"Okay," Fred said, "I'll give you an hour. Afterward, shower, change, and come to my office. There's something I need you to do."

Puzzled, Rhea replied, "Okay."

A while later, she arrived at Fred's office. The backless dress he'd sent her accentuated her figure, but Rhea felt uneasy. She'd worn similar clothes before, but this felt different; she sensed Fred was exploiting her. Rhea resented this; she allowed others to exploit her intellect and talent, never her body.

Fred sized her up and nodded. "You look great! Tell me about your plan."

Rhea attempted to mask her frustration. "I'll spike his drinks and hypnotize him while we chat. He'll unwittingly fall under my control."

"No!" Fred's gaze met hers, conveying his disapproval. "He's cautious. He won't drink anything you offer."

"I'll coax him," Rhea insisted. "I'll find a way to get him to take the drug."

"You underestimate him," Fred countered, aware of Ross's shrewdness.

"Then what?" Rhea felt her confidence falter.

"Don't worry about the drug. I'll handle that." Fred leaned against his desk, thoughtful. "Just ensure you hypnotize him, and that your drug will be effective."

Rhea straightened, a smile returning to her face. "I promise it will work!"

Though nervous, she concealed it, reminding herself of the success of her experiment on Mike. Even if Mike had been easier to hypnotize, she believed she could replicate the results. Life's a gamble. I just have to take a risk! she thought.

Changing in her room, she called Mike to confirm her experiment's success. She questioned him about Alex and others, learning about Prince Ross in the process. The information mirrored her target's profile, confirming the prince as her objective. She also ascertained Ross's length of stay and discovered he wasn't solely there for official business; he was also investigating Fred.

This unexpected intelligence thrilled Rhea; it validated the effectiveness of her hypnotic technique on Mike.