She knew she’d simply aged out of desirability for him in that regard, and cast no blame.
“Iris, my flower. How lovely you are.”
She rose so they kissed cheeks.
“How was Majorca?” she asked him.
“Warm. I wish you could have joined me, even for a few days.”
“As do I, but it’s all so busy right now.”
“What would I do without you handling all that busy? Let me get you more champagne.”
He topped off her glass, poured his own before lifting it.
“To friendship, and profit. Why don’t we sit, get this discussion out of the way so we can talk of more pleasant things over dinner.”
“Jonah.” She sighed as she sat. “I can’t tell you how angry and disappointed I am. I knew 238 posed some challenges, and I know I was well on the way to overcoming them.”
“You have a sense for these things.”
“I already had two buyers in mind for her. Ones who enjoy a bit of feisty, a touch of sass. We’d already started the marketing plan for her. But 232? The lying bitch.”
Closing her eyes a moment, Auntie held up a hand. “You know I try not to take it personally when one of them doesn’t meet expectations. But honestly, I feel duped. It doesn’t go down well.”
“It’s a rare occurrence.”
“Clearly they plotted together. I blame 238 entirely there. She had a slyness in her, and I admit I admired it to a point.”
“They have her name, her face. The media as well as the authorities.”
“Yes, I know. We should consider that an advantage. I have hunters out, naturally. I expect she’ll run, far and fast, another advantage. With her history, she’d never go to the police, and if they manage to find her, her history and her blood on that wretched 232 go against her.”
“Is there any way she could lead them to the Academy?”
“I don’t see how. She was unconscious and contained when brought in, as is SOP. They fled through the tunnels, a considerable distance. We believe we know where they came out, and in a rainstorm—another advantage. Clearly, she’d already run, leaving 232 to fend for herself.”
Auntie drank again. “Just another street rat, one who killed a foolish runaway for her shoes. Even if they suspect abduction on 232’s part, there’s no trace to us, and the results are the same.”
“It’s a concern.”
“Yes, but one we’ll manage. If the police find her—and I very much doubt it—the network will hear, and we’ll deal with her. With no family behind her, she’ll be forgotten quickly. This is a bump in the road, darling Jonah. We’ve had them before.”
“Haven’t we though?” He laughed, then leaned over to kiss her cheek. “Adds the spice, doesn’t it? Smooth gets boring after a while, and I do enjoy the spice. And the hall matron? The medical?”
“Both terminated. I won’t tolerate that sort of incompetence on staff.”
“I told you investing in the crematorium would pay for itself, and more.”
“You did. I should always leave the investment decisions in your hands. I have a candidate for the medical position. We’re screening and vetting her now.”
“And I leave the staffing decisions to you. Which reminds me, I’m ready to trade in Athena. No fault of hers, really, but she’s becoming a bit of a bore. It’s time for a change there.”
“Of course. I’ll need to check the records, but she’s … about twenty-five, twenty-six now?”
He didn’t have a taste for the Kiddies or Chicklets, she thought as she tried to form a mental picture of his current sex slave.
“You’d know better than I.”
“I’ll take a look at her before I leave, get an estimate of value in a trade. Tell me what you’re looking for as a replacement.”
“Oh, perhaps something a bit more interesting. Something with some of that spice.”
“I’ll check the market. With the auction coming up, we can work a deal, especially since you prefer the experienced, slightly older type.”
“Send me one to try out.” He patted her hand. “Let’s go into dinner. I’m famished.”
* * *
Eve added more girls to the pattern. When she hit twenty, she started a second board and transferred all of them there.
She shifted regions and began again.
She was about to get up, just walk off the sitting, when her ’link signaled.
Willowby.