• Mature • Business Management

[Zana]

15th Ymiden, 717

Zana had been working in the Lap of Luxury for fifteen trials now. It was comfortable and a good place to work. However, this morning Peter had told her that she was getting a new handler. He had a new assistant manager, Peter had said and he was starting him off with a few of the girls. "What's he like?" Zana had asked with more than a little curiosity, "and why did you give him me?" It would tell a lot, she thought, about Peter's thoughts of her and how she was doing.

Peter had laughed at her question and told her that she was the newest employee and therefore the least attached to her handler. Also, he wanted to give the new manager a range of girls to work with, to see where his talents were. It made sense and Zana nodded, then moved in to the reception hall, where she was working today. It was already relatively busy and so she was sure that it was going to be a productive shift. Catching sight of one of the potential clients looking at her in the mirror, Zana caught his gaze, then got to work.

Five breaks and three clients later Zana had just made her way to the bar to get a drink of water when the barman told her that her new handler wanted to see her at her earliest convenience. She was due a rest break so she took the water to the office the barman told her and knocked on the door.

When he called out that she should enter, she did so. The woman who walked into his office was five foot six with long blonde hair and ice blue eyes. She was wearing a skirt which was long and full at the back and very short at the front. Had it been made of anything other than red lace it would have hidden far too much for her to be working, even considering how short the front was. The waist was belted tightly and the halter top she wore was fundamentally one long strip of red satin which covered her breasts, but only just. Her high heel shoes were red.

"Good evening, I'm Zana." Ice blue eyes searched him, looking at the man who was going to be her handler, trying to ascertain his reaction, what he was thinking. "You wanted to see me?"

Do you see your desires reflected in my eyes?

[Theo Nji'Ryn]

Sometimes all it took to get ahead was to be in the right place at the right time. To recognize an opportunity that had as good as fallen into your lap, and to waste no time in taking advantage of it. Just a few trials ago Theo had been been between jobs and had been having a drink at the Flying Moon. After paying the waitress and stepping outside, he'd been busy reading the notices for employment tacked nearby, when a young boy pinned another one onto the post.

After looking it over and realizing that one of the jobs on offer seemed custom made for him, he'd pulled the notice off the board and shoved it into his pocket before walking away. Whether or not it was that simple act that resulted him him being the only one to present himself at the Lap of Luxury for an interview, Theo might never know. But it never hurt to skew the odds in one's own favor. And in this case, he apparently had, and had been hired.

Theo liked Peter. He seemed to know his business inside and out. More important he wanted to make a good impression. He dressed in the best that he could afford that trial, which also meant that his wardrobe wasn't an extensive one. Most of what he had was keeping him in the three room house he was renting in the Glass Quarter with little to spare. But his fortunes would change soon enough.

A few bits after he'd arrived for his first trial, he found himself waiting in a small office where he'd meet one of the girls he'd be handling. Peter hadn't told him much more than that when he'd come in the back door and been sent straight there. Theo was curious though. The place, true to its name was rich and luxurious. If the atmosphere was anything to go by then what, or who was on offer ought to be worth the prices he'd seen.

He was propped on the edge of the desk when she knocked on the door and was just straightening and putting his feet on the floor when she entered. Theo looked her up and down in much the same way as she did him, and small golden flecks swirled briefly and subtly in otherwise startling blue eyes.

His first impression? She was far and away from the girls at the Harlot 'n' Hound, and he ought to know, who were again leagues away from the women that walked the streets and lingered in the alleyways of the Dust Quarter. She could certainly fill a few scraps of cloth and turn them into a wonder.

"Good evening, Zana. It's a pleasure to meet you. My name is Theo Nji'Ryn," he said as he gestured to a soft leather chair near the desk. Behind the desk and against the wall there was a liquor cabinet, and he'd been told he was free to indulge. He hadn't. "Would you like something to drink?" There was a pot of tea there too, though he hadn't touched that either.

