Eros at Zenith: Book 2 of Tales of the Velvet Comet Read Online Free PDF Page B

always be in the right place at the right time.”
    “How long has she been the madam?”
    “A little less than a year.”
    “You've seen a lot of them come and go,” he noted. “How does she measure up?”
    “She'll be a good one. She's still getting the feel of the job, but her priorities are right: she puts the Comet first, herself second, and everyone and everything else last.”
    “Do all the madams come up through the ranks?”
    “All but one,” she answered. “We imported one about 15 years ago, but it didn't work out.”
    “Did you ever have one who hadn't worked as a prostitute?”
    “That's like having a prizefight referee who didn't know the rules of boxing,” replied the Dragon Lady.
    “The problems a madam deals with are unique, and so she requires unique knowledge and training to handle them.” She paused. “You look unconvinced.”
    “I never had to be a murderer to know how one thinks.”
    “It's not the same thing,” the Dragon Lady pointed out. “Her job is administrative; yours isn't. Why are you so interested in her?”
    “If I'm going to be here for any length of time, I'm going to have to deal with her. I want to know what she's like.”
    “I thought you said you met her.”
    “I can always use a second opinion,” he responded, as the waiter arrived with his dessert. “What about Oglevie?”
    “What about him?”
    “The Black Pearl doesn't think too much of him.”
    “He's very efficient at his job, as long as you don't turn your back on him.”
    “Lazy?”
    She smiled. “Ambitious.”
    “Then why is he your second in command?”
    “It's easier to keep an eye on him that way. And when I retire, he'll make a pretty good Security Chief. None of my objections to him concern the quality of his work.” She paused. “Still, I'm eight years from retirement. If a better prospect comes along...”
    “These are marvelous strawberries,” he commented. “Would you like some?”
    She stared at them, then sighed. “Just one,” she said, reaching across with a spoon. “My downfall,” she added wryly. “You wouldn't think that gaining one ounce per month is any great sin, but after a quarter of a century it really starts adding up.” She put the strawberry in her mouth. “Delicious!” she murmured.
    “Then order some.”
    She shook her head. “I'm on a diet. I lose my body weight every five years, but it doesn't seem to make much difference.” She stared at his plate. “Well, perhaps one more...”
    “Have them all,” he said, shoving the strawberries across the table to her. “I'm finished.”
    “I really shouldn't.”
    “Eat them,” he said. “I'd like to feel your mind is on business once we walk out of here.”
    “Funny,” she commented with a smile. “Guilt doesn't make them taste any worse.”
    Suddenly the lights flickered, and Crane felt mildly disoriented.
    “What's going on?” he asked. “Is there some kind of power failure?”
    The Dragon Lady laughed. “Nothing as serious as that. It's just the death of the universe.”
    “What are you talking about?”
    “The room, Mr. Crane. Take a look at it.”
    He did so, and saw that one by one the galaxies were flickering and going out, that all Creation seemed to be contracting and coalescing into a tiny ball of energy. Soon the entire room was in total darkness except for one incredibly bright pinpoint of light.
    Then the walls and the ramp around his table seemed to shudder, and suddenly the pinpoint exploded into a million embryonic stars and galaxies.
    “The Big Bang?” he asked.
    “Impressive, isn't it?” she replied. “That's why I like this restaurant above all the others. The cuisine is excellent in each of them, but where else can you watch the re-birth of the universe every two hours?”
    He watched the dark clouds of gaseous matter begin to twinkle with stellar life and start swirling off into the distance, trailing the stuff of stars behind them like long, lazy tails.
    “Impressive's as