One Year Later…

Twelve months has passed since Saphira received her grandfather's wealth and estate, and she has been working on keeping an eye on key people who could be working for the decepticons. Edmund had given her a list, and he had also been dropping hints on someone he is keeping an eye on who might be important in the future. There was a lot of people that Edmund had listed, but the one that really has her curious is a company who works closely to NASA. And his main office was in Washington D.C. She found that quite curious. However, she could only keep an eye and drop hints to Lennox and the autobots.

So far, nothing has really come out of it, which was somewhat disappointing. But Saphira knew it would take a while before the military have to arrest someone for working for the decepticons. It was somewhat frustrating to not come out and say it straight out so these people can get arrested, or at least, investigated. But Edmund gave her a lot of advice, and while she still hated not telling the truth to Lennox and the autobots, she understood the reason.

Saphira had managed to sell seven properties during the last year, and the only properties she still owned from the will are the properties in London, Paris and the farmhouse. She didn't need any of the other properties, and she didn't have an interest in renting them out. She kept the Paris and London property for other reason. The Paris property was a penthouse with a view of the Eiffel Tower, and she had talked with Optimus about spending time there. He liked the idea, but they could not find the time. The London apartment she owned was in case she needed to travel to England in the future. She had a feeling she would need to.

She did purchase an apartment in Washington as well. She kept her word on doing that, and she actually bought the apartment eight months ago, and she found herself traversing between the farm and the apartment regularly. She knew it was partly annoying to NEST, but she and Optimus had made the most of their time together. Whenever they had time to spare, they would go and do something together. Usually it was a picnic somewhere, but it was always a great time to spend together.

And she was in the apartment right now. It was a few days after her nineteenth birthday. She was laying in a king-size bed, and she was slowly waking up. A muscular, protective arm was wrapped around her waist and she smiled at she felt gentle lips kissing the back of her neck as she woke up. She and Optimus had been spending the last few days together as he was set to leave the country again with Lennox over to Ukraine for another mission.

She rolled onto her back and looked into the bright, blue optics of her beloved sparkmate. He kissed her lips and she moaned softly as she kissed him back passionately. Her body was filled with the memory of the previous night's intimacy, and she loved remembering his gentle caress of her body. "Good morning, my sweet gem. It is hard to believe another year has gone by, and you are just as beautiful are you were yesterday."

She giggled softly as she pressed herself against his strong body. "I know. Time really flies when we are busy. But I am glad we were able to make time together again, Optimus. I love you so much." She kissed him again and he gently groaned against her lips. "Too bad you have to go back to NEST later today. I wish the others were able to come and visit for my birthday."

"I know. But Lennox could only negotiate for one of us to visit you this time. Bumblebee really was unhappy to left out." He kissed her again. "Though I know Wheelie and Brains are coming over after I leave. You'll probably have them around for a while."

"That is nice…but…I will be heading back to Texas in a few days," Saphira said softly as she rubbed his cheek gently. She smiled at him before her smile fades. "We never have enough time together."

"I know." He rubbed her bottom lip gently with his thumb and kissed her again. "I do believe that the government has been fairer to us than we first believed, though. We have spent more time together than I had first believed. I know that Lennox is the only one who really knows of our relationship, Mearing suspects it, but she does not believe it. The military is aware of our romance, they just don't know how close we are."

"There is one other who knows of us." He frowned in surprise, and she chuckled at him. "I suspect you haven't noticed that Simmons has been selling a book regarding the relationship between humans and transformers." That made Optimus chuckle and he nodded. He was made aware of it sometime ago, and he was aware that the man has made good money from it. "Though he never put that into his book thankfully."

"Regardless of that fact, I am not sure if the military and government would be so lenient if they knew of us. Not that they can separate us with the spark bond being strong. Still…" He placed a hand on Saphira's stomach. "We have yet to have a sparkling."

She placed her hand on top of his as she understood what he was feeling. "Optimus, we should not be in a rush to have a child. I personally would prefer it if we find Megatron and deal with him first. Though the decepticons have been rather quiet over these last few months."

He knew she was right. He also knew that there was a possibility they would never have a sparkling given they were not the same species. "You are right. I would prefer this world to be rid of Megatron as well. I am not sure how your world will accept a sparkling from us, but I would hope it would be fine." He kissed her again and she felt his love pouring through the bond. "But I know you know that even if we do not have a sparkling, I love you so much."

"I am aware. I love you so much as well, Optimus." She kissed him back passionately before she heard her phone buzzing. "Ugh…that's great…" She wanted to ignore it, but when she looked at the number, she saw it was Lennox. "Seems like Will is calling." She answered the call and put her phone on loudspeaker. "Morning, Lennox. What do we owe the pleasure of you interrupting our morning?"

"I really did not want to call you, but…it is after ten, Saphira." Saphira blinked in surprise and checked her time. And sure enough, it was nearly ten-thirty. "Optimus is meant to be back now. I really hate to interrupt, I know you both have been spending a lot of time together, but my boss is getting angry at me for not contacting you sooner."

