As Berman had gotten up to take his leave, the leader of the delegation, Shen Han Li, took him aside. He thanked his host for his generous hospitality and said that everything he had seen that day convinced him that his colleagues had been correct in their previous assessment of Nano’s progress. He reminded Berman that his superiors were still anxious to see concrete evidence of the efficacy of the particular nanorobots they were interested in. Such a demonstration would go a long way toward securing Berman his capital needs for the foreseeable future. Berman thanked Li for his candor and the generosity of what the deal could be. After the many hours of the meal and the innumerable, mutually congratulatory toasts, this was what Berman needed to hear.

It had been a successful evening indeed.

But now in the cold light of morning, Berman again felt the pressure of time and the need to assure himself that the athletes’ performances would be enough to ensure the full investment from the Chinese. There had been three recent setbacks, and even if all of the incidents had been contained, he couldn’t afford any more potential disasters. If the Chinese found out, it could unravel the whole deal. He was going to have to talk with Stevens that morning to be absolutely sure.

While glancing through the London Times, Berman became aware of what sounded like a knock on the outer door of his office suite. Berman thought his woozy head was playing a trick on him, but then he heard it again. It was too early for any of his regular secretaries, and Whitney Jones had told him she was going home to power down for a few hours. Even compulsive Mariel never came in before seven or seven-thirty. With mounting curiosity, he flicked on the screen that showed the feed from the security camera outside his office, and what he saw surprised him.

“Well, well,” Berman said aloud, and he happily buzzed his visitor in. “Through here,” he called out. Berman was shocked but pleased. Pia Grazdani was coming into his office! He stood, mildly flustered. The surprise made him feel like a smitten teenager. Nervously he smoothed back his hair and made sure his shirt was properly tucked into his slacks while his mind conjured up a mental image of George with his arm around Pia. It was a fleeting image from the other evening as the two were leaving his home, which at the time had bothered him. But not for long. Whitney had told Berman that George had been drunk and talkative, and had actually asked if Pia and Berman were sleeping together. Berman and Whitney had gotten a laugh out of it. Whitney had further said that George had admitted that his relationship with Pia was not intimate. Berman had found the information encouraging, especially now that Pia was coming into his office at the crack of dawn.