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“Maybe I should give him a call when my insomnia flares up.” Oliver dropped his head back against the chair. “I’m sure hearing him spout meaningless words at a snail’s pace would have me snoring in under an hour.”
“You snore?” Mal’ik raised his eyebrows, having a hard time picturing anything as undignified as a snore emitting from Oliver’s refined nose and mouth.
Oliver sat up at that, and that refined mouth pinched. “I wouldn’t know. I’m asleep, and there’s never been anyone around to tell me.”
Perhaps because he kicked people out of his bed before they even had a chance to try to stay. Though judging by Oliver’s tightness last night and lack of lube, not many people ever made it into Oliver’s bed in the first place. Mal’ik almost grimaced. He shouldn’t have taken the conversation here. Before he could think of how to salvage it, though, Oliver stood.
“Well, one more meeting, so let’s get this over with.” He started walking toward the exit, the lines of his body sharp and straight again. “I’ll give Governor Tesh one thing—he won’t be boring.”
“There’s been a change of plans,” Mal’ik said before Oliver reached the door. “The governor has requested the meeting take place on Emissary Serihk’s ship, with the Emissary and his human consultant present.”
Oliver stopped, then turned to him slowly, lips pressed together and brow furrowed. He crossed his arms. “Well, I don’t like that.”
Mal’ik hadn’t thought he would and stayed silent as Oliver mulled over his next move.
“Tesh must think the Emissary will be an ally to him.” Oliver didn’t look at Mal’ik as he spoke. Instead, his eyes bored into the carpet beside Mal’ik’s feet. “And he’s gotten to him before I could. And if the Emissary’s allowed him to do that, it’s because he’s already decided I’m the enemy.” His face briefly twisted into a furious expression. “I never wanted that damn qesh here.”
“The request was last minute,” Mal’ik said. “I can refuse it on security grounds.”
Oliver’s eyes flickered up to meet his, and he gave a half smile. “And help me save face?”
“Yes.”
For a moment, Oliver’s expression looked the way it had when they’d sat on the couch last night. Soft and open, with a sweet, genuine smile. Then he shook his head.
“No. Unfortunately, that would be transparent. We’ll go there now and do this meeting or I’ll be admitting they got me on the back foot. And I think you know me well enough by now to know that’s not acceptable.”
Mal’ik felt a little pulse of satisfaction to realize that he did know Oliver well enough to know that. “I understand.”
Mal’ik led Oliver through the door—Oliver usually let Mal’ik enter and leave rooms first, though he insisted on being first into a meeting—and through the arcades to the hangar.
Concern niggled at Mal’ik’s mind, though, and he couldn’t help clarifying as they walked, “You’re familiar with the Emissary’s security system?”
“You mean his eavesdropping and spying system?”
Mal’ik chuckled. “Yes.”
“I’m familiar.” Oliver sighed. “I looked into getting one myself, but the neural links haven’t yet been developed for human brains.”
Mal’ik smiled at the disappointment in Oliver’s voice. He wasn’t surprised the man was interested in a system that gave him omnipotence, even if it was just over a small space. Then he continued, “He’ll be recording you. And he’ll rewatch the meeting afterward to spot any tells he might have missed.”
“I know, Mal’ik.” Oliver looked up at him with an amused smile playing over his lips. “It’s exactly what I’d do. I’ll be fine.”
Mal’ik nodded and looked forward again, feeling the faint heat of an embarrassed blush on the back of his neck. Oliver did not need Mal’ik fussing over him.
“You seem to know quite a bit about Emissary Serihk,” Oliver said after a moment. “Are you acquainted with him personally?”
Mal’ik hesitated. Something in Oliver’s tone put him on edge. “A little. I am close with his bodyguard.”
“I see. And do you like Emissary Serihk?”
“I only know him in certain contexts.”
“That’s not what I asked.”
Mal’ik glanced down at Oliver to see him staring straight ahead, face placid and shoulders stiff. He cursed the scent-neutralizing cream that kept him from sniffing out whatever was going on in Oliver’s clearly complicated mind. “Yes. I do.”
Oliver nodded, and they didn’t say anything more until they got to the hangar and stood in front of Serihk’s understated ship. Mal’ik had no idea what he had said wrong or what conclusion Oliver had come to. But the silence was so heavy, Mal’ik had to swallow before he could move his tongue enough to break it.
