The Consuming Fire (The Interdependency #2)(19)

Instead, Kiva had two primary pursuits: Fucking, which she was enthusiastic about nearly (but not entirely) to the point of indiscrimination; and running things, which she enjoyed and which as it was turning out she wasn’t all that bad at. Kiva was not under the impression that she would ever be running the House of Lagos—as late addition to the Countess Huma Lagos’s already numerous family, she was out of contention for inheriting the role of the primary director of the House of Lagos, and, despite the example set by Kiva’s erstwhile college chum Nadashe Nohamapetan, was not inclined to murder siblings to improve her chances. But the universe was wide enough to give Kiva things of her own to run, like, in this case, the Nohamapetans’ business.

For now, anyway. Until either the Nohamapetans grabbed it back from her, or all the Flow streams collapsed and they were all fucked anyway.

Exciting fucking times, Kiva thought to herself.

The door opened, and Salaanadon came through with a woman roughly Kiva’s age. “Lady Kiva Lagos, Madam Senia Fundapellonan,” Salaanadon said, motioning to Fundapellonan.

“Lady Kiva,” Fundapellonan said, bowing.

“Yeah, yeah,” Kiva said, waving her all the way into the room, and motioning her to sit at the chair in front of her capacious desk. Salaanadon frowned to himself at this, but excused himself silently. Kiva sunk into her own chair behind her desk.

“I’d like to begin by delivering the compliments of the Countess Nohamapetan, who thanks you for taking control of her local concerns at this turbulent time.”

Kiva rolled her eyes at this. “Look … what’s your name again?”

“Senia Fundapellonan.”

“That’s a lot all at once.”

“I suppose it is, Lady Kiva.”

“Fundapellonan, can we just … not do the bullshit parts? I mean, you seem like a smart person.”

“Thank you, Lady Kiva.”

“So as a smart person, you know as well as I do that of all the things that the Countess Nohamapetan might be feeling toward me right now, gratitude is right down at the absolute fucking bottom. I gave the emperox evidence that her kids were traitors, that one murdered the other, and now I’m running her fucking company. What she’d actually be wanting to do, I’d guess, is push me out a goddamned window.”

Fundapellonan smiled slightly at this.

“Also, presuming you actually did come from Terhathum—”

“I have.”

“—then it’s likely given transport times to and from there that you were sent almost immediately after the countess got the news about her problem children. In which case the idea that she is thinking anything about me at all is pretty laughable. What I imagine the Countess Nohamapetan is actually thinking, aside from ‘the fuck,’ is, one, how to extract her daughter from an almost certain death sentence, and two, prying me or anyone else who isn’t a Nohamapetan from her precious fucking company. Are these reasonable assumptions?”

Fundapellonan took a second before responding. “You’re not wrong.”

“So in the interest of saving both of us some time, I am asking you just to pretty please get to the fucking point, already.”

“Fair enough,” Fundapellonan said. “Then here it is, Lady Kiva: The House of Nohamapetan, which I represent, is asking you to step aside and allow an executive of our own choosing to take over our local interests.” She held up the signet document and placed it on Kiva’s desk. “That’s the official request. Unofficially, as part of your terms of withdrawal, you will receive a substantial bonus payment.”

“You mean a bribe.”

“I mean a bonus payment. The countess’s appreciation for your willingness to step in during a moment of crisis.”

“I thought I asked to dispense with bullshit.”

“There’s bullshit and then there’s bullshit, Lady Kiva.”

“Well, you’re right about that, at least.” Kiva pointed to the signet document. “I presume you and the countess both understand that I was put in charge of your house’s business by the emperox, yes? I can’t just quit.”

“We understand that. We also know that the emperox would be more inclined to allow your exit if you also were willing to voluntarily depart.”

“Don’t be so sure.”

“And why is that?”

“Well, aside from the fact that Nadashe Nohamapetan tried to assassinate the emperox with a spacecraft, which is not great for the reputation of the entire fucking family, there’s also the matter of the endemic graft my auditors are finding in your books for the last several years.”

Fundapellonan tilted her head. “And the House of Lagos’s ledgers are entirely free of graft and corruption, Lady Kiva? You know as well as I do that skimming off the top—by employees, by executives, and, yes, even occasionally and regrettably by family members—is not an unusual thing. Regrettable, yes. Unusual, no.”

“This is your argument for returning control to a Nohamapetan? Everybody does it?”

“To be fair, everybody does do it.”

“To be fair, not everyone tries to fucking murder the emperox.”

“So this is a no from you.”

“It’s a ‘you have to be fucking kidding me’ from me.”