Page 60 of Being Bold
“What’s wrong?” The urgency in his words, as if he were ready to storm the building, made her hands shake. This was not going well.
She cleared her throat and tried to keep it from trembling with nerves. “Uh, nothing. I just, um, forgot my password for a second. All’s good.”
“You sure?” He sounded less than convinced. If they hadn’t been able to see her, she would’ve face-palmed.
“Yep.” The fewer words she let loose from her mouth the better. Please, please let him believe her.
“It’s not too late to back out. If you don’t want to do this, say the word.”
His comment made Yumi chime in from her seat down the hall, “What’s going on, Selene?”
Okay, now she felt smothered. She would’ve groaned if they couldn’t hear that, too. Because she was doing this, no matter what. Hoping for steel, she laced her voice with determination. “Nothing. I’m fine. Can everyone relax, please?”
Yumi chuckled. “Yes, ma’am.”
Bo’s only response was, “Roger,” before she had what she needed—radio silence.
She blew out a breath, then opened her email.Yikes.She tried not to wince at the number of unread messages in her inbox.
Waiting for Dao to call could take ten minutes or ten hours. They had no clue, so she may as well pass the time with work. At least then she wouldn’t seem suspicious when she felt like a giant sign was flashing over her head, with the words, “You’re not supposed to be here,” on it.
Later, after she’d exhausted her unread emails, the phone at her desk rang. Her hand squeezed around the receiver as soon as she put it to her ear.
“Bold move coming back here, Selene. I underestimated you.” Mr. Dao’s accented voice sent a shiver of fear down her back.
She swallowed and forced herself to play the part. “Are you checking on my well-being, Mr. Dao? That’s so thoughtful of you,” she paused for effect, “after you tried to kill me.”
“Yes, about that. Howdidyou survive?”
Like she’d give him the satisfaction of telling him. “Is that what you really want to know?”
She could feel his deranged smile through the phone line. It made her skin crawl, and she had to forcibly stop herself from glancing over her shoulder. “Now that you mention it, no. You gave me an empty file. Where’s the real one?”
She pushed her shoulders back to shake off the sensation. “You can have it on one condition.”
His breath huffed out. “Let me guess? I let you live.”
“Yes. I want my life back.” She wound her fingers in the phone cord, wishing she could strangle him with it. “I give you the tech and you leave me alone.”
“I’m afraid I can’t do that, Selene. I require . . . how can I put this?” He paused in thought before saying, “A clean house. And you, my dear, are a streak of dirt on the floor.”
“What are you saying?” She hated the tremble that crept into her voice. Closing her eyes, she searched for strength.What would Yumi do?
“I’ll agree to let you live, but only if you continue to work for me. That way, I can assure the floor remains spotless.”
He wanted her to keep her job? “As a translator?”
The creepy smile was back when he said, “Yes, and no. You won’t be at the Montana office. I want to keep your skillset closer at hand than that.”
God.That didn’t sound good.“Fine. I’ll do it.” She gulped and hoped he didn’t hear it over the line.
“Good. Bring me the microchip, and we have a deal, Miss Coleman.”
“Where?”
“Montreal. Tomorrow.”
“Montreal?” She didn’t have to feign the surprise in her voice. She thought he would’ve suggested something closer or Taipei, considering what he planned to do there.
