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I try to call Mam'Noni back, just to make sure that it's really my baby's voice that I heard through the receiver.

I try again and no one picks up again.

My vision has gotten hazier and my thoughts a little cloudier throughout the night, I thought it was just the euphoria of the club atmosphere-- the dancing and the music-- then maybe the adrenaline from whatever the hell that was in Zayn's office... but I'm still having trouble keeping shit straight even now after shock zapped all that out of me..

Somebody tell me I'm dreaming, that Lebone did not just drop our 2 year old girl off in the slums in the middle of a Friday night while I'm drunk in the front seat of some rich, white man's car in the city.

I try to call Vivid but it goes straight to voicemail.

"Bad news?" Mr Sin breaks my wall of thoughts, looking at the Nokia in my hand and subtly shaking his head in disapproval.

I don't know what he has against my cellphone but I'm not in the mood.

"Yeah, no I just need to get home like right now," I can't very well tell him about my disaster of a life, I don't think we're at that point in our acquaintance and I don't think someone like him would understand.

I try Lebone again. Voicemail again.

I'm starting to get irritated. I'm starting to see red. I'm starting to panic.

Me in this mood, whatever little alcohol I have in my system and the fact that I'm unable to do what I want to do, bad combination.

I try Lebone again, voicemail. Mam'Noni, no answer.

"It seems like you're having an emergency but you're going to have to wait until the electricity comes back," He says without being asked, "And until the thunderstorm passes. Then I'll make sure you get home."

"Why would you do that for me? You're safe, we're away from the club. You could just drop me off here."

"In the middle of nowhere? In a blackout?"

I look outside my window at the thundering skies above, "I wouldn't put it past you, you've made it pretty clear that you don't like me."

"Because I don't-"

I snap my head to him, "Not that I expect you to and you've made it very clear that you want nothing to do with me," I continue to not think about how that all stings for some reason, "You can throw me off here and save yourself the trouble."

There's a moment of silence as the sportscar pierces through through rain.

"What do you take me for?" He sounds offended, "Yes, I don't like you but not enough to throw you out in the rain at night," He pauses and I watch his jaw tick, "I didn't want you to work for me because I don't want you around me--"

"Wow."

"I just don't like that you're loud, I don't like that you're everywhere, and present, and always take up the whole space, the whole room..."

"Mmhmm very eloquent..."

He sighs, "And I definitely don't like how you always have something to say, always. And that little look in your eyes like everything I do is wrong and not good enough."

"Yeah but those sound like you problems, why am I getting the crap for them?"

He says nothing.

Well, I definitely don't like his side profile in the muted light from the car's dashboard, there are no streetlights and the road is not busy at this time of the night so the dash is the only source of light we have.

It's blue led lights casting weird shadows on his face. He's all capable and relaxed in his car seat, one hand on the steering wheel with that swift logo on a round disc.

"Will I subjected to more of that tonight?" I don't think I can deal with that mood of his without resorting to violence.

He sighs again and runs his hand through his hair, "Wait out the lights, I'll see you home. Whatever it is, it can wait until the electricity comes back."

Now I'm the one who sighs as the weight of the world returns to my shoulders, "It actually can't."

I was kidding myself to think I could have a day off. How do you take off from being you?

"It's going to have to," His voice is terse and hard.

I take a deep breath and try to relax back in my seat. It's warm and plush, all cream leather and it smells very nice in hers. If I focus on such things then I can try to sort through my thoughts.

It's not the worst, it could be worse. My mom could be as bed ridden as she often gets and Nebula won't have someone to even get her water let alone protect her if something happened.

And they're not alone. I can deal with a night away leaving my mother alone, I can rationalize that... my child on the other hand, nope.

I seem to have annoyed this one into silence, and it's only now I take note of the soft music playing through the car.

His jaw is ticking and he's all tense, tightly gripping the steering wheel. But I don't want to him to think I'm stating so I look at the window at the sparsely light city.

