THE OTHER SIDE
Could this morning get any messier?
Twice, I had spilt tea on two different ties, and twice, I had changed them. Two charcoal grey ties that would have immediately screamed elegant.
I blamed the two cups of tea I had binge-drunk in a fit of anxiety. The offending items sat on my bedside table looking deceptively innocent.
The question that had been creeping into my head after I removed yet the second tie, was what was I going to wear?
I was meant to meet with some members from the DEA today at my laboratory and I didn't want to mess it up like I had done the last time. The first impression was nothing to write home about, so the second one had to be near-perfect.
"Why don't you wear another tie?" The robot asked from behind me.
I had put back the microchip I removed back into it's head because I felt guilty and wanted to apologize. Not to the robot, but to Aretha, my wife. I knew she wouldn't like me shutting down the gift I bought for her.
I stood in front of the full length mirror and looked hard at the charcoal-grey colored blazer I had on. Underneath it was a white shirt. Since the two ties that would have gone with the blazer had been stained, I didn't know what to do. I had planned this outfit in my head since I woke this morning but now it had fallen apart.
One of these items I had on had to go.
I moved to my wardrobe and began to check for another replacement. Behind me, the robot approached. "You have twenty different shades of grey ties, ten different shades of red, five shades of blue, and fifty different colors of mixed ties. Surely, you can choose one from any of them."
"You've been going through my things?" I turned round to face it, shocked it knew so much about my clothings.
It laughed an eerily human laugh, and its hands rose into the air. "Aretha made sure I memorized all of your things."
"Hmm!" I turned and began removing my blazer. "But she didn't teach you about colour coordination, obviously."
I removed the white shirt I had on and changed it to a navy blue one. I kept on the charcoal grey blazer and opted to go without a tie.
Not wanting to waste anymore time, I picked up my phone and the robot bid me goodbye as I walked out of the room.
*
The next few hours I spent briefing my staff at the lab about the DEA and how they needed to comport themselves when they came. If you knew scientists, you'd know we liked to stay in a relaxed environment while working, which meant jotters filled with notes were usually splayed all over the table, and some petri dishes and magnifying glasses were also jostling for space as well as various other canisters used in mixing various compounds.
Sometimes, explosions would take place, exactly as one did last week, due to the explosive properties of a particular compound, and well, it wasn't exactly a pretty sight for external eyes.
So repairs had been underway ever since Kelly dropped the bomb on me three days ago about the DEA giving me a second chance and guess what - instead of coming on the day they said they would come, which was tomorrow, they decided to come today.
I tried not to lose my shit, and it worked - mostly.
"Why is this place messy?"
Raymond, one of my Chemists, looked at me with eyes that were red and smarting. "We just cleaned that area - twice."
I looked at it again and nodded. Sure enough, it looked clean. The coming of the DEA had gotten me hallucinating. I needed everything to be in tip top shape.
My phone vibrated in my pocket. "Hello, Kelly."
"They've arrived. They need to be cleared by security. For goodness' sake, Alex, nothing can go wrong today."
I nodded, like she could see me, and placed a call to the head security to give free clearance to the DEA. Five of my staff and I stood at the entrance of the door wearing big smiles as three of them approached. I recognized Mr. Hendricks and the other two, but I didn't see the rest.
I looked behind therm wonderingly, expecting to see more of them pouring in.
"Oh, it's just us three." Mr. Hendricks proffered. "We have a lot of inspections to do today so we had to divide ourselves."
My smile wavered. Did that mean their attention was being vied for in other laboratories, and for the same thing as well?
I couldn't answer that question. My team were already leading the three of them inside the laboratory. I followed behind, my initial ardor reduced. I felt like a deflated balloon and my attention had to be called back a few times by Mr. Hendricks when it wandered.
Simon took the lead as he led them around the research laboratory, pointing out the different equipments and giving them a little background story of how he was hired. As he spoke, his eyes lit up from within and they sparkled. His whole face transformed into something I had never seen.
That was when it hit me. Simon was proud. As my head molecular biologist, I hired him when I had absolutely nothing except a big dream. Over the years, he had seen the myriad of trials and attempts it took before we finally settled on the final solution that would be called Exceva.
I heard pride in his words, but I wasn't the only one who heard it. My attention was drawn to Mr. Hendricks and the rest of his team. They listened avidly and asked questions as we moved round.