"I was not informed I had to return to NEST in the morning, Lennox," Optimus said in a slightly frustrated tone. "You did not inform me, and no other generals informed me. I believe this to be a last-minute decision."

"Really? Oh…well that's shitty of them." Lennox really sounded guilty as he realized what was happening. "Ugh, I really am sorry, Optimus. They have the plane ready for us to head to Ukraine, and I am not sure if I can really stale for you. I will let them know you are on your way, if you leave now."

"It would seem I do not have a choice." Optimus sat up in the bed. "I will head to NEST shortly, Lennox. I will spend a bit extra time with Saphira."

"Alright…not too much longer. And again, I am really, really sorry about this. I had no idea plans had been changed. I am going to be complaining at this to someone else. But the military has kept your relationship a secret…it is just some new people who have become part of NEST who aren't aware and they are just being assholes, really." Saphira understood what Lennox was saying, and she could hear the frustration in his voice as well. "Still…if you can be here in an hour, Optimus, you will certainly save me getting my ass kicked by everyone else."

"I understand." Optimus leaned down and kissed Saphira, making her whimper a little unhappily. "I hope to be back home soon, Saphira." He looked at the phone. "I am on my way now, Lennox."

Saphira watched as Optimus concentrated and his holoform disappears in front of her. "I really am sorry…"

"Stop apologizing," Saphira responded in irritation. "I have been through this a lot over the last year. I sometimes think NEST is doing this on purpose…but I probably just said something stupid."

"I can see why it looks that way. Anyway…I had better get going. I just know that this mission is having me talk to someone in Ukraine…" Lennox paused as he realized he said something he shouldn't have. "Don't tell anyone I said that."

She chuckled a little as she relaxed against her pillow. "I hardly doubt anyone would care. I should probably let you go, Lennox. I do have a few things I want to do today."

"Hmmm, what do rich even do during the day?" Will responded in a mocking tone, making Saphira giggle in amusement. "I'm just teasing."

"I do have a job, Will. You know that. I'm just doing what my grandfather did before his passing." She stretched out her arms and legs with a sigh. "Just as you have to do your job now. I hope you and the autobots are safe on your mission."

"Thank you, Saphira. And have a good day…oh, and I almost forgot. Happy late birthday."

She smiled as Lennox hung up after wishing her a happy birthday. She felt sad that she couldn't spend half the day with Optimus. She was a little frustrated, but she was not going to make a huge fuss. She laid in the bed for a moment, sending love through the bond to Optimus, and feeling the love coming back through to her before she got up to get herself dressed.

She had let her hair grow some more during the last year and it was very long now. It almost reached below her hips now. She loved it though, and she took very good care of it, and she went to the hairdresser quite regularly to keep it healthy. She took her time to braid her hair before she put on a rose, pink dress and applied some light makeup. She didn't have anything serious planned for the day, but she did plan on going through an email Burton had sent her the day before, but she never got to read.

She decided to head to a local café to grab some light lunch. There was one by the apartment building she had fallen in love with, and she did not need to take her car anywhere. She put on a pair of nude, wedges and grabbed her purse and laptop before heading out of the apartment. She hummed softly to herself as she made her way to the apartment elevator and head down to the bottom floor of the building.

One she reached the bottom, she made her way out of the apartment and walked five minutes down the road to reach the café. It was bustling with customers at this time and the smell of coffee tickled her nose. She smiled as she ordered a salad, smoothie and a chocolate cake for herself and took a seat in at a booth in the corner. She opened her laptop and began reading through the email quietly. She hummed to herself as the man had sent her information that the cons were preparing to do something, and their human operatives were being contacted.

Saphira was still wondering what technology Burton possessed for him to know this, but she decided to read through the information anyway, and she opened up a program she had installed on her laptop that would be able to scan through the energon detectors around the globe to pick up any unusual activity. This was a program she was able to be downloaded with approval of Lennox, and she found herself using it a lot.

She sipped the berry smoothie as she waited for the program to respond when someone approached her table. "Sorry to bother you…" She glanced up in surprise and saw a man with blue eyes, a clean shave and dark hair smiling at her. He had fixed up his suit and blue tie, and she raised an eyebrow at him. "I just noticed you sitting alone, and I thought I'd come over and say hi."

"Well, you did, now you can go," Saphira responded bluntly as she looked back at the screen. "I am a bit busy with my work, and I do not wish to be disturbed. So be a gentleman and leave me alone."

The man smiled and stepped closer to the booth. "I know very well what it is like to be busy. I am the head of a big company after all." She did not look at him as he spoke to her and the man did not seem to be taking a hint. "My name is Dylan Gould…" She looked up at him as the name got her attention. "I'm the CEO of Hotchkiss Gould Investments, I am not sure if you heard of me."

She nodded a little at him. "I have heard. Your company has some pretty interesting claws in different parts of the country, I'll give you that. But I am not sure why you are telling me this. I am not really interested in having a conversation, or whatever you are trying to do."

"I know who you are, that's why I come to you." Saphira tensed a little at the man's comment and he sat down in the chair opposite her, making her get irritated. "A few years ago, some alien being had made you the most wanted person in the world. I remember that time pretty clearly. And I recognized you."

