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A TEST
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INSIDE OUT REUNION
THIRTEEN"Melinda?" Samantha hollered in surprise as she recognized her. She was ushering the CEO of Reynolds and his workers into her boss' office in Cock and Bulls joint in Nahatan street, one of the bustling areas in Norwood and there was Melinda who was supposedly under the care of her fiancee, looking better than ever as if she was never terribly ill. Melinda recognized the sharp shril of her voice, "Sam." She called back before recognizing the mass of red hair that ushered them in. Ajax and Lohan obstructed the initial view of Samantha. She easily stepped into Sam's embrace as Ajax and Lohan paved way for them."Look at you. Where have you been...oh my gosh..hold up.." Sam was hurrying her words in excitement until realization struck her. Facts actually. One, Melinda just came in with the CEO of Reynolds, two, this infamous CEO was the one who had on behalf of Melinda, called in sick, three, he had claimed to be her fiancee."I can't believe you! You're engaged to..to...""Hell
INSIDE OUT CATCHING UP
FourteenHe took backwards steps away from the joy he had just found. He interpreted the look Payne sent her and the mysterious guy by her side correctly. Something was wrong, and if he needed to stay alive and still see his sister, he needed to step away from her. His heart did a little squeeze seeing the confusion and sadness in her eyes. He turned away from her."Collins." Her voice came out in a hoarse whisper as she watched him walk away from her. He was scared of something. Was it Payne? Was it Ajax? "Lind.. you've got to sit down." Ajax tugged at her arm. His eyes didn't leave Payne's as he gritted his teeth. Absently, Melinda eased into her seat as she pondered on what just happened. Was this all a dream? "Mel..damn. Ajax, I think we should leave..." Lucrecia's look of concern grew as she watched Melinda's tears flow freely."Is there a problem?" Marv was back to their table with their meals. Seeing Melinda's state got him curious."Nothing I can't handle." Melinda said, smi
INSIDE OUT CATCHING UP (2)
FIFTEEN"Yeah..I remember. I loved animals." She giggled, eyeing the Martini in Collins hand as they relaxed into the rocking chairs on the terrace."You had this rabbit doll you took everywhere with you. Dad had a problem with it. There was this one time you brought your rabbit to dinner. You spilled your milk shake and your rabbit was never white again. You raised hell."" I can't believe I was that troublesome. Was I sweet to Harry and Diana?""Diana was your favourite after your rabbit and your quiet times.""Ouch. Was I such a loner?" She shook her head in disbelief."Yeahh, you loved to sing, look at the sky for a long time, then this dreamy look will be on your face and we would all be wondering what you were thinking about.""Yeah, I still do that. I stopped singing a long while though. What really happened the day I disappeared? It was my birthday..""I should be asking you the same question Celia. You gave us a heart attack. It was your birthday, our parents didn't remember,
INSIDE OUT OPENING UP
SIXTEEN"Ajax?" She continued her quest, she looked through the glass wall separating office from terrace. There was Ajax, standing aloof. In a heartbeat, she raced to the door. "I never sent for you. Why are you here?" He asked before she could announce her presence.Melinda jolted in surprise. Lucrecia would always be Lucrecia and Ajax would always be what he is. "I'm here now. I think that's what matters." She inched closer to him. His back was to her. She needed to see his face. He sniffed."Ajax? Have you been crying?""Nope. Okay...Look, I appreciate your concern but right now, I need to be alone.""Clearly, I can see how you're managing your lone time. I would be limping now if this wasn't an office environment where I have to have my shoes on.""Sorry about that. I needed to break something.""Obviously. Can you turn around already. It's like i'm having a conversation with a talking brick wall." Ajax chuckled. Reluctantly, he let himself give in to Melinda's pull on his hand
INSIDE OUT HATCHING PLANS