The laboratory sat on the entire length of one end of one plot of land to the other end. It was divided into three sections, namely the research, development and the testing section. Simon had just finished explaining to them about the different research going on as well as the different containers where the second and third solutions to follow Exceva were in. He further explained to them that it would be in three batches, starting with Exceva.
At the next section, my head chemist, Collins, took over. He talked about how different solutions were developed using both stable and unstable compounds in order to see how they would interrelate amongst themselves. I must say, I couldn't have explained to Mr. Hendricks and his team any better.
To say I was proud was a gross understatement.
The last and final section in the laboratory was the testing section which was basically the last and final stage. I stepped in and showed them round the cages where the rabbits and monkeys were kept. I talked about how we had injected only those who had cancerous growth with Exceva solution and how they had responded positively.
Even as I spoke, I was informed that five out of the ten people who were in the beginnings of various cancer growths, were around and waiting to be injected.
I turned to Mr. Hendricks. "Would you, by any chance, like to witness the first human specimens being injected with Exceva solution?"
"I believe I speak for all of us when I say we would very much like to see this." He looked at the other two who were already nodding vigorously.
Simon led them to a section of the laboratory that was cordoned off from the rest of the testing lab. It had a floor to ceiling wide screen. As we watched, five men were led inside to seats. They still looked healthy, which meant the cancer cells in them were still at an early stage.
After taking their statistics and checking their blood pressures, they were told to roll up their sleeves and one of my lab technicians cleaned the tender area on the inside of their arms. I held my breath as I watched Exceva solution being injected into each of them.
Mr. Hendricks and his team were meant to observe the men for at least an hour. They watched for half of that time before they said they had seen enough.
As I escorted them out, Mr. Hendricks turned to me. "I heard about the death of your wife, please accept my condolences." He looked at his other two colleagues as they walked on and moved closer to me. "When I heard about it, I felt we needed to give you another chance, and I'm glad we did." He looked back at where we had just come out from. "You'll definitely be hearing from us."
I shook his hand and watched as he joined his colleagues, my heart heavy at the mention of Aretha's passing.
THE ENDORSEMENTHelp! I need an antidote for anxiety.It had been one week. One week of twiddling my fingers and wearing my carpet thin. One week of not hearing back from the DEA.I was almost foaming at the mouth. Every day like clockwork, I would get to the office before anyone, because I was going stir-crazy at home, amongst my staff. I probably checked the company mail about ten times every hour. When that didn't yield any fruit, I shifted my attention to my personal mail, and then it was back to the company mail once again.And then I began to ruminate.Maybe they got some alphabets mixed up. It had happened to me once when I sent a mail to a company and waited for weeks for a reply. They eventually called saying they hadn't gotten any mail from me. Turned out I had mixed up an n with an m.So maybe that was what probably happened.Mr. Hendricks did seem impressed, so what was the big hold up about?A thought occurred to me. Perhaps they wanted to send me a personal text message
SECOND CHANCES"So, Mr. Moore, what can the public expect from Exceva in the long run?"Mr. Moore, how many people do you perceive will be cured using Exceva?""Mr. Moore, will you . . .”I mentally shut out the words of the third reporter. At that point in time, I was about ready to keel over. My eyes had become blurry and red and they stung, but I lifted my shoulders a little higher and pasted on a smile that didn't reach my heart. "As you all know, my wife was diagnosed with womb cancer. Unfortunately, she wasn't diagnosed on time, and as a result. . ." I looked down and shook my head, valiantly trying to keep the tears which threatened to swim to the surface, at bay.I looked back up at all the reporters that swarmed around, eagerly waiting for the rest of my words and I knew I couldn't let the water works reign free. "Exceva was meant for people who have been diagnosed with early stage cancer. It is a drug that's meant to give sustainability, but above all, restoration and comple
RAIDEDSix hours earlier"Bless me father, for I have sinned. . ."Sweat pooled on my forehead and I was not able to speak further. The priest must have sensed my distress, for he sat up and peered at me through the peep holes in the confessional booth."You can speak freely, child of God, there is no condemnation for you in the house of God."I stayed quiet for a bit as I sat on my hunches. I took in the statue of the mother of God which stood on the right of the altar, and then I swung my eyes to the altar itself where the tabernacle lay. Its presence relaxed me a bit and I breathed easier.Clearing my throat, I began to speak. "I've been having murderous thoughts."There was silence as I waited for the priest to comment. He seemed to be pondering on what I just dished out to him."What kind of thoughts are these? Speak clearly so I can understand what you're talking about."I sighed dramatically and made myself as comfortable as I could on the kneeler.This was going to take some t
