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glance around the room. I would have bet that he'd take a table right
next to a wall to put my back to, but boxing me in wasn't in his game
plan.
The table we stopped at stood right in the middle of the large room,
and the other tables around us were all occupied - with distinctly
amused diners. One of the room's many crystal chandeliers was
directly above the table, the gleam of it setting up an echoing gleam
in the Illian lace of the top tablecloth. Ringer and Val each chose
an armchair and sat and, after a very brief hesitation, so did I. The
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security men, however, stayed on their feet, ranging themselves two
behind me and two behind Val and Ringer. The four men, of course, had
their eyes directly on me, just as they obviously thought they should.
I moved around in my armchair to get comfortable while watching
Ringer gesture to a robot waiter. Val had his eyes on me in a
thoughtful way, and there was no sign of the anger he'd shown earlier
in the suite. He seemed to be thinking about what I'd done, and
knowing he was pawing through my actions looking for motivations
bothered me for some reason. I shifted in the chair again, met his
eyes briefly, then decided to look away and not look back. There was
something about the way he studied me that once again seemed to have
nothing to do with a business relationship, but that was stupid. He
couldn't possibly have missed learning his lesson&
"We'll order now," Ringer was saying to the robot that had glided
over. "Two true steaks, medium rare, for the other gentleman and
myself, and two bottles of Aneran beer. The young lady will have a
large plate of mixed vegetables and a cup of tea."
"Vegetables and tea?" I echoed as the robot left to pick up the order
it had already transmitted to the kitchens. "Come on, Ringer, you
don't seriously expect me to eat that?"
"You'll eat it or I'll feed it to you," Ringer growled in answer, his
head down a little, his eyes looking up at me. "Someone who gets as
involved in physical exercise as you do needs a good, healthy meal to
keep them going. Consider it a bonus for your recent short distance
run and shut up."
He kept his eyes on me, so I slumped down in the chair with a
disgusted expression on my face. It was punishment time again, and
Ringer was saying that if not for my attempted break I would have
gotten steak too. The security men showed appreciation of the gesture
by the grins on their faces, and I thought fleetingly of how pleasant
it would be to walk over all of them.
We sat and waited in silence, and it didn't take very long before the
food arrived. The steaks put in front of Ringer and Val had been
grilled to drooling perfection, the beer poured into their glasses
tall, cold, golden life-blood. Ringer knew well enough how I
appreciated good food, and he smiled a little when the buttered yams
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Tanderon by Sharon Green - Chapter 5
and soft, hot rolls were added to the table near the steaks. I gazed
lovingly at the best food I was likely to see in a long time, then
closed my eyes when the plate of plain vegetables was set in front of
me.
"Pick up your fork, Diana," Ringer directed, and I opened my eyes to
see him watching me with amused attention. I had a very strong urge
to forget about any satisfaction due him and give him indigestion
even before he tasted that grilled glory, but I like to think I have
more self-control than that. I sighed silently in resignation, and
stuck with my original resolve.
"Ringer, you can't do this to me!" I said desperately, leaning
forward toward him. "How do you expect me to eat nothing but
vegetables with something like that steak staring me in the face? And
that beer! Do you know how long it's been since - "
"Start eating," Ringer interrupted, a hard look now in his eyes.
"I'll enjoy my own meal more once I see that you've started yours. If
I have to say it again, I'll sit you on my lap and shovel it in with
a spoon."
I let my gaze flicker back and forth to the people at the tables
around us, some of whom were paying close, grinning attention,
glanced again at Ringer, then lowered my eyes and reluctantly picked
up the fork. Ringer grunted in satisfaction and turned to his own
meal, and we ate in silence. In point of fact I love vegetables and
Xanadu O.S.'s kitchens had done a marvelous job on them, but I ate
them as though they were the last thing in the world that I wanted.
Actually I wasn't much in the mood for anything - including one of
those steaks - but Ringer didn't have to know that. At least when I
left over most of what had been given me, no one would wonder why or
try to argue.
When the food was all gone, Ringer was in a good mood again. I could
tell that by the higher key growl in his voice when he ordered me to
my feet. I sent him a cold glare, but let myself be herded out of the
dining room anyway. The security men had had a good chuckle over what
Ringer had done, but once we were moving through the amusement area
again their lightheartedness left them. They watched me just as
though I were their own personal fortune, and before I knew it we had
passed the entrance to the hospital area and were crossing the
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threshold into the docking area.
Station docking areas are so big that they take your breath away even
when you're used to them. People are constantly arriving and leaving,
and there's always a knot of perpetual waiters, people whose liner
shuttles haven't reached the station yet. Bright lights indicate the
various liner shuttle bays spaced out around the perimeter of the [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]