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Chapter Two
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2024-10-29 19:42:56Maddison Silva was not your typical accountant. Her insatiable appetite for success had led her to be the youngest senior accountant at the Braccio Accounting Firm, the biggest accounting firm in the region. An intense desire to live life to the maximum led her to early morning workouts two to three times a week at the local gym down, dieting, attending church every Saturday, self-defence classes and reading many self help books on how to get the best out of life. The result of all this was a toned five foot eight inch frame, staunch religious belief and a purple belt in Brazilian Jiu Jitsu. While most of her friends and colleagues were either in long term relationships or married, she had no desire for such companionship. A traumatic and abusive past relationship quickly saw the end to that dream, at least for the foreseeable future. Life was good, really good and she had no desire to fix what was not broken. Besides, very few men were willing to tangle with a strong-willed and independent woman capable of kicking their asses.
She finished her morning run and headed towards the shower, glancing at the clock hanging on her bedroom wall. It was half past six in the morning, meaning she had two and a half hours before she was expected to be in the office. Maddison preferred to be in the office earlier than that because she was determined to outwork every single one of her colleagues, especially the men. This was not the equity and equality that true feminists had been advocating for but it was the reality of life. Men statistically earned more than women, despite doing the same job. Although Maddison did not consider herself to a feminist, she did agree with on this matter and a few others. Initially the whole idea of having to work twice as hard as any man to get the same amount of recognition and money bothered her immensely until it became something she relished. There were many things you could say about her but slacker was not one of them.
I’ll seize this day like I have done every other day before it.
Maddison dumped her sweat-stained running gear in the laundry basket and strode into the shower. She was feeling really good today, probably due the endorphins in her brain and the adrenaline coursing through her veins.
I hope that this feeling never ends.
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Sangela City Regional Hospital was located on the outskirts of the city, precisely ten kilometres due west. Sitting on three hectares of land, it was the fifth largest hospital in the country and the largest in the southwest region. Founded in the early nineteen nineties by a group of local businessmen trying to make inroads into a growing private healthcare system, the hospital had steadily grown over the last two decades. Apart from an increase in the bed spaces from three hundred to just over two thousand, there were also a variety of specialist services included and thus it was one of the foremost medical centres in the country.
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Morgan arrived at Pop’s diner thirty minutes past noon, taking a moment to marvel at the building’s longevity rather than its feats of architectural brilliance. The diner was opened a decade before the hospital and very little had changed over the years, at least that was what he was told by many of the senior nurses and other staff members at the hospital. While many of the other smaller businesses around it had been bought up by well funded corporate entities, the little restaurant continued to stand in defiance as the last remaining symbol of a bygone era. The brown, wooden logs and gray stone combination gave the exterior a distinct rustic look. Simple and earthly colours of gray, brown and taupe decked the interior, providing unpretentious and organic warmth to
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Though it had been a long and arduous day, largely due to several creditors taking action against one of the firm’s biggest clients, Maddison’s colleagues wanted to grab a few drinks after work to celebrate their successful triumph over this accounting emergency. She took a rain check instead and headed home. Driving along at a steady pace, her thoughts started to drift. Maddison was part of the team that initially handled the books and though she was very good at what she did, she was not perfect. Her superiors informed her that only the most seasoned professional would have spotted the small errors that she missed which did little to comfort her.
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“Crap!”The week had flown by and though it was usually a good thing, Morgan was less than happy on this particular occasion. Much of his week was spent on getting his affairs in order for the trip; a little extra shopping and packing an adequate amount of clothing that were at the very least presentable, getting a much needed haircut and shave, arranging his travel documents, going through the programme for the conference and making sure his apartment was spotless before he left. On the day of his departure, Morgan begrudgingly loaded his luggage into his hatchb
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She opted to drive all the way rather than fly, adding as much as thirteen to fifteen hours to her journey. Maddison was positive she could cut it down to ten if she put the pedal to the metal. The SUV she hired for the trip was certainly capable of doing the job. Her day-to-day vehicle, a convertible, was in the garage undergoing servicing and would only be ready by Sunday for pickup. Embrace the journey, not just the destination.
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The flight was relatively unremarkable, with the exception of the last twenty minutes when the aircraft encountered some turbulence. It was not enough to wake up from his nap but when combined with the grumbling of concerned passengers in the cabin, he silently protested by uttering a few curse words in a low voice when he awoke from his slumber. The pilot shortly made an announcement reassuring his passengers that nothing out of the ordinary was happening, nevertheless, there were still a few pockets of dissatisfaction. Twelve minutes later, the large airliner began the banking sequence before initiating its descent. The smooth landing was greeted with audible sighs of relief from a few sections of the cabin.
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And the hits just keep on coming.Morgan slammed the door behind him as he returned to his apartment, barely two hours after he had left the very same place for work. His neighbours would most likely take offence with his actions but, for today, he couldn't care less. He went straight to the fridge, grabbed two bottles of Ludweiser and found a comfortable spot on the couch.Once again I'm alone with my demons. This will be a long couple of weeks.His work was not only his passion but also a welcome distraction from the tumultuous events of his life. It was a problem that he had spent months running away from, hoping against hope that it would either vanish or sort itself out. He knew for a fact that there were better and more effective ways to deal with it, one of which was forced upon him today.Morgan opened one of the bottles and took a gulp. As the cold alcoholic beverage slid down his throat to prod
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Maddison lay in her supremely comfortable bed staring at the ceiling of her hotel room, wondering where the time went. It was still relatively dark outside so she knew her alarm, which she had set for seven in the morning, had not gone off yet. Maddison began recollecting the events of her weekend up to this point. Her Friday was spent touring the city, visiting the movie studios where she not only made some new friends but also took a few selfies which she eventually posted on her social media accounts. Later, she went shopping for some of the season’s hottest trends
