LOVE'S BROKEN HINGES

CHAPTER 11

|You should come with a warning sign|

6 YEARS LATER

Ntandokazi

I breathe in heavily as I gulp down a bottle of water. Prada barks when he sees me. I pick him up and ruffle his fur. "Hey baby," I coo. "You talk to that thing like it's human," Yanga says kissing my shoulder. "Prada is my baby," I say turning to face him. He grabs my waist and pulls me in. He's already dressed and ready to go and tries to kiss me. "Uh uh na, Yanga. I just came back from the gym, I'm sweaty and I smell," I say and he smiles. "You smell like strawberries," he said and I rolled my eyes. "You have to go before Hlogi gets here," I say and he sighs. "Why do you want to hide me? Us?" he asks. Not this again. "There is no us Yanga, we are just two people having fun," I say tracing my fingers on his jaw. "Natasha I can't do this anymore. It's been 3 months I need to know what we are! You can't keep me in limbo like this!" he says shouting. "I told you from the very beginning that I don't want a relationship. You've already overstepped by spending the night here how you want to demand a relationship from me Yanganathi? Uphambene!" I say. "Mxm, whatever. Don't call me again, bye Dr Williams," he says and leaves. I can't even begin to be bothered. I play with Prada a bit before Hlogi walks in. "Was that Mr Hadebe's car that I just saw driving out?" she asks and I shoot her a look. "Uh sorry, good morning Miss Natasha," she says sheepishly. "Good morning Hlogi, you were saying?" I said putting Prada down. "Was that Mr Hadebe's car I just saw driving out? I noticed the personalized license plate..." she asked, my assistant can be a bit of a gossip monger sometimes. "Mr Hadebe?" I repeated feigning confusion. "Mr Hadebe, the one whose firm does our bookkeeping?" she asks and I shrug. "You little temptress! You slept with him too?" she asks shocked and I cock an eyebrow, making her blush. "Sorry! It's just that I would never have thought that you know he's your type," she says and I sigh. "I'm going to shower now, that's if you're done prying into my personal affairs. Can you watch Prada for a sec?" I say and she nods. I walk to my bathroom and strip before turning on the shower. The shower is my sanctuary. It's where I can spend time with my thoughts as the water basically burns my skin off. I have to get a new accounting firm, I don't think Yanga would want to work with me again. When I'm done, I walk out of the shower and dry my body with a towel. I lotion my body, wear my bra and panties and tie my weave into a low ponytail. I pick out an outfit; a black corset bodysuit and black pants. I put on my red bottoms, perfume and grab my things and leave. "Bye Prada," I say kissing him. "Is mama here?" I ask Hlogi. "Yes, yes. I'm here mntanami," mama says walking in to the kitchen. "Hey mama," I say kissing her cheek. Mam'Zwane has become a mother figure for me ever since I've moved to Joburg. She's my cleaning lady and surrogate mom all in one. "Hey my baby. You're not going to eat?" she asks and I shake my head. "The day I convince you to eat breakfast will be the best day of my life," she says and I laugh. "That will be the day, hey. Masambe," I say to Hlogi and she says goodbye to mama before we both leave. Hlogi drives me to my practice as I look over my appointments and patient files. "Who's Mr X?" I ask her and she shrugs. "That's the name they made the appointment under. They gave me an ID number and that was literally the last name, X," she explains. "And the first name?" I ask. "X as well. I'm pretty sure it's a fake ID, but he put down the deposit so," she says shrugging again. "What's wrong with him?" I ask. "I don't know, he just said he wants a physical examination," she says parking outside the practice. I put my lab coat on and walk inside. Babalwa, my receptionist is already here and I greet her. "Your 8 o' clock, Mr X, is here," she says. I check the time 7:39. "Where?" I ask. "In the examination room," she responded. "Why? You know the rules, the only time a patient is allowed in the examination room is during their appointment," I say. "I know, and I told him but he just walked in there. Plus he's a bit scary looking," she defends and I sigh. I go into my office to start prepping for the appointment. At 7:58 start walking to the exam room. At exactly 8 I walk in and greet as I looked over the form he filled in. "About time you arrived, Doctor Williams," he says and I look up. Babalwa was right, he was scary looking. He's tall, dark and very muscular. I'm sure he could crush my neck with just his fingers. "You were booked for 8 o' clock and I'm here," I said. "I've been here for 30 minutes and I know your annoying receptionist told you that," he said and I rolled my eyes. "What seems to be the problem Mr X?" I ask. "I got shot a month ago and my boss needs confirmation that I'm ready to get back to work," he says gesturing to his arm. "Who did your initial treatment?" I asked putting on my latex gloves. "My boss has a doctor on call," he replies. "And why can't said doctor do this?" I asked prodding around the scar tissue. "My boss said I need a second opinion and I heard you ask no questions," he said. "Mhmm," I replied. It was true, if you came to my practice you were treated without any questions. Many would say that it violates a lot of HPCSA codes but impilo k'funeka uyiphile on the more dangerous side. And these 'criminals' deserve to be treated too, right? I ask him to do some movements with his arm and then do a basic exam. "Okay, you're healing up nicely. Your arm movements are good, I don't advise you start shooting again any time soon but you are otherwise you should be good to go in a about a week," I say finishing my examination. "Okay, can I get that in writing?" he asks. "Yeah sure," I say getting my writing pad out. "I have an offer for you doc," Mr X says. "Do you now?" I ask without looking up. "Yes. My boss would like you to become our full time doctor," he says and I look up. "Our?" I ask leaning back in my chair. "Yes, I'm not supposed to say much except for his offer. It's guaranteed protection and a salary of 3 million a year," he says and I whistle. "Interesting. But I make that much in 3 months. And anyways, I don't need protection," I say smirking. "I'm sure that can be negotiated," he says. "Somehow I doubt you can afford me," I replied. "Look, just think about it. Please," he says. "And who exactly is your boss?" I asked handing him my note. "Why don't you call him and find out," he said placing a card on the desk. "Have a good day Doctor Williams," he said and left. I looked at the card. There was no name or any identification, just a number. I slipped it into my lab coat and went to prep for my next patient.