Page 4 of Being Bold (Tactical Operations & Protection (TOP) Security #1)

She had three documents to get through today, one she hadn’t even looked at yet because it’d been dropped on her desk late last night.

As far as she’d gathered, she was one of two linguists at this location.

So far, she’d translated everything from correspondence to business manuals.

Saber Tech had locations across the world with its main hub in China.

A lot of what landed on her plate came straight from there.

Even if the tech material was rather dry, she loved that she got paid to read.

“Whoo.” Gripping the metal railing, she paused halfway up the winding stairs.

She wasn’t out of shape, but her body still hadn’t adjusted to living at the higher elevation.

At least, that’s what she told herself. By the time she’d made it up the flight of stairs to the second floor, she was overheating in her heavy coat.

Usually, she froze. In her experience, office buildings rarely turned the thermostat above 65 degrees.

Must be some unspoken rule.

When she entered the room, several people she shared the office with popped their heads up and called out, “Hey, Selene.”

She waved greetings and made her way to what had been dubbed the ‘translator’s corner.’

Her daytime counterpart sat hunched forward, nose inches away from the computer screen.

Setting her bag down, she stripped out of her coat and said, “Alright, Stu. Time to make a run for it.”

“Huh?” He stopped staring at his computer and pushed his glasses up his narrow nose to look at her. “Oh, hi. What did you say?”

“You’re sprung. Time to head for the hills.” She smiled with the joke, but his facial expression told her he clearly didn’t understand. Inwardly, she sighed. Stuart was a nice guy, but he had no sense of humor. “Nevermind. I’m here. You can go home.”

“Oh, right. Thanks.” He saved his progress and logged off the computer they shared. As soon as he stood up, she draped her jacket over the back of the desk chair.

Before she could sit, Yumi appeared. The willowy Japanese-American had become her friend over the last few months.

She worked in the office down the hall. Their paths had first crossed when Selene was tasked to translate one of Yumi’s technology guides.

She’d tried to explain it to Selene, but at ‘hypertext pre-processor’ and ‘application program interface,’ her eyes had glazed over.

She might work for a technology company and know what to call a particular product, but her expertise ended in interpreting words. She had no idea how they worked. Coding and programming? That was Yumi’s language, not hers.

Her friend held out a steaming mug. “I made coffee.”

Selene accepted it with an exaggerated, “Thank God for you. I know I’ll need it.”

A grin flashed across Yumi’s lips. “Anything for my work wife.”

That made Selene chuckle. She took a sip of the coffee and tried not to cough. Yumi liked to brew it strong. “Don’t we have to have husbands to be work wives?”

Her friend raised a dark brow with a smirk. “Let’s work on that. You want to go out tomorrow night?”

She wasn’t sure she was ready for a husband. Not when she didn’t know where she’d be in twelve months. If this job didn’t send her traveling soon, she might start looking for a new one. Her wanderlust had returned with a vengeance after the last two years in Santa Barbara.

Taking a seat, Selene deliberately set her coffee out of reach. “As long as it’s not to that dive bar you dragged me to last weekend.”

Yumi made a face like she was offended. “Scissorbills is way more than a dive bar, Miss California .”

“You’re right. I’m sure I misjudged it by the plastic pitchers hanging from the bar or the wall of slot machines,” she deadpanned.

The older woman, who Selene knew was thirty-three but looked barely twenty-two, stuck her tongue out in response.

Ignoring the look, she logged into her computer and then turned to ask while it booted up, “Hey, have you met Mr. Dao?”

Caution replaced the humor in Yumi’s eyes. “Yes. Why?”

“He’s here.” Her friend tensed at the news as she added, “I met him this afternoon and . . .”

“And?” Yumi pressed when she didn’t finish.

A thoughtful frown created a line between Selene’s brows. “I don’t know. Strange vibes.”

“‘Strange vibes?’ What are you, forty?” Yumi laughed, but tension underlaid her words.

She scowled at her friend. “I have work to do, Ms. Nakano.” For dramatic effect, she spun her chair around to face her computer, turning her back on the other woman.

Unlike Stu, Yumi understood the value of comedy. She gasped. “Yes, ma’am!”

When Selene heard her leaving, she called, “Text me later!”

“I will!”

The hours ticked on as she became engrossed in her work. She’d managed to get two full multi-chapter documents read and translated by the time she came up for air. Leaning back in her chair, she yawned, then rolled her shoulders.

“Ouch,” she muttered as her muscles protested. She’d been hunched forward like Stu. A bad habit that would likely make her creaky before she reached thirty.

Glancing at her phone, her eyes widened, surprised to see it was eleven o’clock. She’d be off work in half an hour. The last document she’d worked on had been much harder to slog through than expected. Her stomach growled. She’d forgotten to eat dinner because she was so focused on finishing it.

Too late to eat now.

With a sigh, she picked up the folder she’d received the night before.

The translations they were tasked with usually came via email, but this file had appeared in her physical inbox when she’d been on a break yesterday.

Opening it, she started to page through it.

She’d only glanced at the first sheet when the overhead lights flickered.

Please don’t let us lose power.

Selene was the only one in her office who worked ’til nearly midnight.

She’d seen other souls wandering around the building this late, but there weren’t many.

It hadn’t been her first choice to work second shift, but she’d taken what was available.

Since the company’s headquarters were fifteen hours ahead, she understood the need to have workers on later shifts.

When the lights flickered again, a groan escaped her lips.

She turned to look out the wall of windows behind her, but couldn’t see anything through the glare of the overhead fluorescents.

Taking the file with her, she wandered closer to see if it was snowing like the weather forecaster had predicted.

Cupping the folder around her head to shield her eyes from the glare of the office lights, she pressed her nose to the glass.

