‘Will, not would! Hey, there’s Eliza, and I assume that’s Suze she’s got with her.’ He stood and waved.
Nat swivelled round in her chair. What the hell? That definitely wasn’t Suze. Why on earth was Hannah walking in with Eliza?
Hannah hesitated when she met Nat’s gaze. Her face paled, and she gave her head a slight shake, her eyes boring into Nat’s as if she was trying to communicate something. She needn’t worry, Nat wasn’t going to say anything. She honestly had no idea what was going on.
‘Lia!’ Eliza hurried to the table and hugged Nat. ‘I didn’t realise you were coming. It’s so good to see you.’
‘She wasn’t,’ Jacob said. ‘Her sister works nearby, so she thought she’d stop off and say hi before dropping in to see her. She wasn’t planning on staying, but I’ve convinced her otherwise.’ He reached out his hand. ‘You must be Suze.’
Nat watched as Hannah shook his hand and smiled. ‘Nice to meet you, Jacob.’ She turned to Nat. ‘I’m so glad you did decide to stop by, Lia. I feel like I already know you.’ She leaned closer to Nat and hugged her. ‘Play along,’ she whispered in her ear.
‘Shall I organise coffee?’ Eliza suggested.
Jacob shook his head. ‘You three ladies chat and I’ll place the order. Lia, did you want another?’
Nat shook her head.
‘Suze, what’s your poison?’
Hannah’s response blurred as realisation hit Nat. Hannah was Suze! She’d been communicating with her own sister in the chat room and Hannah had never said anything. Even when she’d delivered the news to both Nat and their father, she hadn’t told her. She closed her eyes momentarily. How was this even possible?
‘You okay, Lia?’ Jacob asked.
Her eyes flicked open and she did her best to smile. ‘Yes, sorry. I’ve got a lot on my mind, that’s all.’
Jacob smiled back. ‘Let me get the coffee while you ladies make yourselves comfortable. Hopefully we can help Lia relax too.’
‘How exciting is this?’ Eliza said as he disappeared towards the counter. ‘I can’t believe how our lives have been turned around in such a short space of time. And I feel like I’ve gained two new best friends in the process. To be honest, I was only looking for friendship; the financial side of it is just a massive bonus.’ She laughed. ‘And to think we met in a gambling addicts’ chat room. You never know what life is going to bring.’
Hannah and Nat both laughed along with her. She was good, Nat had to admit. In one way it was a relief to see how easily this woman could fool you. Part of her was still questioning whether Hannah’s fraud guy had got it right or not. At least one thing was guaranteed, Suze wasn’t there to invest money.
Jacob returned to the table. ‘Coffee will be a few minutes. Now, Suze, we’re here to talk about your investment. Feel free to write down any figures if you’d like to keep them discreet.’
Hannah shook her head. ‘No, that’s okay.’ She smiled at Nat. ‘Lia’s been very open with the financial side of her investments, and I’m happy to do the same.’
Not quite what her message had said the previous night in the chat room, but Nat now understood why. She didn’t want Nat to know she was Suze. It raised a million other questions. Why was Hannah in the chat room to start with, and why hadn’t she told Nat that she was Suze when she’d worked out who Nat was? Had Phyllie set her up? Told Hannah to spy on her in the chat room? Phyllie was the only person who knew about it. That didn’t seem likely though, especially as Hannah was in the chat room the first day she’d gone there herself. She suddenly sucked in a breath. Had Hannah shared real information? So the story about her husband and his biological father being a rapist was actually about Damien? She looked across at Hannah, who frowned at her. She was glad of the distraction of Jacob talking.
‘Suze, ask me any questions you need to about the investment. I can answer most of them and provide you with supporting documentation. The firm does take four percent of any gains during the salmon run. It’s about double our usual fee, but this is an offer we only make to select clients. You pay a premium for this.’
Hannah asked questions that she’d obviously thought through before coming. They sounded like reasonable questions anyone would ask before investing. The final one she asked related to the term of the investment.
‘Is it true my money will only be invested for twenty-four hours?’
Jacob nodded. ‘If it goes into our account today it will be invested immediately. We have a portfolio opening at four p.m., which will provide its return by four p.m. tomorrow.’
‘Perfect timing to celebrate on Sunday,’ Eliza said. ‘I thought we could meet for a picnic in the botanical gardens. It will be chilly, but the forecast is for sunshine, and I’m happy to bring the food and the Cristal, as discussed.’ She winked at Nat. ‘What do you all say?’
‘As long as I’m in a position to celebrate then, yes, I’ll be there,’ Hannah said.
‘You didn’t mention how much you were going to invest, Suze?’
‘One hundred and sixty thousand.’
Eliza gasped. ‘Really? You’re going to risk that much?’
Jacob frowned. ‘She’s right, Suze. That is a lot. I’m more than happy to accept it, but only if you guarantee you could survive if the investment didn’t work out.’
‘Perhaps she should split it across a couple of different portfolios?’ Eliza suggested.
‘It doesn’t make any difference with the salmon run,’ Jacob said. ‘When one portfolio collapses, the whole lot will too.’
Nat watched the supposed brother and sister team working them. You would think this was a genuine conversation, not a complete set-up.
‘I’ll keep it as one,’ Hannah confirmed. Her phone pinged with a text message. She checked it, frowned and placed her phone back in her bag. ‘Sorry, I’m going to have to go. Emergency at work.’ She looked at Nat, her eyes trying to convey a message. Did she want Nat to stay with them or leave? She couldn’t tell. Jacob decided for her.
‘I’ll get our coffee to go, in that case.’ He stood and embraced Hannah. ‘You’ve got the details for the transfer but feel free to call me if there are any problems or you have any concerns.’ He turned to Nat. ‘And it sounds like we’ll meet again for a proper celebration on Sunday.’
Nat did her best not to cringe as he kissed her on both cheeks, and then Eliza did the same. ‘I’ll message you both with a time and meeting place for our celebration,’ Eliza said.
‘I’ll walk out with you,’ Nat said to Hannah. ‘I need to go and drop something to my sister anyway.’
They waved goodbye and walked out on to the street.
‘Keep walking,’ Hannah said. ‘Don’t ask any questions at all. Just stay beside me.’
Her tone was serious and commanding. Nat didn’t question her, just did exactly what she said. Hannah walked to the next building and turned into an entrance way. She hurried up a flight of stairs to a small balcony that overlooked the street below. They had a clear view of the front of Cafe Reiki. She gripped Nat’s arm tight. ‘Just wait.’