Chapter 6: Nancy

The plump woman slowly came down the stairs, with a cup of coffee in her left hand and a handbag in her right hand. She could have gone down quicker but chose to take her time as she reflected at the scene outside her building. She wondered why there was a row of sleek black cars as well as a small group of private security men. As senior researcher and deputy head of the Biotech Laboratory, she often got emails and reminders from the university as well as the building administrator if there were important events that would take place in the building.

The building’s spacious auditorium was often used by the different colleges or even government agencies to hold special programs and events such as conferences and symposia. Recently, the building administrator permitted students to rent the auditorium for their own functions such as when conducting inter-university competitions and special film screenings. The university, however, was very careful in holding events that might not be construed as academic in nature although the lack of funding would sometimes push the limit as to the type of events that may be hosted within the university’s premises.

As the woman passed the entrance to the auditorium, she noticed that it was closed and the poster outside only indicated a special movie screening by a student organization. She nodded slowly after confirming what she knew already and sipped her coffee as she walked on towards the stairs.

On her way down, she saw two armed men in black suits climbing up the stairs, flanking a good-looking man dressed impeccably in a tailored suit. The man being escorted by the armed guards had worn dark glasses that matched his attire such that the woman could not tell if he saw her. The plump woman stayed at one side of the stairs, holding the rails for support. As the three men passed her, she was amused as she observed that the man being escorted was wearing white slippers instead of leather shoes, ruining the elegance of his charcoal suit.

The woman raised her glasses and followed the men with her eyes until they disappeared to the upper floor. Then, she continued descending the stairs and walked towards the laboratory with small steps that her short stature allowed.

Upon entering the office, she saw that two of her colleagues were already there, talking excitedly about something. Matt was waving his hands in the air animatedly while Ella was standing in front of him trying to explain something.

It was Matt who saw her first. His expression changed from dismay to surprise. “Good morning, Nancy!”

“Hi, Nance!” Ella likewise greeted her fellow senior researcher. Ella’s face was much more inscrutable and Nancy could not tell if her colleague was happy or not.

“Good morning, everyone!” said Nancy cheerfully while walking towards her desk. “What’s the commotion all about? Are you arguing about something I should know?” asked Nancy as she placed her handbag on her desk.

Matt turned away and went to his own desk. “Maybe Ella should tell you,” he said.

Ella went silent. She sat in her chair and turned to her computer to read her emails.

“Well, would anyone tell me what happened?” asked Nancy, turning to both her colleagues who were seated on opposite sides of the room. When no one replied, she continued. “There was that wealthy looking man I met at the stairs. He was wearing slippers while his pants looked wet. Now, I come here and you two looked like you’re arguing about something important. I can only guess that the rich man came here.” Nancy eyed both of her colleagues as she sipped her coffee.

“That man was…” started Matt.

“He came here to…” said Ella at the same time as Matt.

Nancy chuckled. “Now, you both want to talk!”

Matt swung his swivel chair to face the women. Ella likewise turned from her seat to look at Nancy and Matt.

“Go ahead, Ella,” said Matt, waving a hand towards Ella.

“No, you tell her,” said Ella, nodding at Matt and folding her arms.

Matt sighed and looked at Nancy. “We’re not fighting or anything, Nance. I think I have to make that clear first. We had a very important visitor this morning,” Matt began.

“I know that already,” said Nancy. She pulled her swivel chair and sat in it. She sipped at her coffee again while waiting for Matt to continue.

“If you hadn’t recognized him, it was Mohred Kazor himself who came to the lab!” said Matt.

Nancy stopped sipping her coffee. “The multi-millionaire?”

“Multi-billionaire!” Matt corrected Nancy. “He added more than a billion dollars to his assets last year according to Forbes. Anyway, he came here to see the laboratory this morning without much warning.”

“I don’t recall receiving any calls or emails from him,” replied Nancy.

“His secretary emailed barely an hour ago, Nance,” said Ella.

“Oh!” said Nancy and she immediately took out her phone to check her emails. She nodded her head as she read the email.

“Ms. Freya is actually Mr. Kazor’s executive assistant, Nance.” Matt corrected Ella, remembering what Freya told him that the morning. He watched Nancy’s reaction as she read the email. To his surprise, Nancy smiled and then laughed loudly.

“Wyvern Minerals, eh?” she scoffed. “Do they want us to roll the red carpet for them?”

Ella placed her hands on her knees. “Exactly my reaction when I read the email this morning,” Ella said. “These wealthy CEOs seem to think they own us.”

“Well, I have to admit that if they’re funding our research, they practically do,” said Nancy, shrugging her shoulders.

Nancy looked at Ella and took a final sip of her coffee before lowering it to her desk. She then scanned her desk as if looking for something and then found the things she was looking for in front of Ella.

Ella observed Nancy looking for her things and guessed what she was looking for. She picked up Nancy’s coffee mug and hairbrush and gave it to her.

“Thanks!” said Nancy. She was about to brush her hair but decided not to and just dropped her hairbrush inside her drawer where she kept almost everything. “So, what did Mr. Kazor do then? And why was he wearing slippers when he got out?” Nancy laughed.

“Oh, that!” said Matt. “I gave him the slippers. It’s because of the acid…” Matt paused. He then looked at Ella. “I think Ella should explain that part.” He stretched his legs forward and pushed his chair backward.

Ella sighed. “I showed him the laboratory and explained the work that we do here,” said Ella. “I had a small accident while showing him things and dropped acid to the floor.” Ella bit her lip, hesitating to speak further.

“Ella splashed acid on Mr. Kazor’s expensive leather shoes and tailored pants!” continued Matt, placing both hands to the back of his head.

“It was an accident, Nance,” insisted Ella.

Matt started rubbing his eyes. “Now, we don’t know if we’re going to have that grant Ms. Freya mentioned in her email. We really could use a new liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry equipment and that antiquated atomic absorption spectrophotometer’s been acting up again.”

“Sorry, Matt,” apologized Ella. “Sorry, Nance. I think I blew up our chance for funding.”

The phone rang and Matt was quick to pick it up.

“Biotech Lab… Oh!... Yes, Ma’am…” Matt straightened up in his seat and his voice became formal and modulated. “Yes, of course… He wants to talk to her?” Matt muted the phone and looked at Ella. “Here, Ella. He wants to talk to you,” Matt said excitedly.

Ella was confused as she took the phone from Matt. “Hello? Who is this?” she asked.

She heard a familiar voice on the other side. “Dr. Garcia? Red here.”

“Oh!” exclaimed Ella, turning to Matt who had both his thumbs up as he grinned at her.

“Dr. Garcia, I was too much in a hurry that I forgot to ask you earlier, but I would like us to continue our conversation about you and your work. Perhaps you can join me for dinner tonight? That is, if you’re not otherwise preoccupied?” asked Red.