Waking the Zed - By ML Katz Page 0,12
But those young lovers had been fickle, and Dr. Klein had learned to subsume romance under her ambition. She had done that for three decades until she encountered Enrico, who must have been a very young child when she first prefaced her name with the title of doctor. Pam had not even been born yet.
Though Enrico seemed completely engaged in Dr. Klein, he allowed his thoughts to roam elsewhere. Enrico supposed that his employer must be a millionaire several times over. He made a very good salary as a biomedical engineer for this firm, and he could have his pick of jobs all over the world. But he pictured another lifestyle for himself. If she succeeded in rousing her frozen clients, her income might be limitless. Every family with enough money would be eager to consign their loved ones to Future Faith Cryonics. He assumed she would still allow her work to absorb most of her time, and he would have plenty of time to enjoy her money and whatever other amusements that would bring him.
Enrico did share some of Pam’s concerns about Dr. Klein’s delusions though. This experiment might be totally bogus. He barely regarded it from any sort of spiritual angle, but only thought of profit. But even if she failed, she would still be incredibly rich. Perhaps Enrico could divert Dr. Klein’s energies towards some more practical uses for her famous name and resources.
Success or failure, Enrico would win.
“Enrico, what do you mean when you say we need to end the charade?” Did he want to end their affair? Her heart seemed to block her throat.
“Ada, I never want to lose you. I want you to be my woman forever.” He still whispered in her ear and allowed his hands to caress her with practiced ease. “You and I could marry so we wouldn’t have to pretend to simply be coworkers any longer.”
If only she would agree, perhaps he could leave his position here. The doctor could certainly afford to hire another engineer. He’d make sure his replacement was a woman, dowdy like Karen, or possibly an unattractive man. Then he could retire to manage her estate.
Sometimes managing Dr. Klein’s complex assets might even require some travel. He could see the world in luxury on the pretense of checking out investments or visiting relatives or something. He pictured cruise ships and luxury hotels around the world. Plenty of women would probably be happy to amuse him on his travels, and he would just have to come home intermittently to service the old hag.
“We could dine out together, and I could show you off.” His voice became a seductive low growl. “We will buy season tickets to the ballet, the symphony, and the ballet. Our life together would be a constant round of culture and entertainment. I could see you in a different beautiful dress every night. We would always have some novelty to anticipate.”
“Enrico, you’re about thirty years younger than I am,” she whispered. “You’re handsome and have a good profession. You could have your pick of young women.”
“I can only see you,” he said. “Don’t you know that your presence blinds me to everybody else? When I’m away from you, I still can’t think about anyone else. Besides, a woman like you should not be alone and unprotected.” His expression projected absolute concern and sincerity. “I want to take care of you.”
“You want to protect me?” she asked, suddenly turning to face him. His lips grazed hers and then moved to her neck. “Nobody has said anything like that to me since my father died.”
Enrico looked amazed. “I cannot believe it. I am sure you have broken a hundred hearts.” He stroked her hand. “Yes, I want to help you, protect you, and of course, romance you whenever you need it.”
Enrico paused. He had to be careful, but he needed to test the waters. “Also, I’m not entirely happy with your financial manager. I believe he skims your profits. You’ve told me that he always calls you with some investment scheme or another, and I think he just wants to suck commissions. You work so hard you don’t have time to babysit him too. You know, there are a lot of wolves out there, and I want to guard you.”
“Do you think Mr. Margolis is dishonest? He came very highly recommended.”
“Who recommended him, another scientist?’ Enrico shrugged as he allowed Dr. Klein to rest her head on his chest for a moment. He felt her stiffen