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She repressed a shudder. She would never want to ride on an airship, and she would certainly never relax on the balcony. If she had her way, she would avoid that wall entirely. She wondered if it might be possible to just put up some nice curtains, but figured she should probably not ask about that right away.
“We keep a family calendar on that wall because I travel a lot,” Khall went on, indicating a small holo-disc on a side table. “If you can’t remember the schedule, just check it out. And if you make any plans with Bo, be sure to enter them there. It automatically feeds to all our bracelets.”
She moved over to the table and bent over the disc to activate it.
Sure enough, a little calendar floated into view in front of her. There were icons of little aircrafts as well as mentions of Bo and someone called Minerva.
That must be the girlfriend. Naturally, a guy as beautiful as Khall Rivvor would have a girlfriend.
She could only be ashamed at the bitter taste of her thoughts. He was older, wealthy, and in a different place in his life - so far out of her league that it didn’t make sense to feel any way but happy for him that he had a woman in his life.
“Neat, right?” a female voice asked from right beside her.
April was so startled that she let out a little scream.
She turned to see a teenage girl folded into a massive armchair, a holo-reader streaming text cupped reverently in her palms. She had long, dark hair in a braid and she wore a simple black shift.
“That’s Minerva,” Khall said. “My older daughter.”
“Sorry,” Minerva said. “Didn’t mean to scare you.”
“Hello, Minerva,” April said, trying to readjust her head around the situation. She was sure the agency hadn’t mentioned a teenager. “It’s very nice to meet you. I’m April. What are you reading?”
“Hi April,” Minerva said politely. “I’m just getting a jump on Bergalian lit, for next semester.”
“Minerva is very studious,” Khall said proudly. “She’s always reading.”
“That’s fantastic,” April said. “I love to read, too.”
Minerva grinned and her beautiful green skin deepened slightly in color.
April made a note to herself to look deeper into the meaning behind Jordraaki coloration. It seemed like Minerva’s color intensified when she was pleased. But when Khall’s color had deepened earlier, she thought it was in anger.
“I’ll show you the kitchen,” Khall offered.
She winked at Minerva and followed him to the massive kitchen space once more.
“It’s a pretty basic set-up in here,” he said, waving casually at the nicest kitchen she had ever seen.
She was definitely going to have to learn how to use all that equipment.
“You won’t really need to use much of it except for yourself,” Khall said. “Bo doesn’t eat anything except jam sandwiches.”
That was a problem. April made a note to herself to try and help with it.
“What about Minerva?” she asked.
“Oh, you won’t have to worry about her,” Khall said. “She’s sixteen standard years old, going on thirty. She doesn’t really need a nanny. She basically never comes out of her room - she practically lives inside that holo-reader and her computer. I’m surprised she was out in the living room at all just now.”
“Maybe she was curious about a new person living in the house,” April offered.
The idea of the teen closing herself up in her room and not needing an adult sounded really lonely.
“We’ve had so many nannies in and out,” Khall said, shaking his head and looking up at the ceiling. “There’s not much left to be curious about, other than how long they’ll stay.”
Wow.
“Sorry,” he said quickly. “It’s just that Bo can be a challenge. I don’t mean to disparage your colleagues.”
