Seduction and Love in Cyberspace

Nia felt her life was as mundane as an inanimate object. Yet, lifeless items can be functional and add beauty to any environment. She looked at life differently from the rest of the world.
Never mind, she held a high paying position as a stockbroker at one of the most prestigious brokerage firms in New York City, was making a six figure income, and owned a condominium in an upscale neighborhood that was quickly becoming the place to be for the up and coming who’s who in America.
She had a growing list of wealthy clients who were looking to invest their money to make more, and this was her forte, making the rich richer.
At age 28, she was one of the top stockbrokers at her company, earned high commissions and huge bonuses.
She had a supportive family, a large circle of friends and associates, entertained often and dated on a regular basis.
Yet, most of the men she met were either conservative or egotistical. For some reason, she was attracting men who did not add any excitement to her life.
No matter how much education, money or status the men possessed, she found these guys to be as dull as she was and sensed that something was definitely missing in her life, and it was time for her to do a complete change.
Many of Nia’s acquaintances would discuss how they found their ideal love on the Internet.
She held the firm belief that going on the World Wide Web to find a mate was a sign of desperation, but thought if her associates were using this type of venue to find romance, then maybe this could be something worth checking.
So one night, against her better judgment, she went on-line to browse through some of the more popular dating sites. One particular service caught her eye. Since joining was free, she had nothing to lose; she registered and then became a premium member.
She carefully scripted her profile and submitted it along with her photo.
Since Nia was not one to sit back and wait for others to contact her, she started to surf the site for single men. Some of the profiles did not impress her. She felt that many of the men were not forthcoming in their description, income, status or relationship wishes.
After several weeks of searching, she was about to give up, when suddenly one particular profile captured her attention.
What attracted her to this personal ad was that the man was strikingly handsome and came across as a sophisticated individual.
His name was Toto.
He described himself as a never married, childless and God-fearing middle-aged man of means who was searching for the ideal woman with whom he could share his love and possessions. He was tall, muscular, physically fit, did not smoke, or drink, and was drug and disease-free. He owned an import-export business, came from a family of landowners and was seeking a woman who was financially independent and who wanted to have children in the near future.
The fact that he lived in Gabon might have been a drawback, but he enchanted her. All she saw was a good-looking man who measured up to her standards.
She contacted him promptly, and for the next several months, they were e-mailing each other.
As a stockbroker, Nia’s job was to help individual investors and large institutions increase their net worth. She wanted to do the same for Toto, by investing his money into international stocks, bonds, commodities and mutual funds.
Toto believed that he had found his love companion and business partner for life, too. Her financial expertise left a lasting impression on him, and he was ready to settle down.
He proposed to her by e-mail and invited her to come to Gabon to be with him, even though the two never met in person. Their communication was through e-mail, and snail mail. Eventually, they talked on the telephone, but every time he called, he would reverse the charges.
All the same, she accepted his marriage proposal and was happy as a cat that just snagged a mouse, because together, they would be a wealthy and an influential couple.
Now that her life was in full swing, Nia told everyone that she had finally met her better half in cyberspace and intended to marry him. For the next twelve months, she was planning to relocate to Gabon.
She quit her job, rolled over the money from her 401(k) plan into an IRA account, sold her condominium and placed all of her furnishings in storage, until she was ready to send for them. She then moved all of her money into Toto’s personal bank account.
People who knew her were bewildered to hear such news. Many started to wonder if she had completely lost her mind. Why would anyone, who had so much going for herself, take such drastic steps and put her career and finances in jeopardy?
Not born with a silver spoon in her mouth, she had to work hard to get where she was today, and to have thrown it all away did not make any sense, but it was logical to Nia, because all of her dreams had finally come true, but her visions were about to become her worst nightmare.

