The rest of the evening flew by as Malik and Magaly laughed until their stomachs hurt. Malik couldn’t remember the last time he’d had such a great conversation. Malik looked around and realized that he and Magaly were the last people in the restaurant.
The waiter stopped by. “Let me know if there’s anything else I can get you guys.”
Malik asked, “Are you closing up?”
“Just about,” he said, “but don’t worry about it. There’s one more table in the back. Stay as long as you want. I don’t want to mess up your groove. He winked and smiled before walking away.
“That’s embarrassing,” Malik said, low enough for only Magaly to hear him.
“What? You don’t think we are in a good groove?” she said.
“No, I—I do. It’s just…” Malik shifted in his seat.
Magaly grinned. “I’m just messing with you.”
They both laughed and continued talking the time away. Not much could take Malik’s eyes away from hers until there was some unexpected movement in the periphery. He looked over to see several people in suits walking directly toward them. Oddly enough, it was Chance and Roy from Confidence Biotech, along with two other people.
“What a coincidence, seeing you twice in one week,” Roy said.
“It is, isn’t it,” Malik said. He couldn’t help feeling like this wasn’t a coincidence at all. “I thought that you’d be back in New York by now.”
“Our meetings down here required more time than we anticipated,” Roy explained.
Malik stood up, and his napkin fell from his lap. “I’m sorry,” he said, looking at Magaly. “Magaly, this is Roy Mengele, the CEO of Confidence Biotech.”
“Hello,” Magaly said.
“It’s nice to meet you, Magaly. It looks like I’m interrupting a special night, so I’ll make this brief.” Roy turned to Malik. “Please, sit down. It’s quite fortunate that we ran into you. After our meeting the other day, I had Chance here,” he tilted his head toward Chance, who was standing behind him, “do a little research. I wanted to figure out what it would take for us to negotiate a deal for that antique you have.”
Roy squinted his eyes and rubbed his temples as if he had a headache. “I’m sorry, it’s been a long week.”
He refocused on Malik. “I’m just curious, why does an intern go through what you went through, finally get a full-time job offer, only to turn it down and go work at a doctor’s office?”
“What’s wrong with Dr. Patel’s office?” Magaly interjected. “Dr. Patel is the best in his field.”
Roy put his hands up and backed up a step. “Why yes, he is. It’s just, with a mind like Malik’s, he could be at Confidence Biotech creating cures that will heal millions of people. Instead, you’re, what,” Roy looked at Malik, “seeing thirty patients a day?”
Malik rubbed the back of his neck. “Yeah, I know. My family needed me closer to home though, so I decided to move back. I’m still learning a lot at Dr. Patel’s.”
“Well, you know, Malik, many of our employees work remotely now. With someone like you, it wouldn’t be a problem at all to get you set up working right out of your home.”
Malik smiled politely, sitting up straight in his seat. “I appreciate it, but I’m great where I am.”
Roy’s mouth smiled back, but his eyes communicated something different, something uneasy. “I’m happy to hear that, though it’s a shame for us. You’re a once-in-a-generation talent, Malik. If you ever change your mind,” Chance stepped forward and placed a business card on the table before Roy continued, “you can reach out to Chance. We’ll find a home for you.”
“That’s very kind of you,” Malik said.
Malik stood back up and exchanged handshakes with the two men. They each nodded at Magaly before leading their group toward the front door.
After a few steps, Chance turned around abruptly and said, “Your previous internship sponsor spoke the world of you. He mentioned that you have some ideas that could be very beneficial to our company. If you come back, I’d love to give you everything you need to make that dream come true.”
Malik grew stern. “Thank you for the generous offer, but I believe my previous sponsor gave you outdated information. My ideas weren’t so special.”
Chance shrugged with a skeptical look in his eye and continued on his way.
Malik watched Magaly, who was glaring at the CEO. Once the door closed behind the group, Magaly turned to Malik. “Man, they want you there, huh?”
“I guess so,” Malik said.
“I bet that if you were to go work for them, they’d pay you whatever you wanted.”
“Probably,” Malik said.
“Why would you say no to that?”
“I don’t have the best memories of that place. Plus, I’m much happier where I am now.” Malik looked down, thinking the groove was officially ruined. “Do you mind if we talk about something else?”
“Sure.” Magaly paused, and then said, “Hey, do you want to get out of here? We should get a change of scenery.”
“What do you want to do?” Malik asked.
“I don’t know,” she said. “Surprise me.”
“There’s a club with good music just off the BeltLine. How do you feel about dancing?”