The Master Programmer-Chapter 89: The Diamond She Was 2

The car hummed softly as the city lights blurred past them. Inside, a heavy silence hung between Jason and Veronica. The tension was palpable, and Jason, sitting with his hands loosely on the wheel, glanced sideways at her. He was the one driving this time, something he had asked her to allow him to do.

She sat with her arms crossed, her sharp blue eyes staring out of the window, though it was clear her mind wasn’t focused on the view.

Jason thought he cleared it up before, but it seemed she was still angry. Damn it. The easiest ways to make someone who was already angry stop being angry was to make sure that you were either angrier, or you were apathetic.

Two people can’t both be in the angry boat. But that was also the thing. Jason was not allowed to be angry at this moment. He was partially in the wrong.

Jason cleared his throat. "Veronica, I—"

"You’re an idiot," she cut in, her voice soft but laced with an amused irritation that made Jason’s lips twitch. He turned his head slightly to meet her gaze.

"Am I now?" he said, his voice dripping with mock innocence. His smirk deepened, but Veronica wasn’t buying it.

"You think I need you to prove something to me," she continued, her tone turning serious. "Jason, you already have. The director position? That’s impressive, sure. But... this," she gestured vaguely between them, "this isn’t about proving anything."

Jason leaned back slightly, gripping the steering wheel with one hand, and let out a low chuckle. "So you’re saying I’ve got nothing left to prove to you?"

Her lips curled into a sly smile as she turned to him, her blue eyes narrowing playfully. "Not entirely. There’s still one thing."

Jason raised an eyebrow, his curiosity piqued. "Oh? And what’s that?"

Veronica’s gaze lingered on him for a moment before she shrugged, her smirk widening. "You tell me, Jason. Or should I ask Samantha?"

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Damn… there she went calling that lady’s name again. Samantha was a bit of a tricky situation for him. But he knew that he could navigate this. After all, if she was truly obsessed with him, she would not leave even if he had a million women with him. He wanted both of them.

Scratch that, he wanted all of them.

It seemed ever since they spoke, she had Samantha in her mind for some reason. Samantha might have done something to annoy her or said something that made her think too much. No matter what it was, Jason was not willing to entertain it. Why was she thinking of other people when she was with him? This deserved a bit of mild punishment.

Jason turned to her. "What do you have against Samantha? I feel like ever since I met her, you’ve been talking about her in a less than friendly manner." Saying this in this way was turning it on her, making it seem like she was the one with the problem. And in a way, it was true too. She was the angry one who could not control her emotional state. A bit messed up, but something Jason had to do to ensure he stayed on top of their interactions.

Veronica turned to Jason, sighing as she said, "No, I don’t think that’s what’s going on." As she said that, she couldn’t help but look out of the window. Jason chuckled.

"Are you ever going to tell me what happened in that little meeting of yours with her?" Jason asked her, not expecting a reply. But she soon surprised him.

"Oh, nothing happened… I just noticed that she was wearing red lipstick… the same lipstick I saw on your shirt," Veronica said with a natural flair that made Jason smirk wryly… Samantha was putting him in trouble. And she was doing it on purpose too.

So she found him making out with the receptionist and then in the next moment, she made it look like she was the one who was making out with Jason? How intense... Jason would have to deal with her soon.

But now it was starting to make total sense though. Veronica must be thinking of that, and of the fact that he had been promoted to a director position so quickly with no real accomplishments under his belt. It must be extremely suspicious to her.

She must be wondering about how deep their relationship was and whether Jason was compromising himself for sexual favours. Jason was not going to lie to her this time. SHe had warned him never to do it again, and he was serious when he said he would never do it. This was time to prove it again.

Jason’s grin froze for a split second, and then he burst into laughter. "Samantha? Veronica… If you’re jealous just say that."

"Jealous?!" Veronica said sitting up, her arms that were folded on her chest, making her breasts jut out even more. "Jason you think too low of me," she said leaning back in her seat, clearly frustrated.

"Look, when it comes to me and Samantha. Our relationship is not that deep. At least not yet," Jason began. "I wanted to tell you this before, but I recently came into some money. I used that money to invest in Samantha’s company, making me a major shareholder. I took up a director’s position to thereafter develop the company."

Veronica’s eyes went wide, but considering his situation, and his surname, she nodded. "I see... but what do you mean by Not Yet?" Veronica’s eyebrow arched as she leaned closer, her tone daring.

