NEGOTIATIONS

“Miss?”

“Um... Eh? Excuse me. I’m not authorized to make such decisions. I need to call my boss.”

“Well, go ahead then. Are you okay with leaving the room to make your call? I need to talk to these two.”

“Okay.” Closing the door behind her, Sarrah leaned against it, pulling herself together.

As a reporter, she was used to working on camera and keeping an appropriate expression on her face regardless of what other people were doing. Now this experience had rescued her, preventing her voice from quavering and her body from trembling.

Who the hell is he?

This encounter took her aback. The bizarre sensation was still gripping her. I need more info about him. He’s anything but an ordinary guy. Making a note in her brown leather notebook, she dialed Joy’s number.

***

“Leah. Come here.”

“Bro? I can explain.” The girl approached him slowly, cringing as she expected to be scolded. But Will did something completely different. Hugging her tenderly, he patted her on the head.

“Bro?” Leah felt as if she were back in her early years, when his shoulder had always been there for her to put her head on when she’d talk to him for hours about all sorts of things. “Are you all right?”

His hand stopped stroking her hair for a moment, then carried on. “Yes, thanks. Everything is all right... almost everything. And how are you? Any news?”

Embracing him back and making herself comfortable, she started to happily recount her past few weeks of studying, the problems she had had with her extra courses, the boys in her group, and yesterday’s get-together at a small café where Emma had invited her to meet up and celebrate New Year’s Eve.

They stood like that, in the middle of the room, for a while, talking and exchanging news. Watching Will and his sister, Emma felt incredibly safe and protected, as though a steel wall had appeared around her to keep all her troubles and any potential dangers away.

Ten minutes later, Will released his hold on Leah and sat down with his usual expression on his face. “Now I’m ready to hear about how that girl came to be here.”

“Um... I... I’d better leave you to it.” Emma was about to exit the room, but Will stopped her by looking her in the eye, then at her seat.

“Well...” Leah sighed. “Emma’s inbox got hundreds of messages. Out of those, we selected fifty reasonably good channels. Then one of the best. We didn’t really have much time to discuss it. She turned up about half an hour before you did.”

“Leah. Stop saying so many words. Why are you doing this?”

“I decided you could benefit from some media coverage. I... I want you to accept the challenge of that strange guy who mentioned it during his interview.”

“Hmmm...”

“You’ll make a statement. When you win... Wait. You won’t lose to him, will you?” Leah arched her eyebrows, realizing she had never really thought about it. Since her brother had topped the ratings, she considered him to be the strongest.

“Sis. Why would I willingly put a snake down my pants?” Will squinted his left eye at the girl who was good at everything she did... except for letting him know about things in a timely manner. “Why didn’t you ask me first?”

“I wasn’t even sure about who I should contact to do the interview. This woman was just the first journalist on my list. I wanted to talk to everyone on the list first and secure the best terms for us.”

Admiring her business acumen, Will still noticed one more thing. “Tell me, sis. You do realize that, once the interview airs, all — I’ll say it again — ALL these media people will know your place of study. Your life will be full of camera flashes, secret footage, and hordes of men and women badgering you with questions about your brother. Are you ready for that?”

“I...” The girl gaped at him, realizing she had absolutely missed this part. She was too focused on the result and its monetary benefits. Human psychology and public relations were not her strong suit. “I didn’t think...”

The corners of her lips tugged down, quivering because she was about to cry, upset by the failure of her plan — like she had always done.

As a kid, Leah had used to dig channels for ants to use to get around. When they’d scatter all around in search of more convenient routes instead, she’d cry. “I did so much for them. Why, why don’t they use the easiest route?”

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The little perfectionist in her was always striving to optimize things, organizing her pencils, notebooks, and clothes very neatly. She could only depart from her commitment to perfect order when working on something overwhelmingly complicated — like her brother’s plans for developing his country.

“Why? Why would they follow me around? Look! Look here!” Leah showed him a notebook page with two neat columns: channels and the names of the media people she was going to meet. “And here.” She pointed at a bunch of color markers. “I wanted to mark them ne-e-eatly...”

“I understand. Now sit down, and don’t you dare cry. Emma, pass me a glass of water, please.”

“No!” Leah’s eyes widened. She wiped them hastily with both hands.

“That’s a good girl. Cancel the water, Emma. I don’t need it anymore.”

He had used this special soothing technique since Leah’s childhood. He’d slowly pour a glass of water over the crying little girl as if she were a flower, and it had used to have an amazing effect. While doing that, Will would say: “You wash with tears, I’ll wash with water. You’ll grow big and strong, like a tree.” After getting drenched head to toe the first few times, little Leah would cry even harder, getting more water poured on her until she finally figured out how to make it stop.

“I’ll sort this out. But you didn’t answer my question. Why? What’s the point? Let’s presume I win. What comes next?”

“I’ve read a lot about the contracts other players make with channels and sponsors. You could be making even more money than they do. But you need fame. You must reach first place not only in the player rankings, but...” She turned to Emma for support.

