He hesitated a moment before doing it. Then I placed my crossed fingers against his.
“Are you ready?” I said.
He nodded.
“I can’t hear you,” I said.
“I’m ready!”
“Repeat after me,” I said. “I, Cleb.”
“I, Cleb.”
“Do solemnly promise.”
“Do solemnly promise.”
“I will not tell anyone Bianca’s super deep secret.”
“I will not tell anyone Bianca’s super deep secret.”
“If I do.”
“If I do.”
“I accept something bad will happen to me.”
“I accept something bad… will…”
He gulped.
“Will happen to me,” he finished.
“Good,” I said. “Now I’m going to tell you my super deep secret. Are you ready? I’m not really a governess.”
“You’re not?”
I shook my head.
“I knew it,” he said. “You’re too young and pretty to be an old governess.”
He was going to be a charmer. The girls will love him.
“Then what are you?” he said.
I checked over my shoulders again.
“I’m a spy,” I said.
His mouth fell open and his eyes grew wide.
“No way!” he said.
“Yes way,” I said. “I’ve been sent here to learn all about Titans. Don’t worry, I’m not here to hurt anyone. I’m just here to get information to see if we can be friends.”
“How is it going so far? Will we be friends?”
“I’m not sure,” I said. “I’ve met some very nice Titans but also some bad ones. I need to learn a lot more about Titan culture before my boss can make a decision.”
“What happens if he decides he doesn’t like Titans?”
“That’s impossible,” I said. “Because you’re going to be my super-secret spy assistant. You’re going to help me learn all about Titans and their culture. And because you’re such a good boy, my boss will have no choice but to be friends with Titans. Now, being a secret agent isn’t easy. There’s lots of training and you’ll have to pass all the tests if you want to qualify. Are you up to it?”
He nodded energetically.
A knock came at the door, causing Cleb to jump. He snatched up a toy pistol and brought it around to the door.
Waev raised his hands in surrender and spoke to me.
“Traes wishes to speak with you,” he said. “When you’re not busy plotting to take over the world.”
Traes was sat behind his desk when I entered. At least this time he wasn’t hiding in his restroom, spying on me. I had no idea he was there until I came back for my forgotten bag.
There was nowhere else he could have been. I would have been angry that he’d spied on me if he wasn’t so embarrassed about having been caught out. It was cute to see his cheeks burn as red as they did.
Now, he was behind his desk, a master of his world. And I was a stranger here.
“Please take a seat,” he said. “We need to discuss the details of your position.”
“What makes you think I still want it?” I said, removing my shawl and taking a seat.
“You don’t?” he said.
“No, I do. I just didn’t want you to think I’m desperate. I have many other opportunities.”
He pursed his lips. I didn’t know if he believed me or not but I wanted to play hardball.
“I can understand a professional of your quality would be in high demand,” he said.
He meant it, I thought. He wasn’t just humoring me.
Good.
“How much do you think is reasonable commensurate with the position?” he said.
Now that was a difficult question to ask.
First, how much did I need?
I performed a quick calculation in my head. The worker in the spaceport said the cost for the journey from planet Rang to Earth in pod class was two thousand credits. She helped me scrape enough together to get halfway, which meant it would have cost about a thousand to get here. Assuming the rest of the journey would cost the same, that meant I needed to save a thousand credits.
I made a mental note to check the actual price later once I had time. I didn’t want to have to quit if I was still short or earned extra credits I didn’t need.
The job advertisement said this was a live-in position, and that meant I wouldn’t have to spend anything for travel or food or drink.
But a thousand credits was the general target.
Next, I needed to know what was a reasonable amount for a governess.
“How much did the previous governesses get?” I said.
“Fifty credits a week,” Traes said. “Plus room and board.”
Fifty. That meant it would take me twenty weeks to earn the amount I needed. It was a long time. And the longer I was here, the more likely it was Asshole might find me. I needed to reduce that amount of time. Could I get it down to ten weeks?
“Is it satisfactory?” Traes said. “I can assure you, it is very competitive.”
“I’m sure it is,” I said. “But I was thinking more like a hundred.”
He blinked in surprise.
“A hundred?” he said. “I don’t pay my mine managers a hundred a week.”
“I’m not a mine chief,” I said flatly.
“Fifty is good payment,” he said. “It’s already above average.”
This was going to be a tougher sell than I thought. Normally, I would have accepted fifty but these were not ordinary circumstances.
“Tell me why I should give you so much more than the last governess,” he said, leaning back in his large leather chair. “I’m intrigued.”
“I’ll give you three reasons,” I said. “One, Cleb likes me, unlike his previous governesses. Two, I’m three times as good at my job than any other governess you can find, so paying me twice the amount is really quite a bargain.”
He waited.
“And?” he said.
“And what?” I said.
“You said you would give me three reasons.”
“I gave you three.”
“You gave me two. Cleb likes you—”
“I’m glad you agree.”
“—and you’re better than the other governesses. Maybe math isn’t one of your strong suits.”
I ground my teeth at his cheap shop. Damn, he looked good even with that smarmy look on his face.
“And three, you get stimulating conversation with someone closer to your age,” I said.
“Governess Puem-Gleb gave me stimulating conversation.”
I rolled my eyes.
“About
