"Bruce Holland Rogers - Wind Over Heaven" - читать интересную книгу автора (Rogers Bruce Holland)

worse, I think."
Eric held his breath and drank the stuff. There was grit at the bottom of the glass.
"Let this partner offer you the moon and stars," Gero said. "Don't sell before you talk to me." He
turned back to the stove. "I am making a wonderful sauce for the steak tonight. Something new."
 "We can't..." Eric looked around the kitchen, then lowered his voice. "We can't poison him. Don't
think I haven't thought about it, but we'd never get away with it."
"We need balance," Gero said. "Takes time. You are going to be patient. Meet with your partner,
enjoy a good dinner. Relax."
***


Dinner should not have been relaxing, but it was. By the time the main course had come, Eric was, if
not in a state of bliss, at least profoundly calm. A little sleepy, in fact. He could not have said why.
Certainly, Sutherland's eating habits hadn't suddenly improved. There was nothing calming about seeing
the man belt down his appetizer and salad after only one preliminary, appraising bite of each.
The steaks arrived-- well-done for Sutherland, rare for Eric. The waiter put them down wrong initially,
and Sutherland started cutting into his. "Hey," he said, "I like mine cooked!"
The waiter apologized and exchanged the plates. Then Eric watched as Sutherland cut one modest
bite. "Oh, this is marvelous," he said. "Perfectly marbled. It melts."
"So that's one thing you think I'm doing right," Eric mumbled.
Sutherland laughed. "Not at all," he said. "Serving this to your customers squeezes your margin. I can
get almost as good for considerably less. I think both restaurants ought to use the same meat supplier."
He carved his next bite, an enormous chunk that he hardly chewed before swallowing. Eric supposed
that Sutherland's choking to death was too much to hope for.
At least Eric had the satisfaction of enjoying Gero's steak sauce. It was nouvelle Mexican, a sort of
mole, but lighter on salt than one would expect. There was more chile than chocolate, and on the whole it
had Gero's distinctive wholeness. It was, as Gero would say, balanced. But Sutherland probably wasn't
even tasting it any more.
As soon as he'd swallowed the last piece of meat, Sutherland reached into his pocket for a packet of
folded papers. "I'm making you a take it or leave it deal," he said. "Better price than before. We want to
resolve this, right? I think it's too late to mend fences."
Eric glared.
The price Sutherland quoted was an improvement. He shoved the papers across the table for Eric to
look at.
"All in all, this is simply an unfortunate falling out," Sutherland said. "It happens sometimes." He offered
Eric a pen.
***


Gero had another glass for him like the earlier one, but Eric refused to drink it.
"Is better if you do drink," Gero said.
"Forget that," Eric said. He unfolded the papers. "Everything's drawn up already, see? He's eager to
be rid of me. That increased the price."
"You signed?" Gero said.
"You said I should talk to you first," Eric told him, "so I'm talking. But it's a better deal. Enough better
that I'm thinking you might reconsider. Gero, think about the struggle it would be here, to hold together a
restaurant while Sutherland is trying to break it up into little pieces he can sell."
"I will not go."
"Well I might." Eric held out the papers. "I will."
"You are forgetting your friend who is sick. You are turning your back on Tarragon Leaf."