she’s never admitted to failing—so I see her as invincible. She’s like a modern Superwoman. Business savvy like the creator of Spanx, smart like a Harvard graduate, the looks of the most beautiful Hollywood star and the body of a supermodel. She said she doesn’t see herself that way and she doesn’t think she’s perfect, which made her sound so much more human and less goddess-like.”
“I’ve told you many time you have an exaggerated view of your sister. She’s human just like the rest of us. She’s not perfect and I’m happy you now know what the rest of world knows,” he says, amused by my recent discovery.
“I guess I’m a slow learner,” I reply with a faint smile.
“That’s behind you now. It’s a good thing because you’re going to need all the support you can get to deal with Brad Keller.”
***
My stomach is tied in a knot the entire drive to Bryce’s office. What has his team uncovered?
The traffic is horrendous and it takes me much longer than I had anticipated getting to his Brooklyn office.
“Good morning, Ms. Herrera. Let me tell Mr. Van Der Linden you’ve arrived.”
Bryce has the most polite receptionist I had ever met in my life. She’s so patient and so caring. I love how she calls him Mr. Van Der Linden.
“There she is,” Bryce says as he approaches me. “Please follow me. The team is ready to brief you. But before we go into the meeting, do you want a coffee? Miriam can make you a latte,” he says in such a tempting way that it’s impossible to resist.
“I’d never say no to a latte.”
“Excellent. Miriam, bring it to the Stockholm meeting room.”
They’ve named all their meeting rooms after international cities. It was a company-wide decision and the cities that got the most votes found their way on walls of the Linden Corp New York headquarters.
“Our client has arrived,” he announces, as we enter the room. He pulls out a chair and grabs my handbag to allow me to get comfortable. He sits at the other end of the conference table.
“Let’s get this show on the road. Misty, since you’re heading this, why don’t you start,” he orders.
Misty gets up, turns on the projector and clears her voice before starting to speak. She shares facts and data for nearly an hour uninterrupted. A few other team members jump in as well to emphasize certain key points. The only distraction is from Miriam who arrives with coffees and snacks. Bryce is a bit obsessed with healthy eating and he makes certain his entire team follows in his footsteps by having catered food each day to feed his staff.
“For now, we’re still tracking his activities in New York. The interesting thing is that until three years ago, there’s no trace of a Brad Keller attached to the social security and other personal information he used,” Misty reveals.
“What do you mean, there’s no trace of him?”
“It’s quite obvious he’s not from New York, but we haven’t yet been able to trace his roots. He could be Canadian or maybe British with a name like Keller, but it’s certain he’s not a born New Yorker.”
“I don’t get it. He’s always said there was no place like New York. From my understanding and from his stories, he’s always lived here his entire life and he couldn’t see himself living anywhere else.”
“I think he was trying to win you over or dupe you because the trail we’ve been following is cold. We can’t find a Brad Keller who matches any of the details you’ve given us in the state of New York. We’ve sent his details and photos back to our Silicon Valley office and our team there will do some more digging. That said, we’ll find him. It might take us a bit more time, but we’ll catch him.” Misty says this with a sparkle in her eye. She obviously loves the chase.
“Well, I don’t know how to thank you for all this work. I’m so grateful.”
“We don’t have a choice, he’s forcing us to do this.” Dieter, a senior code
Learning to Kill: Stories