Chapter 156: Parallel Economy
The internet was lit aflame with clips of Alex boasting about his lifestyle that few men could achieve, and him going so far as to mock Jack Logan for believing in the concept of equality. Comments such as “This man is the physical incarnation of toxic masculinity” appeared in tandem with the usual bullshit that these kinds of people screeched. Such as “misogynist” “homophobic” and all the other usual names that were used to shame people into silently obeying the will of the woke mob.
There was just one problem, Alex could not be shamed. He was, after all, a man who gave zero fucks about what other people thought about him. And he had what he liked to call “fuck you money”. Thus, after making a brief post refusing to apologize, he went totally silent on social media, and allowed the internet to devour itself.
Ultimately, Alex received a phone call from Vanessa no more than 72 hours later, where she told him to turn on his TV. What Alex saw was a press conference that was being held by the Ultimate Fighting Challenge and its president, Dan Weiss. Dan Weiss was a middle-aged, bald Caucasian man whose appearance could be described as either fat or jacked, because it was anyone’s guess so long as the man was wearing a shirt.
This was a press conference being held for the upcoming Fight Night that would be held shortly after Alex’s fight with Zakir. And in this press conference, more than a few reporters pestered Dan about Alex’s comments on the Jack Logan Experience, and his refusal to apologize to the woke mob. To which Dan seemed visibly upset, as he responded with a stern tone to the reporters.
“Listen, we get all kinds of guys from all over the world who fight in the octagon. It takes a special kind of nut job to fight in a cage for a living. Our policy here at the Ultimate Fighting Challenge has always been to let our fighters say what they think.
With that being said, we have received a number of complaints from one of our sponsors. I’m not going to say which. But they have become, shall we say, upset over Alex Smith’s choice of words regarding his critics. We reached out to the fighter in question and asked him to apologize, and this was the message we received in response….”
After saying this, Dan reached into his pocket and pulled out a phone that belonged to one of his staff, where he displayed the chain of messages. Like Dan had said, the company tried to force Alex to apologize for calling his critics a bunch of pussies and faggots. But the message they received in return for their attempts was a single middle finger emoji and nothing else.
Thus, Dan was trying his best to prevent himself from cracking up as he shook his head and told the media exactly what Alex’s punishment was.
Alex’s expression was completely stoic when he saw this. He knew he was going to get fined the moment he chose to call his critics a bunch of faggots. He also didn’t care. 20k was just pennies to the man, and at the same time, he refused to bend the knee under any circumstances. This wasn’t simply a matter of being spiteful or petty.
To Alex, this was a matter of his pride as a man. He would not apologize to anyone, under any circumstances, unless he, and he alone, felt remorseful for his words. And naturally, he meant every word that he had said. Thus, he could hear Vanessa’s voice on the other line who was complaining to Alex about his choice of words.
“Alex, I know you can easily afford the fine. But you have to think about the bigger picture here! Do you have any idea how this makes you look in the eyes of the public? You have the potential to become an absolute legend in the sport, but you’re going to ruin your chances if you continue talking like this!”
Despite Vanessa’s warnings, Alex simply took a sip from the beer in his hand and continued to watch the press conference. He wasn’t simply acting unruly for the sake of his own independence. Alex knew a thing or two about what was happening in the country right now, and how his actions would affect his image.
Sure, he would be hated by half the country, but by refusing to kneel before them and their demands, he would become an icon for the other half. And that was the half who put their money where their beliefs were.
But Vanessa’s bitching was continuous throughout the process of Alex simply trying to watch the conference. And thus he sighed heavily, before finally responding to her and her complaints.
“Listen, Nessa, I meant every word of what I said. And neither God nor man can possibly compel me to apologize for my words or actions. If Dan wants to fine me 20k, then so be it. But he should know that isn’t going to stop me from saying what I want to say. I’m not going to censor myself to appease a bunch of losers and mental patients.
And I for one am sick and tired of people who bend the knee to these lunatics. I’m going to say what I want to say, I’m going to do what I want to do. And if anyone has a problem with that, then they can step into the cage and try to force me to behave the way they want me to.
I’ll tell you one thing: shame doesn’t work on me. And there is no man on this earth who will beat me in a fight. So these over sensitive cunts can suck it up, and deal with what I have to say. Because I’m not going anywhere!”
Nessa was just about to lecture Alex about his carelessness when she received another phone call. She only managed to get a few words out before hanging up on Alex.
“I’ve got another call… This isn’t over, Alex. We will talk about your errant behavior later!”
With this said, Vanessa dropped the call and began to speak to someone else. Meanwhile, Alex continued to watch the press conference, until he received another call as well shortly thereafter. It was from one of his women, and he was quick to answer the phone with a smirk on his face.
“What up, Jiji? How you been lately? Let me guess, busy?”
The clumsy idol manager was on the other end of the line, and was clearly sighing in exhaustion as she, too, began to lecture Alex on his false apology.
“Alex… What the hell were you thinking when you wrote that ‘apology’ to the public? Were you drunk? Please tell me that was the case. Do you have any idea how damaging your comments have been to your reputation?”
