The Master Programmer-Chapter 122: Shadows of the Past 2

Her heart fluttered, the intensity of his words disarming her and the realisation of her own feelings making her feel even warmer. She couldn’t resist smiling, a mixture of confidence and vulnerability flashing in her gaze. "You’re dangerous, you know that?"

Jason kissed her lightly. "And you wouldn’t want me any other way."

After breakfast, Jason declined Veronica’s offer to drive him to work. "There’s somewhere else I need to go first," he explained.

She arched a brow, a flicker of concern crossing her face. "Is everything alright?" She enjoyed Jason’s rides with her, and she wished she could have more of them, especially since she had gotten so used to having these incredible conversations with Jason. Now hearing him say this, she was a bit... saddened.

Jason had quite a bit of insight when he was talking about things and she appreciated that insight, as it helped her gain some perspective on the things she could do in her life. Whether it was his philosophies on people or his thoughts on money, everything was so concise and it made total sense.

It was rare to find a man who was so complete in everything he stood for, who could guide her and let her guide him too. She couldn’t help but feel drawn to him in a way that almost scared her, and yet still made her feel warm and hot simultaneously.

"Perfect," he assured her, his tone firm yet soothing. He stepped closer, cupping her face in his hands. "You’ll understand by the end of the day. Trust me."

Veronica’s cheeks warmed under his touch, and she nodded. "Alright," she whispered, her voice barely audible. Jason smirked.

He loved the way she melted when she gazed at him now. This was what happened when one anchored states during sex and then applied them in real life. He had cupped her face just like that the previous day. And she had melted in his hands like ice cream. She was doing the same thing again this time.

Before she left, Jason kissed her deeply, his hands cradling her waist as she leaned against the car. When they finally broke apart, her lips tingled, and her heart raced. "Love you," she said softly, her voice almost trembling with emotion as she scurried away into the car.

"Love you more," Jason replied, bringing a girlish grin to her face. She soon disappeared from the driveway and he watched her go with a smile on his face. Jason looked around, finding a car down the road that he had not noticed before. Seeing that it was a service car, Jason thought it must be some contractor. Whatever.

It was finally time to handle something he had been anticipating for a long while. He had called Samantha, asking if he could come in late and offering to make up the time later. Samantha had agreed, as long as Jason checked in with her as soon as got there.

Jason suspected she had some plans for him, or she wanted to make him compensate her in some way. Whatever it was, Jason was not afraid of it at all. In actuality, he was looking forward to it.

Jason hailed a taxi to the city’s largest auto dealership. Stepping in, he adjusted his suit and surveyed the gleaming cars displayed in the lot. His lips curved into a smirk. "Time to make a statement," he muttered.

He was a director now, and he was also a major shareholder of two big companies. He needed to ensure that he was worthy of the respect of others. That was all about seeming and exuding a type of momentum that would make the people around him give him respect and look at him in a way that showed just how much respect he was worth.

As he walked through the polished showroom, admiring the vehicles, a voice from behind froze him in place.

"Jason?!"

He turned slowly, his jaw tightening involuntarily. Jason had good control of his emotions, but when it came to this one... Sometimes he just lost all control. Standing a few feet away was Amanda. Her blonde hair cascaded in soft waves over her shoulders, and her grey eyes were as sharp and calculating as he remembered.

She was dressed impeccably, her form-fitting dress accentuating her lithe figure. But it wasn’t her allure that caught his attention… it was the smirk tugging at her lips. That same smirk he had seen so many times before. Condescending, unfeeling, ruthless.

"Amanda," he said coolly, his voice devoid of emotion even while his heart raged. This was the woman who had broken his heart back then, telling him he was not worthy of her and that she deserved better than a pauper like him.

There was a time when Jason thought he would marry her… Now he knew that she was probably the greatest actor he had ever known. She had been playing him like some fiddle, and he was singing songs of their love, while he was looking at him like some incredible forever meal ticket.

Back then, Jason was a normal kid who met the nicest girl he could have ever imagined. She was so gently so sweet that he couldn’t help but want to protect her and be in her life as much as he could. But that gentleness, that sweetness, all of it had disappeared. And when it did, she had turned from that woman into one who had shown herself to be a golddigger who only cared about the money in his bank, and the high-value connections he had in his phone.

She had soon gone aloof because Jason had lost his connection to his money and his status. She had gone from the sweet girl Jaosn knew to a cold woman who thought little of the struggles Jason was going through, dumping him right after his parent’s death, and leaving him alone at a time when he needed people in his life.

Suddenly when Jason heard some words going, "Who’s that guy? You know him?" he turned only to see a man standing near her. Jason had been too focused on her. He didn’t even notice that there was an idiot beside her. Jason looked at this man, and then almost smirked. This was a different guy from the one before… as expected…

She changed them up like she changed up the purses in her collections. Amanda never changed. She only started becoming more of the person she had chosen to become.

Beside her stood a man dressed in an expensive but gaudy outfit, the kind that screamed wealth without taste. The man’s arm was slung possessively around Amanda’s waist, and his smug grin was just as irritating as Amanda’s.

Seeing the distance between them though, Jason understood something… There was an emotional distance between them. Those kinds of things happened without even knowing. Like when one asked people to pose for a picture.

The one leaning into the other was probably the one who was pining for the other one. That was how things expressed themselves. They were not really something people could control. At that moment he was leaning into her and she was leaning into her designer handbag.

Amanda was pretty good at simulating interest and love, but actually having it and showing it was something else entirely. Oh, Amanda… you’re still the same even now.

"Well, isn’t this a surprise," Amanda said, her tone dripping with condescension. "What brings you here?"

