Read Online Brainy and the Beast by J. M. Cartwright - Free Book Online

news of the daily specials. Me? I couldn’t have cared less about what was on special. I wanted to find out just what business Henry was bringing my way.
    “I think that sounds very good. Don’t you, Nicholas? Do you want to join me in the special?”
    “Yeah. Sure.”
    With a husky chuckle, Henry spoke to the waiter. “All right, we’ll have two. And we’ll start with the lobster bisque.”
    I nodded when he looked at me questioningly on the last part.
    “Excellent. Now, where were we?”
    “Business. Um. Us. Doing business together. I’m for it.”
    “Good.” Henry reached for his glass of wine and took a sip, all the while watching me.
    My dick was twitching, and I could feel a tingle in my balls. I was sitting across from the hottest brainy guy I’d been with—maybe ever—and I was ready to move to the next step. But I figured we’d have to eat dinner first. “So. What kind of robots are you building? Is it like that fight movie with Hugh Jackman?”
    “Who?” Henry looked a little puzzled at that.
    “You know. The Wolverine guy.” I sniffed the bisque that had been set in front of me. “This smells really good.”
    “Yes, it does.” Henry spooned up a taste. “I’m not sure what the Wolverine is, but my research is centered on military applications and space exploration.”
    “Oh. So, is it secret?” I was kidding and was surprised when Henry nodded with a sober look on his face.
    “Actually, yes.”
    “Really.”
    Chuckling, Henry nodded indulgently. “Yes.” He applied himself to his soup but watched me between each spoonful.
    I finished my bisque, then sat back, drumming my fingers on the arm of my chair. “Okay. I don’t think I’ve ever been around anybody who was doing something, like, supersecret. How do you keep from accidentally telling someone?”
    “I don’t really talk to people.”
    Henry said it so calmly that I had to believe him. “So, what am I? I’m people.”
    “You, Nicholas, are something altogether different.”
    I had to chew on that, literally, since our entrees arrived soon after that. I was happy to see that the mystery dinner I’d agreed to was grilled salmon with a dill sauce.
    We talked back and forth about things, and I admitted to Henry that I was an avid shooter. I usually kept quiet about my guns and my love for target shooting and hunting, since many of my customers would have been horrified.
    “So. You’re a hunter. Do you eat what you kill?”
    Was he challenging me? “Yes. I do.” I took my role as a steward of the environment very seriously. “In fact, I usually take my venison to my dad’s church every year. They serve a big community dinner at Christmas, and lots of the poor folks from the north section of the county come out.”
    “Very commendable of you.”
    “It doesn’t bother you?”
    Henry looked surprised. “No. Why would it?”
    “A lot of people around here are kind of antigun.”
    Henry shrugged. “I see nothing to oppose.”
    Interesting. An egghead who was open-minded. That could bode well. “What do you do when you’re not roboting?”
    The restaurant around us was busy, but the sounds of flatware on china and the chinking of glasses were still muted. I guess when people paid a lot for the ambience, they were planning on soaking it in as much as they could. I knew I was. At least as far as the guy across the table from me was concerned.
    Henry settled back in his chair. “Well, not that much, really. I have some fish that I enjoy. And I garden a bit during the summer months.”
    “Like aquarium fish?”
    “Yes. Saltwater. I have two large tanks at home and one in my office. Are you interested in fish?”
    “Just the kind I can eat.” I forked up the last of my salmon.
    “Well, you won’t be getting near my tank, then, Nicholas. I’ll have to make sure to keep you far away from it when you’re at my home.” Henry sounded sure of himself—and of the fact that I’d be at his house.
    I had to say, I liked