SEVENTEEN"There's the man of the house." Collins hollered as Ajax walked towards them. Lucrecia, Owen, Lorren were seated with him around a table close to the pool, sipping their cocktails."Hmmm...look who looks a lot more cheerful." Lucrecia chipped in."I see, you all have met one another." He said as he slipped in a chair before taking a sip from Owen's drink."Now I see where Owen got his madness from." Lorren sent him a sardonic smile as he downed almost all the contents of the tumbler to Owen's chagrin."It wasn't even your drink, queen bee." Owen and Ajax replied simultaneously."Speaking of drinks, I've not had a taste of Reynolds wine. Lucrecia has told me a lot about how you started this winery." Collins said.Ajax flashed a cocky grin. "You lot have been diving into history huh.""Yes Smith. I've had my ears full. FYI, i'm still in the dark concerning the thing going on between you and Celia."Lucrecia and Owen sucked hard on their straws in a bid to hide their smiles whi
INSIDE OUT PLAYING THE ODDS
EIGHTEENMelinda flinged her jumpsuit on the bed. She was in that moment when she was having a last minute change of mind. "I could use some training today." She told herself as she frowned at the black-striped white cotton jumpsuit and platform heels begging to be worn. She moved towards the shutters. The rays of early morning sun called to her, 'rise with the sun.' She really did need to rise. She needed to raise the stakes and up her game, the game she had just started with the man who wanted to end Reynolds. Melinda scoffed. 'That wasn't going to happen.' She assured herself.She pulled her hair into a high pony tail. "Let's do this." She murmured. In five minutes, she was reaching for the door knob, dressed in a grey tank top and black leggings. As she opened the door, her heart did a black flip."Ajax." She gasped. Heat crept to her cheeks like the blood flowing in her veins. She had almost forgotten that her room was opposite Ajax' but that instant, she did remember his office
INSIDE OUT DODGING A BULLET
NINETEENCollins froze as he recognized the familiar bass. "Hello, Hec." He tried to maintain the calm on his face when he turned to see Hector's angry face. His lips were twisted in a scowl."You're the new guy huh. I figured I couldn't trust you. You're the filthy rat i've been smelling for days boy." He grabbed Collins by the collar."Watch it man." He defended himself, landing a not-so-lethal punch on his jaw, enough to keep Hector at a safe five feet away from him but not enough to get him backing down. Guin shrieked. "You can't trust me hunh? I've been in the devil's nest just so your boss, our boss can have another fill of abduction and then you just come here and see me having a little conversation with this sweet little thing and then I shouldn't be trusted?" He was getting better at keeping up his act. There wouldn't be a chance of survival should there be any slip up."Hell, I'll fix you." Hector prepared his fist to launch an attack on him. "Except you have something with
INSIDE OUT CIVILIZED CONVERSATIONS
TWENTY"Wait a minute!" Ajax steamed up listening to Melinda and Lucrecia recount their experience in Westwood. The anger in his icy voice and cold stare was unmistakable. He had been on high alert when he noticed Melinda and Lu's absence within Reynolds vicinity. Concluding it as some emergency girls day out or the emergency training Mel had indulged in that morning, he decided to be calm until he listened to them say they paid a visit to Westwood. "You visited that house. Again.""It was just on impulse and it was worthwhile." Melinda replied softly. If it was his overprotectiveness speaking, she had to make extra effort in restoring his calm."Yeah, it was." Lu agreed."The hell it was." He banged his desk, standing up with such suddenness that threw Melinda off guard for a few seconds."Really, you need to calm down. We haven't even gotten to the worst part yet." Lu managed. She was unaffected by his outburst. The man was growing feelings for his P.A and his temper was a way of sh
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INSIDE OUT SHOTS FIRED