Jason gave her a tight smile. "Same as you, I’d imagine. Looking for a car."

Amanda and the man beside her looked at Jason, with differing expressions on their faces. The man looked at Jason with a bit of jealousy, and Amanda looked at Jason with derision, and maybe a bit of annoyance.

Jason noticed those things and was uncaring. What did other’s feelings have to do with him? Did it make any real sense for him to be affected because of that? But it seemed Amanda was gearing up to step on this ex of hers.

Amanda’s laugh was sharp, cutting through the air like a blade. "You? Buying a car? Don’t make me laugh, Jason. You’re nothing now… They kept telling me about you. Don’t you work at some convenience store? You’re not even a cashier, you deal with the boxes in the back! Why are you here? If you wanted a car for the backroom for moving boxes, then you should go to the places you can find that at."

Jason’s expression didn’t falter. "That was a long time ago," he said evenly. "A lot has changed since then." He didn’t even bother to explain. As long as she looked at his clothing she would know. But it seemed she was too stuck up to look at anything other than her big fat nose.

Jason noticed that she had said that a bit too loudly, drawing attention to her and him. He had already noticed that some people were looking at them. If this became a spectacle, he might have a ton of trouble come to him. He did not want to have something like that happen to him.

Visit freewebnoveℓ.com for the best novel reading exp𝒆rience.

The man beside Amanda snorted. "Yeah, right. Listen, bro, why don’t you show us around? Maybe I’ll tip you if you do a good job." Jason turned to the man. So this guy thought he was working here? No... he was blatantly demeaning Jason, noticing that Jason and Amanda were not getting along based on her tone of voice.

This idiot… Acting like some white knight. He couldn’t even tell he was being used…

Jason’s patience thinned, but he kept his composure. "I don’t work here," he said, his tone firm. "I’m here to buy a car, just like you. That is if you’re here to buy a car."

Amanda’s eyes narrowed, her voice dripping with venom after being ignored. Why was this bastard looking at people other than her? "You? Buy a car? Let me guess, you’re here to get a used one on some ridiculous payment plan. 36 months for some third-hand car… As expected of Jason Cross~!"

Jason stared at her saying nothing after noticing the mocking tone of those last words, as they left her mouth. She smirked and the man beside her smirked too, not understanding anything but still smiling.

The tension in the room thickened as other customers began to glance their way, drawn by the escalating exchange. Jason held his ground, his voice steady. "Amanda, your opinions stopped matter to me a long time ago. And you... bro? I don’t know you. So please respect yourself and treat me with respect. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I have more important things to do."

But Amanda wasn’t finished. She stepped closer, her voice rising. "You think you can just walk away from me? You’re nothing, Jason. Always have been, and always will be. That’s why I left you. You couldn’t provide for me."

’Couldn’t, provide’? No. It’s not that I couldn’t provide. It’s that you didn’t think me useful anymore. And that’s why you left me. Jason didn’t say that though He held himself back and merely sighed, looking at this woman with a look of pity.

Jason turned back to her, his eyes cold and unyielding. "And yet, here we are," he said, his words calm but laced with an undercurrent of power. "Me, moving forward, and you, still stuck in the past, desperate for validation from a man who you call ’nothing’. Still seeking something from a nothing like me... How funny. If I was really that useless to you, why are you still harping on like this?"

Amanda’s face flushed, and the man beside her bristled, stepping up to Jason who was a bit taller than him. "Hey! You don’t talk to her like that!"

Jason’s gaze shifted to the man, his expression unreadable. "I wasn’t talking to you, wallet." When the man heard Jason call him a wallet, his face changed and Amanda’s face changed too, probably for a different reason though.

Before the confrontation could escalate further, a sleek, black car caught Jason’s eye. He turned away from the duo and walked toward it, the conversation fading into the background as everyone followed Jason, their eyes watching what trouble he was going to stir up next.

Jason did not care about those people though. The car’s polished surface reflected his image, and he couldn’t help but smile. "Perfect," he murmured.

Amanda looked at Jason with eyes that were flaring up in anger. Turning to the man beside her, her expression was wronged with her looking extremely saddened. "You can’t let him get away with insulting you and me like that… I’m okay with being called a golddigger, I don’t care about me. But you’re all I love. You’re all I have. I can never ever forgive him for calling you a wallet. He doesn’t take you as a man… How dare that bastard!! He’s just jealous!"

Hearing those words, the man flared his nostrils, staring at Jason’s backside. He also knew this… He was no idiot. The most probable thing happening here was that Amanda was using him to get revenge on her ex. But at the same time, that bastard had insulted him. How dare he?! He would teach him a lesson for sure.

Jason was admiring the car at the front at that time, smirking in interest as he went around it. It was a sleek little thing, elegant, black, with incredible curves… Beautiful. Jason loved everything about the car, and he had a smirk on his face as he looked into the front seat imagining himself driving, imagining everything he could do in those backseats...

Jason was sure… this was the car. When he looked at the price tag, that was staring at him 300,000 dollars he didn’t even care. This was the perfect car and he wanted it. So he would get it.

But just as Jason was about to call someone, he noticed something… Someone was coming in his direction along with a few guards. He turned and looked towards the people standing in the distance. Mr Wallet was folding his arms over his chest standing with Amanda who made herslef look so meek and soft in his presence.

But the conniving glint in her eyes told Jason all he needed to know and understand. So it seemed something was going on. And it had something to do with those two.

"Excuse me, sir, I’m going to need you to leave the premises," the man said, looking at Jason in a way that made it seem like he was lower than the dirt under his feet. Jason stared at this man whose eyes had a glint of something resembling a calculation.

It always had to be him right? He was the one who had to be targeted.