"Kit Reed - Unlimited" - читать интересную книгу автора (Reed Kit)

early seating. ItтАЩs so early that nobody who is anybody has even thought of arriving,
but for the first time in the decade heтАЩs been eating here, Ryder has failed to get a
window seat. Their table is behind the stairs and entirely too close to the kitchen.
Instead of admiring twilight exhaust fumes above Sunset, his Danish guests are
gaping like gummy fish in a Jell-O aquarium.

It is testimony to RyderтАЩs precarious position that the only contacts he has left
right now are from countries so far away that the news of his imminent demise has
not reached them. Annoyingly, the waiter returns and after a murmured exchange
leaves with RyderтАЩs other plastic. Across from Ryder, his Danish investors sit,
regarding him with unblinking eyes that seem to crack and dry as they wait and go on
waiting. Would they please, just please excuse themselves and go upstairs to the
bathroom? The waiter returns from the register, embarrassed. He grimaces at Ryder.
There is a long silence. A looong silence. Finally one of the Danes reaches across
the table, slipping something into RyderтАЩs hand. Five crisp hundreds. It is
humiliating!

It is both logical and terrible that when he goes to the ATM for valet parking
money the LCD tells Ryder that in both savings and checking departments, he is
functionally a dead man.

WEтАЩVE BEEN SITTING HERE for a long time. A very long time. Do you realize
that youтАЩve exceeded your deposit in billable hours and we havenтАЩt broached the
matter of your problem?

No, we havenтАЩt. IтАЩd like to tell you everything, but IтАЩm just not quite
comfortable.

Oh, donтАЩt get all shy on me. WeтАЩre supposed to be doing business here, and
every minute we sit here not laying our cards on the table is costing you another
hundred. ThatтАЩs six K an hour, which at the rate weтАЩre going is going to be a lot of K
if you decide not to go through with the operation. In for a penny, in for the whole
deal, so you might as well cut to the chase and let it all hang out for me so we can
get started.

YouтАЩre lucky I cleared my calendar tonight. Otherwise IтАЩd be on my way out
the door right now for drinks with my colleagues at the Peninsula before dinner at a
place so exclusive that even you have never heard of it. Snuff show at the interval,
living party favors, yes it is hot тАФthis week, at least. If I were you IтАЩd get on with
this, because every minute we sit here not laying open the spine of this critter is
costing you, so IтАЩll tell you a couple of things and then youтАЩd better get ready to tell
me a couple of things.

I know how it feels to get stuck sitting on an embarrassing problem. Slide this
way, slide that, youтАЩre still stuck on a ridge and the damn thing is cutting into you.
And donтАЩt by any stretch think youтАЩre the first person to walk in here with an
embarrassing problem.

Or the only person sitting here whoтАЩs ever had one. I could tell you things...