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Wednesday, 12:25 p.m. local time
David Cheng had just ground out his cigarette and was about to reenter the building when his current burner phone rang.
“Cheng here.”
“We’ve received the drawings,” the voice at the other end of the phone told him in perfect, almost indiscernibly accented English. “My experts are examining them now to ensure they’re legitimate and to determine how much information we can extract from them and use toward completion.”
Cheng sagged with relief. True, he’d had no influence on whether or not this portion of his employer’s plan would be successful. But had it failed, his role would have become obsolete—as would he.
“I’m very pleased to hear that,” he replied, then waited. His employer was a busy man, seated in a CEO chair halfway across the globe. He didn’t waste words.
“However, my experts did say that the photos were clearly taken with a specialized camera. Pennington would have to know someone to get this technology. That suggests he’s brought someone else into the equation—a complication that would require action on our part.”
“I’ve seen no indication that law enforcement is involved.”
“Then find out who is. I expect answers from you. Tonight.”
NanoUSA
28 February
Wednesday, 12:45 p.m. local time
Zoe was nibbling at her chicken salad sandwich and mentally preparing herself for her one o’clock meeting when Jen buzzed her.
“A David Cheng is on the line for you,” she said. “Do you want me to take a message?”
“No.” Zoe was already dabbing at her mouth with a napkin. “I’ll take the call. Go ahead and put him through.”
“No problem.”
An instant later, David’s upbeat, executive-recruiter voice greeted her. “Hi, Zoe. I haven’t heard from you, so I thought I’d give you a shout.”
“No problem. I was actually going to give you a call after I finished wolfing down my sandwich. Olivia got back to me this morning.” Olivia Stack was Nano’s VP of Human Resources. “She can set something up for Friday at ten o’clock if that works for you.”
The barest hint of a pause. “That would be great,” David replied. “Thanks. But I was really calling about you. Have you made any decisions?”
“Decisions?” Zoe’s brows rose. “It’s been less than two days since we spoke, David. I need more time than that. As I told you, I’m confident there’s something in the works for me here. And if that’s the case…”
“You still won’t be making the kind of money you’ll be pulling in here,” he finished for her.
“Yes, you made that abundantly clear.”
“Look, Zoe, let me be blunt. My partners and I would like to know if you’re considering pursuing the opportunity we discussed.” David pushed only as hard as his instincts told him he could. If he overshot, he’d lose her, and they both knew it. “If you are, let’s grab a drink after work today and I can share the details of our offer with you.”
“I just can’t talk right now,” Zoe said. “I’ll call you in an hour.”
David accepted the slight delay without question. “I’ll be here.”
Zoe hung up and sat back in her chair, feeling that same surge of professional excitement she’d felt when she’d first met David Cheng. She’d been having a solo drink at Jake’s, a bar that was frequented primarily by tech company people. She was ordinarily closemouthed about her work, but David had caught her in a vulnerable moment, a moment when she was wondering if Robert would really come through for her and ensure she got that promotion before he retired.
Well-dressed in a way that screamed success and smelling faintly of cigarette smoke, David had sought her out the moment she’d gotten settled at her table. He’d made a beeline in her direction, greeted her by name, and introduced himself as an executive recruiter for Franklin Wales. He’d gone on to say that he’d read her LinkedIn profile, done some heavy-duty research on her, and was planning on reaching out to her tomorrow—so he was delighted to run into her tonight. Zoe had glanced down at the business card he’d proffered, more than familiar with the prestigious firm name and very curious about why he was so eager to make contact with her. Obviously, he had an agenda. Everyone in Corporate America did.
One thing was for sure, and that was that this was no attempted pickup. Zoe knew those signs only too well. No, this was business through and through. But to what end? That she intended to find out. So she’d asked him to join her.
David hadn’t wasted time. Within a minute, he’d made it clear that besides what he’d read on LinkedIn, he had an astonishingly accurate handle on what she did—not just her PA role but the full extent of her accomplishments and aptitude.
“You’re executive material,” he’d stated flatly. “So why are you still a personal assistant—even if it is to the CEO?”
