Opposites Attract

The True Cost

“It’ll cost you.”

He sighed, rolling his eyes behind his dark glasses. Didn’t it always? Everything in this world boiled down to money, fame or love, all the things that he deemed unimportant. They made you weak, either from lack of them or too much.

“It always does, but, if we are to talk of such vulgar things as money, then I suggest you name your price quickly so we can be done with such unpleasantries.”

“I think fifty should do it, more if you’re feeling generous.”

“When have you ever known me to be generous? That is the problem with the world today, everyone wants something for nothing, minimum effort for maximum gain."

"Do you want me to do the job, or not?"

Her tone gave him a mild flicker of annoyance. Did she not realise that it was he who was doing her the favour? By taking her on as an associate he was giving her a place in his master plan, albeit a small, virtually insignificant one. And that meant she would be protected for the time being. He had no real loyalty to those who worked for him but until such a time as they reached the end of their usefulness he would ensure they were excluded from his vision.

"The question is how much do you want it? Because let me assure you that you are nothing special, you are easily replaceable, one might even call you expendable."

The woman in front of him visibly stiffened, her posture going from cockily casual to high alert, his tone telling her in no uncertain terms that this was not a game of call your bluff. He was deadly serious and if she continued to answer back she'd be leaving with nothing, if he allowed her to leave at all. His words made his meaning perfectly clear, she knew his power, she knew the vastness of his reach. He had cast his net wider than any of them could imagine and they still knew barely a quarter of it. She herself had paid for his help, paid for exposure and opportunities that only he could give, she knew the kind of pies he had his fingers in.

She made the wise choice.

"I want the job, I'm sorry, I overstepped."

He smiled, mildly amused by her back peddling, although it was something he was used to. They all underestimated him, they all took one look at his average appearance, heard his soft toned voice and assumed him to be a pushover with too much money and ambition. They needed only to look in his eyes to see the truth and if they didn't see it themselves, he'd make them.

"As I thought. You want to keep your little empire, I assume? Keep your flock of sheep that follow you like lambs to the slaughter? Watching every video, hanging on your every word? You underestimate the power you could wield if you only used it the right way. You need to think bigger, and I can help you with that, once you prove yourself useful, that is.”

“You know I do, you know that my name, my image is all I have but it’s not enough, I need more.”

“Of course you do, and you shall have it, just as long as you do as you’re told. Enough of the attitude, I won’t stand for it. I’m trusting that you are smart enough to not get caught, but if you are, know that every trace of our involvement will be erased and you will be on your own. Understand?”

She gulped but nodded, visibly pulling herself together. It didn’t make much difference to her in the grand scheme of things, she’d been on her own most of her life, why would now be any different?