"To be honest, Peter didn't tell me much about the girls I'd be handling," he admitted and smiled for the first time as he did. "I think his intention may be that we take it upon ourselves to become better acquainted. How long have you been here? Do you enjoy the atmosphere?" Theo asked, prompting Zana to tell him more about herself.

[Zana]

His eyes had a subtle touch of color to them and Zana noted that with interest. He didn't look Biqaj, but he might have some heritage there. Zana had been raised in Ne'haer and she spoke some Rakahi, many of her clients back there were Biqaj and she recognized their tendency to have eyes which shifted color. If it was, though, it was more subtle than many of the men she had known, so perhaps his heritage was far back or a small part.

Still it would be useful to learn. If it was that, it was a tell and those were vital to understand for someone in her profession. He spoke his name and that settled it. That was a biqaj sounding name if ever she had heard one. As he gestured to the leather chair, Zana inclined her head just a slight amount and sat, crossing one leg over the other without dropping her eyes, evidently unconcerned about the amount of leg such a simple gesture showed. When he offered her a drink, though, she shook her head and raised the glass of water she'd had in her hand when she came in. He hadn't spotted it and that, she considered, was probably a good sign.

"Thank you, no. I was getting a drink when they told me you want to see me." He didn't know much about the girls he was going to be handling? That didn't surprise her, Peter was a man who expected his employees to get on with their jobs and do so without asking him every few bits. Peter liked, she had discovered quickly, proactive. What, she wondered, would be Theo's preference?

"This is my fifteenth trial here. I'm the newest girl by half an arc." Zana could answer that quite easily. She wasn't counting, but equally, she didn't really need to. She started here on the first Ymiden, after all. However, his second question interested her more. Did she enjoy the atmosphere? That was an intriguing way of phrasing it and she mulled it around in her head for a few trill. "I've worked in a number of whorehouses over a number of arcs. This is among the better ones."

However that really did not answer his question in any way other than the most surface and it would do her no good to alienate the man who was going to be handling her from now on. He could make her life easy, or he could make it difficult and she voted the former. "I like Peter's way of running thing here, he protects us and that promotes a good ethos. I'm not entirely happy that my handler is changing, but I understand why." That would do him no harm, just in case he was smiling benignly and thinking that he was the gift of the Immortals.

"One of the things I liked about this place when I decided that I wanted to work here was the expectation of constant training and the other was the idea that my handler and the owner of the establishment would know every inch of me, every strength and weakness. That means you can place me where I go best." Somehow, the bit of red satin didn't move when she shrugged slightly, maintaining whatever modesty the woman sitting opposite him might have. "At least it's only been fifteen trials, but I hope you're a keeper. Attachments, of a professional kind, are important." Ice blue eyes regarded him in total seriousness, "for us both."

Zana drank the water, not insulting him by the use of any tricks there and instead leaned forward and put the empty glass down. "What about you, Theo? Have you ever worked in a brothel managing girls before?" Watching his eyes, how he physically reacted, she pressed her point. "And what do you think of the way Peter expects our attachment to develop?"

Do you see your desires reflected in my eyes?

[Theo Nji'Ryn]

When Zana showed him the drink in her hand after he'd already offered her one from the liquor cabinet, he'd smiled. Not sheepishly. Theo didn't do sheepish. Observation, the gathering of intelligence, was one of his stronger suits.

He could hardly be blamed in this instance however, for not noticing. The greater part of his scrutiny had been elsewhere. It was a reminder though, that the lap of luxury was a place full of distractions and he'd need to get better at sorting them out. A distracted handler wasn't much use to his girls. Or to Peter either.

When she'd lowered herself into the chair, he'd propped himself again against the edge of the desk next to her. It struck Theo that along with any number of appealing features, her eyes were nearly the same shade as his own. At least when his weren't swirling with contrasting color.

So, Peter had assigned the newest of the girls to him. It was curious. It meant that either Peter had a great deal of faith in him already, enough to believe he was experienced enough not to make a mess of things. Or, it was a way to see just what he was capable of. He had confidence to spare in his abilities, therefore he wouldn't disappoint.

