Urban God of Rebate: Infinite Returns Of Women And Powers

”It does,” said Sean.

”I’ve been thinking about the cheese course since January,” said Amara.

”I know,” said Max.

”I’ve told you about the cheese course extensively,” said Amara.

”At length,” said Max.

”Then you understand its significance,” said Amara.

”I understand that you feel strongly about it,” said Max.

”That’s not the same thing,” said Amara.

”No,” said Max. ”But it’s what I have.”

Amara looked at Makima. ”Is he always like this.”

”I’ve known him less time than you have,” said Makima.

”Then let me tell you,” said Amara. ”Yes. He is always like this.” She looked at Max with the specific warmth of someone who found someone’s consistent qualities both exasperating and deeply reassuring. ”He reorganized my bookshelf twice.”

”He mentioned it,” said Makima.

”He pretended he was looking for something both times,” said Amara.

”He mentioned that too,” said Makima.

Max looked at the ceiling of the Rolls Royce.

—------------------

The Restaurant

The window table was exactly as Amara had researched it to be.

Corner position, full view of the street, the specific seat configuration she’d noted in her review analysis. The maître d’ led them to it with the ease of somewhere that had received Sean’s instructions and taken them seriously.

Amara sat down and looked at the table and then at the window and then at the menu that was placed in front of her.

She picked up the menu.

She looked at it for exactly four seconds.

”It’s exactly right,” she said.

Not the food specifically. The whole thing. The table and the window and the menu and the street outside and all of it.

”Good,” said Sean.

She looked at him across the table. ”You made the reservation.”

”You told me to,” said Sean.

”I told you the parameters,” said Amara. ”Window table, seven thirty, celebration. You executed them correctly.” She paused. ”Thank you.”

”You’re welcome,” said Sean.

”I’m also thanking you,” she said, ”for the other things. The fund. Dr. Grace’s reports. Caleb’s twelve months.” She held his gaze in the direct way she held everything. ”I know you told me not to thank you. I’m doing it anyway.”

”I know,” said Sean.

”Because some things should be said out loud,” she said. ”Even between people who already understand them.”

”You mentioned that,” said Sean.

”It bears repeating,” said Amara.

Makima was watching this exchange with the quiet attention she gave things she was filing. Amara caught her watching and looked at her directly.

”You’re assessing me,” said Amara.

”So are you,” said Makima.

”Fair,” said Amara. She put the menu down and looked at Makima with the full evaluating attention. ”He protected your building.”

”He did,” said Makima.

”He paid for my surgery,” said Amara.

”I know,” said Makima.

”And now we’re at the same table,” said Amara. She paused. ”My section about you is accurate, I think. Seeing you in person confirms it.”

”What does the section say,” said Makima.

”That you’re someone who doesn’t need anyone to tell them what they are,” said Amara. ”And that makes you the right kind of person.”

Makima looked at Amara for a moment.

”I like you,” said Makima.

”I know,” said Amara. ”I’m very likeable.”

Max looked at Sean.

Sean looked at Max.

The expression they exchanged was the one from the Rolls Royce again, except this time it was leaning further toward wonderful.

They ordered. Amara ordered with the specific decisive authority of someone who had reviewed the menu fourteen times and had arrived at certainty. When she got to the cheese course she described what she wanted to the waiter with a level of detail that made him look up from his notepad briefly, recalibrate, and write more.

Sean paid for the first round of drinks when they arrived.

[380 dollars spent on Makima directly as it was a date for her]

[Balance: $24,405,489]

[3,800 dollars received]

[New Balance: $24,409,289]

The 10x multiplier for Makima firing clean.

The conversation moved through the evening the way conversation moved when four people were actually glad to be in the same room. Amara asked Max questions about the investigation with the specific careful phrasing of someone who understood there were things she wasn’t supposed to know yet and was working around the edges of them methodically.

Max answered with the specific careful phrasing of someone who knew exactly what she was doing and was doing his best.

Makima asked Amara about public health policy and Amara’s answer ran for twelve minutes and included three specific policy proposals she’d developed from her hospital bed and references to academic papers she’d read in the last two weeks and Makima listened with complete attention and asked two questions that made Amara set down her fork and look at her.

”You understand this area,” said Amara.

”I understand how systems fail people,” said Makima. ”I’ve been watching it happen to a building for thirty years.”

”That’s a different domain,” said Amara.

”The failure mechanism is the same,” said Makima. ”People with power structuring things so the cost falls on people without it and then describing the outcome as natural.”

Amara stared at her.

Then she looked at Sean.

”She’s going into the section,” said Amara. ”A much more significant section than I’d initially planned.”

”I thought she might,” said Sean.

The main course arrived. Amara ate with the focused appreciation of someone experiencing food that wasn’t hospital food for the first time in weeks, which was both entirely understandable and genuinely moving in the specific way of watching someone have access to something ordinary that they’d been without for long enough to have missed it.

Max watched her eat.

He had the expression from the waiting room again. The specific relief of something that had been pressing down for months finally not pressing.

At some point during the second course Amara looked at him.

”Stop watching me eat,” she said.

”I’m not watching you eat,” said Max.

”You’ve been watching me eat since the soup,” said Amara.

”I’m participating in the dinner,” said Max.