“Hmm, once a swindler always a swindler. I’m looking forward to making business with you again Nazz,”

“Stop calling me that,”

“What’s wrong, Natasha Sullivan, I’m just shortening your name. You know I love calling you like that baby,”

“I’m no longer Natasha. And stop holding me, Mlungisi might come through that door any minute,”

“Come on, am I not allowed to hold my girlfriend anyhow I like?”

“Ohw Mlungisi!” Chomie shouted. “Uhm… this is my dad, and daddy this is Mlungisi, my boyfriend, the one I’ve been telling you about,”

“I’ve heard only good things about you my son, I hope they’re all true,”

“Of course they are. Uhm you have a very beautiful daughter, Mr…?”

“Oh it’s Sullivan, Mr Sullivan,”

“No Dad, that’s not your real surname. It’s Mr Mdletshe,” Chomie defended.

“Oh nice to meet you, sir,”

“Me too my son,”

“Oh Dad has been here for a long while. I think you two must have a chat before he leaves. I’m going to cook,”

“Oh, okay, grab a sit sir. Oh and Chomie, can you bring us a liter of coca cola,”

“So my son I heard you are a student, which course are you doing?”

“Oh I’m doing sociology,”

“Oh is that so, you want to be a social worker?”

“Yes sir,”

“Hmm that’s interesting. By the way I’m an Entrepreneur, or a businessman, as some call me. I stay in London I have business there, and I decided to come back home, South Africa. Because I’ve realised that it no use filling the foreign countries with business, whilst you leave your own country in great poverty.”

“Oh that’s fantastic. So are you here to start a business?”

“Uhm if you prefer calling it that, then ja, I am. I’m here to bring about a tender that will create job opportunities for South African citizens. To build houses, providing electricity and taps in places and to people who are living without those things,”

From a distance Chomie made a gesture and Mr-so-called Mdletshe excused himself.

“I’m… I’m late for a meeting. I have to go now,”

“Oh again nice to meet you sir,”

“You too, son. Oh, by the way, here is my business card, call me if you have time,”

“Sure, thanks sir, have a great afternoon,”

“You too, bye baby girl,”

“Bye dad!”

*****

“Uhm, did Dad tell you about the tender” Chomie asked later that night in bed.

“Yah. You never told me about your dad,”

“Ja I know, it’s just that he has been gone for a long while that I hardly think about him. So what do you think?”

“I think his a good, considerate man and that you two are very close. I caught ya’ll playing,” Mlungisi said laughing.

“Mxm stop it. Anyways, I was talking about the tender,”

“What about it?”

“What do you think about it?”

“Oh, wow the tender… I think it is brilliant and would change many people’s lives,”

“Do you know how much this tender offers?” Chomie asked, sitting up on the bed. Mlungisi shook his head.

“It offers one million rand to anyone who contributes towards it,”

“Wow! That’s a lot of money!” Mlungisi exclaimed.

“Don’t you wish to have it as well?”

“Tjo, I soo do!”

“Well, you can get it, just contribute with R25 000,”

“Soo much money! I don’t have that money mina,”

“Come on, just imagine you having that money! You’ll have to drop out of the university so as to be a millionaire,”

“Come on that’s crazy,”

“For real! Who needs university when you are a millionaire!? Just imagine the things you can do with those millions of yours. You could start your own business, perhaps build a hospital in poor areas such as farms, for terribly ill people like your grandmother,”

“Yeah that’s a great idea but the thing is, I don’t have that money!”

“Come on Mlu, you are a dude, you have to hustle. Maybe you must take the money for your grandmother’s treatment and the one for the Cape Town trip,”

“Haa! That’s impossible!”

“Come on, in life you have to sacrifice and spend money to gain money,”

“Maybe I must do just that!”

“There is no time. But it’s fine, I can speak to my dad for you. But if you don’t give that money by next week, he’ll take the tender to somebody else. You have to start by quitting school, first thing tomorrow, and then you’ll do the next step,”

***

Tell us: Should Mlungisi invest in this deal? Why? Why not?