By referring to atmosphere, he'd in reality been curious about how Zana found her treatment to be at the lap of luxury. What one could see on the surface and what one was told by the proprietor was one thing. So far as Theo was concerned, those things were nice but shouldn't be taken at face value.

It was wise to look farther beneath the surface. To watch, and to listen to what was said as well as not said. Good. Happy employees meant better ones, which in turn created happy, satisfied, and reliable customers, especially when it was the employees that doubled as the services rendered.

His hands propped on the desk behind him, he smiled again when she shared her thoughts about being assigned to him. "Understandable," Theo admitted. She didn't know him, had no inkling of how well they might work together. Straightening and then walking around the desk to pour himself a drink, once he turned back round he met her eye to eye and added, "We've only just met, and you don't know me from anyone else walking in off the streets," he said.

"It must not inspire a great deal of confidence, and why should it? But I can assure you I take my role here seriously, which means your welfare in all things will be my top priority." Her and the other girl who he'd handle, it went without saying. But no matter how confidently he spoke them while meeting her eye to eye, they were merely words so early on. But they were spoken in earnest all the same.

So did he, Theo agreed when Zana hoped that he'd been a keeper, and raised his glass to the sentiment before emptying it in one swallow and setting it down. When she mentioned however the notion that handler's and their charges should know all about one another, every inch of each other, he knew what she was speaking of. He'd spoken with Peter already and had been informed of that very thing.

It made good sense, and naturally Theo hadn't objected. The memory of that conversation and her reference as a reminder, combined with the amount of bared flesh in the room, caused a combination of purple and gold flecks to swirl in his eyes.

It was a physical response that he simply wasn't in control of. It wasn't the only one, and in that way he was no different than anyone else. A man would have to be dead from the waist down, and maybe even brain dead to have remained unmoved. "I agree," he said, regarding attachments. "And no, I haven't." There was no shame in admitting that he'd never worked in a brothel before. She'd probably worked that out already. In the meantime, he'd moved back to where she was sitting and propped himself in what appeared to be becoming his favorite perch. As a result, their proximity meant that their knees were just inches from brushing, one against the other.

What did he think of it? Theo couldn't help but smile again, as some might say flippantly that the expectation made good business sense. And it did. But instead he nodded and replied, "I agree completely. I think that there are things to learn about another through intimacy, that transcend just the physical. Inn your line of work, and I suppose mine as well now," he considered, "that's important."

"To be able to tantalize the mind and arouse the body, both at once, is as powerful or more so than any drug on the market." He'd go so far as to say that it was it's own drug to an extent. But of course, practice made perfect while also creating attachments and building trust. "So tell me, when a new customer arrives, one who hasn't made prior arrangements or yet chosen a girl of his liking, how is it that you approach him?" he asked. The question didn't come of ignorance but a curiosity to know how she in particular preferred to approach a prospective client.

Theo might never have worked in a brothel before but he'd frequented any number of them by now. And as a result had been in the receiving end of a number of approaches. Some bold, some coy and plenty in between. Some methods seemed more successful than the others depending on the customer in question. So how did an experienced girl know which might yield results where another might not? He was curious to know how Zana in particular handled the question.

[Zana]

Zana watched him, watching her. When she explained how she felt about the change in handler, Theo didn't argue. He smiled and seemed to be as genuine about that as he was about anything else. The extent of his genuineness remained to be seen, of course, but that would take time. The relationship between a handler and the woman he was responsible for was a delicate thing with strange notions of power involved. Zana had no intention of preempting anything or assuming anything either.

That he was determined to do his best or a very good liar was without doubt to Delroth's daughter. Which it was, she did not know but that was fine. It would take time to grow to know each other and each strange little idiosyncrasy.

One such idiosyncrasy for him of course was those pesky eyes. Such a give away and twice now with the gold. Initial impression and his response to her deliberately provocative words was definitely gold. Except now there was a flash of another color. The gold was brighter, though, against the blue and she'd need to get closer to see the second color for sure.

