Content Notes: Pre-show, creep Elias.
"What are you afraid of?" Elias asks.
This is a question that tends to throw people off in Elias's office. Jonathan Sims glances at him too, caught off guard, but his surprise passes quickly; his already stern expression turns somber, his dark eyes even stormier. He stares Elias in the eye, setting his jaw.
"Spiders," Jonathan Sims says, sincerely, honestly. "It's an old phobia, starting from childhood. I had a bad experience that stuck with me."
Jonathan Sims says nothing more after that. He watches Elias closely, his brain working feverishly, trying to peer past Elias's cool expression to see what he is thinking. Elias smiles at that, lacing his fingers together and resting his jaw against them as he pushes a sensation into Jonathan's mind, of spider legs skittering over his thigh.
Their eyes still connected, he watches as Jonathan Sims's serious, frowning face goes pale, sheer, naked terror washing all over him. Jonathan's breath stutters, his mouth falling just slightly apart, but he doesn't look away from Elias, doesn't bounce up from his seat, doesn't try to run.
"I would really want this job," Jonathan Sims says instead. "I think I would be a good fit for this place." He shudders, swallowing, but he relaxes in his chair, and determination enters into his gaze again.
And Elias knows he wants him.