She tapped her finger on the table as she stared at him in irritation. "I am still failing as to why you think you should be bothering me about that sort of thing, Mister Gould…"

"Please, Mister Gould is my father, just call me Dylan."

Saphira narrowed her eyes as he corrected her. "Whatever…that still does not answer my question, Dylan. Why are you bothering me? You're a businessman, so go and keep yourself busy." She picked her up her fork to poke at some of the lettuce, spinach and meat in the salad. "I don't need someone interrupting me with my work."

"You seem to be the kind of person I am looking for to work for my company." She looked at him and rolled her eyes, looking back at her laptop. "I need some help…there's some investors I need to keep happy, and I am afraid I need someone who is not going to take bullshit."

"Sorry, but I already have a job," She responded bluntly to the man. "My work is something I inherited from my family, and I have no intention of walking away for some executive position." She looked at him with a fake smile. "So if you can do me a favor…"

"Is that so?"

The girl stared at him and clenched her hands slightly. "If you are going to keep interrupting me, I am going to embarrass you in front of all these people." The man tensed a little and seemed to back down. "I don't know why you are chasing me in particular. There are many, newly, graduated students who could take that position."

"The problem with that is, most are in it for either the money or to flirt with me to the point they try to marry me and never work again," Dylan responded slowly, and she rolled her eyes. "And I never said this position was an executive assistant. You see, we need someone who will work with my company who have connections to the military. I have investors with assets that they want to bring to the government, and you have connections with them. So, I figured now that I found you at this nice café, I would bring this offer to you."

Saphira listened to him quietly. She knew that Hotchkiss Gould Investments was listed on her suspicious list, and this man was really making her feel more suspicious of him. Especially with the rather peculiar way he was speaking to her. "I am afraid to tell you that while I still communicate with the military, I am not that involved. I do something a little more important now, but it is classified to you."

The man just smiled at her as he didn't seem to be worried by the information she had. "You don't need to be working with the government for this job. And it is fairly simple. Because my business works with account for many different businesses, we need to give confidence in our investors that they are putting their money in the right place. The investors who require your expertise have involvement with the military and government."

She thought about his proposal and rolled her eyes. "I probably am not the best person for that, Dylan. You should know that I am not a good negotiator. And I think we both will get in trouble. So it is best you bother somebody else." She looked at her computer and she saw that the scanners did not detect anything and she shut down the program to look at something else. "I think it would be best if you just walk away."

The man seemed unhappy with the response, but he did not push. "Very well. I just want you to know that offer is still open. If you're not comfortable with the negotiations, I can find you another job." He stood up from the seat and she just watched him in case he would do something else. "I have to go and speak with a manager of another company right now anyway." He pulled out a business card and placed it on the table. "Give me a call if you change your mind. You won't regret it."

The man walked out of the café and Saphira was able to breath a sigh of relief. Saphira thought it was extremely strange for him to just find her at this café. It could be just a coincidence, but she was not sure. Now that she has met the CEO of Hotchkiss Gould Investments, Saphira definitely was very suspicious of him. The job he was telling her about sounded unlike any job she's heard of before, and probably does not exist. If he was working for the decepticons, this seemed like a fishing job more than anything.

Saphira decided to do some research on the company now that she's had an interaction with the CEO. She ate her food and drank her smoothie as she read through the different articles regarding the company. She found that they funded the Apollo landing many years ago, and that certainly seemed odd since Barricade has mentioned many times that there was something on the moon and that the decepticons had a plan.

She did wonder if she would be able to talk to Barricade privately. He might know if Dylan Gould is a decepticon spy or not. At least the man did not try to flirt, because she would have definitely caused a scene in the café. And she really did not want to do that, as she did not want to be banned from the café for public disturbance. Plus, the man would probably not want to have Optimus to deal with. Being his sparkmate, she knew he would be very protective of her from anyone trying to flirt with her. She knew this because she has been approached in public by different people when she was with Optimus, and he would always step in. He never used violence though, but his voice and body language often scared people away.

When she didn't find a lot of information on the company, she was annoyed. The only thing that struck her was that Dylan liked classic cars. He collected rare classic cars from around the world, and often went to car shows. And the car shows he went to, not only had classics to look at and auction, but there were races as well.

There's a car show in a couple weeks…he might show up there.

Saphira thought about it and decided to find the car show page to sign up for it. She had fixed up her grandfather's Firebird after all. But she had also purchased a Lamborghini Diablo, and she used that around Washington. She did own a Mercedes AMG, but the Lamborghini was a score she had found and was able to repair it, so it was driveable. She decided to sign her car up for the show and even to be part of the races.

A man with a showroom of nice cars might be good behind the wheel. At least, we shall see.

After she done that, she paid for her food and left a tip before she left the café to return to the apartment. She knew Wheelie and Brains would be arriving today. They always had someone bring them so people wouldn't be suspicious of anything that could happen in her apartment. She did glance around as she wondered if Dylan was still around. She didn't see him, but she still wondered if he had known she would be at that café. And now she was wondering if she should cancel her flight back home.