He liked, or claimed to like, what she said about attachments and Zana allowed her eyes to travel slowly over his form, down to the very tips of his toes and back again. She didn't rush in her appraisal. "I'm sure you'll rise to the demands of your role beautifully." Her smile was brief and almost predatory. "If it helps, I won't tell anyone it's your first time." He sat opposite her and had she moved her leg just a little she could have initiated contact, but she didn't, apparently content to sit back and watch.

When Theo explained why he thought the way Peter ran things here made good sense, Zana nodded, but there was more to it, she believed. "If we work well we act like a mirror, reflecting each other. I show you every technique I know and your reflection allows us to consider my strategy." Shifting slightly, moving her leg away from him by just the smallest amount, she watched how he reacted to that movement. "We amend my strategy based on your assessment, and repeat. Men who walk in off the street have the luxury of wanting, taking and leaving. You need to be able to emulate their state of completely lost in the moment and then consider it with clarity afterwards."

His question was a good one and Zana sat back and considered it, whilst also considering him. "Wherever possible, the most important thing is to watch. There is so much to learn that even a few trills of observation can gain or lose you the trick." That was why, she explained, there were strategically placed mirrors in reception and in the lounge area. They allowed the girls to watch the clients coming in. "So, I base my approach on my observation. If I had observed you, for example, I would think that you are someone who likes to be in control of their situation." Perching on the table had meant that he was seated above her, after all, looking down. Leaving a note with the barman that he wished to see her, too. They all spoke, they were all tells.

"I would think that you are someone who doesn't like too forward or too coy. To defer pleasure, like having a drink, means that you remain in control. Yet, when you drink it you do so without hesitation and you enjoyed it completely." With a gentle raise of an eyebrow, she couldn't quite hide her smile when she pointed out, "and you drank it quickly. So, if it was you, I'd let you make the first move, just in terms of eye contact or an interested glance. Then, I'd approach you, but only then." He would want her to approach him, she thought, but to do so because he had shown an interest.

Then, Zana considered, she'd ask him a question that was challenging and, hopefully, would amuse him. "How did I do?" Her blue eyes watched his with fascination, "Or was it a trick question?"

Do you see your desires reflected in my eyes?

[Theo Nji'Ryn]

Growing up in the Dust Quarter had taught Theo that one of the most valuable survival skills, or art forms, you could develop, was that of a craftily told lie. Spoken or appearance, it made no difference. The streets and alleyways had been rough and the scrutiny by the Lightening Knights had been keen, if not very predictable.

He'd learned early and well, and wasn't squeamish when it came to deceit. What was acting anyway, but a lie? The nature of his eyes could be problematic, but only in those instances where others were familiar with the trait and knew how to interpret it. Those people, outside the Biqaj themselves were rare.

There were other times however when the better option was truth. He saw no reason to mislead the woman seated in front of him, forming an attachment based on trust in this situation was as valuable a commodity to him as it was to her. That wasn't to say he needed or cared to reveal all. A little mystery never hurt anyone.

She looked him up and down slowly, his gaze mimicked her own from the tips of her toes, to her bow shaped lips to her eyes, so that ultimately they met. His own swirled with the same dark purple as before, but this time accented with traces of bright copper.

The corner of his mouth quirked into a quick grin though when she reasoned that he might rise to the occasion. Her every technique? Amend, assess, repeat? He could hardly complain about that. When she shifted in her seat, without missing a beat, Theo relaxed his posture on his perch so that his knee at least seemed to follow her movement.

Zana didn't balk at his challenge and was quick to explain her approach in the scenario he'd given her. And though Theo hadn't specifically said she should, she used him as an example, just as he'd expected. In fact he'd hoped she might. No one knew him better than him. All the better to know if her instincts were good ones. For the most part, she was right, which if he was being honest, didn't surprise him.

How did she do? "As expected." He smiled, and she could have deciphered his answer as she liked, but Theo suspected she'd interpret it correctly. "One small thing, however. Keep in mind the drink choice when you devise your approach...and your follow through," he said, tapping a single digit on the side of the empty crystal tumbler he'd left on the desk.