It took another six months for Nia to get all of her business in order. She was now set to leave the United States and take that long awaited trip to meet and marry her prince.
She allowed herself enough money to get by on, until she got to the city of Libreville, the capital of Gabon.
At the end of the year, she booked a flight for a Friday morning departure from JFK International Airport and arrived in Libreville late that evening.
At the airport, Toto was anxiously waiting. When Nia first saw him, his physique surprised her. Instead of being tall and muscular, he was short and stocky, but his size was no longer an issue. All she cared about was meeting her prospective husband. The fact that he owned land and had money made him look first-rate in her eyes.
They embraced as though they had not seen each other in years.
He asked her how the flight went, and she responded, “It was a pleasant and long awaited journey.” Toto replied, “I am delighted to meet you.”
Nia was beautiful, tall and voluptuous and always wore her hair in tiny braids. She was a natural beauty, and her fashion style was always classic chic. She could have been a high fashion or a cover-girl model.
As far as Toto was concerned, she was just what the doctor ordered.
The two left the airport in a taxi and arrived at Toto’s residence in less than ten minutes. He lived in a small room, which hardly had any furnishings. The place had a bed, table, two chairs, a refrigerator and a stove.
The village, in which he resided, was such a contrast to where Nia had lived in New York. She started to wonder why an affluent person would live such a penny-pinching existence but rationalized that many wealthy people do live below their means; this is why they have money.
As Nia looked around the room, she asked Toto why he lived in a space with just the bare necessities. He told her that his business had failed, and he had to sell all of his assets to pay off bad debts, which had accumulated over the past two years. Currently, he could only afford a one-room dwelling.
At that moment, she asked about the land his parents owned.
“You could have used it as collateral or sold some of the land to pay down your debts,” she stressed with a stunned look.
He said his uncle owned the land and not his parents. The family had been feuding for years regarding the true ownership of the acreage.
His uncle’s father was the original owner, but when the father passed away, there were no provisions made as to which family member would take over the estate.
Therefore, the uncle made a claim as the true owner.
She then asked him about her money.
He said, “My beloved Nia, I took the liberty of using the money you sent to pay off all of my debts. I am sorry to say that I am broke, with no means of paying you back right now.”
At that moment, she stopped listening to him. Her head started to spin like a steering wheel out of control.
After getting over that initial shock, Nia realized that a smooth operator had taken her for a ride. The money, which she worked so hard for was gone. If she thought her life was boring before she met Toto, Nia was in for a rude awakening, because she was now broke, and to make a bad situation worse, he still wanted to marry her.
He believed that with her help, he could restart his business and make up for the money lost and said, “My family will help us get back on our feet.”
As Nia started to evaluate her circumstances, she knew there was no future with Toto. She did not want to stay with him any longer. What would be the point? Both of them were insolvent. She had no money to take care of herself, much less take care of two people.
The cost of buying a one-way ticket back to the United States cost more than she could afford. She had no home to go back to, because she sold her condominium. All the same, she was fortunate in one way: She had family and friends who would be there for her and decided it was time to leave his place.
She checked into an inexpensive motel, called her parents, explained her state of affairs and asked to have money for a plane ticket wired to her.
Two days later, she left Gabon.
On the flight back to New York, Nia pondered how a man she hardly knew and never even met could have tricked her so easily. In retrospect, she started to ask herself why she did not recognize the hidden codes, which forewarned her that Toto was not forthcoming about himself.
So many questions and thoughts were racing through her head: “When Toto described himself as a man of means, what exactly did he mean? Why did Toto always reverse the charges when he called me? Why did he not make an effort to come to the United States to meet me? When Toto asked me to marry him and invited me to come to Gabon, why did he not send me money for a plane ticket?”
She knew it was pointless to ask these questions now. It was like putting the carriage in front of the horse.
Nia came to terms with the poor choices she made in the name of love and learned a very valuable lesson.
As the plane landed at JFK International Airport, she started to recognize that her life was not as boring as she imagined. The road she traveled, to search for love and to add more excitement to her so-called uninspiring life was a prelude to an elaborate deception carried out by Toto, with Nia being the injured party.
Only time will tell if she will be able to pick up the pieces, after a man, whom she fell in love with and trusted so deeply, misled her.