Thirty-Four May basked in her new found freedom as she stuffed her mouth with pizza. Her stomach growled, and she giggled. "Looks like my baby has an appetite tonight." "I guess you can say that. Guess who else has an appetite?" Eric murmured playfully wiggling his brows and, inching closer to her on the couch. "Keep off. Until you've found a permanent housing, and provided security, I'm not tangling. You are considered a danger to me and the baby." She said with her stuffed mouth as she stood up. " I'm exhausted for no reason." She threw herself on the bed. "Understandably so. I'm so sorry for putting you in this situation." Eric sent her a sympathizing look. "I will make it up to you." "Don't you dare get sweet on me. If you make me fall for you more, I don't think I can handle it. It's not your fault we're holed up in this hotel while Payne's men prowl the city on the lookout for us." Suddenly, there was a bang on the door. May froze. Eric stood abruptly, instantly reaching f
INSIDE OUT TEAM COLLINS AND LU
Thirty-Three As Collins walked into Reynolds, he knew that time was going to be their greatest enemy, not Payne, not anything else. If things went south, he knew he was going to die. Guin would die as well. Merciful heavens. Ajax' sister was alive. The reverse could be the case if they didn't act quickly. Without a brief glance to the familiar faces he walked by, he stormed the hallway, bellowing Ajax' name. He scowled at the huge live portrait of Ajax on the wall. He wanted the real guy, not his pictorial representation."Dude, what's the problem?" Owen asked as Collins walked right into him. "Owen." Collins shook his head when he stopped seeing stars from the impact of walking right into muscular Owen. "I need to see Ajax.""Don't we all? I heard he ran after your sister. Looks like she decided to take out Payne on her own this evening.""Shit." Collins rubbed his face."Let's sit it out while we wait for them. Lucrecia is somewhere around the farm." He said. It was no news that
INSIDE OUT MASK OFF
Thirty-Two When Melinda saw the familiar West wood signboard, she stepped on the gas. Ajax and his 'wine' family be damned if she didn't handle the Santoz Martinez saga on her own. Quite alright, divine helper Santoz and his shenanigans were not priority. Driving in the cold night air on the Westwood route also, wasn't on the list of priorities for the last day of the year. But Santoz was a nuisance and she needed to stop him from making more moves on her. She had seen the signs from the start. Had she chosen to ignore them? No. Instead, she had chosen to avoid him. Her avoidance and delay stategy apparently was not working. The opportunity of singing again had been too good to miss out even if a man who unabashedly lusted after women to an alarming extent was hot on her heels. But here she was, swerving dangerously at every turn that led to his house because she wanted to let him know she didn't give a flying fuck about what he offered and how he chose his returned favours. Here s
INSIDE OUT FOUND
Thirty-OneOn days like this, when Payne was a twelve years old boy again in Boston Common Park, he was usually sullen as he reminisced his mother's last moments in Boston. Boston Common had been her favorite spot for a getaway with her only son. As soon as she had filed a divorce with his father, she had left all sweet sentiments of a mother-son getaway behind her and left the city for good.It was on his birthday, a Thursday like this, when happy people in the park bubbled with fun activities that his mother had told him frankly she was leaving him. It was also on that same day his father had told him the truth. "Your mother does not like my Job. I don't care about that. Neither should you. It's going to be just us son. I'm going to mould you to be great and rich and fearless like me." His father had said."Why didn't you change her mind Dad? Why didn't you make her like your job? Why didn't she stay at least for me?" His twelve years old broken heart had queried."Your mother is a
INSIDE OUT IMPERFECT PEACE
THIRTY Melinda watched Reynolds wine in her glass swirl around the ice cubes in it. It was a pretty sight, the slosh of red against white ice. So was her life, which was beginning to take semblance of a normal one. Her love life was perfect, her music career was taking shape, she had friends who were like family, she had Collins, she had Reynolds in her hand. Over the weeks, Reynolds had proven to be an essential part of her existence. The wine producing company and its owner had stolen her heart for good. The flutter of the butterflies in her stomach flutter every time she so much as thought of him gradually became a norm. Ajax was the perfect gentleman. He brought her breakfast in bed every day and took her out on dates. The dates were romantic. They were ones she never imagined she would have had in all of the gory pre-Reynolds days. The past few days had been series of surprise gifts, flowers, evening walks, snow fights and a trip to Boch centre, Wang theatre. The warmth spre