“Damn!” Snow had completely covered the tracks of vehicles and foot traffic in the parking lot.

Flurries continued to fall, swirling around the lampposts on either side of the buried pavement with the wind.

“Maybe I’ll just sleep here,” she grumbled as she walked back to her desk.

Plopping down with a sigh, she picked up her phone intending to text Yumi for advice on snow tires. In her hasty grab, she knocked the file folder to the floor. Papers scattered, but what caught her attention was a tiny piece of tech that tumbled out.

What the heck?

Crouching on all fours, she retrieved the device from underneath her desk, scooping up the papers as she went.

“And just what are you?” Sitting back down, she twirled what appeared to be a tiny microchip, trying to decipher its purpose. It had no markings to give her any clues.

Yumi might know.

Thinking about asking her friend, Selene set the piece of technology on top of the manila folder and snapped a picture. Opening up her text messages, she sent the image to Yumi.

Selene: Any idea what this is?

Yumi: You still at work?

Selene: Yes

Yumi: Bring it over for a better look.

Selene: K

Right when she tucked the microchip into her blazer pocket, the lights gave up their battle and plunged her into darkness.

“Just great.” With a sigh, she turned on her phone’s flashlight.

Shouldn’t this place have a generator?

You would think a technology company had the ability to keep its power on during a storm. The thought crossed Selene’s mind as she navigated to Yumi’s office down the hall.

When she made it to the room where her friend worked, she nearly tripped on the base of a chair someone had knocked over. Righting it, she skirted the wall of partitions that made her friend’s office a veritable maze. She knew her way to Yumi’s desk, but traversing it in the dark slowed her down.

Halfway there, she halted her steps at the sound of voices. “Where is it?” Selene didn’t recognize the speaker. Something in his tone sent a tingle of fear down her spine, though, and she wondered if she should turn around.

“I told you. I don’t know what you’re talking about.” That was Yumi. Was she in trouble?

Hearing her friend, Selene abandoned her thoughts about leaving. She switched off her flashlight and crept closer.

“I know you took the model, Miss Nakano.” Oh! That was Mr. Dao. “Now, kindly tell me where it is.”

Selene reached the end of the walkway and peered around the partition. Yumi sat in her desk chair while a large man in a black suit stood behind her with crossed arms.

“I don’t have it,” she directed her response to Mr. Dao, who faced her from his perch on the edge of her desk.

The CEO smiled. He was clearly playing the good cop in this scenario. “Then tell me who does.”

Selene’s mind raced with questions. What had Yumi gotten herself into? Did she take something from the company?

If she was working some sort of corporate espionage, Selene wanted no part in it. Still, she didn’t want to abandon her friend. She stood frozen, unsure if intervening would make things worse.

“The translator.”

An audible gasp left Selene’s lips at Yumi’s words, and three pairs of eyes darted in her direction.

Shit! She ducked behind the partition and listened for footsteps. Why would Yumi say that? Had she misjudged her that much?

Why throw me under the bus?

Oh my God! Her hand closed around the tiny tech in her pocket. They couldn’t mean this, could they? What could this microchip-looking thing be a model for?

Someone shined a light in her eyes, blinding her. Lost in her panicked thoughts, she’d missed their approach.

“Well, Miss Coleman, it seems I misjudged you.”

She lifted her palm to protect her vision, but it didn’t do much good. “Wha-a-at?” She was so confused that she stuttered on the question.

Had she fallen asleep at her desk? Because this had to be a nightmare. She’d been caught eavesdropping, sneaking around in the dark like some, some—

“Felix, you can lower that.” Mr. Dao’s command cut off her mental breakdown.

The behemoth of a man in the dark suit lowered the flashlight so that it shone past her.

When she’d blinked the spots from her eyes, words poured from her mouth.

“I was just, um”—she caught her lip as her heart pounded in her chest—“let me apologize, Mr. Dao. I was coming to see Yumi after the power went out, and when I heard voices, I wasn’t sure I should interrupt.

I had no intention of eavesdropping. I’m very sorry.

” Her throat felt as scratchy as a cactus. She swallowed and waited.

Please don’t let me get fired.

“I’m sure you didn’t, Selene.” His expression churned her stomach. “Can I call you Selene?”

“Su-u-ure.” What was wrong with her? For someone who prided herself on the ability to speak multiple languages, she was having an unusually hard time forming words.

“Well, Selene. Ms. Nakano”— Mr. Dao waved at Yumi, her friend’s arm caught in one of the bad cop’s meaty paws—“seems to think you have a piece of company property in your possession. Is that the case?”

“Perhaps she meant this?” Selene pulled the technology she’d found from her pocket, holding it in her palm for Mr. Dao to see.

He stepped toward her, blocking most of the light, and she lost track of the other man and Yumi.

“It was in a file that was placed on my desk. I thought it was part of the translation package, but perhaps it was put there by mistake?” She managed to keep her voice even over the hammering of her heart because she needed Mr. Dao to see that this was all a mix-up, and no one meant to hide anything.

“Ah, I’m sure it was.” When he took the tech from her palm, she prayed that was the end of this mess.

Forcing a smile, she took a step backward. “Okay, then. I’m glad we could clear that up. I’ll just head back to my desk.”

“Miss Coleman?” Mr. Dao stopped her before she could bolt like a rabbit.

Fighting her body’s urge to run, she asked, “Yes?”

“I’m afraid I can’t let you do that.”

Before her brain processed what he meant, she felt someone behind her.

“Felix?” Mr. Dao’s gaze moved beyond her head.

Selene spun around, or she would have, but something had pricked her in the neck.

Where’s Yumi? That was her last thought before her consciousness slipped away.