Ty ground her teeth. She’d been asked the same question at least four times since the ship had taken off. Trying not to sigh, she glanced up at the girl standing on the other side of the holotable. Mantessa’s daughter, Klerin, looked to be about twenty years old and was as meek as her mother was commanding. There were other differences, too. Unlike Mantessa, Klerin had a strip of closely cropped hair running from her brow to an admittedly elegant neck. Ty wondered what her mother thought of that, or how Klerin had avoided having one of the cleaning droids shave it off while she slept. As acts of defiance went it wasn’t the most rebellious, but it displayed at least a glimmer of individuality in what was otherwise quite a timid creature. Klerin spent most of her time playing with the oversized bangle she wore on her wrist. Of course, there were also the looks that she kept flashing in Ty’s direction between inquiries about hot beverages. Ty could recognize a crush when she saw one, and in all honesty wouldn’t have been opposed to exploring the option in another time or place, but this wasn’t the moment, especially with the daughter of a client who was still very much an unknown quantity.

Although …

Ty flicked off the map and sat on the table. A nearby cleaning droid let out a worried beep, but she ignored it. She’d changed pants before she’d come aboard. Mantessa had insisted.

“So,” she said, turning on charm that she rarely required, “do you do this often?”

Klerin flushed, spinning that damn bangle around her wrist. “What?”

“Employ bodyguards.”

Klerin breathed out, obviously a little relieved.

“Every now and then,” she said, “especially when we’re going somewhere … dangerous?”

That was a new one. “Somewhere dangerous? Like the Republic Fair?”

Klerin looked flustered. “I just go where my mother goes.”

“And your mother is a … businesswoman?”

“An inventor.”

“An inventor,” Ty repeated as if Klerin were the most fascinating girl in the world. “And is that why we’re going to Valo? To demonstrate her inventions at one of the pavilions?”

Klerin took a tentative step forward, warming to the conversation. “No, we have an important meeting. With a potential investor.”

“An investor in what, exactly?” Ty raised a hand. “You don’t have to tell, but your mother was, shall we say, a little vague on the details. I think I’m just supposed to stand around looking impressive.”

“That shouldn’t be too difficult,” Klerin blurted out, her eyes going wide as she realized what she’d said. “Sorry, I …”

Ty let the girl blush. “Nothing to apologize for.”

Klerin bit her lip and glanced in the direction of the flight deck before looking back to Ty. “Would you like to see it?”