Elira remained standing near the closed door for a few seconds longer than necessary, as if the act of bringing him into the private room had used up most of her prepared courage.
Ray noticed this and did not fill the silence immediately.
He walked further in, glanced once at the turned-down bed, then turned back to face her with the same easy posture he had carried in the sitting room.
"You can still change your mind," he said. "I will leave, the escorts will take me back, and no one at the Black Orchid will ask questions. This only works if you actually want the result."
Elira's fingers tightened around each other.
"I want the result."
"Then stop standing there like you are about to be judged." Ray nodded toward the small settee near the window. "Sit and we can start with talking."
She hesitated, then crossed the room and sat with her spine too straight. Ray took the opposite end of the settee, close enough for conversation but not close enough to crowd her.
