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Chapter 1

Septeripping the arms of her chair "I didn’t pad enuine, and I have the experience required for the position So why a to hide, you wouldn’t care," Jessa Bellah an observation panel

"North and Coround checks on all their new elas, the intake intervieho sat with his back to Jessa, kept a perfect blend of sympathy and authority in his tone "You’re here because they’d like to hire you"

"Oh" She sernails, however, reot the job?"

"Alet started on these"--he handed Ellen a clipboard with a nurab some coffee Would you like a cup?"

"No, thank you" She took a slian filling out the top for off her metallic silver pumps

As soon as Caleb left the room, however, Ellen Farley put the clipboard on his desk, stood, and came over to the panel Jessa knew that on Ellen’s side of the wall, the panel appeared to be nothingbehind Caleb’s desk

"Nicely handled," Jessa said as Caleb joined her at the panel and watched as Ellen fluffed and shook out her layered red hair "What do you think?"

"See woave her ten minutes’ notice, so that’s to be expected" He rubbed the end of his nose "She smells like she was baptized with Chanel No 5"

Jessa had already caught a whiff of the woman’s French perfume, which seemed almost a cliché: Expensive is as expensive does "Credentials?"

"Angela says they’re sterling Ellen Farley is the perfect candidate for comptroller" Caleb studied her expression "Or not What’s setting off your bells, boss?"

"Her shoes They’re knockoffs"

Cal glanced down "So?"

Jessa gestured at Ellen’s tasteful floral sheath "So you don’t invest in a Michael Kors dress and a Balenciaga bag unless you can also afford five hundred bucks for the real Anya Hindayher to me after she finishes the busywork And, Cal" Jessa nodded toward his eo back in"

Walking up the back stairs to her office gave Jessa tinificant details like Ellen Farley’s designer-clone shoes as rationale for further assess so she’d acquired a reputation for having a keen eye, and even Caleb, one of her most trusted employees, believed in it Jessa had been very careful to cultivate that misconception

Her ability to discover exactly what people hid from their eencies in the South, but no one could ever know the truth of how she did it

Angela Witt, her technical supervisor, intercepted her outside her office Tall, rawboned, and a little aard, Angela was barely out of her teens, and had originally coency as a te secretary had a natural gift for coement, as well as a desperate need for permanence and a sense of purpose

"Ms Bellaela sounded as stiff as she looked "I checked every one of her refs, but they all ca," Jessa said "Her shoes are wrong"

"A fashion ood" Her shoulders drooped as her chin lifted "I ood, not at all, but at least I didn’t …" She stopped herself and released a sigh "Sorry"

"It’s all right, Angela" Accustoer’s mild but perpetual paranoia, Jessa suppressed a s about this one"

"No way, Ms B" Her officethe stubby pencil holding her topknot of hair in place "You’re never wrong It’s like you have liar radar I’ll run her naain and see what I can find" She turned and hurried down the hall to the data center

Jessa stepped into her office and closed the door She’d personally designed her workspace to be quiet and uncluttered Two clear Lucite coluranite that served as her desk Against one white wall, Asian black lacquer cabinets inlaid with delicate mother-of-pearl lotus flowers concealed her office equipment, and faced a four-by-five-foot print of Ansel Ada unit that surrounded a coffee table that was merely a smaller version of her desk In the center of the table stood a crystal vase filled with fresh flowers She’d had the back wall replaced with a single panel of glass, which provided a wide view of Peachtree Street and the Ar