"I don’t fuck the body, I fuck the mind," Alex blurted out. "What?" Kay asked, taken aback. Alex glanced up from his desk, casting a playful look at Kay before reiterating slowly, "I. Don't. Bodies," he paused, "I bang the mind." Kay shook her head, rolling her eyes, indicating that she had missed the underlying metaphor.

"I simply gravitate towards intelligent women, that's all," he confessed candidly, his expression growing more serious, “I make love to the depths of the soul, transcending mere physical attributes.”

Kay giggled, "You're such an enigma; but, I mean, that's why I hired you."

"Yeah, yeah, you are my boss, I knoooow," Alex replied with dejection and then chewed the words, "Don have to remin mee,". Kay briefly pondered this but dismissed the thought swiftly. "Okay, put it in human terms," she said, raising one eyebrow while the other fell in anticipation.

"Alright, here's the thing. It's not that I don't find beautiful women enticing. What I mean is that physical attributes like curves and cleavage don't arouse me as much as a woman who possesses knowledge beyond her expertise. You know, like a neurosurgeon who also understands sayyy law. That level of intellectual depth is orgasmic," he said, a sense of contentment emanating from him as he spoke those words.

Kay had been observing him, her face expressionless with disbelief. Then, her lips parted, and she burst into laughter.

"First of all, you combining 'fuck the mind' and 'neurosurgeon' in one sentence is incredibly arrogant! You're never gonna bag a neurosurgeon," she remarked with a jocular contempt.

Alex tried to respond, but Kay didn't hear him. She was still consumed by laughter.

Had she been listening, she would have heard him murmur, "Of course, I'm not hoping to win over a neurosurgeon specifically; I'm just hoping to win over the one with an MBA."

Kay happened to have an MBA herself, graduating with distinction and earning distinctions in all her 14 subjects. Her mind was precisely the kind that Alex liked to fuck.

Kayla Mandigi, or just Kay, as she herself insisted, strolled aimlessly under the midday Swedish winter sun, her mind caught in a sweet dilemma between the balmy warmth of Zimbabwe and the frosty embrace of Sweden. Old conversations and questions about the meaning of home and its dual nature of burden and possibility swirled in her mind. Lately, she had been wondering, could home be something as concrete as a physical place, or was it more of a fluid idea, shapeshifting with time and experience? Or, perhaps, it was both?

Her mind was a whirlpool of confusion, thoughts spiralling about leaving and longing, the thrill of new experiences and the deep, almost painful yearning for the past's comforting familiarity. Yet the alternate reality - one where she stayed rooted, bound by the invisible chains of a society that had both nurtured and confined her - sent a chilling shudder rippling down her spine. She had yearned for this change, strived for it, and had accomplished it. Yet the pang of longing for something she had deliberately left behind created a poignant paradox within her.

As a child, the sun-baked dust of Zengeza's streets was all she had known - a playground of memories in the heart of Chitungwiza. Her most treasured toys were makeshift footballs, fashioned from discarded plastic stuffed together with childhood innovation. Among her band of companions, Kay shone the brightest. She possessed an intellect that dazzled and a fiery spirit that burned even brighter. Whenever the boys sought to belittle them, it was Kay her friends looked to for the sharpest comebacks, her words a fiery shield against the ingrained societal norms.

However, despite enjoying the protection of Kay's quick wit, her friends harbored complex feelings towards her. They admired her intelligence, a beacon of brilliance that sparked their own ambitions. Yet, when they sought to compete and found their efforts falling short against her intellectual prowess, admiration began to sour into quiet resentment. It was a subtle shift, unspoken but palpable, a shadow cast by their inability to match the light that Kay radiated. Even in those tender years, she could feel the subtle tug of expectation, the hushed whispers urging her to groom herself into a desirable candidate for some suitor. Yet within the depths of her young heart, a different dream echoed. It wasn't of delicate domesticity but of a big office, and a secretary, a future full of female power and autonomy.

Occasionally, Kay would attempt to diminish herself, curling inward to fit the confines of the box society had handed her, all in a quest for acceptance. Yet, this self-reduction was exhausting, and her fatigue often found expression in heartfelt complaints to her mother.

Her mother, wise with the years and a lifetime of experiences, would respond with a saying that resonated with truth, "Every time you do things to please someone else and not yourself, you are living another person's life, not your own."

She would continue, her words seasoned with gentle wisdom, "The only way to be truly happy, my child, is to live your own life."

Kay grew weary of how hard it was to live under the weight of people's assumptions that if she didn't enjoy what they enjoyed, then she must not be truly experiencing joy. And often, the things that sparked joy in Kay – the pleasures of reading books, feasting on art – were considered an anomaly for a girl of her age in their society. It was a reality that placed her in a constant struggle, a tug of war between her individual passions and societal expectations, her very existence seeming like a question without a clear answer.

