“I didn’t mean that. I was going to say, ‘up to no good,’ but I paused because I honestly haven’t figured out what you’re up to. One day you’ve got nothing nice to say about her, and now you’re practically chasing her out of rooms. You can’t blame the woman for going all deer-in-the-headlights on you.”

Her smile spread. “I think you’re underestimating her.”

“I think you are,” Talia shot back

“Care to make a little wager?”

“Absolutely not.”

“Do you even want to hear what I have in mind?”

“Not really,” Talia said.

“I’m gonna break her.” She hadn’t formulated the plan until it came out of her mouth, but it felt good once she’d said it. A challenge, a risk, a chance to test a few limits, in other words, all her favourite things.

Talia threw up her hands. “Why? Just because you can?”

She paused to ponder the question. She didn’t think that was an inherently bad reason for doing something that sparked her interest, but she didn’t think that was her sole motivation, either.

“She’s not like the women and men we’re used to running circles around.” Talia pressed. “She’s got something more under the shell than she shows people.”

“Maybe you’re right. Maybe I’ve misread her. I doubt it, but I’m willing to admit something new and authentically amazing could exist in the world.” Sophia wouldn’t argue a point Talia had clearly made up her mind on. “But isn’t that all the more reason to break her open and see? Wouldn’t it be nice to test her mettle and find silver instead of ash? If she’s living in a cage of some sort, wouldn’t I be doing her a favour by bending the bars a bit?”

“I don’t believe you’re in this for doing favours. I think you want to see what will happen if you open the flood gates.”

“Cages, gates, façades, you’re only making my point. They hide things, they restrain them, they pin them in.”

“Except we’re not talking about a thing. We’re talking about a woman. Let’s not be like the men in this business who constantly act like they know what’s best for us, and instead trust her to tell us what she needs.”

“What if she doesn’t know what she needs?”

“What makes you think you do?”

She shrugged. “I might not, but I’d like to find out.”

“And I’d like to go on record as saying you’re playing a dangerous game. Walls are usually put up for a reason, and if you start pulling out bricks, the whole thing is liable to come crashing down in ways you don’t expect.”