Double Vision. Fiona Brand

up a few notches, but the preliminary research she had done into their client base had informed her that, respectable facade or not, RCS was still trading on the fringes.

      When Dana saw Esther, her expression was surprised but pleased. She had never shown any particular warmth toward Esther in Bern, but Esther was hoping that Dana was still ambitious enough that the carrot of snaring a chunk of Morell investment capital would smooth over the past.

      Her own smile felt tight and forced as she rose and shook Dana’s hand. She kept the chat light, and in the vein that she was researching short-term investment opportunities and since she’d heard Dana was with RCS, she’d decided to start here.

      Dana’s gaze followed Esther’s hand as she lifted the coffee to her mouth and sipped, or more correctly, she followed the flash of her ring. Esther had worn it for effect. It was a rare pink diamond that matched her Chanel suit, a totally off-the-wall gift Cesar had given her when Rina was born. The ring was four carats and usually resided in a deposit box in the bank, but it was perfect for this. No banker in their right mind would have a discussion in a reception area with a client whose clothing and jewelry alone totaled seven figures. Dana’s career may have flatlined, but she had been trained by the best, and Esther knew that she loved jewelry. If the status value of the ring didn’t get her into Dana’s office, she didn’t know what would.

      Dana gave her a direct look. “We can’t talk out here. I don’t have any appointments scheduled in the next half hour. How about we adjourn to my office and I can take you through some options.”

      Seconds later, Dana pressed the security code for her door. Automatically, Esther watched her fingers, but they moved too rapidly for her to get all of the code. Suppressing the urge to roll her eyes at the ridiculous notion that even if she got the door code she would be in a position to do anything about it, she followed Dana into her office. A little spying was her limit, not B and E. If they had to physically break into the bank to get the codes, then that was in Xavier’s ballpark, not hers.

      Esther preceded Dana into the room. The office was small but nicely appointed, with an original painting of the Bay area on the wall and a glossy plant occupying one corner. A large L-shaped desk took up most of the space, with two comfortably padded chairs positioned near the desk. The bad news was that even if one of the chairs was pulled up as close as possible to the computer, the keyboard was still inaccessible. To reach it, Esther would have to lean diagonally across the desk, and there was no way she could do that without Dana noticing.

      To minimize the distance she would have to reach, Esther pulled her chair up as close to the keyboard as she could get on the pretext of needing a clear space to set her coffee down.

      Dana frowned as she moved a computer printout, obviously not comfortable with the coffee on her desk, but too polite to insist that Esther remove it.

      “Sorry about the mess.” Dana stacked the papers Esther had pushed to one side and found a clear spot for them at the end of the desk. “I’m in the middle of a systems rehash. I don’t need to tell you what a nightmare that is.” She made a face. “The managing director wants more detailed reporting. Although, I don’t know what more he expects to see, other than the color of our clients’ underwear.”

      “Could be an interesting database.”

      “It might be, if there was anything in it but Y-fronts.” Dana reddened, realizing she’d made a borderline offensive comment to a potential client. “I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have said that. I missed breakfast and I’m on late lunch. My blood sugar is way down.”

      Esther forced a smile. “No problem. At a corporate level, Cesar doesn’t allow Y-fronts.”

      Dana’s blush deepened. “You are kidding.”

      “Unfortunately.” Esther rummaged in her handbag on the pretext that she was searching for something.

      “I was sure I put business cards in here this morning.” Looking distracted and faintly annoyed, she set her bag down and leaned forward with enough swing that her elbow caught the coffee cup. Hot liquid splashed across the desk.

      With a yelp, Dana shoved back in her office chair a split second before a wave of coffee slid over the side and dripped onto the carpet.

      Already on her feet, Esther snatched a handful of tissues from a box on the desk. Apologizing profusely, she dropped them on the puddle, then, in a smooth motion, leaned over and lifted the keyboard away from a trickle of liquid.

      The card was there.

      Pretending to overbalance as she swiped at the coffee, she managed to flip the card around with the soaked tissue. The codes and the password were written in clear, bold black ink.

      Dana grabbed at the card before a second stray trickle of coffee reached it. “Busted.” She flushed bright red as she slid the card in her drawer. “I guess you don’t have to remember access codes anymore. Not that you ever had a problem. They change them twice weekly here, Monday and Thursday. That was one of the reasons I left Bessel Holt, I couldn’t stand the twenty-four-hour turnaround and my supervisor was constantly breathing down my neck.”

      She grabbed a handful of tissues, dropped them on the carpet and blotted more coffee. Her face was still flushed, her voice jerky with embarrassment. “I lived in fear of him checking beneath my keyboard. I’m all for security, but those people were anal.”

      Esther resumed her seat and worked to control her own breathing and the steady pump of adrenaline that was making her hands shake. She was more than happy to listen to Dana’s nervy conversation, anything to distract her from realizing she had gotten a look at the codes. She didn’t think anyone but her immediate superior at Bessel Holt had known about her photographic memory, but she didn’t want to take any risks. It was an unhappy fact that somehow Xavier had found out about it. “Two years was enough for me. I couldn’t keep up with the young computer nerds.”

      Dana tossed soiled tissues into the trash. “Tell me about it. There’s a kid almost young enough to be my son running this place. Not,” she said quickly, “that he isn’t qualified, he is, but—”

      “I know what you’re saying. It’s hard to credit it.”

      Her smile was relieved. “Exactly. Kids seem extra bright these days. The way their minds work is frightening.” Her gaze lingered on the ring. “I hear you’ve got a daughter.”

      “That’s right, Rina. She’s ten.” Esther extended her hand so the sunlight slanting through the window flashed off the diamond, more than happy to change the subject. “Cesar gave it to me when Rina was born.”

      “Tiffany’s?”

      “Cartier.”

      “Nice.” Dana brandished her own wedding band and diamond solitaire engagement ring. “I’ve got a twelve-year-old, going on thirty. While her father was around, he didn’t give me anything but trouble.”

      “Divorced?”

      “I would have been if he hadn’t widowed me.”

      “I’m sorry.” Dana’s personal circumstances explained what Dana was doing at RCS. With a bad marriage behind her and a daughter to care for, she hadn’t had the luxury of choosing where she worked.

      Feeling uncomfortable at the glimpse into Dana’s personal life and guilty at the way she had used her, Esther gathered up soiled tissues and the empty cup and tossed them in the trash. Seconds later, the desk restored to order, she checked her watch. Only fifteen minutes had passed since she had walked into Dana’s office, but now that she had the codes all she wanted to do was leave. “I’m afraid I’m going to have to go. Time’s gotten away from me and I’ve got a lunchtime meeting.”

      After a brief discussion, Esther confirmed an appointment time she never intended to keep and walked quickly out of the office. She hadn’t enjoyed manipulating Dana or flaunting the ring, but she hadn’t had a choice.

      When she reached the sidewalk, San Francisco’s midday heat hit