Candidate (Selected Book 4) (57 page)

"Ms. McGowan," said Jasmine. "I know you don't want to be returned to the cell. Ms. Hayes doesn't want to go back to her cell, either."

"They keep you in one of those cells?"

"Yes," I said. "For the last three weeks or so." But I tapped the visor. "It's not so bad, although I get tired of the aliens ogling my legs."

There was a half smile at that. It was ragged, but it was the best I'd gotten with these women since they'd arrived forty minutes ago.

"You have pretty good legs," another said. "No one's going to ogle mine."

"You'd be surprised," I said.

"Please don't let them put us back in the cells," pleaded Lisa McGowan, the one who was already afraid of the boredom.

"Ms. Hayes has no control over that," said Jasmine. "Even I don't have control over that. I don't even control whether you get a visor."

"Then who decides that?"

"You do," Jasmine said. "You decide to earn a privilege. And this is the first we offer. It is also the first we take away."

"Please," said Lisa. She turned to me then back to Jasmine. She didn't know whom to ask.

"Would you like a visor, Lisa?" I asked.

"Yes!" She looked at the other two women. They were watching her. "I mean. The other woman..."

"The one who wanted to make your decisions for you?" I asked. "The aliens made a few for you. They made some really big ones, and they aren't done, either. But they're leaving you some choices. You can be obstinate. You won't win. Or you can make the best of the situation. That can be hard, because I bet you really want to walk over here and slug Administrator Brighteyes right in the nose, don't you."

They all turned to Jasmine. "Do we lose privileges if we say yes?" said Jane Easton, one of the others.

"No," I said. "She's heard far worse. There are two ways you earn privileges. You can earn one right now, but if you don't want to take this choice, you'll get another chance tomorrow."

"Tomorrow?"

"It's boring. I slept a lot the first day."

Then I did my normal sales job. Lisa I sold because I told her the wonders she would see and the things she would learn. Jane I sold when I talked about the types of men that she'd find in the arena as compared to the ones who wanted a willing mate. And I reverse-sold Chelsea the same way.

Jasmine walked out of the room and returned with two visors. Chelsea looked at them longingly as we fit them for Lisa and Jane.

"Administrator Brighteyes, Chelsea didn't turn us down because she isn't going to cooperate. She turned us down because she wants someone big and rugged. I think she doesn't have a very good idea what that really means, but can you blame her for that?"

"Actually, I can," Jasmine replied. "Who would want a big, rugged man?"

They looked at her nervously, so I leaned down and whispered conspiratorially, "She's a total lesbian. She's constantly looking at my legs. She's the worst of the lot, really. But maybe it's not so bad when she looks. She's kind of cute."

"Please, Administrator Brighteyes. Could I have a visor?"

Jasmine studied her. "There is a price for an early privilege."

"She's always charging a price for stuff," I said. "Don't let her scare you. What price this time?"

Jasmine talked about the interviews in the arena and how she wanted the women to go out there, stand tall, and give the challengers a real chance to get to know them. "I normally don't make this offer this soon, but if you promise to do what I ask, I'll let you have one now. But if you don't keep your promise, I'll take it away."

"I promise," she said. "But I don't know what you mean."

Jasmine retrieved one more visor and then explained what she meant. And then she put me through a simulated interview. "You see?" Jasmine finally said. "That's not so hard?"

"I'll do my best. I promise."

And so I sent three back to their cells, all in visors.

Once they were gone, I turned to Jasmine. "I have five minutes, and if I don't spend the first four wrapped in tentacles, I'm going to cry."

She was holding me nearly immediately. "What's wrong?"

"That woman. That woman. She made me so angry, Jasmine. These women have so few choices, and she wouldn't even let them consider the possibilities. She's a small-minded bully. I understand her frustration, but she had no right to bully these women. Tighter, please."

She held me for a few minutes then said, "You're a good woman, Andromeda Hayes."

I huffed. "You had those four Ardents waiting."

"Of course I did. You're going to get some of those. Surely you knew that."

"I suppose. Thank you."

"Of course."

"It's going to be late, but do you think you'd have dinner with me tonight? If it's too late, or you have too much work, that's fine."

"I'd love to have dinner with you. Will you want to swim first?"

"If that won't make it too late."

"It won't be." Then she tightened her hug. "I wouldn't suppose you could skip the suit."

I pushed away from her, although she knew to keep tentacles wrapped around me. "I think you're teasing."

"There are new women here," she said. "They've never seen."

"There's a lot of video of me they can all look at."

"It's not the same as in person and you know it."

"You're serious, aren't you?"

"Yes."

"And tomorrow morning, too?"

"Yes," she said.

"Are you going to ask me to do this every two weeks?"

"No comment."

"Fine," I said. "There's a price."

"Blankets?"

"Screw the blankets. After everything I've done, you owe me twelve-million-count silk sheets. You. Me. And a challenge. I'll give you your two swims, and I get a challenge."

"Oh, you think so."

"Yep. And in two weeks, if you want me to do it again, it's another challenge."

"We don't have time for a challenge today."

"You can owe me."

"And I suppose you want to make the decision grid."

"You can decide what we're doing. I know you'll pick something we can both enjoy."

"And you know that, how?"

"Because if you don't, it'll be the last time I do this for you."

