Page 20 of Sublime Target

That was the call signal.

Garner wanted her in his office, now.

All he had to do was press a button, and she was expected to be there within five seconds, at his beck-and-call for as long as she remained in the building.

Clarissa was always reminded of a certain analogy, but she didn’t want to think it.

She stood, sighing as she smoothed down her trousers.

Then she exited her office, walking across the plush hand-knotted silk carpet until she reached the tall, polished burr-wood double doors that led to Cooper Garner’s personal office.

The door swung open noiselessly as she pushed it.

Sometimes, these doors were locked, even when Garner was inside. And even when they were open, she wasn’t permitted to enter without being called.

Garner was always watching. He knew where she was and what she was doing. There was no time for downtime, even during her lunch break.

Clarissa carefully composed her expression into a neutral mask, reminding herself that he was paying her well enough—for now.

She wasn’t going to be doing this forever.

It was just a temporary job.

“Good morning, Mr Garner,” she said cheerily as she walked toward her boss’s desk.

Cooper Garner sat in his big leather chair, barely looking up as she approached. He was going through some detailed construction plans on his holo-console.

He wore what he always wore when he was at work—a simple black tech shirt and tailored grey trousers. His salt-and-pepper hair was slicked back, accentuating his sharp features, which had that smooth, ageless look the ultra-rich were able to achieve through a combination of anti-aging medicines and cosmetic treatments.

Clarissa knew very well that he was at least in his sixties, though.

“I see you’ve been busy this morning, Clarissa,” Garner said, meeting her gaze at last. “You know I don’t give last-minute appointments.”

Ah. So he’d been watching, listening.

Of course he had.

Clarissa smiled, resisting the urge to grit her teeth. “Well, these people aren’t our typical clients, as you’re undoubtedly aware.”

“No matter who they are, they can’t just barge in here and expect me to meet them at the drop of a hat.” Garner pinned her with a cold stare—as if this was all somehow her fault.

Clarissa’s smile felt like a rictus grin. “Would you like me to send them away, then?”

She called his bluff. He was the one who was interested in aliens; the one who’d made her research Kordolians in the first place. She knew very well that he was desperate to establish business links with the Kordolians. In the grand scheme of things, Kordolians were very wealthy. After all, not too long ago, they’d controlled most of the intergalactic economy.

Her smile widened. “I can tell them to come back another time if you like. They seem reasonable, even the one called Jerik Garul. For someone who used to hold such a high rank within the old empire, he seems surprisingly unassuming… but maybe I just got the wrong impression. I mean, he’s a former High Commander. How could I possibly know what he might be thinking?”

Garner went quiet. He fiddled with his holo-plans some more, making her wait.

Clarissa stood there, quietly resenting her boss, who always treated her as if she were lesser. As if he were an emperor and she a mere servant. He probably wasn’t even aware of it. It was just how he’d been raised; the kind of world he lived in.

In his head, the gap between people like him and people like her was unimaginable.

But she’d worked for him long enough to be able to predict a few things.

And he’d taken her bait.

Bet you didn’t know who he was, huh?