Page 59 of Trove’s Purpose

“Feel free to make your appointment whenever you’re ready,” he said calmly as the doors opened, showing that he had been listening to the conversation.

Trove caught up to Chee just as she stepped into the lift, but she was very deliberately not looking at him.

Her face was red; her jaw was tight. She looked quite angry.

Trove said nothing, none of them did, as they stepped inside. The ride down to the lobby was quiet and tense. Trove kept trying to catch Chee’s eye, but she absolutely refused to look at him. She wasn’t even being subtle about her refusal to meet his gaze.

They all maintained their silence, however. They weren’t going to start talking until they knew that Rinnicks wasn’t able to overhear. Not until they had returned to the hotel and, by Tanin’s direction, went to his room.

Garnet wasn’t inside. She and the others had gone out to enjoy the day. So, it was still just the five of them as the twins shut the door and sealed them inside.

Yet, still, Chee wasn’t looking at him. She walked right to the window and looked out over the city as Tanin took a seat in a chair in the corner.

“She’s excessive,” the captain said dully.

“She’s just putting herself on display,” Trove shrugged.

“I noticed,” Tanin grunted as the twins snickered darkly.

“Not literally. Although,” Trove made a face, “Yes, I guess literally too. No, what I mean is that she was showing off. Her wealth and power. She was making a display. And I don’t know if it was to us or, more likely…”

“To Hyde,” Tanin finished. “Yes. He was likely the one she’d be showing off to. Any client that has the potential of expanding her wealth is someone she would want to impress or intimidate. Even if only through his proxy.”

“I was not impressed or intimidated,” Chee assured them, refusing to look back. She had her arms crossed over her chest, holding onto her elbows. But it looked more like she was holding herself rather than expressing her displeasure.

“Nor should you have been,” Tanin said simply. “She is a nerrit. Her people seek out challenge and hardship. They think it proves their strength and gives them more influence and power in their society. But she’s made her base of operations here on Heava Yu – a peaceful, non-violent, notoriously relaxed and unbothered planet”

Trove grinned. “You think she’s compensating for her lack of influence and power on her home planet by using her wealth to buy those things off planet?”

“The uber wealthy are all the same,” Tanin said, bored and, like Chee, unimpressed. “They buy what they can’t get on their own and claim to have obtained it legitimately. I suppose it’s one way to do it.”

“The cheapest way, ironically,” Trove snickered.

Tanin inclined his head in agreement before looking at Chee’s back. “What is the Crimson Moon?”

“I don’t know,” she said, still without turning. “Hyde just told me that it’s got a lot of resources on it and that she really wants it. It wasn’t available for sale before, so she hasn’t been able to buy it.”

“Why did the previous owner not want to sell?”

“It doesn’t have a previous owner. It was the moon for a planet marked by the Coalition for resource farming. They were going to sell both in pieces for companies to claim individual plots of land. But it was still going through some bureaucratic something or other and none was for sale yet. The entire moon as a whole certainly wasn’t for sale. Hyde, I guess, pulled some strings and got her the entire moon anyway.”

“Can’t wait to see this cup,” Sorbet said as Tebros grunted in agreement.

“She wants more though,” Tanin said, looking at Trove.

But Trove was keeping his eyes on Chee. He couldn’t miss the way she stiffened again at the mention of Rinnicks’ counteroffer.

“Trove,” Tanin started, pulling his attention back. “I make it a point not to interfere in your personal lives. I don’t really care what you do so long as you follow my orders and do your job properly. You could live in the brothels for all I care.”

“He doesn’t already?” Sorbet sneered, earning a cutting look from Trove.

“But what,” Tanin started, almost sounding annoyed, “are you doing at these places that these females talk about you this much?”

Trove shrugged. “Nothing that impressive. I’m just nice to them.”

“Lies,” Sorbet said.

“I get what I want from them, and I pay them and I move on,” Trove assured them. “Same as any other client. It’s really not worth all this.”