Rae keeps smiling when the door closes behind me.
The room is the same as before. A wide desk, two shelves, and a high window facing an inner part of the Academy. Nothing here looks staged for an ambush, which only makes Rahul Sharma's presence more uncomfortable.
The assistant sets his chair beside the desk and steps back. Rahul leans the glass cane against the side of the chair, both hands resting on the handle.
Rae gestures at the chair across from him. "Sit down, Dryden."
I stay standing a few seconds. "You looked happier before I came in."
"I asked you to come."
"Rahul asked."
His smile loses some of its width. "I arranged the meeting."
I sit.
Rahul watches the exchange without stepping in. His assistant stays by the wall, motionless, as if she didn't exist. She'll remember every word of this later, a living notepad for the man who pays her.
Rae folds his hands on the desk. "You asked me for a favor."
"I must have."
