She had trusted me so much.
But at the same time, I stole from her because I was desperate to impress the woman I was in love with.
I finished my diploma in accounting at Zetech College in November 2019. Life after college was something else. Zero income, zero connections, a bunch of alcoholic friends, a broken family and a medical condition to manage.
If my mum could have been alive, I would have gone back home in Kitale after finishing university. But sadly, mum had died 3 years back. Dad had relocated as well and being their only child, I had no warmth of siblings around me.
As such, I had to stay at the city after university to look for a living. Because much as I would have loved to go back home, there was just no home. Just a lifeless house, long abandoned by dad after mum passed.
Anyway
Immediately after graduation, my job hunting mission begun in earnest. Most of the Coperate entities I applied were offering unpaid internships opportunities.
Much as I was being offered networking opportunities as well as platforms to grow career-wise, how was I going to feed my hungry stomach? Fare to work? Clothing?
Those post school internship opportunities were a total hoax. I wanted a job. A real job.
A place where at the end of every month, I could carry something home; however little that something was.
And so the quest continued…
I was at the verge of giving up one morning when I received a response email from New horizons real estate investment. They were responding to a job application that I had submitted for the position of an entry level junior accountant. The email was basically asking me to appear for an interview at their westlands offices.
I had never felt so excited. My hopes were renewed instantly. My zeal was fired back and since forever, my prayers had been answered.
To be honest, I am not a prayerful person. But that night, I held an upclose conversation with my God. I especially thanked him for bringing forth sunrise to me, just when the night was getting darker.
I also called upon him to give me the wisdom and tenacity to excel at the interview, so that I could begin my career journey.
That night, I felt the strong presence of God.
My heart was full.
Monday came and by 8:00Am Kenyan time, I was at the waiting bay of New horizons real estate investments at westlands. We were only 3 anticipated interviewees and this heightened my hopes for landing this job. I knew too well that if I put my best foot forward, I would floor the rest two contenders and carry the day.
My soul was determined to get this job. I was ready to do whatever it takes.
Fast foward, interview sessions were calm and objective. The questions raised by the interviewers revolved around accounting packages, work place ethics and psycho-social analysis.
I didn’t have a rough time stating my case. And from the ocassional nods by the interviews, I knew I was at the right track.
Fast foward
I received my posting letter 3 days after the Monday of interview. In the posting letter, I was required to handle the CEO’s personal tax statements and entries. Meaning that I was required to work directly under the company’s Chief executive officer.
To be honest, what else would have been the honor of my life?
Being the CEO’s personal accounts clerk was a dream position. Indeed, the darker the night, the nearer the dawn.
Later that week, I met the CEO of New horizon real estate company, Miss Jacinta herself.
She was tall, graceful and with an easy smile.
She carried herself delicately and spoke slowly but with a sense of authority. She was the classical boss. A high ranking expetriate in Coperate Nairobi.
After a two days induction, I begun my work.
She showed me her cash flow patterns, income streams from other businesses that she owned and how I was to henceforth handle her personal balance sheets.
It was not a difficult task. I did my very best and in a record 3 weeks, she begun to speak highly of me.
I never let her complements get into my head. I worked hard every day and maintained highest levels of humility..
Soon,
I was tasked with executing her cash deposits and direct banking at the nearby KCB Bank at Sarit center.
This means that every Monday, she would give me lumpsum cash from the precious week’s sales to bank for her. Miss Jacinta was an astute business lady. Apart from being the CEO of new horizon real estate, she also owned a massive hardware store and a chain of restaurants.
This only meant that at the end of every week, there were large amounts of cash coming in that needed banking. She had trusted me to handle that.
For 2 straight months, I diligently carried out my duties. I made sure her financial books were well balanced, her tax statements well filed and her weekly cash banked safely. She was happy, so was I.
It’s important to note at this point that I was in an on and off relationship with the love of my life, a lady called Naomi.
I loved Naomi to the moon and back. She was one lady who had successfully broken my defenses and secured a special place in my heart. Naomi was a reserved church girl. She told me that the only thing she ever desired in this life was to have a white church wedding.
In all truthfulness, I knew I would never give her that. Because I didn’t not have money, neither did was I a church person.
If I was to work hard and save just enough to grant Naomi her wish for a church wedding, it would have taken in the excess of 6 years, with my 17k per month salary.
My love Naomi was also under pressure to get married from her parents.
In many ocassions, they had gotten her a befitting suitor who could afford both the dowry and the church wedding. But Naomi’s heart was with me. During those instances, she had run away from home to come and stay with me at my tiny bed sitter in Lucky summer estate.
I felt so bad that I was not stable enough to seek her hand in marriage. She understood, but at some point, I could see it in her eyes that she was tired of waiting..
My inability to grant her her wishes made me feel less of a man. But what was more painful was the fact that I felt alone in this world. With a dead mother, an absent father and no siblings to my name, I felt truly truly lonely.