AT SEAAs I opened my eyes, I realized two things immediately.My insides were on fire and every breath I took was torture.What was happening to me?Where was I?Most importantly, who was I?To my right, an annoying machine beeped nonstop.I shook my head to clear it of the blurriness but it brought on an intense wave of dizziness that almost made me pass out. Then there was the jack hammering in my head like someone was drilling a hole inside of it.I lifted my hand in order to touch it but found a wire dangling from the inside of my wrist. It extended to an IV hung on a stand beside me. I noticed the same thing was on my other wrist as well.What the devil was going on here?I tried to talk but became aware something was in my mouth. That wasn't all. This something was plugged right into my throat and led directly inside of me. I felt it each time I breathed because it hurt like a bitch.I became aware of the pain that seemed to come from every part of my being. It seemed like a li
THE STRUGGLE You'd think that after two weeks I would have begun to feel better. Yes, the tube had been removed from inside of me along with the IV's on my wrists, but another one was put under my nostrils. I was told it was a ventilator to help me breathe better as my lungs needed extra oxygen and could not function on their own for now. The whole of my body still hurt. Even though every breath I took didn't hurt as much as it had initially, I wasn't exactly functioning at a hundred percent. Did I say a hundred percent? Make that less than thirty percent. That's how shitty I felt. I couldn't walk, neither could I move my body without shooting pains going off in every part of me. And the ache in my head was still very much there. I was a walking poster for pain. A nurse walked into the room cutting off my thoughts."How are you feeling today?" She was one of the nice one's. I called her happy Abi. She always had a nice genuine smile on her face and a kind word for me. I shrugge
I closed my eyes and expelled a tired breath.Working from home had its perks but when you had about twenty of your staff running around in the basement, those perks became like right ropes around your neck.I didn't know if I made the right decision to bring them here, but I was left with no other option. The second and third follow up drugs of Exceva needed to be completed and ready for ship out in the next two weeks. Thankfully, Exceva was doing really well in the market and there was more demand for it, even more than I could handle.So we had to work extra hard to meet up.The lab was still under construction and wouldn't be ready till the following week. All my security guards had been replaced with new one's. They had been hired by a reputable security company that came highly recommended and were already on standby. Matter of fact, six of them were in the basement with my lab staff, making sure to keep a tight reign on whoever goes in and comes out.As a security risk, the lab
If you're a man and you find yourself attracted to a woman you know absolutely nothing about, what do you do?Do you wish those feelings away or ignore them and expect they'll go away with time?I was presently in that very predicament and I was in a terrible quandary.I didn't hear a stitch of what was going on in the meeting. My mind kept wondering to those deep green eyes, the colour of the bottom of the sea. I had decided they weren't exactly green but turquoise. A mixture of blue and green.A smile rose on my lips when I remembered her voice. Lilting and melodic, like soft resonating-"Mr. Moore, Mr. Moore!"I snapped out of my runinations only to see twenty pairs of eyes staring worriedly at me."Mr. Moore, are you alright?" Gavin, my head publicist asked with a worried look on his face. "We've been trying to catch your attention but you looked -""Lost!" Kelly finished from beside me.Ever since I rebuked her for entering my bedroom the other day, she had acted sulky and distan
Three months later and I was finally released from hell. By hell, I meant the hospital.As I was wheeled out into the open, I closed my eyes, lifted my face to the sky and breathed in the fresh balmy air of Newark county. People walking by looked at me curiously once I opened my eyes.Happy Abi bent to my level. "Congratulations, Mia, you made it. I'm so proud of you."I stared up at her, a wide smile on my face. "I want you to know I couldn't have done it without you.""Stop that sappy shit now." She wove my words away with a flick of her hand. From the smile on her face, I could see my words had made her happy.Alex had made good on his words.Waiting at the front of the hospital was a man dressed in a black suit. He had on dark sunglasses as well. Something like a wire stuck out from his ear, and I saw his lips move. I realized he was talking to someone through it. He looked like a secret service agent, the type I watched on tv yesterday. Those men were bad men, but looking at this