by Cynthia Dane
Someone else poked their head into the room. “It’s time to go.”
I was soon in the back of another car driving through Singapore. My aunt sat beside me, speaking into her blue tooth. She switched between Mandarin and the local Singlish.
We pulled up in front of an unmarked skyscraper of luxury apartments and offices. The bottom floor was nothing more than an empty boutique and a standing-room only café. Asian businessmen and their socialite wives stepped in with empty hands and walked out with coffees and gluten-free donuts. One woman lamented that they gave her the shits, but it was worth it to see her sister’s face every time she walked into the house with a bag from this trendy café.
“This way. Now.”
My aunt led the way while three men blocked me in, each one positioned carefully enough to keep me out of the security cameras’ eyes. I didn’t pretend to understand why my aunt punched in two different floor numbers in the elevator.
The doors opened on the fourteenth floor, the first lit-up button. Nobody got out.
A Singaporean man in a blue uniform stepped in and kept his back to us.
“Transfer taking place now,” he announced without turning his head. My aunt curtly nodded. “Floor twenty-six. Follow the suit.”
He stepped off at the twentieth floor, which was the second lit-up button. As soon as the doors closed, my aunt hit the button for the twenty-sixth floor.
My heart raced to think that Erica was in the same building as me – and that I would see her within a few more minutes. I checked my makeup in my compact and ran my fingers through my hair. There was nothing I could do about my wrinkled travel clothes. I had the foresight to have already renewed my deodorant, though.
We stepped off on the twenty-sixth floor. Walls of pure, illuminated white surrounded us as we walked down a narrow corridor. A man in a black suit always stayed three yards ahead of us, acting as if he didn’t see us at all.
He stopped at a hallway intersection. We immediately stopped as well.
“Clear,” he said, signaling for us to follow him around the corner.
My aunt apparently knew which door we wanted. I almost ran her over trying to keep up.
Her fist pounded against the door.
“Afternoon shift!” she called. “Six-five-three-two!”
Later, I found out that we had infiltrated the security shift change outside of Erica’s hideout. The two men we found on our way up were part of her local security team who owed my aunt a couple of favors. They provided us with the password and the correct times to show up, but beyond that, we were on our own with nothing but our wits to keep us afloat.
My throat was dry. My stomach tumbled.
The door opened.
Chapter 53
ERICA
Nondescript is the most important descriptor of any building you want to use as a hideout. Singapore is the kingdom of nondescript buildings that also happen to have the amenities I’m used to, and enough top-notch local security to ensure I get my money’s worth.
My life was upended, and I only had myself to blame for signing off on it. Yet I had never been so numb in my adult life. The apartment I rented in one of Singapore’s most affluent districts had everything I could ask for in terms of entertainment and connectivity to the rest of the world, but I was forbidden to touch anything but a brand-new laptop that was heavily monitored by tech security hanging out in one of the bedrooms. When they weren’t spying on my computer use, they were overseeing the incoming phone calls and sniffing through the physical mail showing up on our doorstep.
Nobody was supposed to know that I was here. Nobody except the people I brought with me to Singapore. Sherman had volunteered to rip himself away from his family, but Nick looked as if I hadn’t paid him enough for this adventure – mostly because we had no idea when it would end. Days turned into weeks before I had the chance to wake up and realize I was one month older.
I was in a prison of my own machinations.
The outside world wasn’t kept from me. I could read papers, watch TV, and peruse the usual websites related to my business, but I couldn’t talk to anyone my team didn’t have on their list. Natalie wasn’t on the list. I had completely abandoned her for our own safety, and every morning I dragged myself out of bed with the knowledge that she was across the Pacific Ocean, wondering when the hell I would call her and tell her everything was all right.
Yet it wasn’t. Sherman kept a close eye on any media references to me, let alone to my love life. The press had discovered Natalie’s identity and her relation to me. We were all over the tabloids and the gossip blogs speculating what kind of office I ran. The most disgusting was an article detailing every one of my former female interns and speculating if I had ever slept with them. They even interviewed one who didn’t receive a job offer at the end of her internship. When she claimed that I never made a pass at her, the interviewer suggested it was why she had been let go. The kicker? She agreed. I clearly didn’t care for her because she didn’t give me Yellow Fever.
My PR team was on my ass asking for updates to feed to the media. My HR department back home was on my ass asking me what the hell I was thinking, letting this leak before we figured out Natalie’s place in the company? HR was easy. PR, however, required imagination I didn’t have on me now that I was separated from my favorite person in the whole world.
My real location changed depending on the week. When I first came to Singapore, it was reported that I was in Italy having my suit fittings and buying gifts for my girlfriend. The next week, I was in Dubai for business. When the press began asking why I was never seen with Natalie – and this was complete with paparazzi photos of Natalie walking in and out of my building with a dour look – my PR team came up with the plan to “send” me to a remote resort in the Caribbean. Sherman forwarded them an old photo of me vacationing in Bermuda and it was run as a recent picture. Speculation instantly flew that I had dumped Natalie and was living it up in the tropics.
