“Can you please drive faster?” Zeda pleaded with the cab driver, who was singing loudly and cruising along as if he were on a Sunday sightseeing tour.

She had wolfed down her meal at a nearby restaurant to try and arrive for training on time.

She didn’t want to be late for her first session, or give Adrian any reason to think she was unserious.

He was already resentful of the obligation to tutor her, and she was certain he would seize any mistake on her part to excuse himself.

When ...