Sex. I'll answer honestly.

“I think you know the ways I’m leaning towards,” you say, carefully watching Jennifer’s expression to see if you’ve been gauging her flirtatious after tones as genuine, not sarcasm. Her eyes transfix on yours, and you still struggle to find where she lies.

“I might,” she whispers. “But why don’t you use your words like a big boy and say it outright so there’s no missing context for me.”

“Jennifer,” you lean in. “I’m talking about sex.”

A sly smile that you can read becomes visible on her lips. She is amused, and with that amusement, it is a relief that reassures you that you can read human emotion. “I thought that was the direction you were going to, Warren. For a moment, I thought you were just autistic and didn’t know you were flirting that whole time,” Jennifer looks away and sighs. “Not exactly an uncommon thing with contractors, sometimes killing more often than they are chatting…”

You shrug, familiar with her concerns. “I do fairly well.”

“You travel with mutants, who are hardly known to be much better. However, I suppose Gwendolion, Arabella, and Mikko aren’t…retarded in that department.”

“Wow,” you say, unsure to be offended or pleased to hear Jennifer’s finished conclusion of your traveling companions. Jennifer doesn’t backtrack or take anything, though. She’s committed. “Thank you for noticing I take of them.”

Jennifer laughs before clearing her throat. “Now, about our original topic… Sex.”

“Yes,” you say.

She looks at you and smiles politely. “We shouldn’t. Neither of us should be enjoying intercourse with our coworkers. Sex makes things messy. And to be honest, I’ve been partaking in someone else's company here.”

“You don’t have to,” you decide to cut in before you’re completely cut off.

“I won’t be,” she says. “I’m sure I don’t have to tell you that the people are more faithful to their lovers. Exclusive, I’d say.”

Feeling a pitch of disappointment and rejection, you nod slowly. “Yeah, you could say I’ve noticed that they’re more faithful than some of the people I’ve been used to working with.”

Jennifer’s smile shifts, and now it seems less teasing and more friendly. Besides her smile, there’s also a change in her voice when she speaks again. “Yes, yes. Afterlife prides itself in hiring good girls and boys. Speaking of which,” she trails off and stands up. “Why aren’t you faithful to your foxgirls? Arabella and the twins?”

You weren’t expecting the subject to shift so suddenly, and to have it aimed at your morals was almost stranger. “What do you mean?”

“You don’t think they’d want your beloved relationship to be more exclusively explicit?” Jennifer settles down again after plucking a folder from another desk. She hands it to you. “They had a bounty on their hands until recently, you know?”

You weren’t aware, but the news isn’t alarming. You suspected this, so you traveled far away from Montana and the rest of the North American region. You took the folder and regarded it. You see several signatures on the sheet of paper. Twenty-five thousand dollars for each of the girls. Damn.

The signatures were titles of people you didn’t know and didn’t hear about, but Montana had ample contractors coming in and out of it due to all the action happening in the Dakotas and Canada.

After giving you about 3 minutes to read and study the paper, Jennifer continues. “I won’t tell them or even drop the slightest hint you tried to play your cards with me, but I could arrange a meeting with a girl with my features. Tits, eyes, hair. I can see that you find it attractive, and it is flattering. Just remember who you might be disappointing, if the news ever came out."