She smiled faintly, looking out at the city. Sometimes, she decided, a woman needed the hardest, most uncompromising things to remind her how soft she could still be. She didn't need a game; she just needed a match.
Mature , she thought, tracing the cool edge of it. Not frivolous. Precise. mature hard toyed
On her mahogany desk sat a small, velvet box. It wasn't jewelry. She smiled faintly, looking out at the city
When it was over, she didn't feel cheapened or used. She felt revitalized, grounded, and in control. She placed the device back into the velvet box, its matte surface unscathed, its power dormant. She smiled faintly
