False Impression Read Online Free PDF

the
bank’s head of security, standing in the doorway.
    ‘Sorry to bother
you, chairman, but there’s a FedEx courier out here,
says he has a package for you and no one else can sign for it.’
    Fenston waved
the courier in and, without a word, penned his signature in the little oblong
box opposite his name. Leapman looked on, but neither of them spoke until the
courier had departed and Barry had closed the door behind him.
    ‘Is that what I
think it is?’ asked Leapman quietly.
    We’re about to
find out,’ said Fenston as he ripped open the package and emptied its contents
onto the desk.
    They both stared
down at Victoria Wentworth’s left ear.
    ‘See that Krantz
is paid the other half million,’ said Fenston.
    Leapman nodded.
‘And she’s even sent a bonus,’ said Fenston, staring down at the antique
diamond earring.
    Anna finished
packing just after seven. She left her suitcase in the hall, intending to
return and pick it up on the way to the airport straight after work. Her flight
to London was scheduled for 5.40 pm that afternoon, touching down at Heathrow
just before sunrise the following day. Anna much preferred taking the overnight
flight, when she could sleep and still have enough time to prepare herself
before joining Victoria for lunch at Wentworth Hall. She only hoped that
Victoria had read her report and would agree that selling the Van Gogh
privately was a simple solution to all her problems.
    Anna left her
apartment building for the second time that morning, just after 7.20 am. She
hailed a taxi – an extravagance, but one she justified by wanting to look her
best for her meeting with the chairman. She sat in the back of the cab and
checked her appearance in her compact mirror. Her recently acquired Anand Jon
suit and white silk blouse would surely make heads turn.
    Although
some might be puzzled by her black sneakers.
    The cab took a
right on FDR Drive and speeded up a little as Anna checked her cellphone. There
were three messages, all of which she would deal with after the meeting: one
from her secretary, Rebecca, needing to speak to her urgently, which was
surprising given they were going to see each other in a few minutes’ time;
confirmation of her flight from BA, and an invitation to dinner with Robert
Brooks, the new chairman of Bonhams.
    Her cab drew up
outside the entrance to the North Tower twenty minutes later. She paid the
driver and jumped out to join a sea of workers as they filed towards the
entrance and through the bank of turnstiles. She took the shuttle express
elevator, and less than a minute later stepped out onto the dark green carpet
of the executive floor. Anna had once overheard in the elevator that each floor
was an acre in size, and some fifty thousand people worked in a building that
never closed – more than double the population of her adopted home town of
Danville, Illinois.
    Anna went
straight to her office and was surprised to find that Rebecca wasn’t waiting
for her, especially as she knew how important her eight o’clock meeting was.
But she was relieved to see that all the relevant files had been piled neatly
on her desk. She double-checked that they were in the order she had requested.
    Anna still had a
few minutes to spare, so she once again turned to the Wentworth file and began
reading her report. ‘The value of the Wentworth Estate falls into several
categories. My department’s only interest is in...’
    Tina Forster
didn’t rise until just after seven. Her appointment with the dentist wasn’t
until eight thirty and Fenston had made it clear that she needn’t be on time
this morning. That usually meant he had an out-of-town appointment, or was
going to fire someone.
    If it was the
latter, he wouldn’t want her hanging around the office, sympathizing with the
person who had just lost their job. Tina knew that it couldn’t be Leapman,
because Fenston wouldn’t be able to survive without the man, and although she
would have liked it to be Barry