Weapon of Vengeance (Weapon of Flesh Trilogy) by Chris A. Jackson

bitch …  Kiesha bridled her spite and
followed.
    The hostess batted her eyes and gently touched
Hensen’s arm as she guided them to an ingenious device that lifted them up two
floors without them having to climb a single step.  Hensen flirted back, of
course.  Kiesha would have summoned a physician to check him for brain fever if
he hadn’t.  Once seated at a prominent balcony table, Hensen produced a
gold-embossed card from his waistcoat pocket and handed it to the woman.
    “I wonder if you might call on me at your
convenience.”  He smiled like a crocodile. “I’m planning a private function,
and I think it would benefit from a lady’s touch.” 
    “It would be my pleasure, Master Hensen.”  Tucking
the card into her voluminous cleavage, the hostess placed Hensen’s napkin in
his lap with a practiced flourish and, if her father’s spreading smile was any
indication, a subtle caress.
    “Delightful.  Thank you, my dear.”  He watched her
walk away, entranced by the swing of her hips.  Finally, after his conquest
passed out of view, the Master Thief returned his attention to Kiesha.  “Well,
that was invigorating, wasn’t it?”
    “If you say so, sir.”  Hensen’s dalliances disgusted
her.  His paramours came and went more often than the seasons.  Occasionally
they would stay for months, but more often they lasted only weeks.  In fact,
Jeremy, his most recent, left only yesterday in a huff.  Twenty-four hours was
about right, as far as her father’s usual period of mourning went.
    “I do say so, my dear, and that’s exactly
what I mean by enjoyment.  You need to smile occasionally, or this business
will make a bitter old shrew of you.”  He sipped iced water with lemon and
perused the menu.  “And we can’t have that.”
    “No, sir.”  Kiesha looked at the menu, recalling her
recent similar suggestion to Sereth.  He had accused her of playing
manipulative games, but Kiesha had been sincere, both in her philosophy and her
attempt to seduce him.  It wasn’t love, of course.  Sereth was in pain, and
Kiesha felt her life was killing her.  Mightn’t they ease each other’s woes
with simple physical pleasure?  Her failure made it hurt all the more.  She
found Hensen’s sudden interest in her enjoyment astonishing, since he usually
only concerned himself with her obedience.
    “I need your honest assessment, my dear.  I’d like
to know what you think.”
    “I think she’s very beautiful, sir, but anyone who
wears a dress like that has probably seen more naked men than the scrub girls
at Kovi’s Bathhouse.”
    “Kiesha!”  He shot a glare over the rim of his menu.
    “I’m sorry, sir.  Was there something else you wanted my opinion on?”  She knew perfectly well that wasn’t what Hensen was
getting at, but she couldn’t resist the dig.  To mollify him, she risked a
tentative smile.  “You did tell me to find some enjoyment, didn’t you?”
    “Ah, so I did.  Well played.”   He winked and went
back to his menu.  “No, I need your assessment of the city’s mood.  Our
opposition seems to have hit on something with this new business strategy, and
if we don’t adjust our own in some way, we’re going to find ourselves in dire
straits.”
    “My assessment?”  His request took her aback. 
Hensen rarely asked her opinion.  She provided information, and he made the
decisions.  This was something new.  Maybe he does care what I think . 
The idea buoyed her mood as she considered what she’d seen during the last
week.  “I think it’s too early to tell how things are going to develop.  Our
opposition isn’t as weakened by the recent…infighting as we’d hoped.  Their
change in business strategy could cause us serious problems where our interests
overlap, but the affected operations bring in only a small percentage of our
total earnings.  The public’s opinion of our opposition has improved, but
again, this only works to our disadvantage where