Stupid! Stupid!
Looking back at it, I was stupid.
I know, it's always easy to spot your mistakes in hindsight. Still, I was far too confident.
I didn't get blindsided because I lacked leverage.
It was because I utterly underestimated Casey's agency as a living person rather than a predictable game character.
As I mentioned, I already knew she was smart.
But I also knew she was desperate. Time was something she couldn't afford to waste. She was dying a little more with every passing moment.
With no way out of her predicament, with all of her inheritance withheld from her by her uncle, I had expected her to jump at the first hand extended to her. Especially when that hand was holding fifty fucking million Credits.
Instead, she slapped that hand away and spat in my face.
Stupid! Stupid!
It was the worst negotiation I ever initiated.
