The name does not register, and that absence of recognition is its own warning.
“A Combine affiliate,” she continues. “Deep financial ties. Significant influence.”
There is a pause before she adds, “And expectations.”
Of course there are expectations. There are always expectations.
“I will meet them,” I say.
Chelsea’s smile returns, thinner now, edged with something sharper. “You will meet them, or you will be corrected.”
The temperature in the room feels like it drops, though I know it has not actually changed.
“You understand how the system works,” she continues, her tone shifting into something more clinical. “Contracts are binding. Placement is not optional. Refusal results in blacklisting, and blacklisting results in loss of autonomy. Permanently.”
“I understand.”
“Do you?” she presses, her voice soft but precise. “Because your record suggests otherwise.”
She gestures, and the display shifts to my file.
I already know what I am going to see, but I look anyway.
Anastasia Parker. Age nineteen. Status: Unmatched.
Metrics scroll past in clean lines of data. Composure: high. Cognitive response: exceptional. Adaptability: elevated. Negotiation aptitude: advanced.
Then the annotations appear beneath them, written in the same neutral tone but carrying far more weight.
Behavioral deviation.
Emotional withholding.
Selective compliance.
Chelsea’s nail taps lightly against the final designation as she reads it aloud. “Difficult inventory.”
I keep my expression neutral, though something tightens in my chest in a way I refuse to acknowledge.
“You test boundaries,” she continues. “You give just enough to remain viable, but not enough to be optimized. That is inefficient.”
“I perform as required,” I say.
“You perform as you choose,” she corrects, her eyes locking onto mine. “And that is a problem.”
Silence stretches for a moment, thick and deliberate.
“This match,” she says, closing my file with a flick of her fingers, “is an opportunity to correct that problem.”
Opportunity.
The word feels like a threat wrapped in something softer.
“Baronet Lorens has very specific expectations,” she continues. “You will speak when spoken to. You will follow instructions without deviation. You will not introduce… personal interpretation.”
Obedience, reframed.
“I understand.”