Fast foward.
Monday came and I reported to work as usual. The routine was the same. I did a few clerical work and by 10AM my boss Miss Jacinta handed me an envelope full of cash and asked that I dash to KCB, bank the cash and get her the banking receipt. She noted that inside the envelope was kenya shillings 700k from both the hardware store in Kitengela and her two restaurants at Ngong road. I understood the assignment perfectly well and after writing down her banking details, I dashes off to Sarit center that was just nearby.
It’s at the lower Kabete road roundabout that a thought struck me like lightning…
How about, I board a nearby Boda Boda to town, switch of my phone, go and pick up my Naomi and dissappear from Nairobi that same afternoon?
I shall have my Naomi with me, I shall be having a cool 700k in cash, and I shall be miles away by that evening..
The plan was to switch off my phone, destroy the simcard and then flash the phone at a toilet.
Within minutes, everything begun happening so fast, I found myself flagging down a motorcycle and jumping right behind the rider.
I hastily instructed him to ride me to lucky summer estate, kasarani. I told him to be fast, because there was an ”emergency” there and I was urgently needed.
The bike guy gave me surprise looks and relactantly told me that the bike fare to lucky summer estate from westlands would be 1500shs..
I didn’t care. I told him I’d give him 2k.
I wanted to be out of Westlands as soon as possible
I got to lucky summer in 25 minutes. I found my Naomi doing yesternight’s dishes while innocently singing SDA’s ‘Kwetu Pazuri’
I hugged her from behind and told her that we had less than 20 minutes to leave Nairobi.
I told her that I had jokingly placed a bet on that week’s sport pesa jackpot and I had won a whooping 700k.
Naomi, being the reserved girl that she was, could not hide her excitement.
She said she needed time to pack up her stuff and get all ready. But I told her there was no time for all that.
We could buy everything new and fresh. I also told her I had booked us a flight to the coast and we had less than 20 minutes to dash off to Wilson Airport and check in.
Though confused, she gave in and after what seemed like eternity, we were on our Uber headed to Wilson Airport
Remember, I wanted to be out of Nairobi as soon as I could. I had already switched off my phone and according to me, I was now perfectly untraceable and invisible. I had blatantly stolen a whooping 700k from miss Jacinta my boss and much as the guilt was immense, all I wanted was to go away with Naomi my love, and spend the rest of our lives far far away with this ‘jackpot’ that I had won.
It was truly race against time. The moment miss Jacinta my boss would realize that I stolen the money I was meant to go bank for her, I would be a wanted man.
So in order to beat her at her own game,, I needed to be miles away, far far away, by the time she realized I had taken off with her money. As for my love Naomi, I would do the explaining later. She would understand.
All I wanted was to grant her the church wedding of her dreams, and to start a business of our own, somewhere far away.
We arrived at Wilson Airport after 35 minutes.
The plan was to get readily available flight spaces to Mombasa asap.
The checking queue at fly 540 was not that long.
Since we did not have any luggage, we had an easy time navigating the security check points.
To this end, my girl Naomi was still in absolute shock, but excited to board a plane for the very first time.
Fly 540 was a reputable airline and as such, I knew my girl was going to have a moment of her life.
Indeed, fortunes change!
It was at the fly 540 waiting Bay, while waiting for our on boarding time, that my eyes locked with someone so much familiar to me!
My dad!
Dad too was waiting to board fly 540 to mombasa!
You can imagine the shock, confusion and excitement that followed.
I temporarily forgot everything that was going on and rushed to the arms of my dear father.
He too was filled with too much emotions and despite being absent long after mum’s death, I could still feel his fatherly warmth in our long tight embrace.
Despite abandoning me at the time I needed him the most, I still felt the electric connection between our embrace.
I could feel tears flowing from his eyes.
It was such an awkward dad – son moment at the airport.
Since we had 15 minutes left until the boarding time, we had a couple of minutes to spare and catch up. I hastily introduced my Naomi to him and explained to him that I was taking her for an holiday at the coast after a successful ‘betting’ spree.
He felt proud of me after my introduction of Naomi.
He also later told us that he and his new fiance were going to Mombasa to inspect some land that they had bought fairly recently.
I was kinda shocked to learn that he was dating again and ready to settle after mom had passed.
Anyway, so long as he was happy, well, we would be happy too..
All we longed for was a family reunion. Blood ties
I asked him where his fiance was,
He mentioned that she was running late due to traffic at Mombasa road, but she would soon be here with us at the fly 540 boarding bay at anytime.
He also mentioned that a few office work stuff had delayed her but she had managed to get to Wilson Airport right in time for check in.
It’s that moment that we had a femine voice calling our my dad and apologizing for being late…
We all turned and right there at the boarding bay’s main entrance was my dad’s new fiance, Miss Jacinta- the CEO of new horizon real estate company!
My boss!
