Throughout my stay in my former office, we never had any reason to play back the CCTV camera. Even when an issue that involved me arose, no one remembered to replay the camera to find out the truth. My mind too didn't go there; I was only defending myself without realizing that evidence was right there, glaring at me. My boss believed the accuser; it's understandable because of my position in the office. I wouldn't blame him for not trusting me over that little green tea 🍵 because human beings can change from the good they were known for to the bad. That wasn't my case, but unfortunately, he believed all he was fed for days until the truth came out.
To say that I was hurt during the three days before the truth was made known is an understatement. Do you know that feeling when your reputation is damaged? And your self-esteem is at zero level? Do you know that feeling when suddenly those who attached so much value to your personality all of a sudden see you as a thief and an ungrateful staff? The feeling was bad, but I'm glad it didn't last long. However, that was the greatest nightmare I can remember.
It happened in the year 2019. I resumed work in that office as an administrative assistant and secretary. I was also in charge of recruiting for National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) members in the office. My duties were much as the MD didn't hire any other staff aside from the engineers, so literally, I handle a lot in the office. Getting all the necessary materials needed in the office was still part of my job; I buy and replace when needed, which is why my boss reimburses me after going through my monthly expenses. I think I mentioned this before in my previous post that all the Staff were given the privilege to take tea every morning; however, I remember to cautioning those who abuse the privilege. I think this particular NYSC member (Engr Israel) was angry with me for not allowing him to misuse the Milo and milk, thus his planned accusation against me. So aside from the Milo and milk for staff tea, there is green tea and honey kept aside for the boss alone and his visitors. It wasn't meant for the staff, and I made sure not to allow anyone to use the green tea. This particular green tea, it's my boss that used to replace it himself, so when there were two remaining sachets, I reminded him to plan for replacement.
Also, the office key is meant to be under my custody alone. On that faithful day, when my boss wasn't in Nigeria, we had no serious job to do. So when it was 30 minutes before the closing time, I received a call that required my attention at home, so I gave the office key to Engineer Israel and pleaded with him to lock up the office once it's 4 p.m. and help me with the key in my home since my home is just a stone's throw away, and he accepted. Little did I know that it was an opportunity for him to put me in trouble. When I left the office, the camera showed that Israel took the remaining green tea and enjoyed himself, then pocketed the empty sachet. The following week, my boss was in the office and had a visitor. This visitor has been in our office a good number of times, and my boss kept telling him how good I am with my job. The visitor liked me for that and always gifts me money and pays for my lunch sometimes. So on getting to the kitchen to prepare the green tea and honey for the visitor, I found nothing there. I was surprised, so I informed Boss, and he was like, I should check it very well and be fast with the tea. I checked but still found nothing, and then he called other engineers for questioning. Behold "Engineer Israel opened his mouth and told the boss how he saw the sachet of green tea in my handbag and how I told him that my husband loves it a lot and I will prepare this for him while him the boss should replace it because he is swimming in money". He painted the whole lie to look like the truth, and to my greatest surprise, the boss kept asking me to tell him the truth. I denied it because I didn't do it. It never crossed my mind; in fact, my husband does not even like green tea. Why is Israel lying against me? I became speechless, and tears rolled down my face🥲. The visitor, too, was just looking at me like a hungry woman; my boss said he was disappointed by me.
It happened on a Friday, and when I got home, I kept crying and calling Israel to please tell the truth, but Israel wouldn't pick up my calls. I explained everything to my husband, and he was like, "Don't you have a camera again in your office? I screamed!!! And immediately remembered the day I left Israel and others in the office. At this point, I was eagerly waiting for Monday to arrive so I could replay the camera. Sincerely, I lost my appetite during that weekend. Monday came, and the first thing I did when I reached the office was to replay the camera. Lo and behold, the truth was glaring at me. My boss came in around noon. I greeted him, and after 20 minutes, when he must have relaxed, I played the camera to him. He was shocked by the fabricated lies against me by Israel. He queried him on why the action was taken, and he said it's because I wouldn't mind my business but always caution him not to misuse the Milo and milk. Hmmm, my boss was pissed off and gave him a termination letter immediately. He also apologized to me for accusing me wrongly. It was a bitter experience I wouldn't want to encounter again.
This post was inspired by the #hivelearners community contest on the topic titled, The Accused
