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We all alight at the bus stop and Ajax, cream buns in hand runs over to Lisa,Bella's daughter and gives her a hug, he halves his buns immediately handing one to her. ‘That’s my son', I think pride spreading through me at the interaction. I had gotten it for him when he kept complaining of hunger on our way to the restaurant. I hug Bella too and she glances at Adam at my back giving me a wink. Rolling my eyes, I introduce them while Ajax was already walking to the restaurant with Lisa in tow. ‘So you’re the guy that insulted my friend, huh' Bella skewers him with a cold look and I giggle in the background, ‘Um, huh, wh…’, Adam stammers and Bella burst out laughing. She claps his back, hitting him hard and spurring him into a cough ‘it’s all good, you apologised, I also happen to know that you are the only one that supports her in that large place of work’ Adam stops coughing and sighs in relief his face becoming composed. ‘But such insults will no longer be tolerated, I was on t
The new week met me excited about trying my newly acquired talents on Simon, I walked into my floor with a radiant smile on my face, quite early to be exact. It was the first time I got up before Ajax during the week. Normally, either Ajax or my alarm clock was responsible for waking me up and the way they did was astonishingly similar. With a loud shriek. This time I woke Ajax the same way, about 30 minutes earlier and he was none to happy about that. I itched to battle, granite face for granite face with Simon, ‘Oh, the look on his face, I can't wait to see it’, I giggled out loud and look around the hall to make sure no one was looking at me strangely. Thankfully they were not, everyone was currently preoccupied with settling in for the morning, plus the hall was scantier than usual. The fact that the hall was bare of Miss Debra was another source of excitement. The absence of the condescending looks she always gave me when I rushed in one or two minutes late was a welcome
‘So how did it go', Adam asks immediately I take my seat next to him. ‘I would call it…’, I breath in deeply giving a dramatic pause. ‘A tremendous victory’, I end with a laugh and a little performers bow to the side. He burst out laughing to the annoyance of the coworkers around us, one throws a glare my way and I stare her down, She averts her eyes after a while glare shifting to a look o discomfort, ‘Ha, even the great Simon Valero had a hard time in a staring match against me so who are you?’ I laugh at her flustered look. ‘You see what I did there right’, I turn to Adam and point at the unfortunate coworker with my chin. Adam nods, ‘even Si., Mr. Valero could not bear staring me down talk less of her', Adam laughs again. ‘I guess Bella's lessons paid off' In his excitement Adam did not notice my almost use of Simon’s name and I hoped it stayed that way. We both turn back to work the rest of the day passing by uneventful. While I went to pick Ajax during lunc
‘Coast is clear', I glanced around squinting, my face glued to the clear glass window of the white and black taxi. The glass fogged up from my breath, Adam's raucous laughter distracting me from face identifying everyone on the street. ‘You know you’re beginning to look crazy right’, he wheezes in between bouts of laughter. I look between Adam’s laughing face and the drivers irritable one. Through the rearview mirror, I saw the taxi driver’s brow furry in a frown and his nostrils constrict and dilate with impatience. He opens his mouth to speak, tired of me wasting time. ‘Okay we can leave now', I pull open the door and hurry out Adam on my heels. Adam continues laughing to the annoyance of startled school children walking by. ‘Stop it, you’re being embarrassing’, I hit him to stop his annoying laughter. He only increases it, doubling over and clutching his stomach. ‘Fine! I’m leaving’, I purse my lips in annoyance and turn to go. ‘Wait, wait, okay I’ll stop', he hurries afte
Chapter 30 Empty street stares at me as I round the bend, the street was only dotted with the occasional school child. ‘Whew, thank goodness', I sigh in relief. I walk towards a waiting Ajax, ‘he's not there'. ‘But, he..’, ‘He's not there Ajax, I’ve checked’, I grab and pull a pouting Ajax. ‘Imagine, seeing Adam here, it would be hard to explain what he was doing here without it pointing to something bad', I think while transferring Ajax. ‘I don’t think I would be able to take it if he had ulterior motives for befriending me', relief courses through me again and again. Checking my watch as I walk back into my department floor, I see that I’m 3 minutes late. I hoped no one took notice as i turn back to my computer, ‘I wouldn’t want Simon to start asking questions again'. My peace is continuously disturbed by an annoying gaze and I remember why I hurried out to pick up Ajax before. ‘Psst’, I nudge Adam. ‘Do you mind dealing with that', I point at Miss Janet that was stating
The TV remote could have cracked from how hard I clutched it. Immediately I got the call from Adam, the alarm in his voice spurred me out of be faster than I could blink.I pressed down on the red button waiting for the TV to turn on, it took a while blinking to life after a few seconds of me holding my breath.It’s probably due to the fact that it had not been used for a long time but that thought took the back seat in my mind as I flipped through the channels away from cartoons and animation.Clutching the remote like it was my lifeline, my mind thinks back to the different times when a single news was enough to get me to uproot my life from one place and run to another.Just the news about one journalist or YouTuber getting wind about the whereabouts of Simon's ex- wife was enough to get me packing.It always ended up with them finding about my street, my exact house number, the places I worked but I would have been long gone by then.A few weeks of staying in hiding in whatever n
