First Customer

Nora Vale did not become Ethan Cole's first customer because she trusted him. She became his first customer because she did not. At 8:12 the next morning, she walked into the glass conference room of the downtown law firm Priya had sent him to, carrying a laptop, a legal pad, and the expression of a woman who had slept three hours and turned the missing five into ammunition. Her hair was pinned back. Her coat was black. Her eyes went directly to the only chair not facing the door. "Move," she said. Ethan stood and took the chair with the wall behind it. "Good morning to you too." "You are famous now. Famous people sit where photographers can see their cheekbones and assassins can see their spine." "Are we worried about assassins?"