“I’ll need you to translate this conversation from the Prime Minister’s phone call with the President,” Aurelia Novak said, handing Saskia a stack of what looked to be around 100 pages.
“What did they do? Have a cozy five-hour marathon chat?” Saskia took the pages from her boss.
Aurelia snorted. “Close. It’s probably a lot of golf talk so have fun with that.” She checked her watch. “Let’s grab a drink later in the lobby, maybe around 8ish. I have a Zoom meeting, but I should be done by seven.” She stopped at the elevator, punching the button. “Oh, and I’ll need you to be ready to go to the embassy first thing in the morning. We’re expected to meet the Polish delegation for breakfast.”
Saskia groaned as she stepped into the elevator. “Why do you need a translator? Your Polish is flawless. Can’t you communicate without me?”
Aurelia winked at her and hit the button for the sixth floor. “Technically yes, but my Polish counterpart is an unbearable bore. I can’t stand him. You’re coming with me to stop me from doing terrible things to him if he says something stupid.”
“Ah,” Saskia said with a grin. “We don’t want to start an international incident.”
“Exactly.” Aurelia stepped off the elevator on her floor. “I’ll see you in a few hours.”
Saskia waved and pressed the button for one floor up, humming to herself. Aurelia was the first person Saskia worked for in the Prime Minister’s office and she’d been impressed enough with Saskia to give her a permanent job. It worked out well. Branislav Makovsky, the Prime Minister, was deep in Jozef’s pocket, which meant her cousin could keep an eye on Saskia’s movements without being overbearing.
She’d been working with Branislav’s office for a year and she had no intention of leaving. It was a sweet gig, allowing her both freedom and travel abroad.
Saskia let herself into her hotel room, tossing her satchel on the sofa. She approached the floor-to-ceiling window, taking in the South African city of Pretoria as the sun set over the rolling hills beyond. It was breathtaking and she stood rooted to the spot, watching.
She wished she could share the moment with a certain someone.
She’d been thinking about him more and more since coming to Africa, which was ridiculous, because she had no idea where he lived and it was a massive continent. Still… she was physically closer to him than she had been in years and it was almost like she could feel his presence around her. Which was also ridiculous. She hadn’t heard from him in months. He’d probably forgotten about her.
Sharif Muhammed Radik.
Warlord. Mercenary. Stalker.
He’d originally targeted Saskia in revenge. Saskia’s cousin, Jozef, had recruited Radik’s younger sister, Ayaan, to join his team of mercenaries, but Radik, who wanted his sister safe, hated the idea.
In a story similar to Saskia’s, Ayaan had been raised in a crime family and desperately desired her freedom. Jozef had offered it to her and Radik had been furious. He’d found Saskia at her university, intending to scare her. Instead of terrorizing her, he left her alone. But over the years he’d been watching her closely. Saskia knew, because he made no secret of it.
He sent birthday and Christmas presents every year. Occasionally she received anonymous texts telling her she was beautiful. That’s how she knew it was him. Saskia wasn’t stunningly beautiful like Shaun or Leeza, she was average and cool with it, but Radik thought differently.
At first, Saskia had worried about his intentions, not wanting to go from one crime family to another, but it’d been years and he never did anything other than send gifts and occasionally text her. In fact, he missed her 24th birthday a few weeks ago, so Saskia was convinced he was finally finished pursuing her.
A pang had her rubbing her chest.
It was what she wanted though, right? She wanted a career. She wanted her freedom. She didn’t want someone in her life who was like Jozef. Someone who would hold her back.
She changed into a pair of soft grey sweatpants and an old university T-shirt and settled on the couch, pulling the stack of papers Aurelia had given her onto her lap. She got to work, wishing the Prime Minister had sent a digital copy. He was old-fashioned and paranoid, so she would have to scan the sheets onto her laptop before she could start the translation. She reminded herself she got paid a lot to do it and quit the internal bitching.
She was tasked with translating the whole thing into English, including the non-relevant parts of the conversation. It was up to Aurelia to parse out the interesting bits for their South African counterparts.
The translation was relatively simple. It was a conversation between the Czech Prime Minister and the Czech President. They started off by discussing their families, the President wishing Branislav’s wife, Irena, a good recovery after a lengthy illness, before moving onto golf, which they talked about for almost an hour according to the time log. Finally, they got to the meat of the discussion and the reason for Saskia’s translation. The security deal they were about to make with the South Africans.
A few hours passed and the sun set, the city lighting up under the dark sky. She stood, stretching, and checked the time.
It was 7:45 PM. She should wrap it up and go find Aurelia for the drink she promised. Personally, Saskia preferred to stay in and have a glass of wine if she was going to drink, but Aurelia liked to check out the nightlife in whatever city she was visiting. Pretoria was a particular favourite of hers.
Saskia changed into a pair of dark blue jeans with wide legs and a black bustier top that showed off her bellybutton piercing. She piled her dark brown curls on top of her head in a messy bun and pinned pieces of it strategically to give it a purposely chaotic look as opposed the accidentally chaotic look that was her usual.
For makeup, she applied a touch of purple eye shadow, some mascara, and lilac-tinted lip gloss. She smacked her lips as she stepped back and took in the full picture. I clean up good, she thought.
She sent Aurelia a text telling her she was ready to go and that she would come down to her boss’s room. She packed her laptop and Branislav’s translation into her bag, slinging it across her chest. Snatching up her jacket, she left her suite, deciding to take the stairs.
She hummed to herself as she made her way to her boss’s room.
The door was slightly ajar when she arrived, but that wasn’t unusual. Aurelia did that when she was expecting company.
Saskia knocked lightly, hoping she wasn’t interrupting the meeting Aurelia mentioned. When there was no answer, she stuck her head around the door, calling, “Aurelia? It’s Saskia. Are you here?”
No answer.
She entered the room, leaving the door open behind her. It was like Saskia’s, a suite with a sitting area and a separate bedroom. An open bottle of red wine sat on the counter, a clean wineglass beside it. Saskia reached for the glass, assuming it was for her.
Tipping some wine into it, she shouted, “I’m helping myself to wine. Are you still getting dressed?”
The bedroom door was closed and they weren’t on a friendship level yet where Saskia felt comfortable barging in. She gave it two minutes, sipping her wine, which was delicious, before knocking loudly on the bedroom door. “Aurelia?”
Still no answer.
Frowning, Saskia tried the knob, which turned easily in her hand. She didn’t hesitate. She’d rather get yelled at for invasion of privacy than be a bad friend if Aurelia fell in the shower or something. She shoved the door open.
The wine glass slipped from her hand, hitting the carpet with a muted thud, spraying wine everywhere before her brain could register what it was seeing.
She didn’t have to think though because instinct took over, driving her to whirl around and race from the suite. Heart thundering, she ran for the stairs, pushing the door open and stumbling into the stairway. She gripped the railing, propelling herself upward while dragging her phone out of her pocket with the other.
Jozef answered on the first ring. She didn’t wait for his robotic greeting. “Jozef, something’s happened!”