We pull up to the building where I work and it really does look different in the night. And luckily it has power just like he said.

He drives through a gate I've never seen, or used, because I never arrived in a car but we end up in underground parking lot.

After he pulls into a parking spot, we get out. He still hasn't said anything and I just follow his lead to the elevator bank.

I can't help but do a quick look around at the cars parked around the dimly light concrete room because wow people have serious money out here.

Not a Toyota or Kia or VW in sight. Not a place of Polo drivers that's for sure.

For some odd reason tonight the elevator ride seems longer than usual; I don't know if it's because I am trapped here with Mr Sin who seems to sucking all the air out of this steel contraption or because of the way his eyes run from the top of my head, all the way down to my strappy heels and back again.

He seems confused by something.

"What happened to the poof?" His deep voice fills the steel room.

I look up at him because even though I am in heels, he's still taller than me, "What poof?"

He motions to my head with his hand, "That big poof you always have your hair in on top of your head."

I touch the ponytail extensions and quickly grasp his meaning, "Oh, that's my natural hair when I tie it up. This is just a clip-on extension."

"So the poof will be back then?"

"Yes, eventually my hair will go back to its natural state. It'll take a couple of weeks though. Why?"

The elevator has come to a stop now so he just exits with a shrug, and I follow him out into the living room I clean almost everyday.

"Can I get you anything?" He asks with a clear of the throat.

"No, I'm alright," this place is very different at night.

And so he is.

"No, you need to get something in your system, come," He calls and walks to the kitchen, "Pizza and coffee should hold us til the lights come back."

I trot after him after him to the kitchen where, lo and behold there are three boxes of pizza on the table.

"How did you get pizza in the middle of loadshedding?" I have to ask as I take a seat at the kitchen island.

"How did I get you in the middle of loadshedding?" He's busy with coffee supplies.

"You didn't get me," I roll my eyes, "This is just an unfortunate turn of events. And speaking of which, does this kind of thing happen often? People threatening your life and whatnot?"

"You'd be surprised. Don't tell me it's doesn't happen to you.. "

"Not like this. Not out of revenge or retaliation..."

Mr Sin's turned to me now with two mugs full of coffee which he sits in front of me before founding to get the pizza boxes on the other side of the island.

"Which one?" He asks instead.

"Anything without fruit or weird shit," I don't care for pineapples on pizza.

He huff laughs and I admit I'm studying his movements no matter how much I'm trying not to..

He grabs the bottom box after checking it and comes to take a seat next to me. He opens the box and takes a slice out so I guess then we're eating like animals.

And he's once again too close. I can smell him, feel him, breathe him. Way too close.

I think back to the last time we were in this kitchen together, "Did you really take a beating for Zayn?"

"He's my baby brother, I'd die first before I let him get hurt," He's all casual leaning with an elbow on the table.

He's a better older siblings than me.

"Was it that day I found you beat up in here? That you called me nothing and wanted to knock me off my high horse?"

"Are you going to keep bringing that up?"

"I'm yet to hear an apology so who knows..." I take off my long gloves to reach for a slice of the hot, cheesy pizza.

He doesn't say anything but he's so big next to me that I can't help but fidget a bit. And he says I take up space...

I hear him take a deep breath and move, "Yeah, it's the same day," He says after a few seconds.

I start connecting the dots, "Is that why you didn't want Zayn to find out? Why I was confined to your room?"

He just nods and again isn't even remotely remorseful.

"But he ended up finding out anyway, and so did your whole family. So my torture was pointless," I say before taking a large bite of the pie.

He swallows a bit before informing me that, "Brie was there when they happened upon me. I don't know how she got in contact with my family but apparently she called my mom."

"Again, my torture was pointless..."

"Due to unforeseen circumstances. How was I know that her boundary issues weren't a one time only thing?" He waves a hand at my form.

He is not being serious right now.

