“Not at this juncture, no,” Krysten said. “We are too close to the event. I admire the drive, but I would have you reprise your earlier work instead, and perhaps we shall discuss this another time.”
Helena glanced at me from the corner of her eye. We’d discussed this earlier, and I’d rehearsed it, and now here we were. “I’m not reprising work without any clear compensation schedule,” I said. “If I’m working with you, it’s as a full-time paid collaborator, at least on a contract basis for this project. Otherwise, we’re pulling out of the event.”
“You test my patience.” Krysten pinched the bridge of her nose.
“It’s a fair deal,” Helena said. “And think of the upside.”
“The potential upside. The very slim potential of it.” But she didn’t sound upset, just deep in heavy thought. At last, shedismissed us with a wave of her hand. “You will go. It is late, and I will need to think on this after a full night of sleep and several large cups of coffee.”
I smiled broadly. “I look forward to working with you, Krysten.”
“Ah, do not sound so smug, little one,” she said, chastising and laughing at once. “I have not forgotten you stealing my friend’s name!”
“I like to leave a powerful first impression.”
“I do believe this one wants to kill me. Go, go.”
I exchanged looks with Helena in the elevator back down, and my heart raced at the way she looked at me, like… like… I didn’t know what like. It was so intense, I couldn’t even imagine what she might have been thinking, eyes gleaming.
“I see you’re putting Kingmaker’s etiquette lessons to use,” she said finally, as the elevator doors opened.
“Don’t try me, Freckles.”
“Or what?” she laughed. “You could try to fight me, you’re so small I wouldn’t notice.”
“Hey! Small but mighty.” I gave her a playful push, and she laughed, pushing me back as we headed out the doors, and I stretched my arms over my head. “I can’t keep you all night, but I’ll still be talking to people, getting everyone aligned on—”
“Where’s your hotel?”
“Oh, uh. Down in Queens. How come?”
“Well, let’s get the train then.”
“To my… it’s not a tourist destination,” I said, and she sighed, looking up at the sky as she walked ahead.
“Unless you intend to just abandon all your things there, we should get a move on.”
“Abandon… huh? Are you finally going to kill me off?”
“I’m helping you move it all.” She glanced at me from the corner of her eye. “You’re staying in my apartment.”
“I’m… I beg your pardon?” I had a heart attack and a stroke and died. Spontaneous human combustion, too, I think.
“I have a second room, you’ll remember. I use it as an office, but we can get you set up in there for the time being.”
“Oh. Uh. You, uh, you don’t need to…” My face burned. Helena Warrick moving me in with her was not on the docket. I mean, it was on my personal fantasy docket, but still.
“I know I didn’t give you enough money to stay in a hotel for an entire month, Houdini,” she said. “So stop being difficult and come with me, or I will have to make you.”
That was—also hot. Helena grabbing me and forcibly dragging me into her apartment to put me in a bed was, uh, something I could see myself thinking about sometimes, to put it one way. “Well,” was what I managed to say after a second. “I’d kind of like to see you kidnap me and make it happen against my will. I always knew you’d be hiding some secret technique like that.”
“Don’t push your luck,” she said, a smile dancing on her lips, not looking at me.
“I mean, that’s kind of all I do, push my luck.”
She laughed. I could still make Helena laugh. Holy shit.
∞∞∞
