Chapter 4 Bailee's Phone Call

The day before the G20 Summit opened, my phone rang. It was Bailee.

"Kathy, can we meet?"

Her voice was the same as always-fragile, with a hint of tears.

"Whatever you have to say, say it on the phone."

"Kathy, I know you've misunderstood Jared, but..."

"Bailee," I cut her off. "In a professional context, you will address me as Ms. Quinn, and him as Minister Stanley. There is no personal relationship between us anymore."

"But... "

"No buts," I said, looking at my reflection in the mirror. "Also, the summit starts tomorrow. As a member of the translation team, remember your duty."

"Kathy, do you have to be this cruel? Jared got hurt saving me. Can't you just forgive him this once?"

Forgive him?

I actually laughed.

"Bailee, do you know why Jared rushed to save you?"

"Because... because it was his duty to protect a colleague..."

"No." I stood up and walked to the window. "It was because you were crying on the phone, saying you were scared, saying that if you died, you'd never see him again."

I heard her gasp on the other end.

"You thought I didn't know?" I continued. "You thought I hadn't heard the recordings? 'Jared, I'm so scared. You have to come for me.' 'If I die, will you miss me?'"

"I... I didn't... "

"Whether you did or not is irrelevant," I said, turning away from the window. "What matters is that starting tomorrow, we are colleagues. You'd do well to remember that."

After hanging up the phone, I received a message on WhatsApp.

Jared texted," Kathy, can we call a timeout for the summit tomorrow?"

I looked at the message and didn't reply.

Another one came through. "I know you're still angry, but now is not the time for the drama."

Drama?

I deleted his contact from WhatsApp.

At 10 P.M., I was going over materials for the next day when the doorbell rang.

I looked through the peephole. It was Jared. I didn't open the door.

"Kathy, I know you're in there," he said from the hallway. "Can we please talk?"

I sat down on the sofa and kept reading my files.

"Kathy, I admit I was wrong. But can we please just deal with this after the Summit?"

"You're disturbing my rest." I finally said, "If you don't leave, I'll call security."

It went quiet outside. After a moment, I heard footsteps fading away.

He left.

I went to the door and looked through the peephole. The hallway was empty.

A strange sense of loss washed over me, but mostly, it was just a relief.

For the first time in three years, I felt free.

My phone rang again. It was an unknown number.

"Ms. Quinn. It's Robert."

"Captain Walsh? It's late... "

"For the Summit tomorrow. If anything happens, contact me directly." His voice was low and solid. "My team will ensure your safety."

"Thank you."

"You're welcome." He paused. "Ms. Quinn. Good luck tomorrow."

After hanging up the phone, I gazed at the night view outside the window.

Tomorrow was my battlefield.

I was going to show the world what real professionalism looked like.