The Mechanic

9

Ntai was the hero Sebina never knew she needed! She walked into the office with a small jewellery box, just wanting to kiss him from head to toe.

"You...come here!" she said, pulling him into her arms and kissing his cheeks. "You are the best person ever! Thank you so much...I don't know how to repay you but thank you so much."

Ntai smiled. "You can pay me by agreeing to be my girlfriend, madam," he teased, grinning. He had made peace with the fact that she did not feel the same way about him but he still liked to take advantage of the moment just in case she changed her mind.

"I got you this, to thank you." She gave him the jewellery box with a broad grin.

Because she had not slept at home, she had been a terrible sister and had not organized someone to sit Tebello, her young sister. The little girl had been left all alone at the house, asleep and when she woke up, no one was with her. Ntai had apparently arrived to leave Sebina's car only to hear the girl crying outside, on the porch. He had stayed with her and helped her get ready for school the following day, seeing her off to the school bus after Sebina had arrived, wearing nothing but a T-shirt.

"I was so horrible to my sister and if you hadn't gotten there...I don't know what would have happened. Thank you so much, Ntai. Thank you."

He opened the box and extracted a wad of cash from it. Close to a thousand bucks. His grin became broader. "Can I take you to lunch?" he asked.

"I was hoping you'd buy yourself something nice with it because I don't know what men like. And anyway, I still owe you lunch. So that will be on me. Thank you for watching my sister. I had completely forgotten that I had a dependent who needed care almost 24/7. I feel so horrible."

"You should. The poor girl was distraught. Imagine if I had not arrived. Apparently she kept trying to call you but your phone was off."

Sebina sank into her chair. "All because I was chasing dick."

Ntai nodded. "I should get back to work. I really think you need a sitter for days when you want to go out or sleep out. Especially with the new clients we got...the workload has doubled and I think you will be at the garage for longer hours."

"Can you find me a sitter, please?"

"I have an aunt. I'll give her a call. She is not a live in but you can pay her for overtime if she spends the night."

"You're a darling."

"Anyway, the client bookings have doubled since last night. Who did you sleep with?! It can't be the old man, right?"

Sebina rolled her eyes. "Shut up. I did not have to sleep with anyone. Bert just...might have put in a word for me to his rich friends."

Ntai frowned. "And what favors did he ask for?"

"Nothing. Just get back to work, alright? Please tell the staff that I request a meeting in half an hour."

Ntai simply nodded and walked out.

A while later the staff was in the boardroom, seated around the rectangular table.

"I feel so fancy, madam," one employee commented as he fixed the collar of his shirt and his 'air' tie.

Everyone laughed.

Sebina looked at them fondly. "Ladies and gentlemen..."

"There's only gentlemen here," Ntai interrupted.

"Some of you act like women so like I said, ladies and gentlemen," Sebina continued as the staff laughed. "We have a lot more clients than usual which means that I need you to talk to your families about your time schedules because you will be spending a lot more time here at the garage. That's if you're up for overtime which will be paid hourly and a bonus according to how many cars you will be able to finish by the end of the week. I am talking maintenance, repairs, alignments, transmission, you know the works.