“...in the PvP battles, too.”

“Yeah! That’s it.” Leah clapped her hands. “The top Ascension players already have a reputation, but you’re just an unknown...” She hesitated, figuring out the right word.

“...upstart?” Will hinted.

“Yes. An unknown upstart. But, by proving your worth in duels against the best players, you’ll gradually build up the sort of reputation we need. It’ll attract the sponsors who’ll pay lots to... to help develop it.”

“Wow. That’s a great plan. The sponsorships would come in handy.”

Emma kept swiveling her head from Will to Leah and back, struggling to understand what they were talking about.

“By the way, Emma. I‘ve written it many times, but now I’ll say it to you in person: You’re doing a great job. Many thanks.”

The girl blushed upon hearing that and nodded at him with a smile.

A knock on the door interrupted their discussion.

“Just a moment. Sorry,” Will said and turned back to his sister. “You’re a smart girl, but please, please don’t do something like this on your own ever again. Surprises are good, but due consideration for the consequences is better.”

“I see. So what are you going to do?”

“I don’t seem to have much of a choice but to make the most out of this channel.” Will smirked. Leah smiled back to him. Now they almost looked like identical twins, except one was bigger than the other.

***

“The channel will not pay that much.” Sarrah studied Will’s face to see how serious he was about his request. The three of them — Sarrah, Will and his sister — were in a fast food restaurant, discussing the interview price.

“Tell me I’m wrong and I’ll tell you that the time you’ve spent getting your degree was wasted.”

“It’s not about the consequences of our interview. It’s about the price.”

“Is that really much for exclusive material? Do you think I’m an idiot? Or she a fool?” With asked, glancing at Leah who was sitting beside him and eating her chocolate dessert with enjoyment. Her joy was unstained with money worries as the lunch had been paid for by the reporter.

“I don’t think so.” Sarrah winced mentally. The negotiation appeared to be far more difficult than she had imagined.

She simply couldn’t say yes. Calling her boss back in the dormitory, she got his permission to pay $5,000 for the interview from the channel’s budget. For a first-time interviewee, that was a fantastic sum.

But then she heard how much he wanted.

Will (or Raven as she preferred to call him) insisted on responding to the player who had been interviewed by a rival channel — the one who had dared Raven to fight him, calling him an incapable player for everyone to hear. Sarrah loved this idea. Such conflict between two top players covered by The Age of Ascension could move her channel up the ratings. According to her colleague, who had interviewed a developer, the duel update was due in two weeks.

But Raven wanted $10,000. Twice as much as she was allowed to pay.

Sarrah knew it was a good offer. But the channel wouldn’t accept it as long as Will remained a player who was only ahead of the rest due to NPCs.

She would’ve paid him that money if she could, though. Her gut was telling her that this guy was full of surprises.

“Let’s assume my boss agrees. But what will you be able to tell us, Mr. Thompson? May we use first names, by the way?”

Will shrugged. “If you like. Do you have a list of questions you want me to answer? May I have a look?”

“Sure.” Sarrah retrieved a leather notebook and handed it to Will. “You have cold hands,” she commented, having brushed against his unusually cold fingers.

“That’s just winter,” he replied, peering at the list. “Hmmm. A very interesting read. Oct 25th, 2044. I’m dumped again. Fuck it. Fuck all men. I’m dead tired of their whining about me always being busy at work. I’ll find a girl like myself and...”

Swish!

The book was snatched from Will with lightning speed. Sarrah tucked it into her bag, avoiding his eyes.

“I... I confused them. Again. So stupid. Damn leather cover. I’ve never gotten around to changing it. Here you are.” Still looking away, she handed Will an identical notebook that actually had business notes, unlike the first one that was apparently her personal diary.

Will and Leah’s combined laughter resounded through the restaurant.

“Hey, you! Please stop. I was just kidding. Hey! Stop! Okay. I’m leaving.”

Sarrah stood to leave, but Will grabbed her by the arm and pulled her back into her seat.

“Well, dumped one, I’ll take a look at your questions. Finish your dessert, Leah. Take care not to choke.” With one last smirk, he went skimming through Sarrah’s notes.

“It’s a deal then. I’ll contact you once the price has been agreed upon, and we’ll negotiate the interview time and place.”

BONUS FRAGMENT: MASTER CLASS

“See you, Sarrah.” Will shook the reporter’s hand. Turning around, she walked towards the exit but was stopped by Leah’s words.

“We won’t dump you, ma’am. Don’t worry.”

“You didn’t have to say that, sis.”

“I just wanted to be supportive.”

“Leah. It’s not cool. And not funny at all.”

“Why are you smiling then?”

“Um... That’s just the money.”

“I want to learn to smile like that.”

“Try to mimic it. No. Broader.”

“Like this?”

“A bit mo- No, stop. That looks creepy. Maybe this sort of smile isn’t right for you.”

What a weird duo. As the door closed behind Sarrah, she couldn’t help casting one last glance at the two through the transparent glass. A difficult talk with her boss awaited her.