Eventually, everyone assured me, the media circus would die down and we could go back to America. Yet Sherman continued to investigate who may have poisoned Brooke, and if it had anything to do with me.
There were also his suspicions about Natalie’s family. Part of the reason I picked Singapore over other locations such as Tokyo or Copenhagen was its proximity to Taiwan. First chance I got, I arranged another meeting with Lewis Chen, this time a little closer to his home. It would be my first time leaving the safehouse since arriving in Singapore three weeks before.
As much as the cabin fever killed me, I was even more heartbroken that I couldn’t say a single word to Natalie. Oh, if I were weaker person, I would have broken down in the middle of the night and texted her. But one of Sherman’s warnings in the back of my head continued to haunt me. Having to do with Natalie, her family, and her relation to me at work.
“She’s not a normal girl you’ve been caught up with, Erica,” he told me on the flight to Singapore. “She’s your executive intern. She’s the daughter of a powerful Taiwanese banker. She’s caught up with you, a woman in men’s clothing.”
I hated it when people knew better than I did. Well, maybe they didn’t know better. But in my emotional state, I needed to pretend that they did so I would listen.
Early in November, however, I didn’t need to listen to anyone anymore.
I was in my room, reading through charts and diagrams on the one laptop I could use, when half the security in my apartment were roused because an uninvited guest was in the hallway.
I didn’t think much about it and went back to making notes on a legal pad. The sunlight poured through the rushing clouds hanging above Singapore’s ominous skyline. A half-eaten sandwich – my late lunch – was on a plate beside me. On the other side was a pile of knots I had tied when my brain became consumed with everything I detested. I hadn’t bothered to dress in anything but loungewear that day. The longer I stayed inside, the less I was inclined to get dressed. I only put on a suit when I had
video calls to make with business associates around the world.
Sherman yelling something in the living room was what made me turn around in my seat. The imminent sounds of bodies hitting the floor made me leap up, my flight or fight response overwhelming me.
I should have run. Ideally, someone from either my personal team or the Singaporean squad we hired as soon as we touched down would have entered my room and grabbed me. Nobody came.
Either this was the greatest home invasion to ever hit Singapore, or…
Excitement gripped me. It was the longest shot in the world, but what if the uninvited guest was someone I wanted to see? Did protecting myself matter if nobody was around to shield me anyway?
I entered the empty hallway and witnessed the end of the commotion in the living room. Suited bodies were on the floor, although none of them appeared dead. Embarrassed? Yes. Nursing wounds? Absolutely. Whoever had knocked them down was someone they hadn’t expected, but they weren’t deadly.
“Do you know who this is?” A standoff with live firearms commenced in the living room. An Asian woman held her gun up to the three still-standing members of my security squad. “This is Lewis Chen’s daughter. Also known as your employer’s number one mistress. Step aside.”
Lewis Chen’s daughter?
There, pushing herself up from the chaise lounge where she appeared to have been unceremoniously thrown, was Natalie.
“Don’t care if she’s the prime minister’s daughter. Nobody gets through without…”
Elated disbelief swelled in my chest. “Natalie?”
Her awe-inspiring presence perked up at the sound of my voice. I was as happy as her to be reunited like this, but even I questioned my girlfriend’s judgment when she leaped up from the lounge, barreled between two people holding up guns, and flung herself into my arms.
Her scent, her happy cry, and her impact nearly knocked me to the floor. My arms wrapped around her. Every part of me that didn’t want to let her go warred with the parts begging me to get an answer out of her. How did she get here? Who was this woman with her?
“What the hell are you doing here?” I asked, taking her by the shoulders. “Who’s trying to hurt you?”
“What? Nobody!” She grabbed me back. “You’re the one I’m trying to warn!”
Before I could demand that she explain herself, the older woman with a gun said, “It’s super nice to see you two acting all lovey-dovey together, but I need the men called off before my brother rides my ass all the way to the police station. Singaporean cops don’t play around.”
I looked between her and the men waiting to shoot at someone’s command. The man closest to me nodded to the mess left on the floor. Nearly half a dozen men, including Nick, were struggling to get up and find their firearms. “Where’s Sherman?” I asked. His voice had definitely sparked this fire.
“Right here.” Groggy, he limped toward us with a hand around his throat. “Getting my ass kicked and you killed.”
“Sorry.” The older woman shrugged. “I had a feeling if we sent a telegram it would be duly ignored. Maybe returned with a chicken’s head attached. Or maybe that’s my sister-in-law’s family’s style. The Lius don’t fucking play.”
Sherman diverted his path to me and gave the woman what-for. Later, I discovered she had chopped him in the throat and nearly knocked him out for good. The hit to his pride was probably worse than the hit to his body, though.
“Erica.” Natalie caught my attention with a quick burst of her breath. “I had to see you. You don’t even understand what the fuck is going on back home. Aiden is…”
“You have impeccable timing!” Sherman shouted. “Especially since we’re supposed to be meeting…”
“Sherman.” I wrapped my arm around Natalie and kept her firmly by my side. She wasn’t in a hurry to leave my side, either. Exactly what I wanted, and exactly the kind of front we had to put up in front of all these well-meaning people with guns. “What’s done is done. They’re here now. Let’s proceed with our original plans for the evening.”
