She smiled.
NO REASON.
He sent back:
THAT USUALLY MEANS THERE IS A REASON.
She did not answer.
At 6:10, she ran along the West Side Highway.
The wind cut through her gloves.
Nina Simone played in her headphones.
By seven-thirty, she was dressed.
She chose ivory instead of the navy suit originally prepared.
No visible logos.
No security team.
No assistant.
Only the burgundy clutch and leather financing portfolio.
Her driver waited downstairs.
He had worked with her for eleven years.
When she entered the car, he looked through the mirror.
“You look dangerous today.”
She smiled.
“That’s the blouse.”
“No. It’s the quiet.”
She laughed.
“How’s your daughter?”
“Dean’s list.”
“Again?”
“Again.”
“When I’m back from London, dinner.”
“You promised last time.”
“I know.”
“She remembers.”
“So do I.”
Manhattan moved beyond the tinted windows.
He turned toward Sixth Avenue.
“You want me to wait?”
“No.”
“Meeting that easy?”
“No.”
“That bad?”
“Possibly.”
He glanced at her again.
“Want company?”
She knew what he meant.
Security.
An assistant.
Someone who would make people understand before she entered the room.
“No.”
He nodded.
He knew better than to ask twice.
Whittaker Tower rose in black glass.
The lobby was four stories high.
White marble.
Bronze panels.
Security desk beneath an enormous abstract sculpture shaped like a turbine blade.
The billionaire walked inside.
A security guard looked at her.
Then looked again.
“Can I help you?”
“I’m here for the nine o’clock meeting. Sinclair Capital.”
He studied her clothes.
“Catering entrance is downstairs.”
She stared at him.
“I’m not catering.”
His face remained blank.
“Event staff?”
“No.”
“Cleaning contractor?”
“No.”
A second guard looked over.
The billionaire said, “I have a meeting with the chairman.”
The first guard almost smiled.
“Name?”
She gave it.
He typed.
Nothing appeared.
That was because the executive guest list had been entered under her firm, not her personal name.
He frowned.
“I don’t see you.”
“Call upstairs.”
He sighed.
Not dramatically.
Just enough.
She noticed.
He made the call.
Thirty seconds later, his posture changed.