Shawn was sitting on the back seat of his mistress's limousine. He was dressed in little more than loosely pulled-on pants and a carelessly thrown-on hoodie. No wonder—he'd woken up on the floor with a massive hangover.
After several—or maybe a dozen—dances, the party had turned into one huge booze-fest. Shawn had been laughing as he left. Rufus had dropped out somewhere halfway through. As a joke, they'd stripped him naked and laid him in a roasting pan surrounded by carrots. When he woke up, he was badly startled—but the look on his face had been priceless. Shawn was still laughing about it.
In the morning, guests began to leave. Those who could walk went on foot or ordered rides and took the immobile ones with them. His boss came to pick him up. He'd been mentally preparing himself for it.
She sat opposite him, drilling him with her gaze.
"All right, Shawn. Why didn't you tell me earlier about your friend?"
Shawn lowered his head and sighed.
"Director Arslan forbade me. He said he would deliver the news to you himself."
Valentine sighed heavily and reached for the champagne glass beside her.
"Does anyone else know? Anyone important?"
Shawn thought for a moment.
"Chairman Albert Gator. And Frida's father."
Valentine sighed again.
"Typical Arslan. That's his educator's mindset. He's gentle with academy students," she took a sip from the glass, "though he can be razor-sharp with his private chef-apprentices."
"The Director can be sharp?"
As a director, Arslan was fairly strict and disciplined, but students didn't consider him excessively harsh—at least not if they had a good excuse.
"Yes. On the other hand, his students always achieve some level of success, or at least a stable position."
She shot Shawn a warning look.
"As long as they don't disappoint him."
Shawn gave her a questioning look. Valentine merely licked her finger. A bulge appeared in Shawn's pants.
"No surprise there. Teaching someone is like pinning your own name badge on them. A student is the master's calling card."
She gave him a scolding look. Shawn leaned forward and apologized.
"Well, in the end it worked out for me."
She took another sip.
"Did you have fun?"
Shawn smiled faintly. The interrogation was over.
"I had fun."
During his dances, Shawn had watched the audience. They liked him. Maybe he had a chance at some success—but he wasn't giving himself great odds.
"And your friends? Especially Evan."
Shawn paused for a moment. He knew what Lady Onyx was asking about. He briefly told her about Evan's performance.
"With some training, he could do this professionally."
Valentine seemed pleased—and intrigued—by that answer. Shawn apologized to Evan in his thoughts. But something still bothered him.
"Evan… Rufus… I think they're playing it too safe."
Valentine looked at him, confused.
"They're playing it too safe… I've seen it before… it leads to trouble even more often than recklessness."
Valentine closed her eyes and said in a cool tone,
"That's possible."
She finished the rest of her drink and set the glass aside.
"In any case, it doesn't matter now. In a few days, there's a council meeting. You'll be one of the people accompanying me."
"Thank you for the honor, my lady."
Shawn bowed. He knew a lot of preparations awaited him now, but he couldn't stop worrying about his friends. He hoped nothing bad would happen to them.