The next morning, Max woke up to Nico ordering room service, and the sound of numerous voices inside their suite. He had gone to bed a fair bit earlier than she had, at only four in the morning, but the clocks said that it was now almost noon.
Not a bad night's sleep, but he wasn't sure how much everyone else had gotten. They were all half awake and still most definitely on the drunk side of hungover after last night's festivities.
Most of them had only passed out here after the sun had come up, and it was the late morning heat that had awakened them. Breakfast was Nico's method of apology for tricking them into overindulging last night, but from what Max could tell, they all had a good time.
So good that they couldn't even make it up to their rooms.
After quickly getting dressed in his vacation casual best, Max stepped out to join the breakfast assembly, which consisted of a catered buffet on the patio outside their room, between them and the pool. It was overkill, but the scent of food was getting all the guests moving again so that they could actually get to the business that they had come here to negotiate.
This was also part of a businessman's qualifications. If you couldn't hold your liquor, you would be at a disadvantage every day after the first, so they got very good at recovering from hangovers in any way that their species found appropriate.
For some, that was as little as hydrating, downing an entire gallon of water to flush out their system. For others, it was more complex, and they even went as far as calling on the Resort's healing services. But for Max, it was just a nice greasy plate of breakfast with mystery meat sausages and a half dozen fried eggs, served with toast.
All around him the guests were planning which meetings to try to push forward, and which to push back so that they could gain maximum benefit from the current state of those they were doing business with, but there were a few who had been here a while already and had finished their work, so they were planning to relax by the pool.
That was Max's destination for the day, as he had no intentions of doing anything productive on this planet. He had worked two small deals already, and that was enough for a vacation.
Nico had other plans for her day. She hadn't had enough fun with the conspirators last night, and she still had entire files of shameful secrets that she could and would share with the world, just to make sure that they knew they messed with the wrong person.
Of course, most of them weren't going to understand which person was the wrong person to mess with, as so many people had taken a fall in the last day, but that wasn't going to stop Nico from making sure that she had her fun before they left.
It wouldn't really help the hidden corruption on the planet, but it would help keep it limited to just the competent ones, which was an improvement in Max's mind. If you are going to abuse your power, you should at least understand your limits beforehand.
Max had just stretched out on the lounge chair when a shadow fell over him, making him open his eyes to acknowledge their presence.
It was a willowy Dryad girl, and Max was certain it was a girl, not an adult woman going by her thoughts, smiling down at him.
"Good morning, anything that I can help you with today?" He asked politely to the curious nature lover.
She looked around cautiously, then whispered, "Are you hiring?"
Max looked deep into her thoughts, past the surface layer he usually read, and pulled more details from her mind. She was working for a company in the lower levels to pay off her parents' debt, but somehow, the amount owed never seemed to go down, no matter how many hours she worked. So, she had snuck out today before her shift and came to the resort to see if she could find better work with the rich clients here.
She wasn't sure at first who she should ask, but someone had mentioned that the humans had a World Tree on their ship, and that was enough that she was determined to get a job from Max, or find a way to stow away on his ship until they were out of the system, and it was too late to send her back.
Even if she got a short jail term and some work detail as a stowaway, how would that be worse than eternally working to pay off a debt? Plus, they had a world tree. Just getting to see it would be enough to fulfill her bucket list.
"I think that we could use a new hire or two. What sort of experience do you have?" Max asked, testing her people skills.
"I have been a Sous Chef at an international cuisine restaurant for the last three years, I can fix most sorts of dishes, but I specialize in pastries. I also work the evening buffet, serving the private rooms, and I have extensive knowledge of the local wines, as well as some foreign vintages." She quietly but proudly responded.
"Not bad, guests always need good advice on wine to go with new dishes. Do you learn quickly? Most of the food on our cruise ship will be new to you." Max asked, already knowing the answer.
"That's fine, I learn quickly, and I have a taste for many different kinds of plants, as all Dryads do. I'm not as good with meat-based dishes, but I learn them quickly." She replied.
"Alright, come into my suite and I will work on a way to get you off world. Do you have your documents?" Max asked.
"As a matter of fact, I do." She beamed, and showed Max her Alliance passport.
The document was still warm from the printers, and her memories told Max that she had picked it up from a shop in the Black Market under an hour ago. It also said that she was about ten years older than she actually was, but the photo seemed to be hers, and according to his scan, the document was legitimate, so he could plead innocent if there were any questions about her leaving the planet.
There were no laws preventing them from leaving to work, that was all left to the hiring party being willing to take on a foreign worker. They just had to be old enough.
She was, even if she had given Max her real identification, she was legally old enough to work, both by Alliance and Reaver standards, so he escorted her back to the secondary door that led to the office in his suite, then flipped the switch that would soundproof the room and mark it as in a business meeting to the staff so that they wouldn't be disturbed.
"Alright, the plan is fairly simple. We're going to be here for a few days, but I will make you disappear into my ship today, before anyone reports you missing. I have a security specialist with me that will be able to take care of the details, and you just need to wait a few days in the Commander's suite aboard my yacht. Is that alright by you?" Max asked.
The Dryad nodded rapidly, wanting to make sure that she had agreed before he could change his mind. There was a visit with a World Tree at stake here.
