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Description
"Doctor." She curtly corrected.
"Pardon?" Her interrogator raised a curious eyebrow at her.
Rose sighed, letting puffs of gray smoke seep past her lips. "I prefer you call me Dr. Chu. If you want to talk about my work, you should use my professional title."
The man was slightly taken aback, not only because of the pointed tone of her statement but also that this was her first choice of words. She had been purposely left to wait in the dark interrogation room for hours and hadn't spoken once. The woman had gone through about four or five cigarettes, putting them out on the floor when she was done and crushing the butts under her patent leather heels. She would sigh occasionally and fidgeted constantly. The empty room had been completely filled with the clacking of her gloved fingers on the table. He had hoped this meant she was anxious, or perhaps worried they had uncovered some dark secret of her past. This was part of the reason why he had chosen to begin questioning, but now that he was meeting her dark gaze he couldn't see a single sign of anxiety. If anything she offered only disinterest and annoyance. The narrow glare seemed a permanent feature of her face.
"Alright then Dr. Chu it is..." He replied, baring pearly white teeth in what could be described as a smile but only by very loose definition. "Back to the task at hand, if you will. I have a few questions regarding your work."
She gave a slight nod, falling back into silence. He noticed her curious glance at the manila folders in front of him. Perhaps she was anxious after all.
"How long have you been working at Phoenix Corporation, Dr. Chu?" He asked.
"A year." She gave an expectantly short response.
"And before that?" A smirk played ever so slightly on his lips, just waiting for the opportunity to catch her in a lie.
Rose's own lips pursed thin for a moment before taking one last long, drawn out drag of her cigarette. She flicked the butt onto the floor with the rest of them. She turned to him and gave him a look so cold that he nearly shivered. The cigarette remnants made a soft "crunch" as she put out the ember, glare never moving from his face. She blew the remaining clouds of smoke in his direction before answering.
"I was on sabbatical..." The corners of the good doctor's lips turned slightly upward as if daring him to claim otherwise.
He tried to remain composed, waving the smoke from his face and stifling a cough. He tapped a firm finger on the folder in front of him, watching her vision drift back down to it for a split second. He pushed it forward a little, though the long table between them still left it out of her reach.
“A five year sabbatical?” He frowned, not hiding his disbelief.
“Yes.” She replied matter-of-factly.
“Isn’t that a bit long? I would have thought you’d be eager to get to work…” He leaned back in his chair, watching her carefully. “...with your father being so sick, after all.”
Her expression turned grim at the mention of her father. Or at least, grimmer than it had been a moment ago. He had hit a sore spot and he could tell. Unfortunately, this didn’t cause as much of a stumble as he had hoped.
“My mother’s inheritance was enough to keep him well.” She retorted, the words holding a contemptuous bite. “And the five year break gave me plenty of time to take care of him.”
“Hmm.” He frowned, biting the inside of his cheek and continuing to tap the folder.
“What about your eye?” He went on. “Did you lose it during your sabbatical? How did it happen?”
“I thought I was here to talk about my work.” She sneered a little, toxin seething from her tone.
“It had to have happened some time in those five years. There are photos of you after your graduation, two eyes and all.” He continued, ignoring her rebuttal. “What could have possibly happened in that time I wonder... Was there some sort of accident around the house? Did you get yourself into trouble with the wrong people?”
His voice feigned concern. He leaned in on his elbow, waiting for her response, watching for a dent in her icy armor. Rose stared at him for a long time. Not a glare or a glower, but an unnervingly still stare. It was more like she was looking past him then at him. She was thinking about something, her eye slightly glassy as she drifted further into her thought.
“Ms. Chu!” He cleared his throat, bringing her back to the present.
Her gaze settled back on him, again regarding him with irritation. She let out a tired sigh and reached into her coat. Nimble fingers pulled out a half empty carton of cigarettes. She picked one out from the bunch and placed it between her teeth.
“Doctor.”

Rose has an infinite amount of patience when it comes to things like this. Really, I'm pretty sure she can wait a person out fueled on pure spite. It's near impossible to get her to say anything she doesn't want to say.
I'm sure the IGA has it's ways though...