Jason rolled his eyes. Why was that the only part she caught? Anyway, he was not going to run away from it. He glanced at her, the corner of his mouth lifting in a cocky grin. "Exactly what you think it does."

Veronica stared at him, her expression caught between annoyance and amusement before she shook her head. "You’re crazy. If Samantha knew you were talking about her like this, what do you think she would say? and hearing you talk about other women like this... how do you think I should feel?"

"Why don’t you tell her? I’m pretty sure she’ll smile. After all, women like ambitious men like me," Jason said to her, with a smirk on his face. "As for you... You told me to be honest, and that is exactly what’s happening. I dont want to lie to you, Veronica."

She was looking at him in a way that was something Jason had never seen before a jealousy and a complication that signalled to Jason that she was feeling something deeper than she was letting on.

"Jason, you’re..." Veronica began, shaking her head. And then she turned to him. "Women like ambitious men? I’m sure they do, Jason," Veronica said, shaking her head, her gaze looking more complicated than ever. "So you’re a shareholder in her company huh... The money must have come from your parents, right? I’m happy for you... But... why did you not come to me? If you needed a company to invest in. Why hers?"

Jason turned to her, again taken aback. So she wanted to be his business partner instead of Samantha. It was jealousy at the end of the day. " I decided to develop Samantha’s company because it represents something I want to deal with in the future. I might invest in yours soon too."

Jason said that but Veronica stayed silent this time, just looking at the road ahead. Jason figured he needed to do something to stoke some life into this conversation. But before that, he had to show something... take a step back.

"I’m sorry, okay? Forgive me. I told you before, I didn’t want you to see me for my money or name or position or anything... and I also didn’t want you to kick me out once you knew I could take care of myself. To stay with you was a selfish wish of mine. I hope you can forgive me for keeping this to myself this entire time."

Veronica sighed, shaking her head. "You... just dont keep things like that from me ever again. Please..."

Jason nodded, "Yes. I promise. I’ll tell you everything. Even the things you might not want to hear." Veronica looked at him and he chuckled, thereby eliciting a smile from the woman. Jason decided to shift the direction of the conversation. Now that she was showing a smile, then it meant he was not in the red, right?

"Tell me, Veronica," Jason said, his voice dipping into a warm, teasing tone as he turned his attention back to the road, "Women like ambitious men, right? Does that include you?"

Veronica turned to him, and then seeing the faint smirk on his face, she couldn’t help but smile. "You wish!"

"Hahaha~~!!!"

By the time they pulled up to Veronica’s home, the air between them had shifted. The earlier tension had melted into a comfortable banter, and Jason, ever the gentleman, rounded the car to open her door.

She stepped out gracefully, her long black hair catching the moonlight, and Jason couldn’t help but admire her.

Inside, Veronica dropped her bags by the couch and stretched her arms above her head, the movement accentuating her voluptuous figure. Jason’s gaze lingered for just a moment before he turned away, his composure intact.

"I’m going to go take a shower before I go to bed," Veronica announced, already heading toward the stairs. "Feel free to do whatever you want. I know men eat like horses."

Jason gave her a lazy salute. "Enjoy." His eyes followed her as she ascended, her hips swaying with each step. "What a sight," he muttered under his breath.

"Did you say something?" she said, standing at the top of the stairs, looking down at him, and unveiling a view that was even more risky than before. Jason shook his head, looking like an innocent boy. He had not said anything else. He promised. Pinky swear.

Veronica turned away, and disappeared, leaving Jason alone. He raided the fridge, took out a snack and then left to go to the sitting room area. Settling onto the couch, Jason pulled out his phone. Isabella had sent him a string of texts. As always...

[Jason, Daddy~~]

[I miss you so much.]

[When am I going to see you again?]

[Please answer when you see this.]

[Please T-T]

Well…. The signature texting style confirmed she hadn’t landed herself in any more trouble. As long as she knew he was her daddy, Jason was fine.

Jason thought for a moment before sending her a quick response.

[A bit busy right now. You’re free on Wednesday, right? I’ll text you then to tell you if my schedule opens up]

After sending that message, he turned his attention to other things. She was going to have to wait to have his attention. Jason had quite a lot on his plate right now, and he needed to deal with it all.

Jason turned his attention to another woman in his life. Emily had shared a picture of herself in a cosplay outfit, her playful smile shining through the screen. The outfit was mostly concealed, and she donned a large jacket paired with a short skirt, giving the impression of a schoolchild heading to school in a fictional anime setting, it was.

