"The what?" Seris asked, blinking.
"The Black Lotus sect. They showed up at the Compasso." Katarina began pacing from side to side with her arms crossed. She could remember the meeting as if it had just happened. "They wanted to buy the licensing rights off me for the air conditioner."
"Oh, piccola. Please tell me you held out."
"Of course. The rights are still mine. They had a number written down on a folded slip of paper and they pushed it across the table like it was going to make me weep. I will admit... it was a lot of zeros."
Seris gave a long, dramatic sigh.
"Because they see the potential," Seris said, getting back to her gardening. "And, more importantly, they see a girl barely out of school who they think will bite at the first big deal."
Katarina smiled a little at how clever Seris had gotten over the years. But, she wiped the smile away and kept going. This was important, after all.
