The smile that came across Seraphine's face was lovely and about as warm as January concrete.
She remembered their first negotiation clearly, every carefully applied pressure point, every moment of maneuvering she'd had to do before Voren finally gave ground.
She'd worked for that investment. Earned it the hard way, through patience and precision and knowing exactly when to push. And now here he was, running the exact same play back at her with the same unhurried, unshakeable confidence, like he'd studied the manual she'd written and decided it applied both directions.
She couldn't quite decide if she was more annoyed or grudgingly impressed by that. She settled somewhere in the narrow space between the two and made sure she showed neither.
"Mr. Ashkael." Her voice was smooth and pleasant the way a surface is pleasant right up until the moment you realize there's nothing solid underneath it.