"Whiskey neat. Two fingers. Expensive. Poured this way, it's meant to go down smoothly in one swallow. Unlike a good aged brandy or fine wine that is meant to be rolled gently in the glass, held to the light, inhaled, tasted and savored at your leisure to tantalize all of your senses."

Some men, he suggested, and maybe women too were one trick ponies who liked predictability and sameness above all. The same route home after work, the same stool at the bar or table in the corner.

The same drink choice, always. The same supper and routine, night after night until bedtime, when it all started over again. "Me?" he told her with a slow smile. "Whiskey is nice. But I like wine and brandy too." Was it a trick question then? Had he set up the conditions before he'd asked it? Chances were, he had.

[Zana]

The gold in his eyes was gone and, this close she could see that what had been the second color was a deep purple. Then, though, another metallic shade. From gold to a sort of bronze or copper. She would learn those, she promised herself, just in case he was as bad at the need to assess and reflect on her performance as most men were. Could he lose himself in the moment and then look back on it with accuracy and impartial judgement? That remained to be seen but she understood, better than most, just how unlikely it was that he would be able to perform to her expectations.

Hopefully, the same was not true in reverse.

His reaction to her obvious appraisal of him was interesting, intriguing and Zana came to a few conclusions about the man who was going to be her handler. Or was that, she supposed, as the decision had already been made by Peter. Still, she could not hide the smile at his consideration of the different types of drink and how his enjoyment might depend on the varied treatment of each. Ice blue eyes watched him with apparently rapt attention as he explained and she bit her lower lip before she spoke again.

"I am very aware of the need for variety in who I am and what I provide. Especially for my regulars." Zana responded, not arguing but simply thinking about what he said. "For many of them, the monotony of monogamy is what brings them to my bed. Or, wherever they choose. Others think they like only one thing, one way and that is a much slower process towards change." Her expression was pure innocence as she added, "That's fine. I like it slow."

He was pleased with himself, she realized. Also, he had done that with the drink on purpose. Zana seemed more amused, somehow and she considered something for a half-bit before speaking. "But I'm not what you're expecting, not at all." It was also possible that he was not what she had anticipated, Zana was concluding. "Peter gave you me to handle because I will make money no matter what, even if you are abysmal at your job." She didn't seem to be concerned with his ego at all. "However, with just the right care and attention, I could be a gold mine. Pete is a good employer, but he lacks vision."

If this was going to work, Zana had decided, then they were going to have to work together and that meant him knowing exactly what he was dealing with. "I can do things that mean that most men couldn't handle me at all. Peter can't, it's why he's passed me to you." Sitting back, Zana's eyes locked with his and she smiled a sweet, child like smile. "Because he recognises my potential, but can't tap it. My name is Zana Delroth, named after my father, whose Immortal blood flows in my veins."

There was no doubt in Zana's mind that he wouldn't believe her, even if hid his skepticism well. "That means that I have abilities and powers which can be used. I can make you feel any emotion I want you to, any physical sensation too. If I want to, I can make you obsess about me until I am all that you can think of. However," her lips lifted as her knee leaned against his, "what that means is that you would need to understand, truly understand, what those powers and abilities feel like when I use them." Her leg moved back, away from the contact. "Which can be a little challenging to a man who lacks vision. Peter gave you me to handle because he can't."

Ice blue eyes regarded him and she sat forward, moving closer to him but still not touching him. "Can you?"

Take another turn, the rules have all been burned.

[Theo Nji'Ryn]

There was nothing innocent about her. Of that Theo was sure. He played along however even when she knew better. He smiled and then shrugged. "Are you not?" he asked then when she insisted that she didn't come as expected. He'd have asked what made her so sure of that. But she told him without any prompting, and she was right. Still, at first he'd have told her that as a matter of business, this business in particular, an overabundance of confidence and ego wasn't exactly what the customer wanted. Except when it was.

