"That's fair enough," she says. She considers.

"Tell you what; we'll drop it. There's nothing you can use to hurt me or anyone else in your question, nothing important. It's just not fun to talk about. You're doing good work and I don't mean you any harm. I'd like to help you, if I could." That's the point of the questions, ultimately.

"You can decide how much you want to trust me in your own time."