“Have you confirmed the reservation?” Mrs. Adams asked while walking towards the entryway of her house. She wore a blush pink elegant dress, black jacket with matching sequined purse and stilettos. Her look was classy, yet businesslike.
“Yes, ma’am.” Sherri resisted the urge to sigh.
It was a Friday night and all the plans she made, flew out the window when her boss mentioned that she was going home with her. Her boss had a meeting with a client. Although Sherri wasn’t required to be there, she was instructed to make reservations at a restaurant and be the designated nanny for her boss’ kids until she returned from dinner.
Sherri had whipped up dinner for the boys because they didn’t want takeout. The younger boys were asleep, but her throat was still raspy from the numerous bedtime stories she had to read.
“Don’t let Toby stay up later than 10 p.m. I’ll be back before midnight.”
When the door closed, Sherri slumped on the sofa, pulling in a deep breath. What was she supposed to do while she waited for her boss to get back?
She surfed the internet for a while before she checked up on Toby – fortunately, the teenager had fallen asleep.
Then, she started thinking, her boss never shared anything about her personal life. However, as her assistant, she ought to know every detail about her boss’ personal life, right? Curiosity got the best of her as she walked around her boss’s house.
She spent a few minutes in the study, perusing her bookshelf, which was filled with business books but as she was about to return to the living room, a porcelain vase in the hallway caught her attention. Sherri picked up the vase, admiring the intrinsic floral designs on it when suddenly, the vase dropped from her hands and shattered. She gaped at the broken vase in shock and horror; her mind unable to come up with an immediate solution.
Several thoughts ran through her mind, but the top of the list was cleaning the mess and acting like nothing happened.
When Sherri finally got over the shock, she took a picture of the broken vase, then cleaned up the mess. She couldn’t believe she gave in to her curiosity and it’s obviously landed her in trouble.
When her boss returned, she approached her with the truth.
“I’m sorry, ma, I accidentally knocked over and broke the vase in the hall. I’ll like to replace it or pay for it.”
Mrs. Adams brushed past her, “Go home.”
Sherri grabbed her handbag and walked to the door, her heart pounding in her ears.
‘Go home’ could mean many things at this moment, but she wasn’t sure if it meant she was off the hook. Pretending nothing happened was the easier route to take, but her boss would lose trust in her when she found out.
“Wait,” Mrs. Adams slipped out some naira notes from her purse, “For your Uber and next time, be more careful.”
“Yes, ma’am. Thank you.” Sherri said.
The truth would indeed set one free, but sometimes it could lead to you being shown the door out. Would you say the truth even if it meant losing your job?
