her face, he was sure she would wake up happy. He had to go to work today. After all, he was going to be negotiating his work for the good of the company. And it was unfortunate, but he did not have time to "take a shower" with her before he left. He needed to go home and grab his stuff first. He might as well take a shower when he got to Veronica's. As he adjusted yesterday's shirt in the mirror, he noticed it. Damn it… what the hell was that? He had a hickey on his neck, glaring and impossible to hide. He groaned. So annoying. Isabella had marked him, and now he had to deal with the aftermath. Demons were so annoying. Should he hide it? Nah, no need. It might be better if he kept it on him, after all, that would be a signifier of his ability to get women into bed. This was always going to be a good thing for him. Social proof was a funny thing, and if he could do this in life, he could do this in business too. He just knew it. Scribbling a quick note, Jason left it on the nightstand before slipping out of her apartment and catching a taxi home. [I enjoyed my time yesterday. I know you did too, since you left a hickey on my neck. Keep messing around like that and Daddy might leave something permanent on your body too.] By the time Jason stepped into the apartment, he was greeted by the sight of Veronica walking out of her room already dressed and ready for the day. Her sharp gaze immediately locked onto him. Damn it. Just great. And then in the next moment, when she scanned him up and down, her eyes narrowing when they landed on his neck, Jason couldn't help but sigh. Yeah… okay, he might be fucked. "Is that... a hickey?" she asked, a smirk tugging at her lips. But Jason was observant, and seeing that the smirk did not reach her eyes, he knew that she was not as assumed as she seemed. Jason chuckled, shaking his head casually. "Why would you think that? It's a mosquito bite. And I know this for certain too, because it hurt pretty badly when it happened." He wanted to get away from her as soon as possible, but would she let him? Unfortunately, Veronica wasn't buying it. She sauntered closer, blocking his path. Her presence was commanding, her voice smooth but laced with amusement. "Mosquitoes now, huh? Come on, Jason, you can do better than that." Jason knew he could do better than that, but he did not want to. After all, it was very clear that it was a hickey. Anyway, what need would he have to explain himself to her? They were not married. And neither were they in a relationship. All he had done was express his interest in her, and all she had done was tell him they were not to be together. Just as Jason was about to explain this, she did something that made him pause. She reached out, straightening his collar and smoothing down his shirt. Her touch lingered just long enough to make Jason gulp inwardly, feeling a bit warm. "Look," she said, her tone soft but firm, "I'm not your mother or your girlfriend, and I won't police your life. But we live together, Jason. I know you're a young man. But at least if you could show a little respect... For one thing, don't bring your… adventures home." Adventures? So she thought it was some hookup huh? It must be because of the lingering smell of alcohol on his clothes from the gambling ring. Jason sighed inwardly. Anyway, if he told her that yesterday he had gone out and beat up a bunch of people, extorting money from them, she would never believe him. Jason nodded quickly. "Absolutely. Without a doubt." With a smile of satisfaction, Veronica stepped back, brushing past him with a faint smile. But as she walked away, Jason couldn't help but notice her neckline seemed a little lower today. The faint scent of her perfume hung in the air, intoxicating. Was she doing this for him? Or maybe she was meeting another man… Unlikely. All this time, she had men in her life, but only now she was doing this thing, DId it make any real sense? Whatever it was it was pretty interesting. Whatever it was, it was interesting. People don't change unless they have a reason to, they have some need or want to fulfil. She was wearing this expensive perfume and looking so good… Who was it for other than him? She might be having some kind of meeting later on. Jason had to get his head out of the gutters. Last time he checked, her love/obsession with him was not that high, he needed to see her in a better light. He chuckled awkwardly, opening his System Panel to distract himself and then when he saw it he couldn't help but be taken aback. |———————————— || Master Programmer System || Stats | Missions | Items | Store | ————— Your Current Missions: —> Make your Sexy Boss Fall For You (57% done) —> Take Revenge on the Grumpy Middle-Aged Landlord (33% done) —> Build a Syndicate! (20% done) ————————————| |———————————— | Master Programmer System || Stats || Missions | Items | Store | ————— Name: Jason Cross MC (Master Coins): 400 Level: 22 Stats: (No Change) ————————————| The progress bar associated with Veronica was climbing so high! He exhaled sharply. "What the hell..." he muttered, shaking his head as he turned to see her going down the stairs. She looked really good. After a quick shower, Jason made his way downstairs. Nina was in the kitchen, a rare weekday appearance. She flashed him a smile as she handed him a plate of breakfast. And Jason smiled back at her. In all this time, Jason had been building a good relationship with this woman, and now he was sure that she had a good opinion of him and of the woman she was working for, which was a good thing. Jason genuinely appreciated the effort she put into making food at all times. That was something he told her often, boosting her confidence, and making her extremely happy to be around him. "Morning," she said, her eyes flicking to his neck. What was that? And then briefly looking at Veronica, who seemed to be glaring at the two of them, she looked away, busying herself with her work. It was official. something was going on with the mistress and the boy. She had better step back. Jason caught the brief exchange of glances between Nina and Veronica and did not know what to think. So it turned out that this woman thought he, Jason, was someone who was having sex with her boss. How insane. Jason didn't even explain anything as he left. He merely turned to her, and then when he saw how she looked, he couldn't help but be taken aback. Veronica sat on the couch, her phone in hand, pretending not to notice as she read through her messages and news. Jason sighed inwardly when he saw this. Was she that affected? He had seen how the completion rate had gone up, which was a good thing to him, but it seemed there was something wrong here. "So… you were out late last night. Where did you sleep? For you to get bitten by mosquitoes like that?" Veronica asked casually, her tone neutral but her eyes sharp. "Yeah, spent the night at a friend's," Jason replied, keeping his tone light. He had to maintain this kind of thing, to maintain this lightness of tone, and to do that he would have to make sure that they had to be light tone. He did not want to have her fight him or something/ "A friend," Veronica repeated, her voice flat. Yeah, she did not believe that. "Girlfriend? Boyfriend?" "Boyfriend?" Jason said, a bit too loud and she turned to him with the most blank expression Jason felt the tension rising. He opened his System Panel discreetly and frowned. |———————————— || Master Programmer System || Stats | Missions | Items | Store | ————— Your Current Missions: —> Make your Sexy Boss Fall For You (53% done) —> Take Revenge on the Grumpy Middle-Aged Landlord (33% done) —> Build a Syndicate! (20% done) ————————————| |———————————— | Master Programmer System || Stats || Missions | Items | Store | ————— Name: Jason Cross MC (Master Coins): 400 Level: 22 Stats: (No Change) ————————————| Her progress was sliding backwards. Damn it. So maybe it had been higher before she saw the hickey? And now it was just sliding lower and lower... Jason sighed. This was a delicate thing. He had to navigate it carefully and make sure to make sure that he did not break all the effort he had built. Breakfast was strained. Veronica kept the conversation surface-level, her responses clipped as Jason tried to break the tension with some jokes. It seemed she had noticed how Jason and Nina were getting along and it had changed the way he was getting along with her. Jason sighed when he thought this far. He could feel her withdrawing, a wall slowly building between them. By the time they were ready to leave, Jason decided it was time to address the issue head-on. After all that was the type of woman she was anyway. Straightforward but soft-hearted. And anyway, it was more useful to drive her to frustration first before having her expose her true feelings in anger. That was how emotions worked. They made you commit irrational actions.