B-508: Zarg’s World, Downport, Restricted Environ, Prandial
“You, of course, value your professional time and also need to make a living…
“So, how to resolve this?”
It seems to be a rhetorical question, after which he pauses again briefly before continuing.
“I am not usually much of a wild gambler, but I propose this: You spend the rest of the Shift with me, we’ll take a walk around the Environ then head back to my suite. At the end of the shift, you toss a coin, if it comes up heads I’ll pay you double your usual fee, if the reverse, I pay you nothing. A 50% chance, my vanity wins or your business sense does.”
His grey eyes glitter as he waits for Winta’s response.
She looks at him for a very long time and takes another sip of her wine. She appears totally at ease but since I assume his attention is laser focused on her, he may notice a strong undercurrent of tension in the way she is holding herself.
The tension has not eased when she speaks.
“This is a terrible idea.”
Her voice is velvet soft but quite clear.
“You are asking me to risk my professional integrity whereas you are only risking money. You make the assumption that most people make about those in my profession; that money is the key to unlocking me.”
There is a slight pause as she shifts her gaze to look out a window off to the side but she does not stop speaking.
“If I were to offer you the same deal for your professional integrity – give me your legal counsel for the rest of the shift, all of your expertise and at the end I will flip a coin to determine if you have given me everything for free or if you have ‘earned’ double your fee – would you take it? The question is rhetorical. We both know you would laugh in my face.”
Her gaze shifts back to his face.
“Simply because my expertise lie in sex and bedroom politics does not make them any less a skill set than yours. The fact that I find you attractive doesn’t change what I do for a living, it simply makes the idea of having you as a client more palatable.”
She tilts her head very slightly.
“The reason I have boundaries is because of charming men like you. I choose to protect my emotions behind the barrier of my profession so I don’t get lost in the pitfalls of personal entanglements. The moment I let my guard down things like this happen. People assume that they can simply ignore my boundaries because they don’t believe they should have to respect them. Respect me. They believe they have the right to pursue me, to convince me that they’re worth it, that they shouldn’t have to follow my rules. They can get it for free elsewhere, why should they have to pay for it this time? The reason is because I asked them to.”
She stands.
“Thank you for lunch.”