Page 6 of Being Bold
“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.
