Page 5 of Bound to the Tiger Scout
Alam frowned at me. “He is busy with other matters at the moment.”
“Perhaps we should call for him,” I said as I woke my tablet.
“Ghosha, he’s busy.”
“Mm-hm.”
Alam growled in a way I was sure he meant to be intimidating but which only sounded rather cute to me. “Don’t think for a moment that my mood would be improved by the presence of my mate,” he snapped. “You should not have lost your temper with the humans!”
“Oh, I was very much in control of my temper, thank you,” I said through my teeth. “It is because of that control that I did not say more.”
“Ghosha.”
“Alam.”
He growled again before taking a deep breath. “These things aredelicate.”
“I realize.”
“Then why did you?—”
“Theywantit! There are two million humans down there eager for the opportunity to work with us, but their leaders are getting in their way. With thatone uploaded session, we’ve created a global discussion about free will and shown them how willing their leaders are to get rid of the people they don’t want.” I leaned toward him, begging him to understand. “They’re learning and talking and making up their own minds. When the documentary releases, they’ll have even more information to react to and act on.”
Alam sighed heavily and rubbed at his eyes for moment. “They’re listening.”
“Yes.” And so, apparently, was he.
“Bashtine,” he said to his assistant, “could you have someone gather news clips that might support the administrator’s case?”
From her seat behind him, the dark brown Yook smiled ever so slightly. “Yes, Your Highness.”
I could’ve done backflips down the table, but merely nodded at Alam and kept the rest of my triumph and relief contained.
The rest of the meeting was one head of a division after another giving an update from their team, so I supposed what Alam and I had done counted toward that. He didn’t call on me for more anyway, and I was glad for it.
Listening to the progress we were making in other areas—like Doctor Revazi’s nanobot distribution—was both encouraging and causing a bit of jealousy within me. Some humans might balk at the introduction of hardware into their bodies, but as usage spread, their protests were being drowned out by the cheers of those whose health had improved. Would that my cause could have such happy endings.
Well, perhaps it could. Once we were on the surface for the in-person interviews, we may well see an improvement in the reception of humans relocating to Nor for sex work. I was already scheduled to discuss the event with PBSNews representatives—some of our biggest supporters—and I was certain that footage would be carried by several other broadcasters. I held out hope that the more the humans talked and listened, the more they would see the truth. Everything about what I was trying to do was for our mutual benefit.
Even the interviewees could serve as ambassadors. I had no doubt they would share their experiences with the reporters who would certainly gather outside the event locations. We were going to conduct the interviews in the same theme as when worker and client would discuss a potential arrangement. If they showed the right signs of acceptance, empathy, and even arousal, some of the applicants might have several conversations with different interviewers. It was my greatest hope that we might make offers to many of the applicants during the event.
“Ghosha?”
“Hmm?” I looked up only to realize the meeting was over and everyone was gathering their things to leave. “Goddess,” I said, horrified to have let my mind wander so far away. “Forgive me. I hope I didn’t miss anything vital.”
Alam’s grin was a touch evil. “I’m sending you to the surface to live amongst the humans.”
With a snort, I rolled my eyes and stood. “Honestly, Alam, has Logan denied you for some reason? I had very high hopes that being regularly mated meant one’s temperament mellowed considerably.”
He clicked his tongue at me. “Is everything about you related to sex?”
I considered that for a brief moment. “Yes, actually.”
Shaking his head, Alam swept from the room and began walking for the lift. I caught up to him and walked beside him, assuming we were both heading for our quarters for the evening meal. I was going to order in and possibly even retire early tonight.
I glanced at Alam in the lift and found him still frowning. “I truly do think we’re turning a corner with the humans accepting sex work.”
“Mmm, no, I know.”
