Page 11 of The Secret

“Tomorrow. The next day, too. Don’t go to the office. Don’t go anywhere. Not till this guy is behind bars.”

“You cannot be serious.”

“I’m completely serious.”

“That’s the dumbest thing you’ve ever asked me to do. I have meetings scheduled all day tomorrow. All day the next. Aside from me, only three women head up a top 500 company. Versus 496 men. You know that. So if I don’t show up, what are all those men going to say? She’s flaky. Unreliable. Not up to the job. Weak. The knives would be out for me before the sun was halfway up.”

“What would people say about your job skills if you got electrocuted? That’s what happened to Singh. Or if youfellout of a twelfth-floor window? Like Bridgeman. Susie, think about it. You can’t be CEO of anything if you’re dead.”

“Goddamn it!” Kasluga picked up her mug and flung it into the sink. It shattered, spraying rivulets of pale greenish-brown liquid all over the stainless-steel backsplash. “I’m going to work out. We’ll talk about this later.”

—

Roberta and VeronicaSanson caught up with each other at the New Orleans Airport Hilton, as planned. They had arrived on separate flights, from different airports. They were traveling under fake IDs. They took courtesy shuttles twenty minutes apart. The only unexpected detail was that Roberta got to the hotel first. The airline schedules had her a quarter hour behind her sister, but the baggage handlers at Midway were working slowly that day. They were causing all kinds of delays. But the wrinkle was a minor one. Roberta figured it didn’t call for any major recalibration, so she slid straight into her next task. She bought an iced tea at the hotel’s ground-floor café, carried it outside to a seating area behind a cutesy white picket fence, and settled in to watch the valet parking station at the side of the curb.

—

When Veronica arrivedshe made the valet station her first port of call. She sauntered up to the guy behind the stand and said, “Evening. How are you doing today?”

The valet shrugged. “Fine, I guess. Thank you for asking. You collecting your car?”

Veronica shook her head. “Not me. I don’t drive. I’m on my way to check in. But here’s the kicker. I hear this is a great party town, and I’m only here for one night. I don’t want to waste my time in some lame-ass dive. So, I was wondering, do you live around here?”

“Born and bred.”

“That’s what I was hoping you’d say. What’s your name?”

“Riccardo.”

“Nice to meet you, Riccardo. I’m Stephanie. And here’s my question. If you had a good friend coming to visit who knows how to enjoy herself but has no time to waste, where would you take her?”

“Enrico’s. A block away from Bourbon Street. All the fun but a lot more class. Can’t go wrong there.”

“What if this friend wanted to…go wrong?”

Riccardo smiled. “In that case, The Vault. A person can get into all sorts of trouble there.”

Veronica smiled back. “Sounds like you’re speaking from experience.”

“Maybe. But we’ve just met. Maybe I should take the Fifth.”

“Or maybe we should meet there, later, and you could show me what’s up. Given that I’m a stranger here and you have all this…experience.”

Riccardo’s smile grew wider. “Sure. We could do that. I get out of here at eleven.”

“Excellent. See you there around midnight?”

“Count on it.”

—

Veronica walked away,feeling the valet’s gaze on her ass, and headed for the hotel entrance. She twisted her hair into a tight knot at the back of her head, approached the desk, and booked herself a room. Just for one night. She paid cash. The ID she used showed the name Cailin Delaney. She signed all the forms the clerk handed her, took her change and her room key, and walked back outside. She threaded her way through a gap in the fence around the café’s seating area and paused next to an empty table. She scanned the space like she was looking for someone. She leaned down and rested the tips of three fingers on the tabletop. She didn’t look at Roberta. She knew her sister was watching. After a moment she curled her ring finger up, leaving two fingers showing, then a moment later she flexed her hand so that all four fingers were touching the table. She stayed still for a moment. Then she shrugged like the person she’d hoped to find hadn’t showed up, headed inside, and made her way to room 324.

—

Outside, Roberta continuedto watch the valet station. She let a black convertible come and go. Three domestic sedans. A Jeep. Then she drained the last of her tea and stood up. A minivan had stopped by the curb. Its passenger door opened and a woman climbed out. She looked stiff and tired and irritated. She would be in her mid-thirties, Roberta guessed, and was wearing white shorts, a pink blouse, and sandals. The blouse had a large oval stain on it. Her hair looked like it hadn’t seen a brush in days. She stretched her back, grunted, then turned and rolled open the rear door. Four kids instantly spilled out. The oldest was maybe twelve. The youngest, six. They were all boys and right away they were chasing and yelling and shoving. Roberta had seen packs of wild dogs fighting over a prize carcass that were calmer. The mother started herding the boys toward the hotel, arms outstretched, shaking her head. A man appeared at the back of the van. Presumably the father. He swung up the load gate and began hauling out a bunch of bright, multicolored suitcases. The valet helped him load them onto a baggage cart. Then he handed the father a claim ticket and looped around to the driver’s door.

The father seemed in no hurry to catch up with his family. He slipped his valet ticket into the back pocket of his baggy shorts and started to push the cart with one hand. It was a halfhearted effort. The cart barely moved. It was rolling so slowly that Roberta had to adjust her own pace. She changed her angle slightly then pulled a notebook out of her bag. Pretended to be checking something written inside it as she walked. Made out like she didn’t realize she was on a collision course. And bumped right into the guy. Her knee wound up brushing against his inner thigh. She shrieked and dropped her book. It landed right in front of him. He let go of the cart and stepped aside. Took a moment togather himself. Then leaned down, retrieved the book, and handed it back to Roberta.

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