He had brought it off rather smoothly the night before at the Salle de Venus-Apollon where she served as hotesse for M. Girarde, the club owner--and i... some respects, her benefactor these past bitter months--carefully choosing an appropriate time when Rafael would not overhear.She had appreciated that. Rafael Girarde had been good to her and she wanted in no way to offend him, but by the same token, business was business, and she had her own goals that neither Rafael nor her income as club. Brenda helped me of course, if anything she was more excited about it than I was.She had me holding progressively heavier items with my mind and frequently she would throw things at me unexpectedly. A couple of times I wasn't quick enough and I was hit in the eye by an orange and on the side of the head by a small lump of cheese."Hey!" I whined. "Quit it, will you?" You won't get any better unless you practice harder," was Brenda's reply.Around then my dreams returned and they grew stronger and. As long as my concubines don't mind."As I finished, Meiko climbed up into my lap and glared at me for a moment. She then ruined the impression that she might be mad by putting her lips to mine and trying to suck all the air out of my lungs, finally releasing me because she could hold her breath no longer. I sank back into the chair half lifeless."Damn girl," I heard Jillian say. "I've heard of the kiss of death, but never seen one given."Meiko must have smiled because there was laughter around. The A&R guy that had been at the 9:30 Club had talked to them for a few minutes, then gone back to wherever A&R guys go. There'd been no word for a while, and they'd all decided that it was probably a bad sign. Ryan had been bummed about it, but determined to keep going. Besides, other good things had happened, like all the YouTube videos people had posted from the show, and even a mention in the "Names & Faces" section of The Washington Post. That was due to so many members of the Caps being.