[ it's a power move and they both know it. she's not usually this cold. after all, jean-luc had only seen half of this side of her and she'd never wanted to show him the full thing. it's just riker's bad luck that he's meeting her on a day where she's putting on such a front, playing a poker game of emotions. can he figure her out, is he able to see through her and willing to call her out on it? her will zimmerman would have done it long ago and brought her crashing down to earth. only time will tell if will riker is willing to do the same.
for now, she pauses only long enough to examine him and then lift her chin a fraction of an inch before she continues her train of thought. ]
I would imagine that this is an effort in politeness, which, I assure you, I would normally be well-versed in. [ and willing to entertain. she is a victorian-born woman, after all, and that often shines through with her mannerisms. ] How about we drop the charade? We both know why we're here. You want to grill me on my relationship with your captain, I'll answer, and we can both be on our way.
[ her mouth tilts up at the corners and she tilts her head in a very "so how about it?" way. her cards are out on the table now, most of them. she may or may not be hiding an ace somewhere, but that's for later. right now, she's testing him, both because she does want to get out of this prickly conversation as quickly as possible and because she's interested in seeing how good a second in commander this will riker really is. ]