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“For what? Talking to him?”

“Yeah,” she says, staring out the window now.

“He was trained by MAV back in the day. Be careful, he’ll know all the tricks.”

She turns back to me. “Tricks? You mean emotional regulation and control? It’s not a trick, Vale.”

I shrug. “It’s a way to distract yourself from what you’re really feeling and thinking, from your true natural reactions.”

Her brow furrows. “Maybe humans aren’t just meant to act naturally all the time. Maybe we’re meant to evolve into compassionate people who work together and respect each other enough to not fly off the handle.”

“The PS is not what you think,” I tell her. “It hasn’t been for a long time.” I want to explain but there’s a knock on my door. I jerk the door open and I’m glad Ami is sitting at my desk and not on the bed.

It’s one of my father’s guards and he laughs outright at the sight of Ami in my room, getting my hackles up immediately.

“Hey, pretty,” he says to her first, his voice low and smooth. Ami smiles coyly from under my baseball hat.

“What do you want, Jones?” I demand.

“What do you think?” he shoots back. No sexy voice for me, I notice. “Your father wants to see you. Both of you,” he adds.

Ami stands up and I don’t like her obeying his orders without question. I stand still, keeping an eye on him. He moves to hold the door open for her, standing back with his eyes glued on her. Ami passes and his eyes travel rudely down.

“Nice,” he whispers to me as I follow her.

“Shut up,” I tell him flatly. “Keep your eyes to yourself.” We hesitate outside the office. I don’t want to follow him, but I’m not sure where my father is right now.

“Conference room, in the left wing,” he says and starts to lead the way there.

“Leave it,” I tell him, “I’ll take her there myself.”

He hesitates.

“I’ll take her,” I repeat, looking him directly in the eyes. This guy is a few years older than me, but he knows where I stand in the hierarchy.

“Sure you don’t need some company?” he asks Ami.

She gazes back coolly. “We’re good,” she tells him, drawing closer to me.

His smile falls off his face. “Fine. You’d better get her there. I’m not taking the fall for you,” he mutters and heads off in another direction.

I sigh. “Come on, Pepper. Let’s get this over with.”