Chapter 12 - Chapter Ten — Naz

"So where's this new girlfriend of yours?" my agent Nqobile asks, nibbling the end of a mishkaki skewer.

"She's not my girlfriend." I take a long pull of the whisky I've been nursing off and on ever since I left Chandré's cabin.

"Hmmmmph." Nqo settles back into the overstuffed cushions of the couch that's built into the wall and runs the length of the room. A massive table, beautifully laid, holds court in the middle of the dining room, crystal and silver catching all the light there is. First to arrive, the two of us are grazing on the starters and working our way politely through a cellar that has no business being on a boat. Given has a last-minute call, but he should be joining us soon. Which means that in the meantime, Nqo will grill me.

"You know what I call you behind your back?" she asks, one dark brow skirting up.

"Doesn't telling me defeat the point of it being behind my back?" I lean into the cushions beside her.

"I'll find something else to keep from you." Her pretty face lights up with a secret smile. Tonight all that dark hair of hers is loose, spilling around her shoulders. "I call you Sabelo 2.0."

"I'll take that as a compliment."

"You should. But the reason I call you that is because, like Sabelo, you're disciplined. Calculating. Careful."

"Sounds boring."

"Until you're not," she says, wagging a finger at me. "On the rare occasion you do something completely out of character and unexpected, I like to know why. This girl you had Naledi invite—"

"Chandré."