I have to quickly swallow before I choke on a mouthful of dough and cheese, "You are not about to talk boundaries and that girl because I know for a fact even though you said nothing happened between the two of you, the second time I ever laid eyes on you... you were standing right there shirtless in your jeans, and she was pantless in your shirt. That I remember very well so maybe those boundaries were never set or were blurred or something."

He stops eating and looks at me. Just looks at me for a few seconds and if I didn't have alcohol in my system right now, I'd be pissing myself from that look alone-- I don't like being in close proximities with him, alone with him and something about this whole situation should put me on edge.

He then snorts with derision and shakes his head, "Funny you're standing up for a girl who considers you so beneath her..." His voice is clear and deep.

Funny I'm here eating pizza with him when he also clearly considers me beneath him.

"If I cared a lick what Brie or anyone for that matter thought of me, you and I wouldn't be sitting here right now."

"Evidently," He mumbles into his steamy mug.

The hell is that supposed to mean?

I narrow my eyes but just let it slide and take a sip of my coffee, "Tell me the rest," I say instead.

"The rest?"

"Of what happened with Zayn and red suit? Why did they beat you up? What exactly happened."

"Oh," He does that thing where he licks his lips a bit and clears his throat, "Zayn had a deal to open clubs in Renswood's hotels. He has a chain of nine of them across the globe. Now Renswood took that deal and went to Reggie Gagiano to try to leverage a better one, they all operate in similar fields-- night life, hospitality, proprietary..."

"So they're basically competitors?"

"Or so they wish, it was an act of charity on Zayn's end," There's a hint of pride in his voice, "And he proved that when he retaliated by buying the land under six of the nine hotels that Renswood owns."

Mad fucking flex.

My jaw is on the pizza, "That's a lot of money."

He just shrugs it off like it's nothing, "Renswood found out and set out to try to teach Zayn a lesson but he found me instead, set his henchman on me. I gave as good as I took and... Zayn found out, thanks to Brie," He pretty much spits that last part--

"And as landlord now, Zayn bankrupted the hotels by dropping the value of his properties and the land they're on--"

My jaw is still resting on molten dairy.

Zayn? Zayn Zayn?

He is capable of something like that? He did something like that to someone who simply did what any other smart businessman would do?

"Okay but, Mr Sin... you're a businessman, don't you always try to get the best deal for your businesses?" I'm a little confused here.

He shakes his head, black locks shaking with the movement, "The hotels were already going under, Zayn was doing him a big favour and he took advantage of that. Business partnerships are like frienships, alliances, relationships. Loyalty is everything and trust doesn't come easy for us."

It's that deep?

"Zayn ended up buying all nine hotels, bringing them under Sin Inc., our parent company. Shareholders were looking to sell so he bought out their debt, bought out the hotels and because he already owned the land, it was easy to get the buildings as well. Restructure, restaff and reopen. But a man like Renswood, fragile in ego, will not pick up what's left of himself and go on. He'd rather further make things worse."

My coffee mug is nearly empty now and I'm three slices of pizza down, a little clear minded now to know that what Zayn did could not have been entirely legal.

"There was some subtext though," I'm not dumb, I was just a little tipsy and let it slip in the moment, "When the Renswood man asked Zayn if that's what you told him, what did he mean?"

"Okay, had I known that I was going to end up in a cross examination tonight I would've skipped the party altogether," He says standing up from the chair and taking the coffee mugs with.

"You're the one who brought me here, I told you to leave me on the side of the road."

He mumbles something under his breath that I don't catch because he's turning to the sink and I immediately catch myself feeling the emptiness of the space he occupied next to me.

"And you're the one who promised to keep me up til you can get me home, this is the only way," I say with a sigh and a quick stretch of the limbs, I'm a little full.

"And why can't we talk about whatever had you so upset in the car ride here?" He's taking the box from infront of me and raising challenging eyebrows at me.

