Even to an uneducated street urchin like me, the two of them are famous across the planet. Darr himself has mentioned the Seer family a few times; saying how he wished we could rob them.
Paul and Harry Seer are two of the richest men on the planet. The Seer family rose meteorically in standing on Deemak through the years, and I’ve seen this generation many times on the news.
Paul and Harry have guarded their family’s reputation fiercely, and there’s never been even the hint of a scandal or the rumor of an impropriety linked to them…
…although I cynically suspect that this could merely be because they have enough money to quickly sweep any accusation of wrongdoing beneath the carpet.
But it’s interesting to see them face to face, in person, and conducting the business they’re so famous for.
Tina is probably watching me on the video feed in the kitchen, and I can almost see the look of disapproval on the old woman’s face. She’s expecting me to be serving the bowls of fruit on the tray I hold.
But I hold myself back. My instincts are telling me to wait for one of the Aurelians to counter Paul and Harry’s talking point – and even though Tina told me to go in and offer the fruits up instantly, I feel the Aurelians would appreciate me not distracting or interrupting them at this moment.
My instincts seem to be right.
As I watch, Gallus leans back against his cushions. The hookah pipe remains in his hand, ignored as he continues speaking: “You’re branching your holdings out to Oasis next, am I correct?”
Paul’s beady eyes narrow. “So?”
“…so, with this deal, you’d both retain control of 34% of the arable land on Deemak, but also gain the capital to make a deal for 3% of the holdings on Oasis.”
Paul says nothing – which reveals his wisdom. What is it Darr says, as he plots his next scheme? The Gods gave us two ears but one mouth, because you should listen twice as much as you talk.
“3% doesn’t seem like much,” Varian joins the discussion, but Oasis is a planet filled with fertile land and promise. In terms of yield and value, 3% is triple what you’d lose to us in acreage.”
Gallus nods at his battle-brother’s words – and then, suddenly, it’s as if he notices the long-forgotten hose he still holds in his hand and he takes a long draw of smoke from it.
He lets the clouds billow from his nostrils before he continues from where Varian left off.
“I know your family has a long history on Deemak,” Gallus said respectfully “My triad is privileged enough to have watched some of that history unfold. We’d like to merely remind you that you don’t always need to fight against the sun and the sand to prosper here.”
Harry snorts. “A long history? Our family has a history of barely scraping a living from these sands.”
It’s ironic he feels that way, given the incredible wealth the Seers have in comparison to the people of Sector 3 and Sector 4.
Gallus nods contemplatively.
He never brings up figures or amounts when he negotiates. I’m getting a sense for the way the Aurelians do business. It’s never a hard sell. They don’t want to take advantage of the Seer brothers, even if they could. The Seer brothers are two of the richest men on Deemak for a reason, and it isn’t through making deals like the one the Aurelians are offering; letting go property for less than the market value.
I don’t know much more about the history of the Seer family, but I know that the wealthy families within Sector 1 can be just as brutal and bloodthirsty as the thieves, pickpockets and thugs I lived among within poverty-stricken Sector 4. That’s how Deemak’s unbalanced unequal society evolved – with families and dynasties fighting like sand-bugs in a bucket to claw their way to the top echelons of society.
Paul leans back, his ample belly pressing against his pants. He draws a long pull from the hookah, and I can almost see the gears in his mind spinning.
I can almost feel Tina nudging me forward, even though she’s all the way back in the kitchen. It was wise to let the Aurelians make their point – but now is the moment.
I step forward, presenting the fruit.
“Fresh fruit. Picked today from the orchard.”
“Wonderful,” replies Harry, reaching out to take a bowl. I hand the others out, one to each of the guests and hosts, and then take my spot in the nearby chair as instructed; waiting to take the dishes once the fruit has been devoured.
I sit there in silence, squirming as the pleasure dress teases my body. I manage to shut out the delicious sensations though, because it’s so fascinating watching the Aurelians negotiate.
It’s crazy to me. I’ve fought, and stolen, and hustled for bags of coins and fistfuls of credit notes. Now, right in front of me, more money is going to be exchanged than I could ever hope to steal even if I hustled and conned for thousands of years.
Thousands of years!
I’ll be long gone in a thousand years. Hell, even a hundred…
Unless…
The pleasure dress suddenly jolts to life.
I gasp, stiffening in my seat.
I have to force back a moan. It’s so deliciously humiliating to be toyed with like this. I look around to see which of the three sadistic Aurelians used their ring to activate their dress, but it’s as if they aren’t even paying attention to me.
They appear focused completely on the two men sitting in front of them, even while the fabric of the dress teases my body relentlessly – as if each of those three sexy Aurelians is stroking his fingers up and down my thighs, ever so gently pinching and pulling at my nipples, and caressing my ass.
I shift and squirm in the seat, but there’s no relief from the dress – and part of me is excited
