"There's a line that was crossed that I can't forgive. Although that's probably not the best choice of words... better to say it's something that I can't be paid to tolerate." He looks to his security, who gets a faraway look, before nodding. Good, psychic airwaves around here are quiet. He and Brooke aren't in immediate danger of exposure.

"Going back on my decision and turning down the job offer would have been suicide. He doesn't respect me as much as he does Stephanie, in his perverse way. It would have been an open act of rebellion, and I wasn't ready for it. I'm still not, frankly.

That's why I need your assistance." Such a more genteel and dignified word than 'help'.

"I need to start learning how to 'feel'. Something your intersection of talents and temperament are uniquely qualified for." He states, giving her a modest twirl before he continues. "Adrenaline, dopamine, endorphines... these are things I understand, and they're what I spent my life in the pursuit of. All without ever making one of them come out of or be the result of a needle. Hope, love, fear, faith, remorse... I can observe them, and put them to profit, but it's all clinical.

This is where I've come to. I need to reach his level. Control my emotions, rather than not have them. That's the evolution I need next.

I don't expect to ever be friends, but I'm not looking to make any more enemies. My resources are more flush than they've ever been, even without the recent acquisitions overseas. What can I offer you?"