"That would be smart but I'm not sure they're that smart."

"Maybe not," he concedes. "But given the way the Anitami government works, I don't think they'd get much done if they let too much political rivalry leak into their personal relationships."

"How do you figure?"

"Our government is not a model of moral purity, to put it mildly. And when the way to get things done is asking the right person for the right favor, it seems like it wouldn't do to be disliked by too many right people."

"That just means that the ones who get anywhere are the ones who are good at navigating that, it doesn't suggest that no one gets pushed to the margins." She's all dressed at this point, and jerks her head toward the exit.

He is also dressed. He follows her. "Yeah, I suppose you're right. It does sound like the kind of knowledge and skill that's at least amenable to training and maybe even passed down generations, though."

"Maybe I would've been fine."

"You're probably smart enough to have picked it up if you needed to, to the extent that's a general intelligence thing."

"I think there's an extent to which social skills are separate, but it couldn't hurt."

"Yeah, probably."

"I don't think either of my parents would like being blue."

"They're cop and...?"

"Teacher. Grey one-year-olds."

"Ah, yeah, I can see how that wouldn't transfer. My father has cop and military background, I think he might find himself taking a liking to being in a position of power. My mother was a nanny, though, she wouldn't have. But patrilinear here."

"I guess my dad might do very local politics okay if he'd been raised to it. He's a very local sort of person. My mom would probably just travel and go to fancy blue parties and slum it in downscale restaurants while figuring this was very exciting."

"Your mother sounds interesting."

"She's fun. Very eclectic interests."

Grin. "So, I have a client in half an hour so I should get going, but are you free tomorrow evening?"

"- uh, technically, yes -"

Eyebrow raise. "Should I assume that's a no on the followup question of whether you wanna have dinner with me?"

"I don't date greys."

"—oh, I suppose that would make sense, wouldn't it. Well, just as friends? You seem nice and interesting and I'd love to get to be your friend."

"- yeah. I'd like that."

"Awesome. Here's my email—" He has a business card. "We'll figure time and place out, if you don't have a favorite restaurant or somewhere you've been dying to go to in mind already. I should get going, though."

"See you tomorrow!"