"Because that will do no good. The only way I'm not losing my shit right now is by not thinking about it," And I'm telling the truth, that's why I keep focusing on everything else around me-- the pizza, the marble counters, the muted lighting, him, his movements, his breathing, the hair flopping onto his forehead, how tall and big he is, need I go on?

"It can't be that bad..."

I'm not telling him my sob story, "Just take my word for it. Now come on, tell me what Renswood meant and why Zayn gave you that look?"

He leans against the counter and crosses his arms, "Renswood somehow found out that the whole thing was a set up from the start."

"A set up by whom?"

"Daniel. He's the one who orchestrated the whole thing-- Renswood meeting Zayn, Renswood going to the Gagianos prompting Zayn to buy the land etc etc."

Daniel?

Where have I heard that name before?

"Who is Daniel?" Who is the person with enough power to orchestrate the sale of metropolitan lands across the globe?

"My grandfather."

"No fucking way," is all I can say.

He smiles with the dimples, "And yet my name has a bad word in it?"

I roll my eyes and shake my head at that but continue, "Let me guess, you knew the whole time and Zayn didn't?"

"Let's just say I found out before he did and yeah, I probably should've told him. Now he's pissed at me."

"He'll get over it, you're his brother. You probably had your reasons," I don't need to know them, "And he'll understand when you guys talk."

He takes a deep breath and nods looking at his shoes.

"So what's the plan? What do you guys plan to do about this Renswood man?" I can't deal with the silence.

Mr Sin starts slowly walking to the glass cupboard, "He's lost everything and a wounded animal is the most dangerous. I don't think he'll hold back, I don't want to underestimate how far he's willing to go with this madness. I get now why some people get bodyguards."

I wonder why he and his brother don't have any. Maybe they would've helped in that fight, then he wouldn't have looked like death on a shit stick.

He comes back with two long, parfait glasses, "I'd offer you wine as a night cap but for someone who supposedly doesn't drink, I think you've drank more than enough tonight so ice cream.."

So this is Mr Sin after hours huh?

I can see why all those girls are always begging for more, if he is this warm and gentle yet strong and capable. That other girl from the bathroom earlier is wrong is she thinks money is all that has women pining for this man. It can't just be money. Brie wasn't just crying for crying for money.

After getting the spoons, he opens his refrigerator and takes out four frozen cartons of ice cream.

And me, slowly and surely coming to my senses, I get to watch as Mr Sin-- Mr Sin Mr Sin -- scoops me ice cream in the middle of the night. How in the hell did we get here? Didn't I swear to not get involved with anything here? Just keep my head down and get my money in silence?

"I'm not going to ask you your favourite flavour--" He's concentrating very hard scooping and depositing perfect, round balls of ice cream.

"Because you can guess it?" Now all this is happening.

"Because it shouldn't stop you from tasting different ones once in a while," Amber eyes shine all ominous at me from beneath his dark lashes, "Didn't they tell you it's the only way to live?"

I don't get the chance to analyze his words, my phone goes off and I autopilot to answer it-- I don't even think or hesitate.

And by a quick flash of the name I answer with a, "You pathetic manure of a man!"

"Watch yourself Imani. "

It's Lebone but what's surprising is how instantly furious I am, in two seconds I've paced away from the kitchen and from Mr Sin.

"You would kill your own baby just to prove a point to me, do you know what kind of a dumb man that makes you?" I am starting to shake in anger.

"Kill my own baby? Pipe down the dramatics a bit. Your mother is fine, she seemed very healthy this morning when she talking smack about me--"

"Don't you--"

"And she'll be fine spending a night with a her granddaughter while her daughter comes to her senses."

That makes me give a little dry laugh, "Come to my senses?"

"Yes, I am Nebula's father and that sometimes maybe listen to me, maybe trust that I have everything under control and have my daughter's best interests at heart."

"Whoever bewitched you must be dead if you think the shit you did tonight is you having your daughter's best interests at heart."