The Master Programmer-Chapter 111: The Taste of Power 1

Jason Cross leaned back in his chair, his fingers tapping the polished table in rhythmic defiance as the room buzzed with tension. It seemed they had something to say about what was going on. He would love to hear it all. He would love to see it all happen right in front of him.

Miles leaned forward at that moment, smirking awkwardly as he spoke. "That’s right, Jason… We’ve heard all your arguments, and we see what you are saying… but you are still untrustworthy. And at the end of it all, you two have no real connection to this company. "

"If I didn’t know that you and Ms Veronica had had somewhat of a ’personal’ connection, then I would not even know who you are. Who knows, you might even be manipulating her for personal gain using your looks..." Tim Cross said with a smirk.

There was a gas in the room. Wow... what a pointed argument. This fat man had just said that Jason did not belong here. And even if he was here, it was only due to personal connections. How intense. What was Jason going to say to this? What was Veronica going to say? Was it true? What did it mean by ’personal’?

Every eye was fixed on Jason, waiting to see how he would respond to the accusations hurled his way. Tim Cross smirked from the corner, his equally pig-like figure oozing smugness, while Miles—a sharp-faced fat man whose arrogance was only rivalled by his desperation—stood at the head of the table, feigning composure.

Veronica Hall, however, was a storm brewing. Her hair framed her piercing blue eyes, which now blazed with indignation. She’d spent years building Hall Enterprises into a powerhouse, and she wasn’t about to let men like Miles and Tim tear it apart, especially since Jason had told her where this was coming from and the reason behind it.

One of those pigs wanted her…

Disgusting.

As if she would let that pig touch her. Never in her life would she allow something like that. Never! When she heard Miles accuse Jason of manipulating her for personal gain, her fist slammed the table with a force that made everyone flinch.

"How dare you!" Her voice was sharp, commanding, and laced with an undercurrent of raw emotion. Her chest heaved as she drew deep breaths, the fitted blouse she wore accentuating her every movement. The room fell silent, her presence impossible to ignore. Tim was practically drooling as he watched her ample breasts going up and down in that blouse.

Jason stood, his gaze calm yet piercing, and held up a hand. "Let’s all take a deep breath." His voice, deep and measured, carried an undeniable authority.

"This isn’t the time for baseless accusations or tantrums. We’re here to resolve issues, not create new ones. As for my connections to this company, it is as Veronica said. I am nothing more than an informal consultant. As for issues of my payment or contract, that is a personal issue between Ms Veronica and me."

Jason turned to the two little piggies and he looked at them up and down. "Aren’t you guys tired of deflecting? We’ve been at it for a while now, and I feel like it’s about time we end things… What do we all think about this?"

Jason’s tone, paired with his deliberate use of inclusive language like "we" and "our," subtly diffused the tension, drawing attention back to the matter at hand. His calm demeanour suggested he was in control, even as chaos threatened to reign.

Miles sneered, leaning forward. "And what exactly can you resolve, Cross? A nobody trying to play hero. But still… you are a consultant, are you?? I would never have said this before, but you’re being disrespectful by accusing us of deflecting. You’re a boy toy, a university dropout who used his face and skills to be here. A boy at a table of adults. Just leave. "

Jason’s smirk was faint but lethal. "A nobody trying to play hero? Funny. I was about to say the same about you." He took a step forward, spreading a set of documents across the table. "But let’s skip the pleasantries and get to the heart of the matter. Shall we?"

Veronica’s lips curved into a small, approving smile as she sat back down, her anger momentarily tempered by Jason’s confidence. The men at the table exchanged uneasy glances as Jason began flipping through the pages with practised ease. What did he have? They had discredited and humiliated him, and yet he was still natural, still composed. Why is that?

"This," he said, tapping a section of the contract, "is where your plan falls apart. According to this clause, and every other clause we have spoken about before when all of them are considered together, any failure to provide a certain financial statement and contractual obligation within the stipulated timeframe renders the contract null and void."

Miles stiffened, his face losing some of its color. "That’s… absurd." He turned to his lawyer, whose face had become pale at that moment. Everyone also looked at this lawyer... why was he so pale?

"Absurd or not," Jason continued, his tone light but unyielding, "it’s legally binding. And as of yesterday, you missed your deadline."

The room erupted into murmurs. Veronica leaned forward, her blue eyes gleaming with triumph.

Jason didn’t stop there. "Furthermore," he added, flipping to another section, "this contract violates corporate compliance laws. If we take this to court, you’ll be facing penalties upwards of a hundred million."

Miles’ eyes darted to Tim, who was glaring daggers at him as if telling him to handle this by any means. Sweat beaded on Miles’ brow. "You can’t be serious. We… We… you…"

Jason leaned closer, his voice dropping to a conspiratorial whisper. "Try me." His words were laced with menace, and for a moment, Miles seemed to shrink under the weight of them.

Tim, ever the opportunist, slapped Miles on the back of his head. "You idiot! You told me this deal was airtight! You told me everything would go perfectly!"

Miles stammered, his arrogance unravelling into panic. "I… I didn’t know they would figure it out. There have been so many times that we managed to get some really good benefits from some smaller companies using this scheme. Nobody was able to find such a contractual obligation before... This time was supposed to be the same… It must be fake! He’s lying!"

Jason’s smirk widened. "Lying? If I was lying then why are your people so pale?" Jason shook his head after saying this, leaning on the table, partially sitting on it and looking down at these bastards with a condescending look.

