A knowing smile came upon Jason's lips when his eyes met with the guy's, totally flabbergasted. Watching through the screen, he savored watching his conflict with his thoughts and emotions portrayed expressly on his face.
With the smile still on, he eventually asked that he be let in.
The other guy who already took his seat then walked out of the room again and shortly after returned with the guy waiting outside the room.
"Hey there man!" Jason greeted lively.
The imminent shock that appeared on his face didn't go unnoticed as he looked at the guy who ushered him in and then at Jason sitting carefreely in his chair across the table. Jason could easily tell he was stunned by how different he was from the lot he encountered on his way here. First off, he was dressed not just differently, but ruggedly. And again, he wasn't rigid and acted more human. Watching his confused countenance only amused him more and now he didn't want to stop.
"Have a seat." He beckoned trying his hardest to hold back a laugh.
Taking careful steps, he complied, taking the one across his table.
"I hope I didn't keep you waiting for so long."
"No sir!" He refuted vehemently, shaking his head.
"That was actually to test your patience," he said then flashed him a smile.
"Sure."
"Your resume." He handed it over.
"What's your name?"
"Huh? My name? Ummm..." Jason tilted his head to the side with furrowed brows subjecting him to scrutiny. He held the resume – bearing his name in bold letters – in his hands and yet asked for it out of the blue. He knew exactly what he was doing to make the other person feel uneasy, and he was so loving it. "Anthony. Anthony Gregor!" Jason gave off a wry smile.
"You came job hunting?" Jason asked, flipping through his resume.
"Yes, I did."
"B.S.C in business administration?"
"Yes sir."
"And you probably failed in every business that you came to apply for a job here?" he remarked with tinges of derision in his voice.
"Ummm…Not really." His eyelids fluttered.
"We didn't put up any posters for job offers. Neither did we advertise online for it. So how did you find us here?" Now Jason was looking serious, peering into his soul.
"Ummmm…I…" Uh-oh looked like he didn't have this one planned.
"It's okay," Jason waved off literally. "We're pretty famous for hiring tons of workers." No, they weren't. He only saved him the stress of thinking of an excuse that'd eventually sound foolish. Not one of their staff secured their jobs through this means. They were either shipped from Russia or probably sent to Daniil on special demand. Jason knew quite well this flustered guy approached them with intent and so little guts. He let him through the gates in the first place simply because he was curious to see who dared to walk into the lion's den like he would his kitchen.
Jason dismissed him after asking a couple of other questions, retaining his resume. He wasn't sure of his identity yet but he knew his coming was up to no good.
The next morning…
Jason already handed Anthony's resume to Daniil and watched him closely as he flipped through, through the rearview mirror. The duo were on their way to school.
"Who knew my runny stomach would lead me to hit a jackpot yesterday?" Jason didn't take Daniil to school yesterday because he felt quite sick, still hung over from the previous night's clubbing.
"Anthony Gregor? Is my house now a refugee camp? Do random paupers now walk in at their will in search of jobs?"
"Easy, boss. That's the resume he submitted. But here...," he paused holding up another brown envelope, "is his actual resume."
Daniil vehemently pulled it from his grip and immediately opened the parcel to see for himself. "Knox Callahan?" he read aloud the name boldly imprinted on it.
"Apparently works with Carson Anderson. They're both detectives working in the same district. You know what this means, right?"
Silence…
"Carson caught on. Knox is a spy," Daniil concluded, exchanging knowing looks with Jason.
"Exactly. Did they actually think we'd fall for this?" The truth was Daniil wasn't the only black hat hacker in the car right now. The room Knox walked right into the previous day was a security control room disguised as a regular office. With the computers, Jason could very well obtain whatever information he wanted.
"Did you do anything to arouse suspicions?"
"I don't care about any of that, Jason. All I know now is that I could just have gained myself a worthy opponent." His lips curved into a sinister smile. "Give him the job."
*Tyre screeches*
Jason couldn't believe his ears and needed time to fully assimilate what he just said, hence the sudden way he stepped on the brakes.
"Boss??!!" he exclaimed wide-eyed. "For fuck's sake, boss! We just fucking concluded that he's a spy. You still want me to give him the job?"
"You should know your boss by now, Jason. I never take the easier way out. Might as well play with them a little."
"You look like you're having so much fun right now. But boss, this can put all of us in danger. And your father. Do you think he'd be quiet after this?"
"And another thing. Don't take his cell phone away. Just ask him to refrain from using it during work hours. I wouldn't have them thinking we blew their cover," he added, ignoring what he was saying.
Jason huffed multiple times in disbelief. Yeah right, if he was going to join this game, he had to go all in. Taking away his personal cell phone and cutting communication lines with Carson would be no fun. At the same time, no other staff used theirs so it was bound to be fishy if only Knox was permitted hence the clause added to it. Jason knew just what his boss was thinking. Sometimes, even he was left awestruck by Daniil.
"I'm running late, Jason." He reminded they were no longer in motion.
••••
The Date Night frenzy still very much filled the air. Rejections and approvals were being dished on platters and depending on whichever one was served, the students either beamed or gloomed.
As for the Yoshida cousins. While Hana was busy preparing for the D-Day, Sakura was still sulking pretty much over Daniil's rejection. Even more so now that he couldn't be more oblivious to her existence. And to make matters worse, he lurked around Ashley all day! What humiliation could be worse than this? Her mind and heart were shrouded with spite that she ignored Jordan who was also trying to get her attention the whole day.
Now school was almost over. At the time, students were indulged in various physical activities in their various groups. Sakura wasn't in the mood for volleyball so she headed back to class instead.
It was nearly vacant. Only a few students still hung around. Sakura could not be more grateful for this golden opportunity to pass her time away in serenity. She felt utterly bitter to associate with anyone right now. What she yearned for was solitude in the meantime.
She located her seat and sat on it, resting her head against her bag in turn lying on the table. Heaving deep sighs, she leisurely slid both hands beneath them and felt a piece of paper.
'What's this?' Using her left hand she put the bag away to see clearly. The paper wasn't void of ink; it had an inscription on it that read: "Deep Ocean Blue Eyes."