Page 98 of Say You Will

thirty

Henry

Angry Too | Lola Blanc

“No rest for thewicked,” I say.

Franki, wearing glasses and the same pink tank top she slept in last night, sits in the armchair catty-corner from me with a blanket covering her lap. Setting her cup of tea on the table beside her, she lifts her head from the book she’s reading. “You’re the wicked one. I’m the nice person who knows how to relax.”

She nods at the kitchen table, where she’s left the small handgun I gave her. “I’ve already run your safety and self-defense drills this morning.”

She doesn’t like to wear it all the time, and I don’t press the point. Something like that has to be her own decision, not something I coerce her into. Spencer doesn’t like to carry either. I wasn’t given a choice as a child. I’ll never take away her right to decide how she wants to handle this.

I recline against the sofa back and adjust the laptop on my knees. “Are you calling off work today? Because you’re on shaky ground there. Sick days? Yes. Personal days? You have to work for a month first. Take it up with your HR department,” I say blandly.

She snaps her paperback closed and leans toward me with a glint of humor in her eyes. “I’m certain that being kidnapped and/or abducted to a remote cabin qualifies me for an excused absence.”

“Ah. Well. I see your point. Then, I suppose you’re not interested in seeing the files that came through this morning from France regarding—”

I make space for her as she abandons her book and lurches across the arm of the couch, tapping at the file on my laptop screen to pull it up.

“Ms. Lennox,” I murmur, “I commend your enthusiasm, but some comportment is in order. I am youremployer.”

“Sir, you do know you’re not my actual boss, and you’re the one with your hand on my butt?”

“Hmm. So I am.” I give her a squeeze, and she fights a smile.

“There. Perfect. I’ll get my laptop and complete the translation this morning,” she says.

Most of the translations I request from her involve her speaking into an audio file and speech-to-text. It limits her need to type due to her joint pain. As I can multitask when I accessthose files later, it’s also useful for me. I’m not ashamed to admit the sound of her voice is an added benefit.

“Monsieur Mercier must like you. He’s three days early with these files,” I say.

She shakes her head. “First, never say ‘Mon-sewer’or ‘Mercy-er’again. I’m begging you.”

I pronounce it incorrectly on purpose because her reaction every time I mangle French is funny.Sue me.

“Second, none of these people even know me. I’m the translator for what you say. They’re responding to you, not me.” She shuffles back onto her chair, then rises and walks across the room to open her laptop at the kitchen table.

“And the part where you throw in all the nice words I didn’t say?” I safely eject a thumb drive after I’ve saved the files for her and walk across the room to hand it to her.

She settles into the kitchen chair and inserts the USB drive into her own computer. “Making sure you don’t blunder into accidentally giving offense by not understanding their culture is part of my job description.”

“May we never forget the American Theme Park in France Debacle of our forefathers,” I intone.

She hums in agreement and slides her phone and handgun behind the laptop so she doesn’t have to see either one while she’s working.

I’ve utilized a number of different translators over the years for many different languages, and she’s the best I’ve ever had. When we’re meeting with business associates, her persona is impeccable. She’s competent, professional, friendly, and respectful without being a pushover. She speaks both French and German like a native, has briefly lived in both of those countries, and she’s had years of an exemplary education that included study on etiquette and social expectations, as well as the academic studies she was passionate about.

When we’re behind closed doors, it’s her very lack of standing on ceremony that makes her easy to work with. She doesn’t waste my time hedging around me while she tries to guide me out of making a blunder. She looks me in the eyes and says,“We’re not saying that unless you want to tick them off.”

When an alert vibrates on my phone, I rap my knuckles on the table. “I forgot to mention we’ll be having visitors in approximately two minutes.”

She scrambles to stand and close her laptop. “What? Who?”

“It’s the asset Dante has been guarding. He’ll be staying with us.”

Her eyes go wide. “Here? This is a one-bedroom cabin. Where is he sleeping?”

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