King of War Tech novel · Chapter 8 of 24

Chapter 8: The Dinner

Thursday night, the Merrick dining room, twelve chairs and one Admiral.

Stellan had invited Dale Wetherington to dinner to show off the family silver and the rig's "recovery."

Marjorie sat at the head in pearls.

Imogen sat across from the Admiral, composed and lovely and cold.

I wore a white server's jacket and carried a tray of soup.

Wednesday's breakfast had been a performance.

Imogen had called me useless in front of her mother, her brother and the cook, and she had not looked away while she did it.

I had stood there and taken it, because she had promised me she would explain.

She hadn't explained yet.

I set a bowl in front of the Admiral and he gave me no sign at all.

He was very good.

"My brother Clyde built the Ridgeback system on a napkin," Stellan told the table.

"I only had to find the pieces."

"And your engineer?" the Admiral asked.

"My lead engineer is a gifted successor to the King."

Stellan lifted his glass toward the thin man at the far end, who would rather be on fire.

"Without Clyde, we'd still be guessing. But with this team, the Merrick name goes on."

"It must be hard," the Admiral said carefully, "to see someone else carry the credit."

"Not hard at all," said Stellan.

I came around with the bread basket.

Imogen picked up her full bowl of hot soup and looked at it.

She looked at me.

I knew exactly what she was about to do.

She tipped it into my lap.

The soup was just under boiling.

It soaked through my trousers and I locked every muscle in my body so I wouldn't cry out.

"Oh," Imogen said. "Clumsy."

"I'm sorry, Mrs. Merrick," I said, and I bowed my head.

The table went silent.

Marjorie narrowed her eyes at her daughter.

Stellan grinned.

"Imo, really. In front of a guest."

"He stands too close," Imogen said. "He always has."

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