“Yes. I want the rib eye.” She enunciated each word with the precision of a pistol shot. “Black and blue. And another martini. And this time tell the bartender to just wave the vermouth bottle over the shaker. Any questions?”

“Does the gentleman still want the porterhouse for two?”

Ted shook his head, as much to clear his brain as to indicate a negative response. “I’ll have what she’s having.”

“Certainly, sir.” The waiter wasn’t happy about it.

The hell with him, Ted thought, though he managed to smile mirthlessly until the man left. He looked to Kenzie only to find she was staring angry laser bolts at him. He tried not to cringe.

“Do we have a problem?” she asked.

“I thought I was helping. Who knows when we might have seen a waiter again?”

“Oh, forget about that. Do we have a problem about me not getting you the pictures you wanted?”

“Absolutely not. We’ll have to find some other way of catching them.”

Kenzie attacked a large shrimp with the ferocity of a pit bull. A very attractive pit bull, despite the Morticia disguise.

“What?” she said, looking up and catching his gaze.

“I’m sorry,” he said. “Was I staring?”

She graced him with a quizzical look before returning to the shrimp. “I suppose we could follow Cheryl. At some point she’s going to pass that envelope along to her boss.”

“Councilperson Pak. A man of the people.”

“Yes,” she said. “As long as those people can afford to provide him with envelopes full of cash.”

Ted found himself staring at her again. She was easy to look at, but that alone didn’t explain the attraction. She had a passion that was missing in his life. It must have been there once, but he’d given it up for ambition. A bad swap.

He was also a bit in awe of her ability to be so direct. She didn’t need to take control and give orders; she merely stated where she stood and allowed him to do the same. It could be disconcerting at first, but he was becoming comfortable with it. With her.

Kenzie polished off the last shrimp and looked up again. For a moment she looked into his face and smiled. Then her gaze shifted and her eyes widened. “Whoa. They’re leaving.”

Ted risked another quick look over his shoulder. The whole group was standing and shaking hands. Jackie picked up her briefcase and walked away from the table. Ted ducked his head and turned to Kenzie.

“Are they all leaving?”

“Reisner and Pak are sitting down again. Cheryl ordered another drink. The ugly guy and the hottie are . . . Jesus Christ, they’re coming this way.”

Ted watched Kenzie’s eyes. He could almost see the reflection of the odd couple approaching.