Corporate Espionage & A Side of Spinach

Elena adjusted the wide-brimmed hat she'd bought specifically for this occasion, pulling it lower over her eyes. The restaurant — L'Orangerie — was too upscale for disguise, but the hat helped. She was here to spy on Marcus Chen, her former mentor turned corporate rival, who was supposedly meeting someone from Omnicorp.

She'd been following him for three weeks. Her life had narrowed to this: rented cars, hotel rooms, and the constant low-grade anxiety of discovery. She was thirty-eight and had nothing to show for it but a Series 7 she'd never framed and a relationship that had ended six months ago when James told her he couldn't compete with a job that required lying about who she was.

Marcus sat alone at a corner table, methodically working through a salad. Elena watched him through the reflection in the wine glass before her — spinach leaves clinging to his teeth, oblivious to how ridiculous he looked. This man who brokered million-dollar deals, who'd taught her that information was the only currency that mattered, couldn't keep spinach out of his teeth.

Suddenly, it struck her as funny. The whole thing was funny. Here she was, pretending to be someone else in a restaurant named after oranges, watching a man with spinach in his teeth while she herself was wearing a hat that made her look like a character in a farce.

Her phone buzzed. James. For the first time in months, she answered.

"I'm having dinner," she said. "Not working."

Marcus's companion arrived — not someone from Omnicorp but an elderly woman, probably his mother. They ordered papaya for dessert, laughing about something. Elena watched them, suddenly exhausted by the game she'd been playing.

She signaled for the check, leaving her hat on the chair. Let Marcus see her if he wanted. Let him know he'd been spied on by someone who'd finally realized that some information wasn't worth the price of obtaining it.

Outside, the air felt cool against her face. She called James back. "That dinner," she said. "Are you free?"