Ben was following in the footsteps of giants, knowing that lying on one's back in a film studio was a popular way of getting ahead in the media industry…
As his hands gripped the cold iron barbell, he got ready to bench press 250 lbs, almost twice his body weight. There were many people watching on, but not a single one of them expected him to succeed.
The only one who had any semblance of belief was Jacob, though even he was uncertain if Ben could accomplish the feat. Meanwhile, Owen showed an expression of contempt, waiting for the moment the barbell dropped so he could laugh at the arrogant kid who dared waste his time. Afterward, he'd make sure Ben would pay the price though, getting him tossed out from Hearth altogether.
Big red glanced at the two corporate slaves standing at the ends of the barbell. "Hey! Make sure your hands are on that weight! When it falls, don't let it crush him like a bug!"
The two chuckled, along with a number of others around. Still, the two spotters held the ends of the barbell to make sure they could lift it when the moment came.
Having done this exercise many times in the gym, Ben positioned his feet, then his back, and last he tightened his grip. He took deep breaths as he prepared himself mentally…
This was the moment that decided his future. If he failed, his journey in the tower and at this prestigious company would be over, a terrible result, and one he couldn't afford.
Knowing this, his will solidified and his eyes became sharp. Next, he clenched his palms, held his breath, and pushed!
The bar lifted off the rack, and the weight put immense pressure on his hands, muscles, and joints… The weight of it caused his face to turn red, visible to everybody nearby…
Seeing this, Owen shook his head. "Kid, don't hurt yourself. If it's heavy, just put it back."
The two men on the sides planted their feet, knowing they'd need to be prepared to get so much weight back up when it collapsed.
Ben breathed in. He only needed to complete one rep, which meant bringing it down to his chest and then back up. The longer he waited, the more difficult it would become. So, he made his move!
He lowered the barbell, but it was at a snail's pace! Watching this, Owen sighed. It was clear to all that it was too heavy for him, like the most he could do was let the bar descend without crushing him right away. Everyone in the room shared one opinion.
'Once that bar hits his chest, he's done for…'
'If it's so hard to lower, there's no way he can get it back up. That's much harder…'
'He's dead and donions…'
When the barbell reached Ben's chest, he held his breath, as the bar rested there, losing all its momentum, and pressing down on his lungs. Everyone there who knew about bench pressing knew that one would never hold the bar at the bottom of the motion in a normal rep like that. Otherwise, their muscles would become exhausted and lose the momentum from their joints and tendons that would help them reverse the weight back up. In other words, there was no hope! With the bar on his chest, Ben lost! And was even trapped under it!
Seeing him struggling as the weight pressed on him like a trapped dog, many onlookers shook their heads. Some made snide remarks and others even laughed!
"What a joke…"
"He can't even do one rep…"
"One rep? He can't even breathe!"
Owen snorted. "Little sh*t…wasting my f*cking time…" Still, his eyebrows creased. He wanted to curse at the little bastard more, but if Ben stayed under that bar, it would become dangerous. Yet, as Owen prepared to shout to the two spotters to lift the bar, something shocking happened!
Everyone heard a loud exhale come from Ben's mouth!
Then, the bar started to rise!
Everyone's eyes bulged as the room turned silent at this unexpected scene!
The bar was off his chest!
Going higher!
Higher!
Now, all the observers were the ones who couldn't breathe instead!
Because soon, the bar reached the top! Ben completed one rep!
Audible gasps spread throughout the space!
It was too surprising! They all just witnessed a small teenager bench press almost twice his weight, and after such a desperate situation! No one understood how! It was such a turnaround!
Owen kept blinking as if refusing to believe it, but he soon showed a helpless smile. "All right, kid. Not too bad. Nice rep, you can put the bar ba—"
He cut off his own words mid-sentence because out of nowhere, the bar began to descend again!
'Did he run out of arm strength to hold it up?' Owen prepared to call the two spotters to lift the weight, but stopped himself when he realized something. This time, the bar's descent was even smoother!
'Is he trying for another rep?' Everyone in the room held their breath again!
Then when Ben reached the bottom of the rep, he popped it back up, this time even faster than the last!
Owen nodded. "Even better than I expected. Decent job, kid, I'll give you a few minutes of my ti—"
He shut up again!
That's because the bar went back down! This time even quicker! And then, like before, it popped right back up!
Now, no one talked. They only watched and kept their mouths shut…as if someone slapped them speechless…
The only one who dared to speak was Owen, who sighed because he'd underestimated Ben. "Three… Okay, it's pretty go—"
Another rep cut his sentence off!
Down and back up again!
When the bar reached the top, Ben held it there…
This time, Owen waited… He didn't want to speak and be forced to cut off another sentence!
Many of his employees were here. Each time it happened, they gazed at him and showed expressions like he was a fool! A few even started snickering!
It was like each time Ben repped the barbell, it bounced off Owen's face!
Ten seconds later, after feeling he was safe, Owen finally spoke. "All right. I admit I was wro—"
Another rep!
'You bastard!' Owen was squeezing his fists now! The vein in his forehead that went to sleep was now reawakened by a bitter slap!
But that wasn't the end!
Another rep!
Another!
Ben was repping the 250 lbs with comfort! Like it was a warm-up!
Owen couldn't believe it! Was the weight not heavy? It was damn heavy! So why was it not crushing Ben, but him instead!
The two spotters still had their hands on the bar, but they were hurting more than helping. 'What are we even doing here?'
They felt like idiots! They glanced at Owen with confused expressions, as if asking, "Should we go, or…"
Soon, Ben blasted out enough reps that his hands were hurting, though not from the bar but from slapping faces!
That's when at the top of a rep, while still holding the weight up, he tilted his neck up and made eye contact with Owen, who understood exactly what Ben's smirking eyes were saying: 'Fooled you…'
…
*Clop*
With silence still permeating the room, Ben locked the barbell back into the rack above, and then sat up and stretched his arms. "Phew…nice little exercise." He got up and walked over to Owen. When they were near each other, Ben bent forward a bit as if he was stretching, until his head wasn't far from Owen's. "Was that good, Boss? Was that enough reps? Do you need more reps?"
…
Owen's eyes twitched…but he managed to swallow back the curses he wanted to deliver. He was in the midst of his employees, and while he could complain and curse under other circumstances, as a manager, it was important he didn't look petty. "No, that'll do. We can talk about the feature now."
Despite that, Ben's face still expressed serious doubt. "Are you sure, Boss? I can do more exercises? Should we do more exercises?"
…
Owen kept his mouth shut, but the vein on his forehead pulsated as if swearing at Ben, the world, and its misfortune to be on Owen's head! 'More exercises your mother! The only exercise I need to see is to get a f*cking priest in here to exorcise you! Where did this demon come from?!?'
