Page 5 of Being Bold
“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. Sheworked 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!”