Jason thought it was cute. He wouldn’t mind seeing her in cosplay in real life. Anyway, it was time to send her a quick compliment and a subliminal little tease.

[Can’t wait to see you looking like this in real life. It’ll be like a personal show, just for me]

Jason smiled but soon found his thoughts drifting. Angela. It had been days since that night at the club where he had probably traumatised her and himself, cockblocking himself and denying her sex, and he hadn’t reached out since.

Pulling up her number, he hesitated for only a moment before typing out a casual message.

[Are you shining bright enough yet?]

After sending that he smirked. She would get it. Satisfied, Jason leaned back. But then he remembered. Oh damn. He had another woman to deal with… He fired off another quick message to Mia, his words dripping with calculated charm.

[Thinking of you. Of that moment we shared. A lot. Too much, actually. I might be going crazy.]

After sending that, Jason smiled to himself, his confidence unshaken. After all, even if this was untrue, she would not know anything about it either way. But if it was a lie, then she would see that something was going wrong.

Jason sighed… So many women… Was he a man-whore now? There was Veronica, Emily, Isabella, Mia, Samantha… And now there was an Angela too? Nah, Angela was not one of those... Jason had no intentions for her. He was mostly interested in the thing the System had told her about her being a genius.

With Angela, he would keep things fully platonic. She was not getting any of this... sexiness.

Jason was about to laugh, but then he looked at the time... Holy shit. Why was he still up at that time? The time now was past midnight. Damn. Sleep was the most important part of his day. And yet he was neglecting it like some creature of the night.

Jason sighed before heading upstairs for a shower. The water ran hot, soothing the tension in his muscles. But even as he cleaned up, his mind wandered back to Veronica.

It would only take a bit more effort for him to make her obsessed with him. He was already in the process of making her forget about her husband and filling her mind with images and ideas of him. As long as he did this enough, she would not have anything else in her mind. Thereafter his only job would be to make her associate him with feel-good emotions.

When Jason stepped out of the shower, the faint sound of rustling came from down the hall. He approached Veronica’s door, knocking softly.

"Come in," her voice called, though there was a slight hesitation to it.

Jason opened the door to find her slipping into bed, her nightdress clinging delicately to her curves. The fabric hinted at her toned, voluptuous body beneath, and yet Jason’s eyes locked onto hers, never straying.

She froze for a moment, her blue eyes scanning his form. He stood there, a towel slung over his shoulder, wearing nothing but shorts. His sculpted chest and broad shoulders gleamed slightly from the shower, and the faint scent of his body wafted toward her.

"Jason," she said, her voice softer now, her guarded expression faltering only slightly before returning even stronger, realising that he stood there almost naked just like he was that morning. And then as soon as she thought of what happened in the morning, she couldn’t help but get flustered again. "D-Did you need something?"

He leaned casually against the doorframe, his gaze steady. "Just wanted to say... I enjoyed the day today. Thanks for sticking with me."

Veronica blinked, caught off guard by his sincerity. "What are you saying… you’re the one who stuck with me. You helped me out. I should be the one thanking you," she said, her voice barely above a whisper.

Jason chuckled, hearing those words. That was exactly what he wanted to hear. Her gratitude. He was reminding her just how meaningful he was to her, and in so doing, she was reminding herself just how special he was to herself. Sometimes the easiest way to make someone admit something is to make them admit it to themselves. Now for the finishing touch.

Jason took a step closer, his movements slow and deliberate. "Goodnight, Veronica," he said, his voice dropping into a husky tone that sent a shiver down her spine.

"Goodnight," she managed, her cheeks flushing as he turned to leave.

He leaned in close, his fingers brushing against her chin. Veronica’s breath hitched as Jason tilted her head slightly, his lips brushing against her cheek. The contact was brief, but it left her heart racing.

Jason pulled back, a playful smirk on his lips as he locked eyes with her. "I said it before, didn’t I? You couldn’t just kiss me and get away with it. Sweet dreams," he murmured before leaving the room.

As the door clicked shut, Veronica sat in stunned silence. Her hand rose to touch her cheek where his lips had been, her thoughts a whirlwind.

Her heart pounded as she felt the warmth on her cheek… and then when she touched that warmth before finally touching her mouth, she couldn’t help but sigh.

"What am I going to do?" she whispered to herself, her voice tinged with both longing and frustration.

She could not run away from this. Not anymore…

Veronica sat up, her eyes taking on a resolve she hadn’t had in years. "Okay… let’s do this."