‘It will be best if Miss Tina goes', my eyes turn to the person who utters those words and I fix the person with a burning stare. Although I was sure everyone was thinking that way but the person was really unfortunate to actually voice it out. Annoyance and anger burn in me hardening my gaze, Taking a step back from my piercing gaze, said person averts his eyes. I turn my eyes back to the rest of the crowd who silently agreed with his statement. Betrayal fills me and I’m close to flaring up at them. ‘Why do I even feel betrayed', this question crosses my mind as I look at their pitiful looks and averted eyes. ‘Not that they actually cared about me', I remember the same coworkers who said unbelievable things about me and spared no time in throwing me under the bus. My anger leaves, and I’m left feeling deflated. Resignation dawns on me as I discover that there’s was no way out of this. They had not said anything yet but the looks on their faces solidifies the fact that they wo
The crack of something hitting the door echoes in my ears, whatever it was smashed to the ground and a annoying thought strays into my mind.‘Would I have been the unfortunate door? getting hit in the head just because if his anger had I not scrambled from his sight as fast as possible',Relief sagging my shoulders, I rest on the said door and exhale a breathe I didn’t know I was holding in.‘To think I was eager to see him show weakness, emotion or anything to show he was not an actual block of ice and cold stares', I drag in a breath again,The look on his face was murderous, fury rolled off him in waves and the few seconds I spent in his presence was enough for me to see the hard set of his jaw and hear the repetitive sound of his teeth grind.To put it simply, his weakness wasn’t pretty, and apart from cold looks and icy stares the only other emotion he showed was anger, in various degrees.Thinking about it, I could count on my fingers the number of times I had seen him smile, T
Taking deep breaths, our eyes still rest on each other and my hands fumble for the phone in my pocket, not eager to break this tiny slip in time.That loud ringing again and my eyes flutter close as I try to ground myself in reality, my chest rising and falling as I take in calming breaths,Sliding my eyes open, I peer at my phone screen seeing an alarm for Simon’s first schedule of the day.I close my eyes again, taking another long breath, making sure my voice won’t crack when I try to speak,‘You have a meeting with the CEO in ten minutes’, my voice sounds a little above a whisper, despite all my calming breaths,I turn my eyes back to him, seeing him close his eyes and take a deep breath, running his hands through his hair again,He stands abruptly, not saying a word to me, slicking his hair back with his hands, aiming for that semi-perfect look from earlier.Walking towards his desk he grabs his suit from it, sliding it on, adjusting his collar.I stand up to, trying my b
‘Where were we’, Simon walks into his office the next morning, adjusting the cufflinks on his sleeve, suit in hand, dark orbs on me,The clipped, hurried sound of his footsteps as he walked towards his desk had my head in a spin.The morning sun shining through the window and beautiful morning weather did nothing to quell the storm brewing in my heart,I try to push it down remembering the day before.‘Mom!!’, Ajax had rewarded me with an excited squeal and a hug when I picked him up early,‘Let’s eat out, let’s eat out’, with that same excited voice, he bugged me till I found a small restaurant secluded enough for our dinner,Spending extra hours with my son helped to reduce the hollow building in my heart to something inconsiderable,But now, Simon is bringing everything up again, unearthing conflicting feelings best left buried.A deep sigh exhales my lips,‘Good morning to you too’, I eye him annoyed,‘Sir’, I add honorifics after second thought,‘Didn’t want to start t
I find myself at the rooftop again, after dumping the bag of overturned pasta in the trash.The breeze from the rooftop did little to quell the building hollow in my heart, the hollow that always found it’s way to me after heated conversations with Simon.A hollow that left me with a deep-seated cold after blood boiling conversations with him.Afternoon sun beating down on my head, light breeze blowing across my face, I try to focus on the birds in flight in the sky and not the cold in my heart.A strand from my hair comes loose and I brush it back, feeling a greasy stain on my forehead,I glance at my hands and see it stained brown from sauce, folding it together to avoid staining my clothes I make a mental note to remember to wash off my forehead.My stomach growls again at the slight sight of food, it grumbles loudly, protesting my blatant disrespect for food.‘Right, right, I got it, never throwing food away again, even if that ass got it for me’, I smile looking down at my
