TWELVE
Xan scowled at her phone. The chairman of Vasse Prospecting – in fact, the whole Vasse family – were an unpleasant lot. Snobbish and uppity at best; downright litigious at worst. She'd preferred to deal with James Stewart on anything to do with Lorikeet Island. He wasn't any less mercenary – he wanted the mine to make money as much as the Vasse girl and her late mother – but he was a damn sight more pleasant and down-to-earth. The few minutes she'd spent on the phone to Gaia Vasse made her suspect the girl thought anyone less wealthy than the Queen would be beneath her notice.
That's why she'd left the girl to Jay. Jay irritated everybody and, sure enough, he'd offended her the moment he met her. He'd done such a good job that the girl had been livid, as opposed to just being ann
