The time she’d been without Sol crystalized in her heart the fact that no replacement for Sol was ever going to walk through that door. He was one of a kind.
“Sovereign Farthing, my function as head of Operations is to make things work here. If you find that you’re in need of feminine companionship, I can make arrangements for you to connect with a variety of, ah, establishments frequented by young women.”
He held her gaze for a moment longer than necessary, then cocked his head slightly, gave her a suddenly wicked smile, knocked on the counter with his middle knuckle and turned toward the door where the trainee was waiting patiently.
“Let’s take that tour, shall we? Mr. Chorzak, is it?”
‘Yes, sir. Everyone calls me Spaz.”
Sol looked down at him. “Not really.”
Spaz grinned. “Yes, sir. Really.”
“Well we may have to do something about that. Even my knights-to-be deserve more respect.”
“It’s alright, sir. I don’t mind.”
“Well. I do. So far as I’m concerned, you’re Mr. Chorzak.”
“Yes, sir.” Kellan Chorzak offered a small, shy smile. He really didn’t mind being called Spaz. He knew it was done good-naturedly and almost affectionately. Still, the idea of being ‘respected’ had its own appeal, particularly when that respect was coming from the new head of J.U.
Farnsworth had been working in that office for twenty years, since she was twenty-four years old. The first decade and a half, she received her fair share of attention, and flirting, from the knights who drifted in and out. They were used to being admired by the female sex and they typically came with a certain swaggered poise that said they knew they were looking good.
She couldn’t pinpoint when the flirting had stopped, but one day she realized that nobody had tried to impress her with a smile or a bedroom voice in, well, years. So naturally having one of the young knights, or, er, administrators, regard her with something other than professional courtesy was a little bit noteworthy and a lot flattering.
All morning her thoughts returned to the encounter with the new Sovereign. Her instincts had told her he’d been deliberately charming, but her intellect contended that he couldn’t possibly be genuinely interested in her. And, even if the Earth tilted on its axis and he was interested in her in that way, she wasn’t ready to try to move past a love affair with a man like Solomon Nemamiah and didn’t know if she ever would. A woman just never gets over a man like that. Ever.
The second time Sol almost gave himself away because of an inappropriate emotional response was the stop on Chorzak’s tour at The Chamber. Sol stepped inside trying to pretend to see it for the first time, but his breath caught in his throat when he saw the portrait hanging on the west wall.
Chorzak had been prattling away when he noticed that Sol had stopped. He turned to see what had grabbed the attention of Big Boss.
“That’s a picture of the last Sovereign.”
“Oh?” Sol said simply as he started moving toward it.
“Yeah. Everybody around here thought he was the sh…, um, thought he was the best.”
Sol smirked down at Chorzak. “Did they now?”
“Yep. I’m afraid you got big shoes to fill, sir.”
“Watch the impertinence, Mr. Chorzak.”
Spaz stood up a little straighter. “Yes, sir.”
Sol kept going until he was close enough to read the plaque.
In honor of
Solomon Neuhm Nememiah
Jefferson Unit Sovereign
and Distinguished Knight
The Order of the Black Swan
“The Lady Laiken… She’s our martial arts teacher? She had the portrait done by the same guy who paints the heroes. I guess she’s the one that decided what the words should say.”