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The waves of co Green Station I supposed ignoring strangers was a coping ht million You couldn’t learn the names of everyone even if you wanted to

Twenty hth floor of the gleae-Howser A reetedtastefully on the wall behind the desk The conference roo through it Every detail was designed to demonstrate wealth and power Appearances were ih the cubicle htly as possible, but it wasn’t the open office plan of a design studio either Tall dividers gave analysts their privacy as they investigated investment opportunities Soh to talk to clients directly, answering their questions and handling ing in ers’ offices formed the perimeter of every floor, each one with aThe partners of the fired to speak to the ers

I dropped my satchel onto h the outer rim of the cubicle corral to Richard’s office His door was half open and he was typing so on his computer

"Richard, you wanted to meet about Mr Sorenson?"

"Yes Co away fro and even reviewed our proposal Our suggestions were very reasonable based on e know about his finances"

Richard looked directly at me "Any idea why he hasn’t called us yet?"

In a second of irrationality, I thought about blurting out the details ofVincent at the bar but decided it better if Richard didn’t know anything about that Besides, it was irrelevant If anything, Vincent would have been

I shrugged "I don’t know, ot to hi comments about the "Wave Whisperer" and his assumptions about Vincent’s lifestyle that no doubt influenced his approach to theto do with the fact that we hadn’t heard from Vincent, but I keptto do now but wait Let "

I took the cue that thewas over when Richard turned back to his coot back tothat popped up was aain? These cell phone services really kne to fleece you I deleted the e spa bled into the afternoon After eating lunch and helping another analyst resolve a reporting issue, I came back to my desk to find a note thrown haphazardly over my keyboard

Kaufman called, have to meet him Keep me updated if Sorenson calls the office

Jon Kaufer clients Richard handled He had a large plastics refinery west of the Hudson and was one of the clients who didn’t couy but from the way Richard spoke about him, he was difficult

I put the note aside and settled into otten into the zone when

"Hey Kristen, I have Mr Sorenson on the line for you" Our receptionist sounded like she was going to pass out just from the mention of his name

So we hadn’t blown our chances completely For a ht These guys are fairly predictable But there was no way Richard gave Vincent a positive first i saved us, it was probably my stunt with the spider at the bar

"Thanks, transfer hi aware that Vincent had asked for me specifically I’d told him to call Richard as part of my brush-off I just hoped his intentions were business

A beep later and Vincent’s silky voice vibrated through my handset

"Hello Kristen"

Even over the phone, his velvety rasp made it difficult to maintain my composure I switched the phone to my left hand and wiped ood to hear fro like I’d just sed a cotton ball

"I’ve been thinking about our ? The one where I played with his nipple ring or the one where he asked me to mix business with pleasure?

"I’d like to discuss business," he continued

I exhaled, relieved he wasn’t interested in revisiting our personal discussion Maybe he took the hint "I’m happy to hear that When would you like to schedule a ht need a little more time to make it out to South Africa"