...
"Knock knock!", the lady knocked with a shut-lip smile. Muzi raised his face and told her to come in with a smile that matched hers. He initialed the contract that he was busy signing before she got in and placed it back into the brown envelope on his desk.
"I'm surprised you still remember my face", she said and he offered her the chair across him.
"A man barely forgets a beautiful face", he complimented and dropped the envelope in his desk drawer.
"Oh stop. How are you?", she asked and sat back comfortably on her chair.
"I've got no complains. How are you? I never thought I'd seen you again. How did you even find me?"-Muzi
"That night, when you told that scary lesbian Belinda to come guard me? I asked her about you"
Muzi laughed.
"So today, I felt I should come and show my gratitude"
"Took you long bo"
She shot out a quick laugh.
"Were you expecting me?"
"Not at all. But three whole months pho?"
"It's actually two"
"Still", he said and pulled his laptop screen up.
"I was embarrassed haw!"
"So the embarrassment has worn off now?", he raised his brow with a slight smile. She laughed and looked away. He huffed and dropped his eyes back on the keyboard.
"I'm kidding man. Three days ago, my neighbor's daughter went missing", she somberly informed.
"I'm sorry to hear that. Was she found?"
"Yy-yeah. Dead though"
"Eish...", he ran speechless.
"Apparently she was gang raped. They slit her throat and cut off her boobs. That could've easily been me if it wasn't for you", she said.
"It really was a pleasure. My sister-in-law suffered the same fate. Hope your man is done standing you up at night. He placed your life in danger"
"Oh he's done alright. I broke up with him the next morning after that day. If a complete stranger could prioritize my life then he clearly does not deserve my time Vusi", she stated.
"Vusi?", he was confused.
"Isn't your name Vusimuzi?", she asked and he laughed lightly.
"No. It's Muzikayise. But I get why you would think that"
"Oh my God I really thought--"
"What's YOUR name?", he partially closed the laptop and waited for her to reply.
"Andiswa", she let out. He nodded.
"So... you're the boss around here?", she said in an impressed tone.
"Nah I'm just standing in for someone", he said sarcastically and she laughed.
"Nxn. So what do you guys do?"
"A lot of things"-Muzi
"Define a lot of things"
"Well, we make bricks and concrete and sell them. Or use them to build. We make roads, bridges, the works. There's small divisions like house plans and marketing somewhere", he explained.
"Mmkay...", she nodded with her lip bent, admiring his office.
"And what do you do, An-di-swa?", he asked and she giggled at how he pronounced her name in cuts and slices.
"I am a microbiologist", she informed.
"I don't remember telling you that I'm a civil engineer"
She chuckled.
"Arg okay. I work at Bioxlab. I work with specimens from various healthcare institutions for diagnostic analysis. I'm also a part time student"
"So you work with urine, blood and all that nasty?"
"There's nothing nasty there. Just a couple of compounds and molecules just like water and whatever else. You'll have a lot of peace if you think about it that way", she briefly 'drumrolled' her fingers on the desk playfully before falling back on her chair again.
"I'd rather not think about them at all", he said and they both laughed.
"You said you're a part time student?"
"Yeah. I'm busy with my masters"
"Oh yeah?", he cheered in a fascinated tone.
"Yeah. I'm doing research on receptor-specific medication for neurological diseases"
"Yyy-yeah let usss stop right there before my head starts spinning"
She shot out a laugh.
"Why do I get the feeling you don't like biology much?"
"Your feelings are spot on. I'm more of a physics and math kinda person"
"I see"
"What were your majors kant?"- Muzi
"Genomics and microbiology", she said.
"Interest-ing", he said as he dialled on his office phone, wanting to order his lunch.
"What can I get you?", he asked as he waited for the canteen to pick up.
"Just juice thanks"
He frowned.
"Yes. Can I please have two chicken mayo sandwiches and two orange juices please?", he ordered and she shook her head with a smile. "Yeah that will be all thank you", he politely said and put the phone back.
"Miss bacteria", he teased and she shot out a sharp laughter.
"And how did we get there?"
"I don't know. The point is, we are here", he stated as he ran the chapstick on his lips.
Insert 43
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