You decline.

You shook your head.

"I'm not interested, sorry." You looked over at Jessica who frowned at you.

"I am. Could you try it on me?" She gazed at Matt as she spoke up.

You saw a very brief glimpse of a smirk cross Matt's face before he nodded.

"Of course! I'll just do a quick demonstration. Not that you'll see it, though." He said.

She laughed then shrugged. "Whatever."

"Alright then. I want you to sit over here and then close your eyes." Matt led Jessica to a chair and sat her down. He placed both of his hands on her shoulders. You could see that she was somewhat tense. He spoke in a reassuring and smooth voice.

"Now, slow your breathing and empty your mind. I want you to listen to my voice. Forget everything else. The only thing you can hear is my voice. You feel relaxed when you listen to it. Are you relaxed?" He asked her in the same smooth voice. You find yourself on the brink of laughter at how silly Matt sounds.

"Yes, I am relaxed." Jessica spoke in a soft and monotonous voice.

"Very good. Now that you are completely relaxed, I want you to answer some very simple questions. I want you to respond to me with 'yes' or 'no' to the questions I ask you. Do you understand?" He asked.

"Yes." She responded again in that same emotionless tone.

"Very good." You could hear a smile in Matt's voice. "Jessica, are you married to Steve?"

"Yes." She responded.

"Have you been married for long?" He spoke again.

"No." She replied. It was true enough.

"You love Steve more than anything in the world?" He grinned at you then looked back at Jessica.

"Yes. More than anything." She spoke again. You felt embarrassed.

"Very good. Is he the only man you've ever loved?" He asked her in a gentle voice.

"No." She responded without hesitation.

You felt a frown form on your face. Jessica had told you that she had never dated anyone other than you. Matt raised a brow when he apparently caught your facial expression.

"Very good. I think we will stop here now. Jessica, I want you to slowly realise your surroundings and feel yourself back in the room, as you listen to me count down... Three... Two... One." Matt clicked his fingers and stood back. As Jessica looked around in a daze, Matt grinned at you, then at her.

"I've never seen someone fall under hypnosis so quickly. It usually takes me five minutes before they respond so willingly. It took you a whole of 20 seconds. Really impressive." Matt said. You weren't sure whether he was stroking his own ego, or was impressed with Jessica.

"Oh, anytime." Jessica laughed.

"Really? Because I think it would be very useful in my performances. You could be my assistant. I would pay you of course." He replied quickly.

Jessica hesitated and looked at you. She bit her lip and frowned, then looked back at Matt.

"You don't have to agree straight away. I have a show in a couple days, maybe you could trial and see how you like it? Let's see... two thousand dollars for the two hours." Matt spoke, unable to keep his confidence from his voice.

Jessica made no attempt at hiding her surprise and delight. "Two thousand?? Deal." She grinned at you then frowned. "Oh, Steve. You'll be working.".

"He can come another time. If you want to make it an ongoing thing." Matt quickly chipped in.

You weren't sure how you felt about it, but it seemed Jessica wanted to follow through, so you nodded your acceptance.

"Great! Thanks for coming tonight guys. Jessica, I'll see you in a couple days, hm? I'll e-mail you the details, arrive a little early so I can brief you in."

A couple days passed before it was the day of Jessica's performance. You left home early to head to work. You wondered if you might be able to catch the last bit of the show if you started work earlier.