Melted: A MaxTul AU story

Chapter Forty-Six: Surprise Visit

Sinjai Hongtai sat across from Michelle Bagnet gripping her second glass of wine like she wanted to toss it in someone's face. Michelle Bagnet wanted to smile, but she knew that this wasn't the moment yet. She needed to let her friend get her initial anger out first. Sinjai had just come from her second day at Shilapath and needed to vent.

"And that woman! No wonder, you can't stand her, Michelle," she said, finishing her glass. Michelle poured her some more but then moved the bottle away. She knew Sinjai had one of the highest alcohol tolerances of any of her friends, but she also knew that if she wanted to get full details of what happened, Sinjai probably shouldn't drink anymore before the food was ready. They were both in Kuhn Bagnet's airy house. She could smell the lasagna in the oven. She smiled realizing that Sinjai was always asked her and Max to make her Italian food.

"She needed to reign in her son, but she just allowed him to spit out vitriol. If I thought it was because she couldn't control him—I mean he is a grown man after all—I would let that go. But that wasn't it. It's like she allows him to say all sorts of disgusting, even threatening things to see the effect, and then she can be the calm collected person in contrast. How could a person use her own son like that? Does she even care what people might think?"

Sinaji stopped, looking questioningly at her once again empty glass because she remembers Michelle Bagnet pouring her more, but she didn't remember drinking it. She also noted that her friend had moved the bottle out of her reach. They looked at each other and at the bottle and back again and then laughed.

"I know. I need to eat food first," Sinjai said, shaking her head ruefully. "I'm just infuriated. No wonder Max told me that I would only want to work with Tul and his people if I wanted to work with Shilapath at all. If this is what the company is like, I'd have no say in how our products were produced, manufactured, or distributed. They embody the reason why I've resisted working with these larger companies in the first place."

"I want to hear more about that," Michelle said. "However, I really want to hear how the day went. I mean you show up almost unannounced with your whole legal team in tow yesterday. What did you expect to happen? You were there in person at meetings that usually only include the legal teams. You are known to be particularly elusive. You had to know it would cause waves."

Sinjai sighed, but she didn't look sorry. Her outraged look changed to a smirk. "I followed your example and took your advice."

Kuhn Bagnet looked surprised. She hadn't talked to Sinjai about this particular partnership. She had talked to her about her reservations about Shilapath and had commented on the general discussion Sinjai had had with Max but that was part of a bigger discussion about Max's visit with Tul. "Me?"

"Yes. You always said that it is important to have people whom you trust working for you, but sometimes, you need to still see things for yourself and do things yourself. I needed to get the feeling of the place first. I also like the way you sometimes just show up at things. People can't fake it when you do that. Also, I remember how you showed up at Max's mother's funeral. That was impressive."

"So, part of your reason for visiting was to show your allegiance," Michelle chuckled at her friend.

Sinjai nodded. "You haven't met Tul yet, Michelle. But I felt, feel, very protective of him, of the both of them. I trust Max's instinct almost as much as I trust yours. Those Pakorns need to know that Tul has allies, too."

**

MONDAY (Two Days Before)

The last couple of days had been full of surprises at Shilapath. The first of them, a Monday, had seemed like an ordinary day. There had been no indication that by the end of the day, there would be a major shift going on.