29
Lane stopped just inside her suite's entry hall as the door slid smoothly closed behind her. Ahead, the mood lighting she preferred gradually revealed the artfully decorated living room beyond which was a magnificent view of the Thule arcology from high enough up on the northeast arm to reveal almost everything from one end of the vast construction to the other. The lights of the night skyline were mesmerizing as always. Here and there her tech specs allowed her to see augmented reality advertisements floating over the city: everything from hundred foot tall nubile succubi modeling the latest fashions to more pedestrian signage in brilliant colors. She stared at that view for a long few seconds, then took off her specs with slow deliberation and set them on the table next to the door so they could charge.
She was almost three steps into her suite when she finally lost her composure and snarled, "That savage, brutal, treacherous, ungrateful, ignorant, arrogant, murderous little monster!"
She ripped her heels off and threw them across the room as she screamed, "FUUUCK!"
Lane had spent all day answering some very pointed questions from the vice-head of divisions and been required to lay out some very hefty bribes, not to mention call in almost every favor she was owed, and all it got her was a moratorium. The Hierarchy had yet to officially announce an inquiry into the rather fantastic claims made by Taz live on SDM, but it was only a matter of time. When that inquiry was launched her hold over her subordinates would be truly tested. If she went down, a good chunk of Division Four would go down with her.
What was even worse, she couldn't retaliate. Not yet, and not soon. Anything she did to sabotage Taz could only reduce the payout her division received. Assuming she survived the shit storm that little asshole had unleashed on her, he had to win in order to get her paid, and she now needed that money after his wild accusation rather precipitously drained her accounts.
An SDM champion could make a division head fabulously wealthy, and it galled Lane beyond endurance that she had to continue to support the male that may just have crippled her career.
"But once you win for me I'll see you conscious on the dissection table, you little shit," she vowed, staring out at the city, but seeing only his face. "Nobody spites Annabelle Lane."
Interview 2
"Valenteen, SDM embed. Your name?"
The succubus winced slightly as the chielen female made a sound almost too high for her to make out, then squiggled a blunted claw in one ear as she said, "Fantastic, and what do people call you?"
"Oh! Mis'tle. Is that okay?"
"That's fine. You've vouched for Silent Knight, and you're the sixth staff member to do so over the course of the last three days. Can you tell us why you decided to give him your endorsement?"
"Oh certainly! He's the nicest male I've ever met! He came to me, asked me what I do, then spent hours helping me with my work! He's very fastidious, you know? And so strong! With his help I finished a day's worth of tasks in just a few hours! When I asked him why he was doing it, he said that he wanted to get used to people like me. He said he was sorry for how he treated me at breakfast and wanted to make up for it."
"How he treated you?" Valenteen asked, a bit bemused.
"Oh, he tried to hide it but he was terrified the first time he saw me. I could smell it all over him. But by the time he finished working with me there was no fear on him at all! I thought it was wonderful of him to want to get to know my species, so I vouched for him! No competitor has ever offered to help me with my work, and I almost never get sex offers, so I've never really been motivated to vouch for a competitor before. He's my first!"
Valenteen nodded thoughtfully, then asked, "Were you at all interested in sex with SK?"
"What? Nooo, of course not! I could tell by his pheromone cues that he wasn't interested in me that way. We are friends now, though! I like him a lot!"
"Don't you think it's a bit mercenary of him to bribe you for your vouch by doing your work?" Valenteen asked.
"How's that any different than bribing me for my vouch by giving me an orgasm?" Mis'tle asked, head tilting curiously. "Not that anyone ever bothers trying that. Some of my friends have even gotten in trouble for slacking when competitors pull them from their duties for sex. Thanks to SK, I'm actually ahead on my chores! I hope he keeps the top spot! He-"
"Thank you for your time, Mis'tle," Valenteen smoothly interrupted with a radiant and very practiced smile.
The cheerful chielen lifted her palps, exposing her mouth in what amounted to a smile from her species. She then twisted her palm away and lifted one of her many fingers — Valenteen could only assume it was the middle one — then turned to leave, her myriad legs clacking rhythmically as her segmented body wove smoothly away down the hall.
Valenteen watched her go and made sure to cut her feed before muttering, "Yep. It's official! I hate him."