She shook her head, without looking at him. “I’m risking my job if I’m seen with you. I can’t afford that.”

“Then meet me somewhere private, where nobody will see us.”

She huffed. “Like in that restaurant, where my boss nearly caught us?”

“That was bad luck, an unfortunate coincidence. Next time I’ll be more careful.”

“There won’t be a next time, Zach. Don’t you understand that? My life is complicated enough. My boss is breathing down my neck and my brother needs my help. I can’t afford to lose my job. Perhaps you don’t have to worry about money, but the rest of the population is sitting in a different boat.” Her voice became more agitated with each word.

“Then let me help you.”

“That would only make it worse. Don’t you see that it would look like you’re trying to bribe me if somebody ever found out?” She vehemently shook her head. “I have to solve my problems and Steve’s on my own.”

The elevator came to a stop and a soft ping sounded.

“Then at least let me be the shoulder to lean on.”

“No, that—”

The doors opened and Zach’s gaze instantly fell on one of Rochelle’s colleagues waiting for the elevator.

“Hi Miss Vasquez.” He gestured with his coffee cup. “On your way to the coffee shop?”

“Hi Mr. Ivers. Is the line very long?”

Rochelle’s head whipped in Miss Vasquez’s direction. “Nicole, if I’d known you wanted some coffee, I would have brought you some.”

“No worries, I needed to move a little anyway.”

Zach let Rochelle exit the elevator ahead of him, then held the doors open for Miss Vasquez. “I wish you a good afternoon, ladies.” He nodded at Rochelle. “And, Miss Wright, do you already have an idea how long the investigation will take? Only so I can plan ahead a little.”

A non-committal smile lay on her lips, while she exchanged a look with Miss Vasquez before shrugging. “I’m afraid I can’t say.”

He nodded. “Well, I guess then I don’t have any choice but to wait.”

Rochelle obviously understood what he meant by that, because she turned abruptly and walked toward the conference room, while the elevator doors closed.

He watched Rochelle disappear around a corner. Yes, he could wait, because Rochelle was worth it. But he wouldn’t be idle. No, there were a few things he had to take care of to pave the way for him and Rochelle to be together again.

15

Rochelle sat down on the chair her boss had offered her, while he remained seated behind his desk. Todd Yochum wasn’t unattractive by any stretch of the word. On the contrary: he was good looking and even in his early forties he still looked rather young. During the ten years she’d been working for him at the SEC, she’d noticed that he often had girlfriends who were much younger than he. Apparently he considered himself to be a desirable bachelor. But in her eyes, he wasn’t. Because she knew him better.

She knew of his temper tantrums, the rage he often unleash on others, and she’d seen that he lacked ethics, though he expected his employees to adhere to the rules. Unfortunately, those same rules didn’t seem to apply to him. She had a hard time respecting such a man. She hated people who applied one set of standards to themselves and another set to others.

Yochum steepled his fingers and hummed against them. His eyebrows snapped together, while he studied her.

“Do you know why I asked you to see me, Rochelle?”

She shifted on her chair, ill at ease. “I’m assuming you want to be brought up to speed on the Ivers International case?”

“I’m already up to speed on it. I read your daily reports.” He motioned to the computer monitor on his desk. “Nothing! Absolutely nothing!” He bent over his desk. “How do you expect me to prosecute Ivers? You’ve gotta give me something to work with.”

“But my team and I haven’t found anything so far.”

“Is that so? You normally don’t come to me with empty hands. Have you lost your touch? Normally, you find out if somebody has skeletons in the closet. Or am I wrong about you?” He lifted his chin in a show of superiority.

She felt her chest rise and tried to calm herself down. “Maybe Mr. Ivers has nothing to hide.”

Clearly surprised, Yochum leaned back a fraction. “What do you mean by that?”

“Exactly what I said. Nicole, Antonio, and I have been going through all his files for days now. We can’t find any evidence that he was involved in these trades.”