Jason stood outside the hospital entrance, watching the minutes tick by until he hit the sweet spot of ten minutes past seven. Okay. Now he could finally leave and go see her.
There was a notion in the world that good things come to those who wait. That notion was true, but not because of what everyone thought it meant. It was more about the amount of effort it took to get good things.
The more investment someone makes, whether with their Time, or their Money or their Attention or their Respect, the more expectant of good things they become. And then when the good things come, the better they feel about the earlier investment.
This is why people put effort into their passions. They are investing their time into it, and in the future, when it pays off and they finally have success in their business of having something great come to them through job opportunities or networks, they feel a great feeling of accomplishment.
All accomplishment comes from a place of hardship.
The fact that she had to stand for ten minutes until he came, would give her accomplishment when she finally got what she thought she wanted which was his attention. That was the principle.
In another way, Jason was making it seem like he was a busy person. And to an extent he was, but the key was the fact that he was not willing to change who he was for her. Jason was going to mould Isabella's schedule around him. It was not about the time, it was about setting expectations, about who was actually controlling this.
That's right. It was Daddy. And she would have to be someone who would listen to Daddy.
Sighing as he thought back to how utterly unreasonable the System's Mission was, Jason turned his head to the hospital. His gaze drifted to the glass doors and there she was, scanning the sidewalk with an anxious frown that softened into relief when she spotted him. A smile spread across her face, brimming with warmth.
She came out, saying, "Hey, you!" Her voice was laced with a kind of joy he could tell she had been building up in her absence. Good girl. Now you get your reward.
Jason strode over casually, and when he got close he opened his arms wide and drew her into a hug. "Hi… I missed you," he murmured, leaning close enough that the breath of his words brushed against her ear.
The ear, as most people knew, was an erogenous zone. That was why hugs were so powerful, and especially why whispers were so intimate. In a way, getting so intimate was a bit dangerous, but for Jason, it was not so dangerous.
After all, she liked him because of how handsome he was. And he liked her. There was nothing hidden in between them. They both knew what they were doing. And they both knew what they wanted.
Isabella laughed softly, leaning back a bit after Jason pulled away. "Missed me, huh? But you couldn't have missed me that much," she teased, her eyes bright.
What was this? Validation seeking? Pfft… Well, this kind of behaviour did not deserve a reward or even paying attention. Do not focus on yourself, focus on me.
"Nah, I lied…" Jason replied as he released her arms. As her eyes went wide, he laughed, shifting the subject smoothly while extending a hand towards the street. "Shall we go?"
When it came to behaviour, there was good behaviour and bad behaviour. Bad behaviour needed punishing. Good behaviour needed rewarding.
When she paid attention to him or smiled when she saw him, he would reward that state of mind. But when she focused on things that were not conducive to progress toward his goals, then Jason did not even reward it. He effectively just punished it by ignoring it or invalidating it.
As they walked towards the street, she tilted her head, curiosity in her eyes as she said, "Where are we going?"
Jason saw this and smirked. The head tilting and googly eyes were something she did all the time. Jason now realised that it was because she must have learned the behaviour in her childhood and it had helped her somehow, which made her use it so often even as an adult unconsciously.
He was still learning more about her though. He needed to get to know her more to know how to push her buttons. As long as he could push her buttons well enough, he would get her into the state of mind where she would call him "Daddy" by her own volition.
Having heard her question, Jason gave her a mysterious look. "It's a surprise," he said, leading her towards the taxi. He slid in first, leaving her to open the door for herself. And then he looked at her in interest as she blinked at him from outside, slightly taken aback by his behaviour but quickly catching on.
"Real gentleman, aren't you, Jason? Can't believe you're treating your Guardian Angel like this…" she chided with a playful pout as she settled beside him. However, Jason interpreted this differently.
She was pretty and with her body language and demeanours and behaviours that made her look cute and small, she was probably used to having men do whatever she wanted them to. Unfortunately, Jason was not like other men.
He grinned. "I open the door for those who earn it," he replied his tone light but with just enough edge to keep her guessing.
She rolled her eyes but she couldn't hide her smile, a smile she was getting because she had finally met a challenge. "So I haven't earned it, huh?"
"Not yet," he said with a shrug and as she turned to him with her mouth wide open with a smile at the edges of it, he continued speaking. "I don't make the rules. I just follow them. That's something my dad taught me and something his dad taught him…"
Her eyes softened at the mention of his father and she said, "You mention your dad… Sounds like he is very special to you."
Jason nodded, his face unreadable. "He is. Taught me a lot about life. But he passed away recently."
Her eyes went even softer as she said, "I'm sorry for making you think about that…"
But Jason shook his head, flashing her a smile as he went to grab her hand, and then after grabbing it, he said, "My dad taught me a lot. Like letting people earn things. And never wasting my time with the unworthy… Now that I'm here with you, wasting my time, what do you have to say for yourself?"
She laughed lightly, saying, "I am not a waste of time~"
Heh. It's a good thing you said it yourself. Now you'll be holding yourself to that standard throughout our interaction. Sometimes it was useful to let people qualify themselves, and as long as they did that they would be forced to assume that personality around you.
"We'll see," Jason teased, and after that, they fell into an easy conversation as the taxi began rolling through the city. They talked about all sorts of topics in that car.
She talked about her job as a nurse, the patients she helped, and her dreams of someday becoming a doctor. Jason listened, nodding at all the right moments, his gaze completely fixed on her, his body language mirroring hers as she faced him, her hand in his.
He did not interrupt her as she spoke. He knew better. People loved talking about themselves. It was almost like everyone was on the Narcissistic Spectrum, and it was mostly closer to complete self-interest than to the other side which was pure empathy. Even the most empathetic of people were doing it out of self-interest. That was something Jason knew for certain.
The principle was that people liked attention, they liked it when others valued them so much that they spent time on them. And so the more she spoke about herself, the more relaxed she became, and the happier she was in Jason's presence.
There was magic in silence. The first was that others would fill in the blanks for you, but the second was that it would make Jason seem that much more interesting. There would be a mystery to him, and if there was ever something he said, it would be that much more meaningful.
When asked what he was doing, Jason told her that he was in Sales, and he was currently in the process of moving toward a new workplace. She then asked more questions, but Jason would only give her a surface-level understanding of himself.
When necessary, he would change the topic to something lighter, or he would deflect and change the topic with the use of a joke. He would play this delicately, and soon enough, she would find that the man was an interesting being who did not let out too much. That would interest her even more, because of the principle….
Good things come to those who wait.
She would have to wait to get to know him more. It really was a simple thing.