Crowd: A Dystopian Social Network Thriller (Final Draft)

Hard Talk

Sasha drove out the gate with the guards and stretched the awkward silence. The mint flavor failed to cover the air sparking with tension.

Rain frosted in her seat and braced herself for the verbal impact.

"First rule," Sasha said, "Don't accept any gifts from the client. It corrupts your objectivity."

"What gift?"

"Ginger tea."

"That was a gift?"

"Do you know why he gave you a hot drink instead of a cold soda?"

"For health reasons?"

"It's an old manipulation called priming. When you hand a person a hot drink prior to the interview, their perception about you will change positively. Hot drinks make you feel empathetic and warm, while cold drinks make you feel detached. Graham gave you hot tea to make himself come across as warm."

"Are you serious?"

"Like a cancer cell. Camryn Sikes always offered tea or coffee before his pitch meetings to sway the investors."

"I had no idea."

"According to your profile, ginger tea is your favorite drink. Your alarm bells should have rung when he offered you that kind of tea."

Rain pressed her lips. Ginger tea was popular nowadays. Every hip café and household offered ginger tea.

Sasha continued. "Second. Graham claimed he wasn't sure whether we were going to help him. BS, of course. He himself asked for assistance ever since his rankings dropped about a month ago. You know why he pretended to be clueless about us?"

"To play the victim and elicit sympathy?"

"He swapped the power dynamics. Made you convince him your worth instead of the other way around."

He paused, but only for a half a second. "You're the advisor, Rain, you don't ever need to validate your position. They are the clients needing our help. You fell for his power swap."

"Like a rookie."

"Like a freshman at college."

"Ouch."

"Sympathy is a nice thing, but when it shuts down your objectivity, it becomes sabotage. Not all of our cases will be sweet and innocent Taylors looking up to you." He put the cruiser on semi-auto-pilot to lock eye contact with Rain. "For better or worse, Crowd accepts everyone to their platform, including mean-spirited, plotting low-lives that will twist your mind like a pretzel to gain an advantage. Don't. Fall. For. Them."

Spit droplets landed on Rain's face. She was too afraid to wipe them away in front of Sasha. "I knew he was playing an act, but I thought it was tied to his social shame. Men tend to get itchy when they're falling off the success ladder."

"I counted at least five other ways he dominated the interview, turning the tide in his favor."

Graham's micro-mimics had betrayed his body language. But Rain had failed to see the deeper meaning behind the act.

"The guy's a womanizer and a former real estate agent, Rain. His entire lifestyle's based on manipulation. Just look at the video footage where he talks with women and subordinates."

Rain's head swirled around. She expected little criticism and received a volley of head smashers. Every time her body threatened to slip down the seat she forced herself to sit up straight.

Sasha had more to deliver. "Also, don't ever promise that your tips will help their ranking."

"I didn't. I said it's likely to help him."

"You said your tips were going to help him, making it sound like a promise instead of a suggestion."

"I swear I didn't—"

He played the footage, as recorded by his AR lenses, in a shared virtual window.

The Rain in the recording said—"It's going to help you."

She swallowed. It was like seeing a second person playing herself. "Just a figure of speech."

Sasha shook his head. "If clients get the feeling that your help will up their ranking, they will try to bribe you."

Rain swallowed, but there was no spit left.

Sasha's intense eyes beamed at her. "He tricked you good."

Rain took a deep breath in and searched for the right words, but every suggestion sounded like a pathetic excuse, so she stayed silent.

This day started so well.

An hour ago, she burned with enough passion to melt the moon. And now? A bogged conversation and her future at the SAGE department was already at stake.

Next time, if there was a next time, she needed to do better.

Learn the client profile by heart, obsess about body language and gestures while understanding the client's psycho-motif.

Sasha took control over the steering wheel again. His breathing became full again. "After work today, you re-watch the recordings from your lenses. Check your mistakes and observe the moments where he manipulated you. It will be clear like a crystal in the sky."

Rain nodded her head but wanted to disappear into her seat. She actually thought she did a pretty good job. A bit stiff and formal maybe, but modest all the way through.

Ugh.

Was she already bringing down her score? Her current levels remained steady, for now. Maybe she would wake up tomorrow with a drop. That would be a personal disaster, especially with her house sighting that required high scores.

"Your score's still steady," Sasha said, as he steered the cruiser back to the Downtown area.

"But don't ever get comfortable."

***Author's Note***

Thanks for taking the time to read this chapter.  I'd love your feedback, so feel free to comment. If you like the chapter, you can vote for it by clicking the star below. You can also add "Crowd" to your library if you like to continue the journey which will be updated 5 times a week.