She persisted, but then she told him why. She was a mortalborn? Theo tensed subtly, his eyes narrowed some and flecks of orange and a trace of darker red swirled briefly amidst an ordinarily blue background. People didn't like mortalborns as a rule. Didn't trust them, and there were probably as many reasons why as there were Immortals to sire or birth them. "And yet," he said after a trill's pause. "he neglected to inform me in advance." If he was angry, it would be difficult to tell if that anger was directed at her, or at Peter for sending him in blind.

Theo put both feet on the floor and moved back around the desk in order to put some distance between them, to take a bit to sort out his initial reaction to being mislead, at least by Peter, from how he would ultimately respond. He made no qualms about leaving her sitting there waiting and watching, and opened a wooden box on the desk where he found a very fine lot of cigars. He snipped off one end, moistened the other and took the time to light it. Peter couldn't handle her, she claimed. If that was true, then what was it that made the man think he could?

He realized then that the man probably didn't care. He might not be up to the challenge himself, but he wasn't stupid enough not to know what he had in her. Theo recognized it too. And if Zana seemed to have a very well developed sense of self, so did he. Letting go a curl of smoke he'd been savoring, he looked back at her, looked into her eyes and frowned. "I'm not sure it's a handler you want or need, as much as someone who'll allow you to learn on and through them." After all, with all she claimed to be able to do, then what she did she could do on her own with or without Peter. Once she was able to fully tap into those talents at least.

Finally he came back around the desk and settled again, seeming to have come to some sort of conclusion. "You can't blame him. People don't like to be manipulated. And they don't like to lose control to anyone else. Especially when it's taken from them, knowing or not. No matter the reasons why." It was a generality of course. Some men did like that sort of thing. But of course, Theo realized that it was that very thing that made her so valuable. The potential was mind boggling.

"I don't know many men, or women either, who would be willing to give up that sort of control if they knew." Unless they were complete and reckless fools, but that went without saying. He hadn't walked away yet, so she might assume that just maybe he was an exception. "It requires a great deal of confidence, an abundantly healthy sense of self. And," Theo added pointedly, "A great deal of familiarity and trust."

He wasn't Peter, wasn't one of her customers. If he was to be her handler, then there'd need to be an understanding that wouldn't often apply to the others. "If I am to agree, never lie to me. And as tantalizing as they sound, don't try out your tricks on me without my consent. It's the only way this thing will work, and the only way that I can provide what you need from me. If we can agree on that, then you have your handler," he told her.

She could think on it all she liked. But he was offering something that many others would not. They might have already walked away. What he wanted in return from her was honesty and an absence of the same level of manipulation that her customers might be subjected to. All in all, it wasn't much to ask. In some ways, it was him that was taking the greater risk. And even more so, the greater leap of faith.

[Zana]

What impressed Zana about Theo was that he did not waste his time with assuming she was lying. His body tensed, just a little and his eyes swirled orange and red. When he said that Peter had neglected to inform him in advance, Zana sat back and watched him. There was nothing that she needed to say, because that was between Theo and Peter and she had no intention of getting in the way there.

When he said what he thought she wanted and needed, Zana's expression changed and a slight, yet for the first time tense smile lifted her lips. Was that what he thought? He was, to her mind at least, completely wrong about that. She could understand why he thought it, not least because he was not in receipt of all the facts yet. However, whether he ever would be was down to him at this point.

"They aren't tricks."

All the way through, she had remained quiet, but her voice was low and very different from its usual gentle and soft timbre when she spoke for the first time since she had told him. Tricks were the purview of parlor magicians and fools and she was neither of those things. The abilities she had were her heritage, the manifestation of her Immortal father and that simple word, tricks, provoked more of a response than anything had, should he notice the subtleties.

However, then he laid down his demands, how this relationship would have to be in order for it to work and Zana watched him. He had seen a beautiful woman with a tantalizing outfit who he knew would bed him without question when she walked in and now? Now he saw something else and sought to put parameters on what he saw.

