Earlier:
This abrupt meeting with Mr. David had delayed us quite a bit, but we should at least be able to manage the orientation for today."
Sultan followed the speaking lady, his eyes drawn to the floor.
Not just because he didn't want to meet her scorching glare, but also because he didn't trust his gaze to linger where it shouldn't.
Alexandra was the image of an Amazonian goddess in the attire of a modern woman. Her height exceeded six feet, and her fit, athletic body reflected her dedication to physical exercises and her clear disciplined diet.
Her striking figure was further emphasized by a tight-fitting shirt that clung to her like a second skin and a short skirt that barely reached above her knees, leaving her tall, ivory legs exposed.
"If he intended to take most of the day interviewing my team, he should have informed me in advance so I could at least adjust my schedule," she huffed, stomping forward like a furious cat whose tail had just been stepped on.
'And it was a meaningless interview,' Sultan thought, still bitter about the confusing conversation he had just endured.
He, of course, didn't dare voice his thoughts. Instead, he widened his strides to keep up with the walking storm in front of him.
Before long, they entered a small meeting room with a rectangular table and a bare, empty wall for projection.
Inside, three people were waiting. It seemed Sultan was the last to have his talk with David. Greeting them with a nod and a gentle smile, he found an unoccupied seat and settled down.
Alex didn't wait for the scraping of his chair to subside before she began speaking. How she managed to reach the projector and open her slides in such a short span of time, Sultan would never know.
"Hi, everyone. I'm Alexandra, your project manager," she commenced.
And oh boy, did she talk a lot.
Sultan believed that if there were a world record for the number of spoken words in a second, the monologuing woman before him would have broken it many times over.
She spat out words in bunches, and an "All questions at the end" was slapped in the face of anyone who dared to slow her down with an inquiry.
During her speech, Sultan caught himself on the verge of yawning more than once, barely managing to suppress it.
After two hours of this unrelenting verbal onslaught, the presentation finally concluded, having gone through next year's plans in excruciating detail.
Sultan exhaled, feeling like he had just run a marathon of words despite not opening his mouth at all. Meanwhile, The one who did all the talking looked unaffected in the slightest. Closing the projector, she moved to sit at the head of the table and signaled for questions to commence.
There weren't many. Most people had likely forgotten what they wanted to ask after receiving such an overwhelming amount of information in such a short period of time.
After some curt replies, exchanges of niceties, and the obligatory wishing of a fruitful collaboration, the orientation came to an end.
"Sultan, please stay. We need to discuss some issues," Alex said, stopping him mid-rise from his chair.
'Issues? I didn't even work a minute and I'm discussing issues ,' he thought but forced himself to wait and find out.
"I've read your file, and let's just say that I'm quite impressed," Alex began as she took the seat directly opposite him.
"Thank you," he replied, waiting for the inevitable "but."
"You're clearly a hardworking person, someone used to swimming against the current."
"To have reached such a position without formal education is very admirable, and I commend you for your diligence and perseverance."
The compliments came dry, like autumn leaves, with no smile to punctuate the sentences, and her tone lacked warmth and the admiration she claimed to have for him.
"That being said, I'm amazed at how you've achieved all of this without a RLISYS."
"Um, I didn't…" he began, but she silenced him with a wave of her hand.
Sultan attempted to explain that he really didn't see a need to get one. His Smart Lenses were quite sufficient for his purposes.
"I know your situation, and I'm not asking for an explanation," Alex commented as she opened her side bag.
Extracting a rectangular object about the size of a human palm, she slid it across the table toward Sultan, who caught it reflexively.
'Is that what I think it is?' he questioned internally.
No, it wasn't. It proved to be more than he expected.
Staring at the container in his hand, he read the version number of the RLISYS his manager had just handed him.
And it was one that hadn't reached the market yet.
He read it again to make sure of what he was seeing.
After ensuring that his eyes weren't playing tricks on him, Sultan raised his head, gazing at Alex with astonishment and a hint of greed.
"I can't accept this," he said finally, pushing the device back toward her.
She didn't react for a moment and didn't even glance at the container, instead gazing at Sultan with a measuring stare.
"Why, pray tell?" she asked coolly.
"What do you mean, why?" he half-shouted in her face.
Breathing deeply, he continued, "I can't afford this."
"And if it's necessary to complete the work expected of me, just give me a short while, and I'll manage to acquire one myself."
One that wouldn't bury him in debt for years. Sultan didn't know how his employer planned to finance such an expense, nor did he want to. He wasn't foolish enough to take on such extravagance without reason.
Sultan could buy an older version, and it would be much cheaper, even if he'd have to take a loan to afford it.
He prepared to explain this to Alex. And if she insisted, he wouldn't hesitate to resign.
This was a trap if he'd ever seen one.
'No, thank you.' If they thought they could tie Sultan to their wagon this way, they were sorely mistaken.
"Who said anything about paying for this?" The question snapped Sultan out of his thoughts, leaving him dumbfounded. "Excuse me?" "You won't have to pay. Consider it a starting bonus of sorts," she said, her voice tinged with amusement. * *
Sultan opened the container to reveal a small, squarish card. Reading the instructions, he learned that to activate the device and link it to his brain, he only needed to press the card against his forehead and breathe deeply for five minutes.
'Am I really doing this?' he wondered, his hesitation growing as the seconds ticked by.
Despite his initial reluctance and a barrage of questions, Alex had managed to convince him, mostly through unyielding glares every time he sought further clarification or reassurance.
She assured him that he wasn't the only one receiving such treatment. Others on the team were also upgrading their RLISYS, though their existing systems allowed for direct updates, sparing them the need to install one from scratch like he had to.
Still, unease gnawed at Sultan. Free things rarely came without strings attached, and he wasn't used to receive gifts, especially not of this magnitude. As the five minutes drew to a close, He couldn't stop himself from recalling a saying he had once heard: "If you don't know the price of the product or service you're receiving, you are the true cost."
'I might come to regret this,' he thought grimly, clutching the card tightly. But at this point, the choice had slipped from his grasp. The decision was no longer his to make.
Sultan felt a strange sensation. The square card, no longer solid, began to dissolve into his skin.
the five minutes had already ended, and the square card had completely borrowed into his skull.