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Emma grabbed her winter coat, plus a hat and scarf, off the peg by the door and hurried out into the cold, late-fall morning. A few morning joggers and other early-bird workers were already on the sidewalk and Emma fell into step with them for the walk to the office. She had gotten a short lease on the studio apartment where she was staying, chosen mainly for its proximity to LWC ’s offices. The apartment was cramped and not in great repair, but it was good enough for now.
Within a few weeks, she would be moving on. One way or another. Either to her next job, which could be in any city across the United States, or… Emma cut the thought off. It wouldn’t help to stress about what would happen to her if she couldn’t complete the task Aleksander Ariti had set her.
Emma was one of the first to arrive at the office. She settled in at her desk and opened the research file she’d started compiling last Friday. As much as she knew this would probably be time better spent trying to track down Patrick Daniels, it was a relief to do something that she actually felt good at, since she’d hit a dead end on the painting heist. And it was fun to be working with art again.
She spent the morning reading art-based news sites and clicking through the online pictures of local galleries’ collections. By the time lunch rolled around, she had a solid report, including a few illustrative graphs and some images she’d captured. Emma was sure she’d done what was asked of her, which was to compile a snapshot of current trends in Chicago’s art scene. Yet she still felt that something was missing. Emma saved the document but didn’t submit it yet.
At around twelve thirty, she went down to the Chinese restaurant Julie had mentioned to her on her first day. In a happy coincidence, Julie was already sitting at a table with a few coworkers, who all waved Emma over. She joined them.
“How was your first week?” Julie asked cheerfully as Emma flipped through her menu.
“Great! Everyone is so friendly.” The second part was the truth, but describing her week as “great” was certainly a lie. If this were a real job, Emma would be more than happy with her progress toward settling in so far. She was sure she was doing well as a junior art appraiser; her boss, Owen, had already praised her work. As a corporate spy slash art thief, though, things were not great at all. Not that she’d admit the truth to Julie.
“I’m so glad.” Julie smiled, then leaned forward conspiratorially. “I saw you talking to Patrick Daniels at the onboarding training.”
“Really?” A few of Julie’s coworkers looked intrigued.
“Really. He wanted to come and give a welcome speech. He’s handsome, right, Emma?”
“Definitely.” In fact, when they’d talked, Emma had been so caught up in Patrick’s ocean-blue eyes that it had been far too easy to flirt. When the conversation ended, she’d felt all bubbly inside, not at all like a professional spy casing a mark. No, Emma had felt more like a teenager with a crush. Not helpful.
“And he chatted with you for a while,” Julie continued.
“Yeah, but I haven’t seen him since.” Emma made an exaggerated sad face.
“Oh, that’s normal.” Julie waved her off. “He’s never around. He’s too much of a workaholic.”
“The only time I was alone with him was once a few months ago when I left super late,” another coworker added. “We rode the elevator downstairs together and I was so worried that I just didn’t say anything the whole way down.” The other diners chuckled at that.
Emma nodded slowly and made a mental note. She’d been trying to catch Patrick leaving or arriving but hadn’t succeeded yet. Maybe she just needed to work longer hours. If only she could get a look at his calendar…
The conversation moved on to workplace gossip and Emma listened to stories about people she didn’t yet know and smiled along. She rarely worked anywhere longer than a few weeks on assignment, so it was nice to have a group of people to chat with. Even though she wouldn’t be at LWC Capital long either.
After lunch, she headed back to her desk. There, she reopened her report and read it over to check for any gaps. She was about to save and submit it when inspiration struck. Although it hadn’t been part of the assignment, it might be useful to add some analysis of future trends. Emma enthusiastically dove back into her work. She added a small section on potential future developments in the industry and then edited the whole piece. By the time she was finished, it was well past the end of the working day.
Emma handed the report over to Owen, who was still in the office as well.
“I’m looking forward to reading this.” He gave Emma an approving nod and she smiled back.
“Thank you. Please let me know if there’s anything I can improve for the next one.” Not that she’d be here for that.
“Certainly. Now go home.” He gave her a mock stern look, and Emma smiled.
“I will.” She gathered her things and bid him goodnight.
She didn’t go home, though. Instead, Emma camped out in an office across from the elevators and waited for Patrick to finish his workday. Finally, around ten at night, she saw him come down the hallway and stop outside the elevators.
Thank goodness. Emma had been about to give up.
She slung her bag over one shoulder and joined Patrick outside the elevator. He turned and looked at her with a politely blank expression.
He didn’t remember her. Emma tried to hide her worry and annoyance at this development. She would just have to make a stronger impression this time.
“Leaving late, huh?” Emma asked in what she hoped was a friendly tone. Patrick raised his eyebrows at her, then glanced at his watch.
“Looks like it.”
There was a moment of painful silence. Just as Emma was about to say something else, a group of employees from the legal department spilled out of a meeting room and joined them at the elevator, talking excitedly about a new partnership they were about to finalize with an insurance company. Just like that, Emma’s chance to speak with Patrick alone disappeared like a popped soap bubble.