As she ventured into the world of dating, Kay initially found herself at first swayed by outward beauty, choosing companions who were blessed with good looks. But it didn't take long for her to discover that physical attractiveness alone could not hold her interest. She found herself yearning for something deeper, something more intellectually stimulating. Kay began to classify her suitors. Some, she noted, she was drawn to their physicality, captivated by their outward appearance. Others, she hoped, would engage her intellectually, providing her with the cerebral stimulation she craved - the intellectual 'orgasms' that surpassed any physical attraction. This distinction, she realized, was vital in her journey of understanding love and attraction.

At the tender age of seventeen, Kay thus found herself in an unconventional conundrum. She craved two forms of intimacy, that of the mind and that of the body. She found herself unable to settle for just one suitor because she needed both types of 'orgasms', and she seldom encountered a boy who could provide her with both.

In the society she was part of, where norms and expectations were rigidly drawn, her unusual choices were met with disapproval. Labels were hastily slapped onto her, 'slut' being one of the more venomous, simply because she had dared to stray beyond the acceptable boundaries, to colour outside the lines drawn for her. As time passed, the weight of societal judgments began to weary Kay, but she held steadfast in her beliefs. How could she forsake one form of joy for the other? On one hand, she yearned deeply for a boy who could stir her physical senses, providing carnal pleasure. On the other, she desired a boy with whom she could share intellectually stimulating conversations that she could mull over long after they'd ended. Both these facets were vital to her, integral to her well-being. Therefore, she resolved to pursue her own path despite societal backlash. The handsome ones would satisfy her physical desires, while the intellectually gifted, would be her partners in conversations that sent her mind spiraling into ecstasy. Kay's unconventional approach, her rejection of societal norms, painted a portrait of a young woman daring to live her life according to her own rules.

University, Kay found, was simply a larger stage for the same societal script. Boys may have been more educated, but they were still products of the same cultural mould that prioritized weddings over graduation for women. It wasn't long before she was drawn into entanglements with boys who considered themselves a prize catch, entanglements that she relished but left as freely as she entered. Boys who were accustomed to being pursued were taken aback when the tables turned. They sought her out, demanding explanations as they struggled with the unfamiliar experience of being the ones left behind. It was a world where women were supposed to beg, not leave and remain indifferent. Yet Kay navigated this world with a fiercely independent spirit, defying expectations and rewriting rules as she went along.

In her inaugural job interview following her graduation with a degree in Economics, Kay realized her potential boss had chosen her for her captivating beauty rather than her academic prowess. This was a man who could not fathom the intellect of a learned woman on his own. He needed to be guided, his understanding fed to him as one would a child. "You are very beautiful," he remarked, grinning foolishly as she entered his office. His 'compliment' felt dissonantly out of context for an accomplished economist like Kay, one who had surpassed all other candidates in the cognitive exams necessary to secure this interview.

 His gaze never once sought her credentials, but instead he offered her a coffee, his intentions cloaked thinly under his poor attempt at making an impression. The true object of his desire was not her mind, but her body. After what felt like an eternity of his misguided flattery, he finally asked what Kay, an econometrics major, could contribute to their insurance firm. "In the complex landscape of the modern insurance industry," Kay began, the twinkle in her eyes matching the confidence in her voice, "econometrics stands as a powerful tool. Leveraging the power of this statistical analysis method, we can predict future risks and costs, allowing the industry to preemptively adapt. By modeling variables like policyholder demographics, claim history, and economic indicators, we can identify patterns and trends that affect pricing and underwriting. In essence, econometrics can bring us closer to predicting the future, transforming the insurance industry into a proactive, rather than reactive entity." As Kay's articulate explanation came to an end, the man's face was awash with astonishment.

His arrogant demeanor had faltered, replaced by an expression of profound shock. This beautiful woman's intelligence was much more than he had bargained for. The juxtaposition of her stunning exterior and profound intellectual prowess had unsettled him. His features stiffened as he tried to process the paradox standing before him. He had expected a pretty face; what he had not anticipated was the force of intellect behind it.

Kay, in all her complexity, was a conundrum he was ill-equipped to unravel. She had stepped beyond the bounds of his simple understanding, and he was left grappling with the seemingly grand revelation that a woman could possess both beauty and brains in equal measure. Kay discerned that this superficial man likely ascended the ranks not through his own merit but on the coattails of his influential father. Probably, his career was a quid pro quo arrangement between his politically-connected family and the insurance firm – securing government contracts for the company in return for a cushy position for the evidently ill-suited son. Even his degree was likely a sham, earned through the toil of impoverished students doing his assignments for him. Though the job was offered to her, Kay declined. She knew she deserved better. She chose instead to embark on a less prestigious but more fulfilling path.

Destiny had steered her towards Goldcoin Bank, where she encountered her future deputy, Alex Mutale. Alex was a dynamic individual, brimming with energy and profound thought, a refreshing contrast to the superficial characters she had encountered before. His persona was a blend of depth and vivacity that immediately struck a chord with Kay's intellect and curiosity. Yet, for all her brilliance and acumen, Kay stood at the crossroads of her life, unaware of the blend of challenges and victories her future held. And there would come a time when she would wish she had never crossed paths with Alex.