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morning, for God’s sake. He is starting to trust me. I know that he likes me. But this isn’t going to happen according to a timetable.”
    Chandi cleared her throat, looking uncertainly from one side to the other, as if she was seeking support from invisible companions.
    “That all may be as you say, but your instructions were not to make friends with Alexander Warner…”
    “Alex,” Emily said firmly. “He likes to be called Alex. Moreover, my instructions were to build a relationship with him, to make him trust me, to make him fall in love with me, if it all possible. And that’s exactly what I’m doing.”
    Chandi appeared to be restoring her composure, little by little, her eyes seeking the reassurance of the files in front of her automatically.
    “But if this Eerie person has managed to spend the night with him…”
    “Nothing happened,” Emily said, shaking her head.
    “How do you know?”
    “Check the files, Anastasia Martynova was in that room with them,” Emily said, taking a deep breath before saying the thing she knew she would hate herself for later. “Besides, Alex is a virgin.”
    Chandi’s eyebrow started its creep upward again, and Emily could not help herself.
    “And you know how difficult that makes these things,” she added sweetly.
    Chandi blushed, and then turned her attention back to the files, transparently playing for time while she reviewed records. Emily shifted in her seat while she waited for a response, wishing she could leave, not daring to. She managed to keep her feelings of guilt at bay for now. It wasn’t as if she had a choice. Revealing Alex’s secrets was the only way she could see to stay at the Academy.
    “I see,” Chandi said, finally looking up from the files in front of her. “At the very least, you have succeeded in becoming his confidant.”
    “Yes. At least.”
    “Which leads me to believe that your chances might be better than I had originally suspected,” Chandi said grudgingly. “I will be generous. You have until the start of summer session.”
    “What?” Emily asked, shocked. “You’ve got to be kidding. That’s not even two months.”
    “That’s right,” Chandi confirmed, clearly enjoying paying Emily back for her earlier brashness. “The Hegemony cannot wait any longer. In the meantime, we will put contingency plans in place, in the event that you should fail.”
    “You’re already bringing in replacements?” Emily protested. “You’re not giving me a chance…”
    “On the contrary,” Chandi said, closing the file in front of her emphatically. “I’m giving you more of a chance than I am inclined to. Whatever you are planning, I suggest you do it soon.”
     
    * * *
     
    Vivik had a number of fantasies, extremely private ones, which involved Emily being in his room. Moreover, this was the most intimate contact he had ever had with her, and they were very much alone. And sitting together on his bed, no less.
    If he felt a little bitter that she was crying, quite literally into his shoulder, then he also felt that he merited some forgiveness. Vivik patted Emily’s back clumsily, overwhelmed with the normal male confusion and dismay in the face of a woman’s tears, unable to put the fact that he could feel her bra strap underneath her sweater when he touched her back completely out of his mind. It was hard not to feel conflicted when Emily was sitting on his bed, pressing her face against his chest, while sobbing over his friend, classmate and neighbor.
    “There, there…” Vivik said lamely, casting about for something comforting to offer her. “Can I get you a tissue or something?”
    He regretted the statement as soon as he finished making it, but it Emily carried on crying as if he hadn’t said anything at all, which might have actually been for the best. He let her continue for a few more minutes before he tried again.
    “Do you want to talk about it?” Vivik asked hesitantly, not at all sure that he wanted her