Zaeed actually has the most to say on other people's missions, but if he doesn't fit your combat style, you won't see it.
The game doesn't have absolute paragon/renegade requirements, but keeps track of how many of each you potentially *could* have and tests if you have some fraction of that. The cumulative potential P/R scores don't include the import carryover/bonus points, though, so ME1 characters should have little problem with even the toughest checks (like
).
Did you get far enough on the convo, though? The paragon option should appear on the top left whether or not you're able to select it (greyed out if you can't).
edit -- ah wait, you never did play ME1! When you finish this playthrough you should buy ME1, play that, and play this again... The game is much better with an import character, lots of really well done touches. The non-import Shepard doesn't even get to meet the coolest character in the series!