‘Tina, stay, please, eat with me, don’t leave!’My eyes sweep in the direction of his voice, drawn to the magnetic pull of his voice,I find myself lost as my eyes lands on his.‘His eyes!’ my heart beats funny in my chest,They were whirlpools of sadness, longing etched unto the swirls of his magnetic gaze,I tried to utter an excuse, to spit out words rehearsed, words that always lay at the tip of my tongue, ready to be used in swift rejection, should Simon breach the terms of our contract.‘I…I’m not hungry’, I mentally face palm at the sorry excuse for rejection,My stomach rumbled, loudly, and I cringe at the resounding sound, my face heating from embarrassment,‘What the hell happened to ‘I’m not obligated to eat with you’ or, ‘an employer and his employee are not meant to eat together’’, I chide myself further, taking a few steps towards the door to flee Simon’s hypnotic gaze and my increasingly reddening face,My steps falter in their hurried movement when Simon stand
‘Not in this lifetime', I remembered Bella's words as I took the bus to work the next morning, refusing the advice adamantly even in my head, The imposing logo of Trove didn’t look as imposing to me as I walked through the glass doors inside, ‘It's magnificence wore out, probably because I was seeing it every time', this thought was on m mind as I walked into the elevator heading to Simon's floor. ‘Why then did this feeling not wear out', I look at myself in the reflective walls of the elevator through weary eyes. ‘Why did this feeling of impending doom, mixed together with that school girl excitement, splashes of tremor inducing anxiety and that lingering feeling of longing refuse to tire out', my face stares right at me, unmoved in it’s hard set, a total opposite from the raging furnace that was my mind, ‘Why did these feelings always put me in a chokehold whenever I was on my way to Simon's office' the elevator door slid open and my heels dug into the floor, trying to delay fac
She places a finger on her lips trying to look serious and failing miserably,‘Hmm, are you sure you’re coming from a work dinner or a personal dinner’, she stares at me, eyes wide, expectant.Her face morphs into confusion as she peers at my eyes, ‘You also look like you cried’, her hand goes up to swipe at my smudged mascara, her face quickly morphing into one of anger.‘It’s him isn’t it, Simon Valerie or whatever bullshit he calls himself’, her mouth spits fire, tone acidic as she calls his name,She takes hands of my arm rolling her sleeves up and placing her hands on her waist.She stares into my eyes, searching,‘What am I even waiting for, let’s go’, she grabs my hand, trying to pull me out the door.Despite my unstable state, I laughed, ‘go where’‘We have a body to bury’, she looks at me with surprise on her face, like I was the one making ridiculous statements.‘Why are we killing him exactly’, my lips turns up in a smile, folding my arms watching her incredulou
He looked at me strangely, eyebrows raised up in question, causing me to take a closer look at myself,I grab a mirror from my bag, seeing that my hair was properly disheveled, sticking out in different places, the end jutting out, I try and pat it down, my hand running through the curly fibers, trying to wrestle them into a knot.My eyes slide down to my crumpled dress, the hem of my shirt sticking out, I tuck them back in, smoothening down the front, adjusting my breasts that had lopsided from being squashed against something hard for so long.My eyes go back to the mirror in my hand, wiping lip gloss smudges at the corners of my mouth.My hand run across my lips again, savoring the tingling sensation.Taxi driver’s eyebrows meet his hairline, when a laugh drops from my mouth, My mouth drops open and a laugh startling and high pitched rang through the vehicle.I ignore the look on his face, laughing uncontrollably, clutching my chest as wheezes of laughter racked through m
Warm lips crashed onto mine, a thick arm enclosing around my waist pulling me closer and my mouth drops open in shock, He takes that chance to move in, hot mouth moving against my lips, Simon kissed me with fevered passion, plundering my lips like someone starved, I don’t respond, shock turning me frozen, alarm bells going off in my head ‘You hate…’, Bella’s mantra splutters into a stop when Simon whispers my name against my lips, into my opened mouth. ‘Tina’, my knees went weak, and I lean into him as butterflies danced wild in my stomach at that breathy sound of my name. My bag drops from my fingers onto the granite floor as my hand goes to his hair, holding on as I kissed him with as much fervor, Our mouths moved with rekindled vigor, hot breaths between us as I savored the lingering taste of meat on his lips, He dragged me closer, vice like grip at my waist, flush against him until no crack of space was left between our bodies. Our bodies fit perfectly against eac
We made our way into the Korean restaurant, behind the raucous lot that was our PR department.Getting comfortable around the large rectangular table that had been set up for our large group, I breathe in the scent of grilled beef savoring the smoky aroma.The waiters bring out the variety of meat and I take in the assorted combination, Meat, both plain and marinated, was arranged around our large table and my eyes went to the large grill, hanging from the ceiling as it gets turned on and the smell of cooking meat permeates the air.Simon said nothing as the meat started cooking and as drinks went round the table, he sipped from his glass of beer, ‘Before we start eating, this would be a nice opportunity to clink glasses to Mr. Simon Valero, the one who provided us with this premium beef’, Miss Debra raises her glass of beer and clinks it with employees around her and cheers went up, the clinking going round.Simon’s face remains a mask of indifference, only changing when Miss