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“An ancient earth dish. Traditionally, it’s bread, tomato sauce, cheese, and any toppings you like, but considering that we don’t have access to tomatoes and cheese made from cows, we have to get creative. It’s good, though.”
The smells coming from the kitchen are pretty appetizing. I’ve never had earth food, but if it tastes as good as it smells, then it’s worth checking out. “Consider me intrigued.”
“But this isn’t a social call.” Alice leans forward, resting her elbows on the table and steepling her fingers. “What do you need?”
“I like to think this is more of a business proposition. Do you really want to work for Sathior Havani for the rest of your life?”
Alice pulls a face. “Okay, I’m listening.”
“You and Tania should start your own fashion studio.”
She laughs. “With what money?”
“Mine, obviously.”
At this, her eyes widen. “Seriously?” She looks me up and down appraisingly. “You don’t seem like the type of guy who would be into fashion.”
I shrug. “I’m not. But I am very into Tania, and I want her to have everything she could ever want.”
“So, you’ll, what? Start a fashion studio for her?”
I grin. “Yeah. Like I said, I’d do anything to make her happy.”
“What about our indenture contract? Sathior canceled Tania’s when she found out she was pregnant, but she still basically owns me.”
“Not anymore. I took care of that this morning, I bought both contracts to make sure that Sathior can’t claim any of Tania’sdesigns after the studio opens. You’re both free now, if you want to be.”
I don’t wait for Alice to answer. I see emotion in her face and I know that’s enough. It’s what Tania would want, and its protection for her should Sathior have a latent mind change about the contract. No, from now on, Tania’s her own woman. I’ll make sure of it.
Petra arrives with the traditional earth pizza and sets it in front of us. “You should go for it, Alice. In a weird way, Sathior firing me was the best thing she had ever done for me. I had no idea how stressed I was all the time until I stopped working for her. The fashion industry is dead to me. Preserving old earth recipes is now my true passion, but you and Tania still love it and would be amazing.”
Alice hums thoughtfully as she takes a slice. I mimic her, eating it with my hands. Traditional human food is shockingly good. How have other species ignored it for so long?
“I’m in,” she says.
My eyebrows shoot up. “Really? Just like that?”
“I mean, I might have to crash on your couch for a bit if I quit right this minute, but hell yeah, I’d go into business with Tania. Sathior is a nightmare.”
She takes a vicious bite of her pizza. “It’s gotten worse since Tania left. After firing two girls over pregnancies in the span of a few months, she’s gone full lockdown. We’re all on mandatory birth control and will get in trouble if we’re even seen with a guy who’s single.”
My jaw clenches. “How can she get away with that?”
“Do you think the authorities really care about the complaints of some stupid humans? And you saw how little money Tania had. It’s because we don’t get paychecks. We’re paid in clothing, food, and housing. And Sathior is one of thenicerbosses." She shrugs as though to say,“What can you do?”
While I would love to throttle the designer, I know it won’t do anyone any good. This is a systemic problem, and as much as I like to boast that I’m a one-man army, I would never be able to fix it on my own. So, instead, I focus on other concerns. “So, what do you want me to pay you?”
Alice grins. “Now you’re speaking my language.”
It takes me about a month to secretly find a studio within walking distance of our newer and much nicer apartment, buy the building, and equip it with whatever they might need for designing and making clothes. Alice helps me pick out the interior design, making the place both cozy and sleek.
I buy reams upon reams of multicolored synthfabric and human shaped mannequins, which were surprisingly difficult to find. No one really makes high-end clothing for them. Or any clothing really. Most humans learn how to alter their own clothes to better fit their much smaller bodies.
Once the studio is all set up and ready to go, I pack up Armani in the stroller and announce to Tania that I have a surprise for her.
“What kind of surprise?” she asks as we make our way to the studio.
I grin. “It wouldn’t be a surprise if I told you, now, would it?”
