"Lois Gresh - Termination Node" - читать интересную книгу автора (Gresh Lois)

and get on with his day. Jittery, as usual, too hyper—as if his blood pumped the morph without needing
synthetic ingredients.

Dark chiseled hair, high cheekbones—Steve was a handsome man. His sharp black eyes sparked with
excitement, intelligence ... and total focus.

Aside from the computer on his desk, there was no equipment in his office. Just fake-antique plywood
bookshelves, fake potted plants, his velvet throne—even the velvet was fake—and a plush reclining chair
for visitors.

Judy didn't feel like sitting in the recliner. The seat was too high, made her feet dangle over the floor,
made her feel like a midget or a little kid. Made her feel diminished.

The point of the visitor's chair, no doubt.

She stared out the window at a mutated banana tree: genetically altered so it wouldn't grow fruit. "What
about DVD? When do we finish that?" she asked without turning.

"Rodriguez will be here any minute. The guard will flash a note on my computer. We pacify Rodriguez,
then you go fix the Laguna problem. But I need a time frame, Judy."

Pacify Rodriguez without any sleep. Oh, great.

"Oops. Rodriguez is here earlier than I expected. The security guard just let him in, Guess it's show time.
This won't take long, then I need to know about the bank."

There was a knock at the door, and Steve rose from behind his desk. At five feet eight inches, he was six
inches taller than Judy. He wore a tan linen suit, complete with tie and cuff links.

By the time she moved from the window, Hector Rodriguez and Steve were shaking hands, rah-rahing
each other like best friends ... good to see you, buddy ... how's the wife? ... we gotta get together for that
drink sometime soon ... and blah blah blah,
Like either one of them cared.

Hector Rodriguez wore fancier clothes than Steve. Navy suit, white shirt, paisley tic, black polished
shoes. Another handsome guy, charming actually, with a smile that almost made her feel like he was real.

But of course, he wasn't. He was executive vice president of the southwest region of Widescreen DVD,
the second-largest video sales chain in the United States. He knew when to turn on the charm, and when
to turn it off.

Rodriguez smiled at her.

He had come here to get something from her.

"Hello, Miss Carmody." He settled into the recliner and swept his eyes over her body. She had no idea
what he thought of her. She could never tell with these guys. With Judy, there was never any of that
rah-rah buddy stuff going on. She was a girl in a man's universe.

She sat on the edge of the windowsill, now glad to be wearing her mismatched, silly outfit, It gave her a