“I like to catch them. I’m not crazy about eating them unless they’re fried and smothered in tartar sauce.”
“I’m sure if we give those instructions to our waiter it can be arranged. The chef is very accommodating here.”
“About the plan, and the fact that I’m not participating in any way other than driving you to the Federal Reserve.”
Emerson reached behind him, grabbed the champagne bottle from the ice bucket, and refilled Riley’s glass.
“Thank you,” Riley said, “but I still want to make my role in the plan perfectly clear.”
“We can talk about it tomorrow,” Emerson said.
Riley narrowed her eyes. “Now.”
“No.”
“Yes.”
“You’re going to ruin the moment,” Emerson said.
“I thought we weren’t having a moment.”
“We aren’t having a date, but we could have a moment.”
“Would it be a romantic moment? A romantic moment might be awkward.”
“It could be a chicken hash moment,” Emerson said.
“I suppose that would be okay.”
“And you can have a prosciutto moment.”
“I owe it to the dress to have a moment,” Riley said. “It’s wonderful. Thank you. But just to state my position one last time before the moment begins, I’m dropping you off tomorrow morning and going home.”
—
Emerson was already at the breakfast table when Riley came out of her room dressed in the new jeans and sneakers.
“I took the liberty of ordering for you,” Emerson said. “Cheese omelet, hash browns, multigrain toast, a side of fruit, a short stack of pancakes, and extra bacon. I didn’t know what you normally ate in the morning, so I ordered everything.”
Riley started with coffee and worked her way around the table. “Are you eating any of this?” she asked Emerson.
“I’ve already eaten.” He checked his watch. “We need to be downstairs in thirty minutes. I’ve called for the car to be brought to the back door.”
“Why the back door?”
“I thought it would make the day more interesting for Rollo.”
“You think Rollo knows we’re here?”
“Yes. You’re carrying his phone. And while we’re on the subject, I’d like to see the phone.”
Riley gave him the phone, and he locked it in the suite safe.
“This should make Rollo’s job a bit more challenging.”
Riley and Emerson exited through a side door and found the Silver Shadow on Seventy-Seventh Street. A bellman handed them the key and wished them a nice day. Riley got behind the wheel and cranked the engine.
“I assume we’re going to the Federal Reserve building,” she said.