justscribing | The City

[It's a little more proactive than his initial guess, but within the same lines: that Ghost is someone's who job is to be an expert in rules and regulations and provide guidance to her clients in navigating them. Negotiation is, after all, simply a set of regulations between a smaller group of people.]

Do you find the work you do fulfilling?

Do you?

[But unlike some of her previous rejoinders, this one she actually carries on to answer regardless.]

I'm not sure if "fulfilling" is quite the word I would use. I don't think I'll ever self-actualize by doing it, for example. But it pays the bills both figuratively and literally, and it's better than a lot of the alternatives. I didn't have many options available to me, when I fell into this particular line of work.

Interesting. [That's actually a curious explanation, given her particular line of work. It's the sort of thing most people would pursue because they want to, simply because of the degree of expertise it requires to get anywhere in the field. Especially if she's self-employed.] Your job requires a level of social and technical skill and a body of knowledge far beyond any manual labor. Is the pay that good?

Hm.

[That gets a dry smile out of her.]

You're a king whose infant daughter is about to be christened. Fuck up the guest list and she might be dead on her sixteenth birthday. What would you be willing to shell out for the services of an expert who can consult on how to make sure it goes off without a hitch?

Anything. [Said simply. There's no need for him to consider his own position on the matter. The feeling is universal. It's love. A father wants to protect his daughter. He wants to see her thrive. No cost could be more than what it would be to keep her safe.

Alhaitham isn't a man with a daughter, or anything like that. He just knows love.]

But I would also ensure that who I consulted was the best. It's no small amount of work on your end to be better than the competition.

I do have something going for me that they don't, however. I'm an established commodity, on the basis of a few unprecedented feats of excellence, and people will almost always favor an established name over an up-and-comer.

[She shrugs a little.]

That's part of the reason why I write the books. People shouldn't be deprived of help just because I'm only one person, and there aren't enough hours in the day.

[That improves her networking, but the thing about a reputation is that your failures can get around just as quickly as your successes if you aren't careful. Ghost doesn't address that her line of work requires significantly more than shuffling papers, for being something she does to "pay the bills".

Putting effort into facilitating others to follow in her footsteps and help themselves, and spread her expertise, is more dedication that "better than the alternatives" begets.

Alhaitham's head tips slightly as he regards her, in this. What he says in place of it:] You've secured your livelihood well then.

I didn't have much other choice. It's not as though I had anyone to help me, and I wouldn't have gotten far on charity anyway. I used the skills I had to make a way for myself.

[And now, at last, she reaches into her bag, producing the promised textbook on curses, which she sets on the table and pushes toward him.]

Kaveh calls me a hero for it. What do you think?

[Alhaitham slides the book closer, reviewing its cover and then cracking it open to the title page.

Then he closes it once again and returns his attention to Ghost.] I think you're a contributing member of society like anyone else.

He affords me lofty accolades, you make me sound unfathomably boring. Here's hoping I actually land somewhere in the healthy medium.

[She shakes her coffee cup, eyeing the bottom; the lack of weight and slosh to it suggests she's nearly drained it.]

When can I expect my book back?

[Alhaitham and Kaveh will certainly be arguing if she's one or the other over the kitchen table.

He tilts the book, considering how thick it is.] I'd like a few weeks so that I can transcribe it.

[He could read and transcribe it in a much shorter period of time but... well, he doesn't want to spend all day doing it. He has other things to do.]

With proper credit and attribution given, I presume.

[Intellectual property!]

That should be fine, though. It's not as though I've encountered a whole lot of curses to break around here, to begin with. ...Well, except for the tea that induces deathly sleep, but if a kiss isn't everyone's first attempt when faced with a situation like that, I really don't know what we're all doing with ourselves.

I intend to copy the title page if that's what you mean. [It's not like his sharing his copy with anyone except Kaveh, and that's only if Kaveh cares to.

Though, that next statement gets the rise of his brow.] The seeds are the typical cure to anything the tea does. What made a kiss your first solution?

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