The FIRE in You

Chapter 10: A Better Man

"Ajax, do you wish to know why you're better than him in every way?", I asked picking his interest as he sat properly. Giving me his full attention.

"Lawrence never understood what family meant to me. You do, on our first date, you wanted to know more about my sisters than me. That was it. You had me right there and then, not that I want you to take advantage of it but you understood what I stand for in a matter of hours while he never did, despite being with me for 4 years.

To him, caring about family is a burden, a distraction, and caring about family is a business transaction, he believes that they're only there to take advantage of you. After meeting Max, your Dad, and Mum, I know that's not the case with you", I said not looking away from his eyes so he could see how honest I was being.

"He wanted me to leave my sisters behind and go to another country with him. He laughed at the idea of me owning a distribution company and icing on the cake is... he cheated on me god knows how many times.

Look, I know that you two are completely different, I know that he has a connection with my sisters but that doesn't mean that you can't do the same. It might be tough but it's possible. It all depends on you. Do you think I'm worth it?", I asked nervously. I had to offer him a way out.

He pulled me on top of him in the blink of an eye, making me hold onto his shoulders. "Don't you ever doubt your value to me, Brey? You're the only woman that makes me feel this way", he said inspecting my face. It made me curious. "Makes you feel what way?", I asked with a smile. He smiled back, "You'll see", he said then attacked my neck with kisses, it made me moan.

His alarm went off making him pull back and settle me on the side like a sack. He rushed to the phone and unlocked it. His brows furrowed. "There's an emergency at the station and they need all hands on deck, I hate to do this but I have to go", he said rushing to his bedroom. I was speechless. He emerged a few minutes later dressed in his uniform.

"I can give you a ride back", he offered. "It's ok. I'll call Jenkins... my driver", I said as he kissed my temple and gave me a key. He rushed out leaving me all flushed and disappointed. I guess that's something I had to adapt to.

I called Jenkins who reached the complex in an hour. I locked up, feeling giddy inside after realizing that Ajax had just given me the key to his apartment. I wanted to jump with joy but it had to wait because I didn't want Jenkins to have a heart attack at the sight of me doing a happy dance.

"I'm sorry about Lawrence. I swear he has gone nuts. I told Alfred to speak to him though. What he did wasn't right", Denice said while enjoying her grilled steak with salad. "It's ok, I'm just happy that Ajax stayed you know, I really like him", I said recalling how he stared at me as if I was his most prized possession.

"I can see that", she teased. I was all smiles until I saw Lawrence walking into the restaurant with Maya and Simone. They had a lot of bags. Lawrence hated shopping. He used to give us his card and tell us to go do our thing and now he was helping with the shopping bags? What the hell? "Who are you looking at? Is that Lawrence?", Denice asked looking as shocked as I was. Before I knew it, I was walking to their table despite Denice telling me not to.

"Hey guys! What are you doing here?", I asked and they looked shocked to see me. "Oh! hi Sis! Well, we were shopping across the street and thought we could have dinner before going home", Maya said looking overly excited. Simone only smiled. Clever girl. "Hi Aubrey, wanna join us?", Lawrence asked playing innocent. "Noup, I'm here with Denice. Enjoy your dinner", I said then walked away without waiting for their reply.

"He hates shopping", Denice said the moment I sat down. "I know, he's up to something. I can feel it", I said making her nod in agreement. We decided to ignore their presence and finish our dinner.

"Can we have the bill please?", I asked our waiter. "Your bill has already been cleared Ma'am", he said respectfully. "By who?", Denice asked with furrowed brows. "Mr. Columbus Ma'am", he answered and went away. "Well I'll be damned", she said standing up. I did the same and we left.

"Hey, Sis. I'm sorry we went shopping with Lawrence the other day without telling you. We just met him at the mall and he asked us if we could hang out", Simone said when she found me watching TV in the theatre room.

I patted the space next to me and she sat. "I don't mind one bit. You guys can see him whenever you want ok?", I said then kissed her temple. "Are you sure?", she asked. "100%", I said with a smile. "So when are we going to meet the famous Ajax?", she asked making me choke on my drink.

"I thought I told Maya to drop it", I said recalling when she read my messages without my permission. "We know. We still want to meet him though", she insisted with an evil grin. "Well, I'll arrange something when we're ready", I said returning my focus to the movie. "You're different you know. Something tells me that this Ajax is the real deal", she commented right before walking out of the theatre room.

I reached for my phone and called Ajax but it was the same as the last five days. It wasn't answered. It freaked me out so I called Jenkins. "Aubrey, is everything ok?", he asked sounding sleepy. "Can you take me to the apartment complex?", I asked and he accepted right away.

I was finally at his door, it was 2 am. I was feeling nervous but I had to see him. I knocked three times. I was about to leave when the door was opened and it wasn't Ajax. It was a woman that I hadn't seen before. 

Ajax was the only child so who was she?

"I'm sorry, I'm here to see Ajax", I said and she furrowed her brows. "He's not here, who the hell are you? And why are you at his door in the middle of the night?", she asked with a temper, almost as if she was angry. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to bother you, I just needed to talk to him", I said nicely because I wouldn't want to piss off his relative.

I started walking away when the elevator door opened and a tired Ajax appeared.

"Beverly, what the fuck are you doing here?", he asked looking so pissed that one could see smoke coming out of his ears. "You're kidding, right? You gave me the key... boyfriend", she said with a smile.