"Two steaks, please," he said to the waitress. "I've had one already today," he told me confidentially, "but don't tell Ama if you see her-I'm supposed to be on a diet."
He prattled on while we were waiting for the steak, telling me about his doctor, the business, his customers. I smiled pleasantly, arched my eyebrows, threw him a question whenever he paused for breath. I hated this part of the sell. I couldn't wait to get down to the nitty-gritty. I kept glancing around, looking for the steak, taking in the staff and customers. There was a waitress serving dessert at a table by the window. A nice figure. Long legs. Cafran said something about a magician he'd seen on TV. Magic was a hobby of his-he knew lots of tricks and offered to show me a few later. I said that would be nice. My eyes flicked lazily at the leggy waitress again. She'd just finished dishing up the dessert.
The waitress turned and I immediately lost all interest in Cafran Reed, insurance deals and everything else. It was the woman from the stairs! She looked up from her cart, smiling mechanically, and saw me. The smile cracked. One hand dropped the knife it had been holding and it knocked over a small trifle. She recovered, carried on serving, and made her way across to my table.
Cafran beamed when she arrived. "Ama," he said, "I'd like you to meet Capac Raimi. Capac, this is my daughter, Ama Situwa."
"A pleasure," I said, reaching out a trembling hand to shake hers.
"Likewise." The instant our fingers touched I got a hard-on. She felt it all the way through my palm and smiled. "I think we've met before, Mr. Raimi." Her voice was exotic, an accent I couldn't place.
"Please, call me Capac. Yes, I think our paths have crossed. Once."
"Really?" Cafran was excited. "What a coincidence. Where?"
"I can't quite recall," Ama said. "Do you, Capac?"
"I think it was at a party," I said, smiling leanly. "Up in the city somewhere. The central region, maybe."
"Of course. We passed upon the stairs, as the old song goes."
"That's right."
She had a smile I wanted to frame. Her tongue had a habit of flicking past her front teeth between sentences. "We must get together again soon," she purred.
"Just name a time and place," I told her.
"I will." She turned to speak to Cafran. I felt myself throbbing uncontrollably. I gripped the edge of the table and suppressed a shudder. I missed what she said to her father and the next thing I knew, she was facing me again. "Nice to see you again, Capac. I might drop by later, perhaps for dessert."
"That would be nice." Hell yes! Her on a plate with a sprinkling of sugar and nothing else. The image set me drooling as she continued on her rounds, favoring me with short, wicked smiles every so often. It was going to be a nightmare trying to concentrate on work, but I had to make the effort.
"That's quite a pair of eyes you have on you," Cafran said drily when I finally looked at him again. "It doesn't pay to ogle a girl in front of her father."
"Sorry, Mr. Reed, I-"
He burst into laughter. "I jest. Ama is quite an attraction. I don't blame young men for gawking. I even take it as a compliment."
I smiled awkwardly. "You said her name was Ama Situwa. Is she married?"
"No. Her mother and I went our separate ways some years ago. It was not an amicable split. She returned with Ama to her home country, took back her maiden name and kept the two of us apart."
"Then how come…? " I nodded at his mesmerizing daughter.
He sighed. "Ama's mother died four years ago. She told Ama I was a monster, so Ama found it difficult to approach me, even when she was left alone. Finally she came to judge for herself, found me innocent, and we've been together since, making up for those sad, lost years."
The steaks arrived and we tucked into them. When we were finished we leaned back in our chairs and nibbled some mints. "So," Cafran said, rubbing his stomach and smiling with contentment. "You've come to try and sell me insurance."
"That's right," I smiled. "I've got some great policies lined up, at prices you're going to sing over."
"I very much doubt that. I've never paid for insurance, not since I got stung in my youth. It's a moneymaking racket. One of the main reasons I remain in this city is its lax insurance laws where businesses are concerned."
"And that's largely because of The Cardinal," I noted. "He keeps the law off the small entrepreneur's back. Without him you wouldn't be able to operate so freely."
"That's true."
"So why not pay him back? Take out one of our options. Call it a gesture of friendship. One good turn…"
He laughed. "The Cardinal doesn't set the city's insurance standards with me in mind. I owe him nothing, he doesn't owe me, and I like it that way."
"But-"
Cafran held up a silencing hand. "There's nothing better after a good meal than a magic trick." He dug into a pocket and produced a stick of celery and a finger guillotine. He placed them on a white napkin in the center of the table. "This is one of my favorites. Simple, classic, timeless.
"Ladies and gentlemen!" he boomed, startling me. I glanced around and noticed other customers smiling-they were used to these displays. "Cafran the Great is proud to present, all the way from anarchist France, Madame Guillotine! Severer of heads, the blade with the thirsty edge, the killer of kings, most lethal of stings, the steel which kisses and never misses. The victim goes in." He pushed the celery through the hole in the contraption. "The blade goes up." He pulled the small blade to the top. "The blood-hungry hags get ready to sup. The lever's released, the blade comes down!" He slammed it down, chopping through the stalk of celery. "The head of the victim spins around."
The spectators applauded. Cafran picked up the two pieces of the celery, held them for all to see, then handed them to the waitress to dispose of. "Now," he said cheerfully, "do we have a volunteer?" He looked at me and reluctantly I raised an answering arm. Cafran reached across for one of my fingers.
"You know," I said as he eased the middle finger of my right hand into the hole, "I can think of an excellent reason why you should take one of our policies."
"Oh?" he asked, frowning, concentrating on the trick. "What would that be?"
"Your daughter."
Cafran's smile froze and he faced me slowly. "Would you mind expanding on that remark?" His voice was cold.
"If you want to keep your daughter, sign for me."
"Is this a threat?" His fingers were clutching mine and I suddenly realized this wasn't the best of times to play games. But it was too late to stop.
"No. I'm making you an offer. You buy insurance from me, I let you keep your daughter."
He sneered. "I thought you were a nice young man but a rat's whiskers always twitch sooner rather than later. But you forget, my young, vicious friend, that you cannot harm me or my daughter. The Cardinal forbids it."
"I wasn't talking about harming Ama."
"Then what, to put it bluntly, were you fucking talking about?"
I leaned forward. "I wouldn't harm a hair on Ama's head, but I can and will take her away from you if you refuse to come to an agreement with me."
"You plan to kidnap her?" He was more bemused than angry now.
"No. I'm talking about marriage, Mr. Reed."
He stared at me uncomprehendingly. "What sort of a salesman are you?"
"One who'll take advantage of any opportunity. I believe Ama and I are made for each other. There's chemistry between us. She'll love me, given time. In fact I think she'll come to love me so much, she'll do anything I ask. If I leave this city and head for some godforsaken corner of the Earth, she'll follow. You'll never see her again if I do that, Cafran." I smiled. "Or can I call you Daddy?"