"Now, let’s not fight amongst ourselves. I’m here to offer a solution." He pulled out another document, sliding it across the table. "You can either pay the full penalty in court, going bankrupt and maybe even to jail... or settle for fifty million right here, right now... The choice is yours. As long as you make the right choice, we will all forget anything happened. We will even sign non-competes and non-disclosures… So what do you say?"

The room fell silent again. Veronica’s gaze lingered on Jason, a mix of admiration and something deeper flashing in her eyes. Miles, meanwhile, was trembling as he muttered his reluctant agreement. And Tim? He had a sneer on his face for a long time as he looked at Jason and then at Veronica, licking his lips, before he just stood up and left, leaving Miles sweating bricks and buckets, his lawyer paging through the new document Jason had just slid over in a panic.

Everyone on Veronica’s side had eyes wide open in wonder and appreciation, turning to Jason and watching the man who had solved what they could not. Jason smiled, turning to Miles who was laying his head on the table with his hands holding onto it for dear life, almost as if his world was spinning upside down.

Well, this pig had been slaughtered. Now it was time to take down a traitor. Turning to Veronica and nodding to her, she smirked and turned to her people.

Her eyes were sharp as she stared everyone down. "Now… there is something to be said about the people who approved this contract… I would ask you to show me your account records for any recent payments. After all, anyone who was pushing the contract forward would be somewhat responsible for such a massive blunder. But considering all the work you’ve done for me. I will not be doing that."

"I have enjoyed working with you. But if you were involved in this plot, in any way possible, I implore you to hand in your resignation before the end of the week. Either that, or I will get your name from Mr Miles here, and fire you myself and when I do that, it will be a whole spectacle. So let’s make things easy for us all. I want the resignation letter on my desk before the end of the day."

After hearing those words, everyone was shifting around in their seats, looking around. There was someone who betrayed the company? Who could it be? They had all been working for each other for so long though.

Jason knew though. Time was nothing in comparison to benefits. Most people say time is money. But it was not true. Time was way more valuable than money. If someone got a lot of money for a little bit of time, they would obviously salivate at the idea.

Corporate espionage was an interesting thing. But so was human behaviour. He looked around, noticing someone whose body language seemed to be off and he narrowed his eyes. He would point that guy out to Veronica later.

Later, back in her office, Veronica’s demeanour softened as she watched the confirmation of funds enter her company’s accounts. Fifty million just like that... They had even sped up the payment just to get out of Veronica’s hair and make sure everything went smoothly.

She turned to Jason, who was lounging on the sofa, his tie loosened and a satisfied grin on his face. "You’re incredible," she said, her voice carrying an edge of vulnerability. "I don’t know how you pulled that off. I don’t know how I could have done that without you."

Jason’s smirk deepened. "It’s what I do. You helped me so many times before... In more ways than I could count. Even the smallest things you did for me were incredibly huge. You have no clue how grateful I am for you, and how much I want to protect you. This was the least I could do"

He leaned forward, gazing deep into her eyes. "Veronica… I cannot overstate how much you mean to me." Veronica’s cheeks flushed slightly, and she looked away, her fingers brushing a loose strand of hair behind her ear. Women were weak to compliments. As long as they were genuine.

"Still," she murmured, "This kind of magical reversal… was pretty amazing. I can’t help but wonder… how many other women have you worked this kind of magic on?"

Jason chuckled, leaning back. "Wouldn’t you like to know?"

Her laughter was soft, but her eyes were searching. She rose, walking to the windows and closing the blinds, casting the room in a more intimate glow before turning back to him. Veronica tilted her head, a sly smile playing on her lips.

"Maybe one day you’ll introduce us," she teased, her tone light but laced with curiosity. "Who knows? We might get along."

Get along? Yeah… probably not… At least not at first... He might have to smooth things over between them later. Or at least spend a ton of effort in implanting the idea of them all getting along together. But Jason would not tell her his intentions though… Not unless he wanted her to glare at him in a way that only she could. But there was a way he could say it, to make her understand that he still needed time.

Jason’s expression was unreadable as he stood and approached her. "I doubt that," he said, his voice low and teasing. The funniest thing about people is that when you deny their expectations, they sometimes work even harder to make them happen. It’s like daring someone to do exactly what you want them to by telling them you do not believe they are capable of doing it.

She stepped closer, her gaze never leaving his. "You’d be surprised," Jason smirked when he saw her say things like that. Only a few hours before she was tearing up about Jason returning from another woman’s house. Now she wanted to meet them with a smile on her face?

Jason was no idiot. He would be surprised if she didn’t take out a chainsaw from her back pocket, with the idea of hacking them apart as soon as she possibly could.

Her hands found their way to his tie, tugging him closer. Jason’s smirk faltered for a brief moment as she leaned in, her lips brushing against his in a kiss that was both tender and charged. But just as the moment threatened to spiral into something more, Jason pulled back with a chuckle.

"As much as I’d love to stay," he said, straightening his tie, "I have work to do. Samantha’s expecting me."

Veronica arched a brow, a mischievous glint in her eyes. "Samantha, huh?"

Jason laughed, planting a quick kiss on her forehead before grabbing his briefcase. "Don’t wait up," he said as he headed for the door.

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As the door closed behind him, Veronica’s playful smile faded. She picked up her phone, her expression turning contemplative as she typed out a message to Samantha.

[Let’s meet up. We need to talk. Tonight.]