She slowly turned to him. “What?”
“Didn’t they explain it?” he asked. “If you’ve got a full internship, you don’t have to be here during prescribed hours. You’ve still got to show proof you’re up on your independent projects—this’ll sub in for one—and your tests, but they figure the real world experience trumps their schedule.”
Tessa regarded Daphne with new appreciation. Was it possible that this garishly dressed woman might offer even more freedom than the Institute’s freeform policies already did? Rufus cleared his throat loudly, interrupting her thoughts.
“I don’t want to trample anyone’s dreams here, but do we have any proof of who you are?” he asked. “And I don’t mean just looking up whatever fluff you’ve been working on.” Rufus, apparently, was up to speed on his news channels. “I mean, do we have any evidence that you’ve actually been authorized by the school to approach her?”
“Approach her?” asked Daphne with a chuckle. “Is she provincial royalty?”
But he was right, Tessa realized. The attack at the house should have had her on high alert around every new person she met. If someone had been enraged enough at Justin to go to his house and threaten her, wasn’t it just as likely someone might go and stage a scam internship to lure her into danger?
A check with the school’s field experience office verified that Daphne’s offer was legitimate. She’d been vetted and passed a background check. The only irregularity was that she was offering a much larger opportunity than the one the school had advertised for on Tessa’s behalf. When Rufus grilled Daphne on this, she simply shrugged and reiterated, “I don’t half ass things.”
And so, Tessa found herself agreeing to the opportunity, though Daphne was quick to emphasize that she still had to accept Tessa. “It’s not so much an interview as it is the chance to see if we can work together,” she explained. “You hungry? I’m hungry. Why don’t we go talk over sushi?”
Tessa winced. “Do you have a second choice?”
“You don’t like sushi?” asked Daphne. The tone of her voice made
Tessa wonder if this could make or break the internship. “I just had it yesterday, that’s all,” she lied.
“We’ll do Greek then.” Daphne’s voice offered no argument, and she gave Rufus and Darius a once-over. “Does your entourage have to come?”
“Rufus does,” said Tessa firmly. “Darius . . .” Looking at him, she faltered and suddenly felt like an idiot. He’d asked her out first today, and she’d completely rolled over his invitation and taken on a new one. Admittedly, he had been instrumental in urging her to do so.
Daphne, either impatient or hungry or both, shrugged and turned abruptly on her high heels. “Makes no difference to me. Let’s go.” Tessa meekly followed, and after a few moments, so did the men.
Daphne claimed it wasn’t an interview, but it certainly felt like one as their afternoon meal proceeded. Actually, interrogation might have been a more accurate term. Daphne managed to quiz Tessa about every part of her childhood and subsequent arrival in the RUNA while effortlessly going through a plate of souvlaki. Tessa had found a lot of Gemmans displayed mixed feelings about her provincial history, but Daphne took it in stride. “Well, I’m willing to give this a shot if you are,” she told Tessa.
“Don’t you need a parent or guardian signature before starting work?” asked Rufus.
Tessa nodded, recalling the forms she’d filled out. “We can do it remotely.”
“Too impersonal,” declared Daphne. “Let’s go over to your place and meet this servitor that took you under his wing. We’ll make sure he’s doubly okay with you working for me, and I’ll make sure I’m not indirectly getting involved with some political dissident.”
“Why in the world would you think that?” exclaimed Tessa. “He was kicked out of the country,” said Daphne.
“We don’t know that for sure.” The mystery of Justin’s exile in Panama was still exactly that: a mystery. “Besides, if he’s back, he can’t be in that much trouble.”
“Maybe he just has powerful friends.” Daphne waited for confirmation, but Tessa refused to play along. “Well, whatever the reasons, we need his signature, so let’s head out and find him.”
Tessa glanced at the time. “I don’t know if he’s home. But his sister can sign anything from the school too.”
“That’ll work.” Daphne brought up the table’s panel and requested a split bill. “Just so you know, even when you’re officially working for me, you cover your own expenses.”
And so, the bewildering day proceeded with Tessa taking Daphne (and the others) back to the suburbs to meet the March family. The train was crowded with commuters, leaving standing room only. Tessa made herself small near a window, casting occasional nervous looks at both Darius and Daphne—who unnerved her for completely different reasons.
“Be careful,” a voice murmured in Tessa’s ear.
She flinched, startled to find Rufus right beside her. “With what?”
”Her.” Rufus’s eyes stared at the window as he kept his voice low.
“She hasn’t written a single word down, no notes. Even for an intern’s interview, that’s weird for someone who works in the information business. That means she’s probably recording everything.”
The idea had never occurred to Tessa. She gulped. “I didn’t say anything incriminating . . . did I?”
“No, but you’re bringing her into the house of someone who works for Internal Security. We’ll have to make sure she doesn’t leave with any info she shouldn’t.”
“I . . . I’ll see what I can do,” stammered Tessa.
Rufus glanced down at her and winked. “Don’t worry. I’ll take care of it.”
He made good on his point by checking Daphne over for surveillance equipment before they crossed the threshold into the March house. Along with a physical check, he also had a device he could scan her with. Daphne acted affronted but, to Tessa’s surprise, did actually turn out to be wearing a microphone.
“Standard journalistic practice,” she insisted.
“And removing it is standard practice before entering the home of a government official,” Rufus told her sweetly.
It was actually a relief to Tessa to find that only Cynthia and Quentin were home. Daphne still peppered Cynthia with questions, including specifics about Justin and any “powerful friends.”
“I have no idea what my brother does all day,” Cynthia snapped. “It’s a boring government job. And Tessa has nothing to do with any of that anyway—not that it should matter if you just need an intern to get you coffee or whatever. Explain again all she’ll be doing. I want to understand it before I sign anything.”
This put Daphne on the defensive, quick to defend herself and the golden opportunity she presented. Tessa, watching the two women barter at the kitchen table, was simply glad to have the pressure taken off of her. Rufus relieved a praetorian who’d been hanging around the house and then joined Quentin in front of the living room screen, ostensibly out of the way but still easily accessible. That left Tessa standing alone with Darius.
“This is so weird,” she said. “Did you have to go through all of this for an internship?”
He shook his head. “No. At least not yet. The senate’s human resources department sent me a questionnaire and then wants me to come in to talk about finding the best placement. I never would’ve gotten fast tracked like that without your help.”
“I didn’t do anything,” said Tessa, feeling shy. “And you were the one who did all the work with that guy.”