Page 7 of Being Bold
“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.”