Half-Body Colored Sketch [x2] (20 oz) + Full-Body Colored Finished (25 oz) + Simple Background (5 oz)+ 842 words (20 oz)+ 15 oz = 85 oz

Description
"Doctor." She curtly corrected.
"Pardon?" Her interrogator raised a curious eyebrow at her.
Rose sighed, letting puffs of gray smoke seep past her lips. "I prefer you call me Dr. Chu. If you want to talk about my work, you should use my professional title."
The man was slightly taken aback, not only because of the pointed tone of her statement but also that this was her first choice of words. She had been purposely left to wait in the dark interrogation room for hours and hadn't spoken once. The woman had gone through about four or five cigarettes, putting them out on the floor when she was done and crushing the butts under her patent leather heels. She would sigh occasionally and fidgeted constantly. The empty room had been completely filled with the clacking of her gloved fingers on the table. He had hoped this meant she was anxious, or perhaps worried they had uncovered some dark secret of her past. This was part of the reason why he had chosen to begin questioning, but now that he was meeting her dark gaze he couldn't see a single sign of anxiety. If anything she offered only disinterest and annoyance. The narrow glare seemed a permanent feature of her face.
"Alright then Dr. Chu it is..." He replied, baring pearly white teeth in what could be described as a smile but only by very loose definition. "Back to the task at hand, if you will. I have a few questions regarding your work."
She gave a slight nod, falling back into silence. He noticed her curious glance at the manila folders in front of him. Perhaps she was anxious after all.
"How long have you been working at Phoenix Corporation, Dr. Chu?" He asked.
"A year." She gave an expectantly short response.
"And before that?" A smirk played ever so slightly on his lips, just waiting for the opportunity to catch her in a lie.
Rose's own lips pursed thin for a moment before taking one last long, drawn out drag of her cigarette. She flicked the butt onto the floor with the rest of them. She turned to him and gave him a look so cold that he nearly shivered. The cigarette remnants made a soft "crunch" as she put out the ember, glare never moving from his face. She blew the remaining clouds of smoke in his direction before answering.
"I was on sabbatical..." The corners of the good doctor's lips turned slightly upward as if daring him to claim otherwise.
He tried to remain composed, waving the smoke from his face and stifling a cough. He tapped a firm finger on the folder in front of him, watching her vision drift back down to it for a split second. He pushed it forward a little, though the long table between them still left it out of her reach.
“A five year sabbatical?” He frowned, not hiding his disbelief.
“Yes.” She replied matter-of-factly.
“Isn’t that a bit long? I would have thought you’d be eager to get to work…” He leaned back in his chair, watching her carefully. “...with your father being so sick, after all.”
Her expression turned grim at the mention of her father. Or at least, grimmer than it had been a moment ago. He had hit a sore spot and he could tell. Unfortunately, this didn’t cause as much of a stumble as he had hoped.
“My mother’s inheritance was enough to keep him well.” She retorted, the words holding a contemptuous bite. “And the five year break gave me plenty of time to take care of him.”
“Hmm.” He frowned, biting the inside of his cheek and continuing to tap the folder.
“What about your eye?” He went on. “Did you lose it during your sabbatical? How did it happen?”
“I thought I was here to talk about my work.” She sneered a little, toxin seething from her tone.
“It had to have happened some time in those five years. There are photos of you after your graduation, two eyes and all.” He continued, ignoring her rebuttal. “What could have possibly happened in that time I wonder... Was there some sort of accident around the house? Did you get yourself into trouble with the wrong people?”
His voice feigned concern. He leaned in on his elbow, waiting for her response, watching for a dent in her icy armor. Rose stared at him for a long time. Not a glare or a glower, but an unnervingly still stare. It was more like she was looking past him then at him. She was thinking about something, her eye slightly glassy as she drifted further into her thought.
“Ms. Chu!” He cleared his throat, bringing her back to the present.
Her gaze settled back on him, again regarding him with irritation. She let out a tired sigh and reached into her coat. Nimble fingers pulled out a half empty carton of cigarettes. She picked one out from the bunch and placed it between her teeth.
“Doctor.”

Rose has an infinite amount of patience when it comes to things like this. Really, I'm pretty sure she can wait a person out fueled on pure spite. It's near impossible to get her to say anything she doesn't want to say.
I'm sure the IGA has it's ways though...

Half-Body Colored Sketch [x2] (20 oz) + Full-Body Colored Finished (25 oz) + Simple Background (5 oz)+ 842 words (20 oz)+ 15 oz = 85 oz