Kila mtu anajua chenye kilimleta Nairobi, they often say, and Sandra lived by this phrase. As many doom-scrolled mindlessly, Sandra scoured social media hawk-eyed like a predator looking for prey. When she wasn’t on socials, she was on Tinder with a checklist that informed whom to swipe right on.
Sandra’s methods worked to an extent. Her first dates were often in restaurants whose menus had items that required knowledge of nasal vowels to pronounce. Sandra’s laser focus demanded that she know all these things.
Sadly, Sandra’s ability to get first dates with seemingly wealthy men didn’t guarantee success in compatibility or character assessment. Given that she also looked for a certain type of man, she often came across some very oddballs. But Sandra wasn’t scared of a few kinks if they came with a cheque attached, and she’d mastered how to laugh at horrible jokes of men with itchy hands and full pockets.
Her quests allowed her to live in a good neighbourhood, drive a small car, have the latest gadgets, wear expensive wigs and even start her own business. The thrill of hunting down suitors and working them to get what she wanted stopped exciting her as much as it used to after a while. She decided she needed to settle down, and so she had to find someone who was loaded but who also would take care of her without much persuasion.
She was headed to a spa for a self-care treat when she rear-ended a car. The man driving the car came out fuming.
“Oh great! Now I have to wait for her to call ‘babe’. Let’s see how long this takes,” said Kev, mostly to himself when he saw Sandra coming out of her car, but she overheard him.
“Nope, you’ll just be dealing with me,” Sandra told him.
He was taken aback momentarily. Sandra walked around to the other side, assessing the damage. Kev followed her.
“How would you want us to handle this?” Sandra asked him.
“It doesn’t look too bad,” Kev said as they both took pictures of the incident.
Sandra offered to pay him, but he turned down the offer.
“How about you join me for a meal and we can call it even?” Kev asked her.
“As long as it’s my treat,” Sandra said.
They exchanged phone numbers and planned to meet later.
Once again, Sandra had a checklist. This time, the stakes were higher. What Sandra didn’t know was that Kev had his own list, too. Kev could tell that she had some money, but the way she spoke to him made him know that she was a woman who knew what script to bring to the audition. Her choice of clothes and how she carried herself belonged in a world he knew all too well. He didn’t mind it. In fact, it was perfect for what he had in mind.
His cards and generosity were on the table. He considered it his investment. Surprisingly, even without the ulterior motives, they enjoyed each other’s company. One date turned into tens more until they found themselves at the AG’s office.
Kev had wanted a lavish wedding, but Sandra’s estrangement from her family was an obstacle. Some members of her family, including one parent, had issues with how she’d gotten her money, despite her sending them money and buying them gifts. She almost won them over when she said she was settling down and was running a spa.
Sandra’s family heard ‘brothel’ when she said ‘spa’, and it was no use trying to convince them otherwise. Still, she took Kev home to meet them. They hated him instantly, and the lavish lifestyle he portrayed didn’t help his case with them. Kev’s family seemed to take their cue from him.
They wedded with only their witnesses and then had a very intimate dinner with fewer than twenty people. However, the whole process was like a movie production with professional videographers and photographers. They went for their honeymoon shortly after and then came back to start a life together.
Sandra had what she wanted. Kev spoiled her, and she got someone to manage her spa. Then Kev came to her with a business proposal. He wanted them to put up another branch of her spa. Kev was going to pay for everything. He’d worked out some numbers and had some ‘tricks’ up his sleeve on how to make a lot of money.
He brought her a bunch of papers to sign. This was going better than she imagined, and she didn’t pay much attention to what she was signing. The execution of the plan started shortly after. It kept them busy for a while. Sandra’s first spa was also doing well. She’d hired a good manager who had straightened out the operations.
Everything was going according to plan until Kev started getting involved in the management of the first spa. When Kev first came to Sandra with his proposal, he’d only said they’d use the same brand name as the first spa for easier marketing. Sandra was under the impression that Kev’s interest was in the second spa.
With Sandra’s manager in place, the first spa exceeded their expectations. This changed things. The second spa had been up and running for two months. In this second one, they’d included more services, but Kev had insisted on having a different team running things. Sandra had agreed to it.
Although the progress of the spa was good, Kev had pressing matters. His vision for the spa was to be a money conduit, but the people he dealt with had him in a tight corner. He’d overpromised his capabilities. He also owed them money, and there was much more scrutiny around the nature of his activities, so he couldn’t replenish what he was spending as fast as he’d imagined.
Kev decided that using Sandra’s first spa would help him ease his troubles. After all, his success benefited her too. However, he always had another ace because when you live dangerously, it’s wise to plan an exit.
Kev started meddling in the finances of Sandra’s spa. This sparked conflict with the manager. The manager had always suspected the second spa was about shady business, but didn’t pay much attention to it because they ran a clean operation here. She also knew pushing back could prove dangerous, so she resigned.
She wasn’t quite sure whether Sandra was in on it, but when Sandra tried talking her out of leaving, she thought of letting her know. It was risky, but Sandra had been a great employer, so she cared. Sandra confirmed that she knew what was going on but tried to downplay the risk.
“I have children to think of and while you have been kind to me, I can’t cross that line,” the manager said.
“This is how many successful businesses operate in this city,” Sandra told her.
The manager politely stood her ground, but she also warned Sandra about Kev. She told her that it looked like there was too much money involved, given how he was manipulating issues, but he also looked desperate.
The talk with the manager alarmed Sandra. She might not have been fully aware of Kev’s dealings, but she’d been around people like him enough to know when trouble was at the doorstep. With her manager gone, Kev and his people were running the show, but they were running down the first spa and had a high turnover.
Kev was on a downward spiral, and he started selling things to stay afloat. Sandra could hardly access any income, even from the first spa. They started fighting. Amidst the chaos, Sandra started paying attention to what was happening. Kev couldn’t tell her the truth, so she started searching. She went through the gadgets whose passwords she had, and then she remembered there were also documents. Some documents were in both names while some only had has. Among them was a life insurance policy with Kev as the main beneficiary. That was the first time she’d seen that document, but it had her signature, and she deduced that he must have put it in there when he made her sign the other documents.
Sandra knew what that meant. She’d met a more lethal player and needed to get herself out of the mess she’d gotten into before she died mysteriously. It was time to get her old playbook out, but this time, she needed to find someone higher up in the chain who could help solve the Kev situation. Deep down, she knew she was only buying herself time, but that lifestyle would soon catch up with her. For now, she needed a honcho to solve a Kev problem.
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He Was Tall, Light And Handsome – Perfect For The Job Of Conning Women Out Of Their Money Online
The Smart Girls Of Kilimani. Chasing The Good Life Was Going To Cost Her Everything
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