Protector (Foreigner, #14)

by C.J. Cherryh

there was no way to change somebody else’s mind, that that person had to change, and that they had to want to change, and the older they were, the less chance they were ever going to change, so there was no good expecting it to happen some morning for no particular reason.

if you ever thought you would get a different answer from the same numbers—you were wrong, that was all.

“Never underestimate the power of people to be swayed by what they want to hear.