Free Empire Builders by Ben Bova

said, grinning.
    “Now, should I call the police, or are you willing to make amends?” “What do you want, a blow job?”
    His grin widened. “That would be nice. For a start.”
    An hour later he was lying on his back in the darkened bedroom and Kate was saying: “...so I left Alphonsus right after he did and came straight here.
    But I felt so damned tired in this gravity that I had to go to bed.” “A good place for you to be,” Gaetano murmured.
    “Good for you.”
    “You didn’t enjoy yourself?” She did not answer.
    “Those screams of ecstasy were faked? You should be an actress, then, not a lawyer.”
    “A lawyer has to be a good actress, sometimes.”
    “Come on now, you had a good time, didn’t you? Didn’t you?”
    In the shadowy lighting from the room’s curtained window, she could not make out the expression on his face. But she heard the anxiety in his voice, and she knew that she did not want to make him unhappy with her.
    “I wasn’t acting,” she lied. “You know I couldn’t do that. And I don’t have to. Not with you.” “Am I as good as Dan Randolph?” Gaetano asked.
    She shrugged her naked shoulders. “I don’t know. I’ve never been to bed with him.” “Never?”
    “He’s never pushed it that far.” “But he has a reputation.”
    “I think he’s getting too old for his reputation.” “Really?”
    “He’s never done anything more than make jokes to me.” Gaetano fell silent. Then, “Do you think he suspects you?”
    “No way. He fell for the Mitchell acquisition without a quaver.” “Malik thinks it was all his idea. He thinks you’re working for him.”
    Kate said, “I am. And for you.”
    “For me,” he said sharply. “You work for Malik only because I want you to.” “Right. I know that.”
    “How is your sister?” he asked, maliciously.
    “She’s almost through rehab. She’s been clean for six months now.”
    “It will be difficult for her to find employment, you know, with her record.”
    Kate snarled to herself, I know, you olive-oil bastard. I know! “I will help you there, as well,” Gaetano went on. “We can be of great help to one another.”
    Bitterly, she replied, “Maybe we ought to get married, then, if we’re so damned helpful to each other.” Even in the darkness she could see his eyes go round. “Married?”
    Then he laughed, loud and so hard that he ended up coughing.
    Cough your lungs out, bastard. You and your Russian friend, both. But she knew that she was tied to this man and his schemes. There was no way out; each step she took to help him gain more power tied her to him all the closer. Christ on the cross, we might as well be married, she thought. I hate him enough to be.

TEN

    TO HIS SURPRISE, Dan found Nobuhiko already in the silent kitchen of the Yamagata house, sitting alone at the table closest to the big walk-in freezer. A bowl of cereal and fruit stood in front of him, next to a steaming mug of tea. He was wearing a white shirt and a tie of deep blue with the inevitable white herons on it. His suit jacket was neatly folded over the back of the chair beside him. Business costume, Dan knew. He’s the head of the company now; probably going to Tokyo to meet with his board of directors. “You’re up early,” Dan said.
    “You too.”
    “I need to charter a plane.”
    “I’ll get you one of the company’s planes. Where are you going?” “Tetiaroa. It’s a coral atoll near Tahiti .”
    Nobuhiko’s brows rose a fraction of a millimeter. “A romantic tryst?”
    With a displeased shake of his head, Dan replied, “I’m in no mood for romance right now.”
    “Ah, yes.” Nobo took a crunching spoonful of his cereal while Dan followed the aroma to the automatic coffee maker that had been set up the night before.
    “Did you sleep well?” Nobo asked as Dan poured himself a cup. “So-so. How about you?”
    “Hardly a wink. I feel as if a great weight has been hung on my shoulders.” Dan slid into the chair