“What some serious timing…”
“Do me a favor and get everyone settled in while I talk with Natalie,” I said.
The older woman rolled her eyes. “Yes. Talking. Go talk.”
“By the way,” Natalie continued to hug me, “this is my aunt, Melanie Chen. You know, the one I had no idea was my father’s bodyguard until a while ago?”
I was surprised, yet I couldn’t say if the shock was for this woman’s relation to Natalie, or her relation to who I was meeting that night. Melanie Chen had been on our radar since discovering who Natalie’s father was, but we were under the impression she helped run one of Gold Plains’ offices.
“She’s doing a helluva job protecting his person right now,” Sherman muttered.
“It’s a pleasure to formally meet you, Ms. Chen,” I said.
She lowered her gun and brushed her fingers through her hair. Long. Black. Thick and healthy. Just like Natalie’s. “Pleasure’s all mine. Although we’ve met before, as you may remember, Ms. Mann.”
“So you know?” I turned to Natalie. “Did you tell her?” Or had her brother? Or, as I later deduced, had she figured it out on her own and told her brother?
“She already knew the truth. A lot of people do, Erica.”
“God damnit,” Sherman cursed.
“Come on.” I took Natalie’s hand and lead her toward my room. “We really need to talk.”
Yes, talk. I truly intended to talk to my girlfriend about what had just happened and her involvement in it. There were a multitude of things to go over, such as how she knew where I was, her impeccable timing, and what the hell we would do if the media caught on to our shenanigans… but the moment we were alone in my room, with the door shut behind us, I pressed her against the wall and kissed her.
For a while.
It had been over three weeks of silence and loneliness. Three weeks of figuring out what to do, all while forgetting what it was I wanted the most.
Her.
“Don’t you ever do that again,” Natalie muttered against my lips. “Don’t ever fucking leave me behind like that again!”
Her passion made me kiss her harder.
***
Aiden was an undercover reporter attempting to expose me.
Ji-min Cho was one of Lewis Chen’s plants feeding him information about my office and my relationship with his daughter.
Natalie knew that Brooke had been poisoned.
That was only the tip of the fucking iceberg that Natalie unloaded on me – and my team – later that afternoon.
“How many people in my office aren’t plants of some kind?” I asked.
Natalie put a reassuring hand on mine. “I’m not. You hired me for real, and I’m determined to see this through. You believe me, right?”
How could I not believe a woman who looked at me like that? Every ounce of honesty behind her eyes? “Of course. You’ve already done so much for me.”
Sherman sighed. “I’ll say. How many people will drag their aunt out of Taiwan to come find you here in Singapore, Erica?”
Perhaps I spoke too soon. “Brooke might have.”
“Speaking of,” Natalie said, “I heard that she had come here to Singapore after checking out of the hospital. To help you out and keep the business running.”
Excuse me? Where had she heard that? Nobody here had heard from Brooke since she went on medical leave.
“Where is she? Is she out running errands?” Natalie continued to ask. “You better let her know I’m here before we scare her to death. I can’t imagine her constitution is the best after that poisoning debacle.”
I looked to Sherman, who looked back at me. Who would tell her?
“What is it?”
“She’s not here,” I said. “She never was.”
“What?”
Sherman continued, “I heard that she was resting up at home. She had applied for extended medical leave and had been granted th
ree months to start. We received notice that she was released from the hospital, but this is the first time we’re hearing that she’s here in Singapore.”
“Well, that’s what we were told at the office,” Natalie said.
“Was it an official memo?” I asked.
“No.”
“Who did you hear it from?”
“I… I dunno? I think I heard it from Teddy. He said he heard it from Jennifer. Who heard it from… well, either way, that’s the word that was spread around! Are you telling me it’s really not true? Where the hell is she, then?”
I shrugged. Sherman shook his head. “Your guess is as good as ours,” he said. “Have you seen Adam around?”
Natalie nodded. “He came into the office a couple of times to pick some things up from her desk. He also said that she was in Singapore.”
Sherman and I had never looked at each other so quickly before.
“One thing at a time, please,” I eventually said, realizing how much had already piled upon us. “First thing’s first. We have to get ready for tonight’s meeting. Is Nick back with my suit yet?”
“Nick has been hanging out in the lobby like a good dog,” Sherman said. “I’ll send for him and your damn suit.”
Melanie Chen stood up. “I better get going.”
Natalie hurried to her aunt’s side. “Thank you so much for everything. You have no idea…”
“Save it for later, sweetheart. I need to get going. Don’t worry. We’ll see each other again soon. There’s time for the goodbyes, but not right now.”
One of the Singaporean team members nodded to her and she greeted him with familiarity on her way out the door. Sherman scoffed. Natalie was as perplexed as ever.
“I told you,” Sherman said, “you don’t fuck with Chinese relations. Everyone knows each other, and if they don’t, you’ll be the one to introduce them. I guarantee they’re all laughing at us right now.”
Natalie sat down next to me on the couch. “Did you know that my aunt was like that? Did you know that my father owns a property here in Singapore? I was there earlier!”