He chuckled. “Be born rich.”

I sighed to myself, thinking I was lucky to have a rent-free place to stay in.

“Say, Dan, do you play golf?”

“A little,” I said.

“I’m a member of the Willingdon Club and I need a partner tomorrow. Are you free?”

“Sorry, no. Work.”

“Too bad. Another time, then.”

To change the subject, I asked him how many guests he was expecting for dinner.

“Two more. Here they are now.”

I turned to see who’d arrived. It was Russ Harlan. And Birgit Fuchs stood beside him in the doorway in an orange miniskirt and white go-go boots.

CHAPTER TEN

“I thought you’d gone back to Germany,” I said to her once Ash had taken Birgit’s drink request and escorted Harlan to the bar.

“My flight was rescheduled again,” she said. “The Emergency.”

“Too bad. But it’s nice to see you again. Not so nice to see Harlan.”

“I was bored. He was coming to this dinner. So I thought, why not?”

“I’m around if you ever need something to do that doesn’t involve Harlan. Not flirting,” I said. “I get bored sometimes, too. And I’m a gentleman.”

“I know that, Danny. You’re the most well-behaved boy I’ve ever met.”

Sushmita appeared, gave Birgit a kiss, and pronounced herself happy to see the two lovers reunited. I choked.

“We’re not lovers,” I said, a touch too insistently. “We’re friends, that’s all.”

“You don’t want to be my lover, Danny?” asked Birgit, and the two women had a laugh at my expense.

After a show of suitable good humor at her joke, I excused myself and ended up prey to Harlan. He found me sitting alone by one of the large windows, nursing my whisky and staring out at the choppy Arabian Sea.

“You’re some kind of playboy,” he said, taking the seat beside me. “Squiring Birgit around the other night and now that beauty over there.” He gave a bob of his head in Sushmita’s direction.

“She’s the girlfriend of a friend of mine. I’m making sure she has an escort.”

He stared long and hard at her as she chatted with Birgit across the room. “If my tastes ran to dark meat, I’d give her a try. But we all have our types, don’t we?”

“Enjoy your drink, asshole,” I said and left him there.

Dinner was served, buffet style, a little before eleven. A mix of Western and Indian fare, the food was good but never rose to the quality of the chaat we’d enjoyed at Willy’s place the week before. I studiously avoided Russ Harlan, sticking to my girls, Sush and Birgit, instead.