Alex sighed when he heard this comment and rolled his eyes before responding to his lover’s comments.
“Not you too… Listen, it’s fine. I always knew that I wasn’t exactly the kind of guy that would appeal to those morons, anyway. What exactly are they going to do, boycott the sport? That will do exactly fuck all, because they don’t even watch it!
You just watch, if anything my reputation will increase among those who are actually fans of the sport. Because they are not the type of guys to give a shit about whether or not I called someone an ‘offensive’ term. In fact, they all probably use the words I said on a daily basis as well!”
There was a long pause of silence on the other end. And if Alex had to guess, Ji-An was quite literally pinching the bridge of her nose in an attempt to alleviate a headache. All the while, she spoke to Alex in a tone as if she were scolding an errant child.
“Alex… For the love of god, don’t post anything on your social media. What you need to do is give me access to your accounts so that I can promote you to the public properly and ensure that something like this never happens again.”
A slight scoff escaped from Alex’s lips as he rolled his eyes once more. Though he didn’t want to be monitored like a child. Ji-An was a professional when it came to managing a talent’s social media. And Alex couldn’t be bothered to use his own social media accounts, anyway. In fact, the post he made faking an apology to his detractors was the first thing he had posted in over a year. Thus, Alex ultimately agreed to Ji-An’s request.
“Fine, I’ll send you the info in a second. I don’t even use the damn thing, anyway. I’ve honestly never seen the point of social media. Go ahead and have fun with it, but don’t you dare apologize for anything I have ever said. Or will ever say. I don’t bend the knee to the mob!”
Ji-An’s voice was filled with a mixture of relief and dejection as she tried to scold Alex into letting her apologize on his behalf.
“Alex… I really think you should reconsider-”
However, Alex shut the woman down before she could even finish her sentence.
“No apologies! Ever! I do not apologize, especially not to those people! The only time I will ever apologize in this life is if I genuinely think that I went too far. And clearly, by the way these pricks are reacting, I did not go far enough! But I will leave it be for now. We wouldn’t want to hurt their wittwe feewings now would we? Fucking cunts….”
Ultimately Ji-An could only sigh, and accept Alex’s wishes. She would take over his social media, and properly promote him as a sports icon, in fact, it would be Ji-An’s efforts that would make Alex rise to superstardom far quicker than he would have if he relied on himself to do so.
The two of them talked for a little after discussing business, and got caught up on how things had been going in their lives. But eventually Ji-An had to go, and thus she hung up on Alex after saying farewell. After the call with Ji-An, Alex received another call from Vanessa. He quickly answered the phone and was about to yell at the woman when she cut him off in a very excited tone.
“Alex, you’re not going to believe this, but I have great news!”
Alex smirked when he heard this. There were a few guesses he could make about what would cause his manager to become so excited. But rather than make a game of it, he got straight to the point as he asked Vanessa about what happened.
“Oh yeah? And What’s that?”
The excitement in Vanessa’s voice was almost contagious, as Alex could practically feel the words she spoke ooze through his phone’s microphone.
“You just got a new sponsor… They’re an up-and-coming brewery out of Reno, Nevada. And they believe that your refusal to bend the knee to the woke left is exactly the kind of image they want sponsoring their beer!
The sponsor is offering to pay for your 20,000 fine, in addition to 25,000 dollars per fight. They will do this under the condition that you film a few commercials for them and promote their brand on your social media. In addition to the money, they are also offering you a lifetime supply of their beer! If you want it, that is….”
This news called Alex to grin from ear to ear as he sat up from his seat and responded to Vanessa with a positive answer.
“Hell yeah, I want a lifetime supply of free beer, and the sponsorship is good too… Set it up Nessa! God, I want to kiss your right now!”
Though Alex had no way of knowing this, Vanessa was slightly blushing from embarrassment on the other end of the line. It took her a few seconds to calm down before she finally nodded her head in agreement with Alex’s words and accepted his praise.
“Alright… I’ll let them know. I’m sorry Alex, I may have been wrong about what I said to you about your carefree attitude being detrimental to your career… I will never doubt you again…”
Alex, however, simply smiled and nodded his head before speaking his thoughts about the matter.
“It’s a brave new world, Nessa. We are living at the beginning of a parallel economy. I knew it wouldn’t take long before some up-and-coming company that wants to appeal to the other half of the country came along and offered me some money in exchange for me representing their brand. Like it or not, this is the future of America.”
Vanessa didn’t understand economics well enough to know what a parallel economy was, or its significance. But Alex had a keen sense of foresight when it came to matters of national and global importance. And he could see the writing on the wall. And it was because of this that he had earned a few more affection points with the woman.
[Vanessa admires your intelligence, and your ability to predict such a favorable outcome! She now trusts your judgement on matters of importance!]
[+10 Affection from Vanessa!]
[Vanessa’s Affection: 40/100]
After seeing these results, Alex smirked and nodded to himself. The two of them would chat for some time before ultimately parting ways for the night. By the same time the following day, there would be new headlines about a group of sponsors all trying to curry favor with Alex because of his refusal to bend to the knee to the woke mob.