"If I agree," frankly, the jury was still very much out on that decision. "I have conditions."

Men, she considered, could be such utter and complete asses.

Why she bothered with this she really did not know. Still, she tried to explain. "You are wrong. I need and want a handler, not just someone to learn on or through. I could do that without telling you." She did not need to tell him, did not need to be honest. But she wanted more than something surface because with the right handler, she knew what her potential was.

"Using the abilities hurts me. From migraines to night terrors and I need someone I can trust to explore them with and help me deal with those side effects." She believed, she told him, but she did not know that she could learn to control them better. If, however, it was too much, then she was clear. "I can simply never use them and you can be my handler as though I am a human whore with experience. That is what I have done here, since Peter is unwilling to help me." If that was what he wanted, then she would get on and do that, she explained. "After all. I will live for centuries. I can wait."

Her smile was without mirth and her gaze did not drop. "I chose to tell you a truth and trusted you with something which I did not need to. If you want me to tell you I will not lie, I will tell you that. If you need me to tell you that I will not use the abilities you now know about on you without consent, I will tell you. But if you need those things, you're missing the point." The point, of course, was that she had shown an enormous amount of trust, or taken a leap of faith and his response had been the polar opposite to recognizing that. She understood why, but he needed to understand that it could not continue.

A handler who took care of a whore was not what she needed, or not all that she did. Nor did she need a man to practice her abilities on. No, it was more than that and Zana moved in her chair, putting her knee back to where it had been; to where it would touch his if he chose to move his back. She didn't speak, she didn't try to persuade, she just let him decide.

Take another turn, the rules have all been burned.

[Theo Nji'Ryn]

They weren't tricks, Zana insisted. And though Theo knew it already and had only dropped the term off the cuff due to having been blindsided and not liking it, he left it unsaid temporarily. Clearly though, based on her reaction, it was a touchy subject and one she must have grappled with many times before now. He'd offended her, but could she truly fault him for his concerns?

Theo remained frowning as she parried with conditions of her own. He'd expected it. Hurt feelings and misunderstandings aside, negotiation was part and parcel to good business. If she'd told him about the side effects earlier, the knowledge might have colored his knee jerk response. But then it might not have. That moment had passed already.

"I may have chosen my words poorly, Zana," he conceded. "But you can hardly blame me. You've had a lot longer to adjust to your origins than I have, and I was sent in here blind. That's not your fault or mine."

The fault was Peter's, and Theo hadn't begun to consider whether or not he'd confront his new employer about it or simply keep it in mind. Ultimately, it would probably be the latter. Valuable leverage, that. But, he added, in some ways she'd made his argument for him, and he hadn't exactly missed the point.

Once he'd settled on the edge of the desk, smoldering cigar loosely gripped between fingers and thumb and tendrils of sweet smelling smoke curling up between them, he remained there and didn't move away. He maintained eye contact with her, though his expression had softened some.

"You told me something that you didn't have to, and I believe you. My reaction might have been different had you told me about the side effects. Or maybe it wouldn't have. You make my point when you say that you can tell me you won't lie, that you won't act without my consent. You began with a truth but when it comes to words, you could deceive me as easily as I could you."

It leveled the playing field, Theo thought. What Zana did left her vulnerable at least until she perfected the abilities. What she could do could leave her temporarily vulnerable, but on the other hand, him, as the recipient. She didn't exactly name her conditions, but he wasn't sure it mattered.

"I think we can both agree then that this arrangement, if I'm to be more than just the handler of an ordinary girl, is that it will require a particular amount of trust, which will in turn require something of a leap of faith by both of us to get there." At least at the beginning while the association one with the other was new. The rest would come with time and familiarity.

What had begun is an ordinary, or relatively ordinary introduction, that had briefly emerged as an impasse, had apparently transformed itself into an agreement of sorts. In all likelihood Zana would have had her handler anyway, but somewhere along the way the terms had changed. They'd changed in a way that had a potential for disaster, or one that promised very good fortune. It remained to be seen, just which would ultimately emerge.