Stone accepted it gratefully, then sat down to rest and wait.
35
AT FIVE MINUTES after the appointed time the phone in Rita’s flat rang, and Mitzi picked it up. “Yes, please send them up,” she said, then hung up.
“They’re not going to like having a lawyer here,” Stone said.
“I’ll handle it,” Mitzi replied. She went to the door and let in Derek Sharpe, Sig Larsen, and Sig’s wife, Patti. This time there was no maid to serve, so Mitzi trotted out some pre-prepared hors d’oeuvres from the bar fridge, then handed Stone a bottle of vintage Krug champagne to open.
Stone was stunned that Mitzi would waste such a fine bottle on these people, but he uncorked it and filled their thin crystal flutes.
After some small talk Sig placed his briefcase on the coffee table, snapped it open, and lifted the lid. “Mitzi, we have some very exciting things to talk with you about,” he said, “but do you always have your attorney present at financial meetings?”
“Stone is not my attorney,” Mitzi said. “He’s just a friend I’ve been seeing a lot of who happens to be an attorney.”
“Still,” Larsen said, “I’d be grateful if we could meet alone with you. We’ll be discussing some highly confidential information.”
“Perhaps a good investment would interest me,” Stone said.
“With respect, Stone,” Larsen replied smoothly, “I think we’re out of your league here.”
“Stone,” Mitzi said, “would you mind?”
“Not at all,” Stone said, rising.
“Patti,” Larsen said, “why don’t you keep Stone company?”
Stone walked off down a hallway, having no idea where he was going, and Patti trotted along behind him. After a short walk, he emerged into a kitchen, a large room filled with the latest in appliances but decorated as though it were a part of someone’s comfortable home. Stone opened a refrigerator door. “Can I get you something, Patti?” he asked.
Patti came over and looked into the fridge, placing her hand on his ass and squeezing. “Mmmm. Why don’t you open that half bottle of champagne?” she asked.
Stone brought it out then searched the cabinets until he came up with a pair of flutes. He opened the half bottle and poured. There was a sofa in the room, but sexually sated as he was, he didn’t want to share it with Patti, who, on their previous evening together, had been very seductive, so he took a kitchen stool at a counter in the center of the room.
Patti used a stool as a ladder that allowed her to sit on the butcher-block countertop beside him. “I’m glad we have a little time together,” she said. “Last time we met I didn’t see enough of you, so to speak.”
Stone glanced at her hiked-up skirt, which hadn’t been long to begin with and was now near crotch level. “Well, I’m seeing a lot of you now,” he replied.
“Would you like to see more?” she asked playfully, hiking up the skirt until there was nothing between the countertop and her ass. She was not wearing panties, and her wax job was Brazilian.
“Is that the new fashion?” Stone asked. “No underwear?”
“Like it?” she asked.
“What’s not to like?” Stone asked. “I’m sure it attracts a lot of attention.”
“It attracts the attention of only those I’m attracted to,” Patti replied.
“That’s very flattering,” Stone said. He couldn’t think of anything else to say. Clearly, Patti had been sent by her husband to keep him out of the living room, and she was using every technique at her disposal. “I hope no one suddenly walks in here,” he said.
“Oh, no one will,” Patti said. “It’s obviously the maid’s night off, and the others are talking about money, which will hold their attention for some time. I’d say we have at least an hour alone before someone invites us back to the living room.”
“Perhaps you’re right,” Stone said, becoming aroused in spite of himself. He sipped his champagne. “Are you always so free with your favors?”
“When I feel like it,” Patti replied, “and I feel like it tonight. In fact, I’m getting wet just thinking about it.”
“Then I don’t think you need me for a satisfactory resolution to your, ah, condition.”
“Oh, I never need a ma