It had never been the nice ones who'd stuck with him. They hadn't wormed into his mind and lodged deep in the sense of self-loathing his patrons occupied. But sometimes they'd made him smile, and he's smiling back at her now.

"Yeah. Never got to spend a lot of time with the ones who didn't move in the top circles, but sometimes I'd meet a nice one."

He shrugs. "It was a nice change, to meet someone who wanted to do something nice without expecting anything in return."