INSIDE OUT GIRLS DAY OUT
Twenty-Nine"Cheers to you Mel." Lucrecia raised her glass, quipping with excitement as the others joined her in the celebratory gesture of clinking glasses. They were having a girl's day out, just for a few hours in Snug, one of Hingham's precious bars to celebrate Melinda's twenty first birthday."Happy birthday baby sis." Sam winked."I basically got older today. Why the baby tag?" Melinda shot Samantha a look as she got her glass refilled."You're freaking twenty one. You're the youngest among us. No hard feelings." Lorren shrugged, winking in the like manner Sam did."I think we should do something more active than sitting pretty in an equally pretty bar." Sam suggested as she looked around. People that weren't drinking were dancing on the floor while extremely horny people were making out in the little 'private' corners they could find."We aren't just sitting. We are drinking. Who's she again?" Lois fired at Melinda."Samantha James. A good friend and ex colleague in Cock and B
INSIDE OUT SITUATION REPORT
Twenty-Eight"Payne is psychotic. I'm sure of it. I just need to find proof." Those were the words that came out of Collin's lips the moment Lucrecia said "Hope you survived your visit to Payne's territory.""Hello, it's been a minute. I've been great. What about you?" She quipped, in a bid to ease him up a bit as he rapped those words of despair. He seemed tensed up as opposed to the last time she saw him when they had shared a moment- the moment that stayed permanently in her mind for days and nights when her nightmares didn't come. The moment that instantly replayed itself in her head, sending the butterflies in her chest to flutter when he had breezed into Reynolds when the first thing he had said was, 'Where is Ajax?" before rapping what Payne was."I've been..." He paused, obviously flustered and secretly sorry. He had almost forgotten about their kiss. "I've just been walking on thin ice." He stopped himself from reaching for her hands.Too late. Lucrecia was able to catch on t
INSIDE OUT A LEAP OF FAITH
Twenty-SevenMelinda relished the warmth that enveloped her. Ajax' embrace had to be the comfiest duvet she could ever ask for. With her eyes still closed, her back to his front, she snuggled further into his embrace."I wish I could stay like this forever." She mumbled."Me too baby. How'd you sleep?" He asked, kissing her cheek from behind as he rubbed her arm."I think I just had the best sleep." She lay on her back to look at him. "What about you?" She cradled his face, tracing his lips with her fingers as she had a brief flashback of what his lips did to her "Mmm" He trapped her fingers between his lips. "I had the best sleep too. It was beautiful, ecstatic, fueling, energy consuming, almost addictive..." He suckled her fingers. She gasped."Are we talking about the same sleep?" She giggled."Yes baby." His murmured."I don't think so.""I do. I'm pretty sure you do too. I mean... have you forgotten how we rolled and kicked, tried different angles, clawed at each other, skipped
INSIDE OUT I love you, Lind.
TWENTY-SIX "What do I do?" Melinda asked herself for the umpteenth time, the million-dollar question, the question to every thought that ran through her head for days. She had resisted the idea of taking a quick trip to New York in search of the answers she so direly wanted but that would only send shit hitting the fan. Ajax would stop at nothing to make sure she didn't go alone and she wasn't doing a good job of getting accustomed to that culture. Apparently, it freaked out her friend, Sam and she wasn't all too comfortable with what it did to her freedom. If she was a celebrity, she would have appreciated it just a tiny bit. But she was a commoner trapped in the middle of all the shits she didn't ask for. Apart from not agitating Ajax, she had to be thankful for the internet. There was no need to fly to New York when she could browse the how-tos of pig Latin. She had done just that and that only topped the list of things birthing the question plaguing her mind now. The incoherent w
