Tahlia nodded in agreement, wondering if her boss would be so quick to dump problems off on her if he knew who she actually was. It was one of the many things she enjoyed about her anonymity. She was making a list of who the problematic people were, people who treated their lessers poorly just because of their position. People who misused the respect they were given. There had been, however, several reasons why her boss wasn’t on that list. Aside from shirking social affairs off onto her, he was otherwise the kind of person she wanted in her company. Responsible, respectful, understanding. And he was good in a crisis; a perfect fit for the position he was in.<br/><br/>“There’s honestly no need to keep apologising…” she mustered, a little embarrassed for him and his apparent need to keep reassuring her that this was not the usual fare, or that he’d have offered better if he could have. “I was on a ship once where the galley had suffered a power outage and most of the supplies were lost. Six weeks on protein bars and dried fruits and vegetables will make you grateful for any hot meal that’s in front of you.” of course her father had been furrious at their treatment of his daughter, and the crew had never heard the end of it. She’d tried to alleviate his anger but to no avail.  After a year or two of consistently getting the worst possible postings, most of the crew, including the captain, had left for other jobs. And she couldn’t say she blamed them. This had of course been before she’d started working there. At least her father understood why she was doing what she was doing, and respected her all the more for it.<br/><br/>The woman ate her food with the same elegance as she’d eaten her salad, enjoying listening to the crew talk amongst themselves, joke here and there, and otherwise act like a family. And even better, despite her relative silence, she didn’t feel like an outsider, the occasional comment thrown her direction, or an explanation by way of amusing anecdote keeping her in the loop. By the time the main course was finished, she was feeling much better, though eager for the meal to be over. It had been a long and trying day, and she was looking forwards to getting some sleep.