"Are you blackmailing me into letting you win besides?"

"Not at all. A fun challenge for both of us, and fair for both of us. If I win, I want a backrub, delivered on command."

"All right. If I win... You already let me taste whenever I want. I don't know what to ask for."

"Seriously? Didn't I once hear you say you always think of something?"

"All right. If I win, you let me touch those." She gestured towards my chest.

"Are you serious?"

"I've never touched one," she said. "I'm just as curious as the next alien, Andie."

I pushed away from her completely. "I think you're messing with me."

"I don't know what else to ask. This is something I can't just take from you if I want it. You already give me everything else."

I studied her. "I'm sorry, Jasmine. That's just... To me, it's a prelude to sex. I can't just sit there and let you fondle them that way."

"It's not sex."

"It's a prelude. No one touches them except my lovers or my doctor, and I can't begin to tell you how uncomfortable that has always made me." I turned away. "I'll do the swims. Forget the challenge."

I didn't fight her when she stepped up behind me and enveloped me again. "If I win, you owe me an evening of conversation, any topic I want to talk about. Any question I ask. Honest answers only."

"If you let me have proper clothing for it."

"Agreed."

* * * *

She won that first challenge, but we were both laughing before the end. After that, I didn't win half, but I won my share.

I enjoyed our evenings.

* * * *

I didn't make any further inroads on convincing more women to accept willingly but I more than doubled the ratio that Dark Skies referred to as B.A. Before Andromeda. More of them also gave ribbons than previously, although that was a much smaller factor for us.

But we were able to eliminate one arena event from the first day, and that meant more time for planning and a more streamlined process in general.

Clover got to see Peony twice a month.

* * * *

I dated. I'll talk more about that shortly, but there are two more disappointments coming up. So I'll say I dated. Dark Skies claimed me for another night, about six weeks after I arrived. This time she caught me in the hallway as I left the swimming pool. Again, I couldn't see or hear her, but it turned out she walked in front of me, spreading her pheromones, and I was happily walking along, breathing them in. I was panting and desperate before I even reached my cell.

It was amazing.

Cherish and I saw each other one or two evenings a week, in addition to our swims and other encounters. If she had asked, I would have accepted.

And then one day, she wasn't swimming. She hadn't missed in weeks. I commented on it an hour later when I showed up in Control Room 2.

Jasmine put an arm around me, turned me for the exit, and then we walked.

"What happened?"

"She left."

"She left without saying goodbye?"

"Tutor don't like saying goodbye."

I brought us to a stop, staring down the hallway. "I would have said 'yes' if she asked me, Jasmine."

"I know. So did she."

"So she dumped me and left you to tell me?"

"Yes."

I turned to her. "When did you find out?"

"I'm sorry. Ten minutes ago. I knew she was on a flight, but she comes and goes. She sent me a message and said this time, it was going."

I closed my eyes for a while and turned to the wall, leaning my forehead against it. "Why? Is it because I'm not smart enough? I'm not pretty enough? Why?" I turned to her. "She told me she can't have another Tutor. I don't understand. She'd rather have no one at all than me. Is that it? Am I that horrible? You've introduced me to I don't know how many women, and they all leave. Sugilite left weeks ago. Soft Rain met someone else. Jessica certainly didn't want me. Dark Skies doesn't want me, except as an occasional toy. You certainly don't want me. And now Cherish doesn't want me. I'm a dud. Face it. Your experiment is a failure. You should have picked someone who might be wanted. God! The aliens come here and pick people because they like their looks, and they fight over them, but you introduce me to people and they all run. What the fuck?"

And then I turned and ran from her. She didn't try to follow. But I ran right into a red-tinged corridor and froze.

"Andie," she said into my ears. "Back up. Straight backwards. Right now."

I did what she ordered. It was five steps before I would out of illegal territory.

"I'm sorry."

"I know. Follow the blue lights, Andie."

I turned around. She didn't lead me very far, just to a door, and on the other side, a small meeting room.

"Do you want me to come there? We need you here, Andie. Are you going to be able to collect yourself and help us?"

"I-"

"Do you want Dark Skies?"

"No. I'm done letting myself be drugged just because something upsetting happened. Save that for good times." I sighed. "Give me five minutes then please come get me."

And so, I gave myself a good, five-minute mope. And then Jasmine was there, and her tentacles, and a few escaped tears wiped away.

"I think she got scared. I think she was falling in love, Andie. I think she's not ready for that. I think she'll be back. But I think she left so you would actually look at a few other people, too."

"I've gone out with everyone who has asked. I've taken challenges from everyone who has offered. No one new has offered."

"Charoite will be here in three days."

I turned to face her. "She didn't run from me. She ran from her?"

"I don't know. I think so. I need you to give Charoite a chance. You don't have to promise more than that, but you give her a chance."

And so I nodded. "Fine. But you promised a lot more choices than I've got right now, and so far, it's not going well. I'm not taking Charoite just because you can't find anyone else who wants me."

"Fair enough."

* * * *

I'll have to talk about the Kitsune, but there was one more disappointment. It wasn't for another month, but I'm going to talk about it now, out of order.

We were five days into a new batch of women, and again, in Control Room 3. I got there, and Dark Skies wasn't there.

"Where's the Octal?" I asked.

Clover and Jasmine both looked at me, and I went dead inside.