Chapter 126: Juliet Rapha
Slowly, as more people turned towards Jason in curiosity, the crowd began to change their attitude once one or two noticed who he actually was! One of them, a young woman with short blond hair and a pretty face, gasped as she recalled seeing Jason on TV a few days ago and whispered to her partner while hitting his arm repeatedly!
"Honey! That’s him! That’s him! The superhuman that awakened as an A Rank!"
"Really?"
"Hey, that’s Jason Marc, right? He’s the one I saw on the TV the other day!"
"I heard he hasn’t joined a guild yet, let’s go talk to him!"
"Hey, let’s go talk to him! We can get him before the others!"
Some people began moving toward Jason when they recognized who he was, but Jason narrowed his eyes in an unwelcoming gesture and made them stop in their tracks immediately. Jason was okay with them talking down on him, but he wasn’t going to take their bullshit pestering!
"Mr. Jason Marc?"
Jason turned around to see a woman calling out to him from a fair distance away. She was beautiful, with blond hair tied behind her in a neat bun and a skirt suit that hugged her body in a modest and attractive way. Her face reminded Jason too much of Fiona, and Jason immediately knew that this had to be Fiona’s sister, Juliet.
Juliet was standing a fair distance away from Jason because she had felt a pressure from him just a few seconds ago, and she knew it would be dangerous to approach a superhuman while he was so tense.
On the trip here, Juliet had been both nervous and skeptical. Her nervousness didn’t just come from the fact that she was here to meet with someone that everyone in the world was talking about. Instead, it was because of what Jason had told her yesterday concerning the amount of crystals he was willing to sell to them. The truth was that the Tenet company wasn’t doing as well as everyone thought it was. Tenet was a company that dealt in all manner of superhuman business — they arranged agents for superhumans and crafted and sold artifacts, armor, and Magic Crystals made for superhumans.
But recently, the rapid rise of the SMD’s business sector has put a strain on independent marketers. The SMD had a large monopoly over the superhuman business because they were also in charge of registering superhumans, so most superhumans went there to sell and buy any artifact or magic crystal that they needed. This prevented independent companies like Tenet from having a lot of business.
Juliet had called Jason yesterday because of how shocked she was when she saw the quality of the magic crystal that Fiona had given her. The crystal had been removed perfectly and there were no deformations whatsoever. This meant that whoever had done it was probably a professional who could remove crystals with great experience. So when Fiona told her that it was Jason Marc, the newly awakened superhuman who gave it to her, she was skeptical about the whole thing.
Would he really be able to cut out a crystal this neatly as a new superhuman?
But Juliet was already very desperate. They received their quarterly earnings report last week, and Juliet saw that the company had gone down five percent compared to the previous quarter. At the current rate, it wouldn’t even be five years before they had to close down their doors or sell their company to a larger conglomerate because of bankruptcy! There was already talk amongst the board members that they were looking into companies willing to buy them out. It was this desperation that drove her to call Jason and ask him about the crystals — and it was only because of her experience in maintaining her self-control even in the most dire situations that she didn’t lose her cool completely after hearing how many crystals Jason wanted to sell to them!
Three hundred!
That was more crystal than they got from all their currently contracted superhumans in a month! It was insane! Once she heard him say that, Juliet immediately thought he was lying, but the confidence he said it with made her stop to think. What if he was telling the truth and really had that many crystals? Would it really hurt to meet with him and see for herself?
And that was how Juliet arrived on this scene with a nervous but skeptical mindset. She hoped that Jason wasn’t lying to her, but she was going to be so hurt if he was! This was really the last chance that their company had to get back on their feet! If they failed here, then they were done for!
Juliet looked at Jason from a distance and she couldn’t help the slight blush that appeared on her cheek when they locked eyes. Jason’s rough and confident look reminded her of one of those biker gang members that she had sometimes seen on TV when she was a teenager. That bad boy persona never failed to draw her in, and when it was paired with his handsome face, she couldn’t help the attraction she felt toward him.
But she shook her head and refocused her mind. She was here for business, so there was no room for any errors!
Jason reduced the pressure he was exerting once he saw Juliet, and he smiled at the shorter woman as she finally walked up to him. The others who had been approaching Jason stopped coming close once they saw that Jason had been waiting for someone, but some of them still lingered and debated if they should approach.
Juliet extended her hand for a handshake.
"It’s a pleasure to meet you, Mr. Jason. My sister has told me a lot about you."
Jason took the smaller hand and smiled at Juliet.
"It’s a pleasure."
Juliet’s cheeks gained another small blush when she saw him smile at her, and her traitorous mind forced her to acknowledge just how handsome he was when he smiled! Juliet quickly cleared her throat and turned to the elevator while telling Jason to please follow her. The restaurant was on the top floor and they could eat before they spoke about business.
They went up, and when they got to the top floor, the butler standing at the entrance of the restaurant gave Jason a curious look. Jason’s attire was just too abnormal for such a high-end restaurant, and the butler would have said something about it if not for the fact that he recognized Jason from TV as a newly awakened superhuman. The butler was smart enough not to piss off someone that could bring down the entire building if they were angered.
The inside of the restaurant was quiet and subdued with a low jazz tune playing from a surround-sound stereo that made the room feel very soothing. Jason and Juliet were led to a table at the side close to a window that overlooked the large river running across the center of Riverdale, and Juliet smiled at Jason before speaking.
"I suppose we should have something to eat before anything else. I’d recommend the lobster soup. The restaurant has one of the best in the business handling their kitchen — a three-star Michelin chef. Please, be my guest."
Jason shook his head. He wasn’t interested in eating since he was going to be leaving once they were done with the conversation. Juliet frowned slightly when Jason refused, and she raised her hand and told the waiter who approached them to hold on for a few minutes. The waiter bowed respectfully before leaving them alone.
Jason then spoke up.
"We aren’t going to be talking for long. Just keep in mind that this conversation is going to go one of two ways."