"Mrs. Mukhisa, she is here." Said Mr. Mungai as he strode into the office. Maria put the book she was perusing back to its previous position on the bookshelf.

"Okay, let her in." She walked back to her seat as Mr. Mwangi opened the door wider ushering in a woman who resembled the profile picture sent over by the recruiting agency.

"Mrs. Mukhisa, this is Joyce Mwangemi. Joyce this is Mrs. Maria Mukhisa." Said Mr. Mwangi as he pulled out a seat for Joyce. She sat as instructed and Maria waited for Mr. Mwangi to exit before starting the interview. She dwelled on Joyce's nanny experience and skills, nodding in approval as Joyce showed her love for children in the stories that she told. Half an hour later, Maria had heard enough and was ready to make a decision.

"Joyce, when can you start?"

"Today...if possible." She said sheepishly as her eagerness surfaced.

"Perfect, my sons are out with my brother shopping for school supplies." Maria looked at her wristwatch. "They should be back in an hour or so, then we shall go back home so I can show you the reigns. Do you have your bags with you?"

"No, but I can get them, my sister doesn't live far."

"Wonderful, you do that and I will see you later," Maria rose from the couch and led her out of the office to the main floor. Mr. Mungai watched as Joyce took her leave after which he followed Maria back into the office.

"How was it?"

"She is wonderful and passionate. Her vast experience blew my mind. Did you know that she stayed at her last job for a little over a decade? She only left because the family relocated to the states. I gave her the job on the spot. She's going to get her bags and then come back." Maria sat back down on her swiveling leather seat. "Thank you for recommending that agency, I need all the help I can right now.  Managing this monstrosity of a business will take up too much of my time. Now I understand why Ben was always working."

"Three days ago, I was wondering what to do with Ben's failing business and today I am in charge of said business only, it isn't failing as I had been led to believe, nope, it happens to be thriving!" Maria sighed and leaned back in her seat.

"What did the lawyer say?"

"What could he say? Other than the fact that since Ben had no written will everything he left behind belongs to the kids and me." Maria sighed, as the weight of her new discoveries increased by a few more kilos. "I asked if I could be allowed access to Ben's accounts and he said I would need Ben's death certificate to prove that he is indeed gone before the bank lets me see his bank transactions. I need to know where he took all the profits made here and as I have seen in the last few days, there are millions!" Maria said no longer wary of Mr. Mwangi's discretion.

It had been a week since she obliviously walked into the store. Mr. Mwangi hadn't left her side as he helped her familiarize herself with the store's current situation. It was he who had shown her all the books and the proof that the store was indeed prospering. 

They had settled into some kind of friendship a couple of nights ago when Maria finally broke down and sobbed bitterly at the betrayal by her late husband. It was then that Maria realized she needed to hire a nanny for her boys. Joshua had agreed to watch the twins as Maria figured her way around her current situation but he would be going back to work soon and the twins would need someone to watch them. 

Mr. Mwangi had suggested using a recruiting agency he and his wife had used a few times and Maria had immediately contacted the organization. An agent had responded promptly promising to send a lady with vast nanny experience the following day.

"There has to be. The store has been doing very well which can be attested by how well he paid his staff. I cannot explain what your husband was doing with the money Mrs. Mukhisa but I certainly hope you find the answers you are looking for." Said Mr. Mwangi oblivious to Maria's train of thought.

"Be rest assured that I will." She said as she sat up to face her computer once more. "Thanks again for recommending that agency. Once Joshua and the boys come back, I will head out so I can help Joyce settle in at home. I will continue here tomorrow."

"That is alright, Mrs. Mukhisa."

"Please call me Maria." She said to his retreating form. He turned back and with a final nod, left the room leaving Maria to resume her work.

*****************************

"You were not kidding!" Joshua walked into the office, the twins right behind him, each holding a brand-new bag pack.

"Mum, look at what Uncle Josh bought for us." They both held out their race car embellished bags for their mother to see. Their wide grins showed off their uneven missing teeth gaps.

"Oh wow, those are so nice. What else did Uncle Josh get you?"

"Lots of school supplies, and he got me a new sketchpad." Said Declan as he opened his prized bag to retrieve the said sketchpad

"Will you use it well this time?" Maria raised a skeptical brow at her beaming son.

"Yes, I will."

"No, he won't! He will tear it all up like he did his last one!" said Dean who had climbed onto the white couch in the corner.

"I will not!" Declan turned to follow his brother.

"Will too!"

Joshua chuckled as he took a seat by Maria's desk, "I never get used to their bickering."

"Oh, trust me it gets old pretty fast." Maria averted her eyes from the arguing boys to the man sitting across from her.

"You weren't kidding," Joshua repeated his earlier sentiment, his gaze sweeping through the vast office. "This place is huge."

"Now do you believe me?"

"I just couldn't imagine it when you told me. Why would he do this to you guys?" Joshua inquired making sure that the boys' focus was still on their new goodies.

"I don't know, but I will find out."

"How come you never came out to see the shop? Surely this big store isn't easy to keep as a secret."

"I have been asking myself that very question. The last time I set foot here was the day the kids went to kindergarten. I was a mess after dropping them off at school and so I came looking for Ben. He was so sweet that day, he even left work early and took me for lunch. That was it. I never came back because weeks later I got into that horrible accident and the car was totaled." Maria shuddered at the memory of having to walk around in crutches after she refused to use the wheelchair recommended by the doctor.

"The recovery period that followed coupled with all the projects we had going on at home, I just never found the time. In the few months that followed, Ben and I were struggling and around the same time, I really do believe that the business was struggling too. It was giving him too much pressure and unfortunately, that pressure was being felt in the marriage. After a while, the financial situation at the house changed, he said that we needed to make some cutbacks and so I obliged hoping that the shop would go back to its former glory."

"That day never came and while I knew that the shop was still open, a wedge had grown between us and I never felt the need to come and see him in a place that was drowning him. We fought so many times with me trying to get him to try his hand at something else but he wouldn't listen. I resigned myself to getting my design business off the ground. He wouldn't even pay for the design course I had to take. I had to use the little money I got from selling the jewelry mum gave me on my wedding day."

"No, you didn't!" Joshua looked at Maria pity clouding his eyes. "Mama Josephine loved that set. You should have come to me, Maria."

"You had your hands full. Anne had just lost the baby. Then mum moved back to New Zealand and you had to take over the company. With all that going on, I didn't want to burden you further. I did what I had to do. I have no idea what I will tell mum when she comes to visit."

"She is going to be livid especially when she learns that you were having financial troubles and that you didn't tell anybody." Maria groaned as she imagined the look of disappointment on the woman who raised her.

"I wanted to do it by myself and I did try, only, I was oblivious to the fact that the business was indeed flourishing. Not only that, it was actually doing better than before because when he started this store, it was half this size."

"I remember. Come to think of it, I have only set foot in this place once. And it wasn't this huge." Joshua looked around the office, taking time to watch the bustling scene beyond the glass office where clients continued flowing into the store. "I am here for you. We can get a private investigator and get to the bottom of this. Ben wasn't this wicked, something else was happening. We should..." He was cut short by the opening door.

"Joyce is back." Said Mr. Mwangi as he ushered Joyce into the office once more, a black suitcase in tow.