After getting off the plane, Nia retrieved her luggage. Waiting at the arrival gate were her parents. She hugged them, and the three drove off to her parents’ home. She did not have the strength to carry on a conversation with them; she was quiet and too embarrassed to discuss what had taken place overseas. There would be plenty of time for that conversation. Now, Nia had more time than she had money.
Her mother inquired as to how her flight went; she answered, “It was okay.” Her father, who was never at a loss for words, was silent throughout the ride.
It seemed as though it took forever for the family to arrive home. The trip from the airport usually took about fifteen minutes. Nia thanked her parents for being there. Her mother had prepared her daughter’s bedroom.
Exhausted from the long flight, Nia decided to take a shower, then went straight to bed and relentlessly thought about Toto’s dishonesty.
The replay of those events kept rotating in her head until she finally fell asleep.
It was morning, and Nia heard a knock at her bedroom door. It was her mother asking if she wanted to come down for breakfast, but she knew what her parents really wanted to do; they wanted to discuss what occurred in Gabon. Since she never really went into any details about Toto, she was perplexed as to what she was going to say to them.
All her parents knew was that their daughter had met a rich businessperson who lived in a foreign country, and she was going to marry him.
Nia was very close to her parents who worked hard to obtain the American dream. Her mother was a dressmaker and worked from home, and her father was a bookkeeper at a department store. On the side, he prepared income taxes. He was a frugal person and was not one to waste money on frivolous things. Every penny he earned went into a bank account.
When he accumulated enough money, he purchased a home for his family and sent both of his children to college. Nia majored in finance and her brother in biochemistry.
The son was a scientist at a pharmaceutical company and resided in Colorado with his wife and four children.
Nia’s father was very proud of his adult children, because he saw a little bit of himself in them. He always taught them the value of a dollar, stressed that money did not grow on trees, and if managed wisely, one could be self-sufficient and live a comfortable existence.
His motto was, “A person should live below his or her means, and always save for a rainy day.”
Therefore, when his daughter sent all of her money to Gabon, and subsequently lost it all, he was shocked and started to wonder if his daughter was under some kind of hypnotic spell while she was communicating with this man.
“Perhaps Toto was sprinkling goofa dust on the letters that he was sending to her,” thought her father.
The aroma from the bacon and eggs, waffles and coffee was so tempting that Nia could not resist joining her parents for breakfast. Inhaling a mouthful of fresh air before going downstairs, she was not looking forward to facing her parents. She figured now would be a good time to explain what happened but would leave out most of the facts.
As she sat down at the table, she started to tell her parents what had taken place but never told them that Toto had used all of her money to pay off his debts.
She said, “Toto and I had invested all of our money into a business venture, which was a sure winner, but the deal fell through when one of the investors had disappeared with all of the money.”
She just could not bring herself to tell them that her fiancé was the culprit.
Her father, being a perceptive man, did not buy her story. His daughter was a bright money manager. She would have never put all of her eggs into one basket.
Her mother just sat there in amazement and did not know what to think or say.
Nevertheless, her parents decided not to push the subject any further and concluded that if their daughter wanted them to know more, she would have told them.
After breakfast, Nia went back to her bedroom and contemplated her next move. She knew staying with her mom and dad was not an option, because having her own space was an indication of being independent.
Without delay, Nia contacted some of her business associates and friends. Because of her excellent negotiating skills, she would have no problems finding a job.

In no time, she got a position as a financial consultant at a bank in mid-town Manhattan. The starting salary was $65,000.00. For her, it was like starting all over.
The company did offer good benefits, which included complete health care coverage, a pension plan, bonuses, paid holidays, sick leave, paid personal days, and two weeks paid vacation after one year of employment.
She would work in the Mutual Funds Division. Her job was to get customers with large accounts to invest their money into these funds.
In her new job, Nia was right at home. Her reputation was well known. Everyone at the bank knew of her achievements at the brokerage firm, but asked why she left such a lucrative position to come work for a bank.
She would just say, “The mounting pressures of working for a large investment institution were just too much. I needed more balance in my life and decided to leave the company, do some traveling and find a position that was less demanding.”
That was it. She learned not to broadcast all of personal business to her co-workers.

It was now the first anniversary of Nia’s employment. She accrued quite a bit of money and decided it was time to look for a place of her own. She found an affordable one-bedroom apartment not too far from work, signed a two-year lease and moved in.
Bit by bit, she added furniture, decorative ornaments and works of art to make the place more relaxing and welcoming.
Between working at the bank and decorating the apartment, Nia was busy and had very little time to date or entertain. She often thought about Toto and wondered if he was back to posting his profile on the dating site.
She decided it was time to get back into the dating scene and went on-line to check out some sites but was determined not to make the same mistakes as she did with Toto.
If she did meet someone on the Internet, she would not jump into a relationship so hastily.
Nia joined another dating service and uploaded her profile and photo. This time, she was going to wait and let the person of interest contact her.
Several days later, she received an e-mail with an attached photo from a man living in Dallas, Texas.
His message was very enchanting.
He was a 36-year-old physically fit single male who was seeking a motivated, smart, and independent single woman for a relationship leading to marriage. He operated a real estate investment company, owned his own home and traveled often. He received his MBA Degree from an esteemed university in Boston, dabbled in on-line trading, and made some money buying and selling stocks. He was impressed with her profile and striking beauty.
Because he felt they both had so much in common, he wanted to form an on-line friendship and eventually meet her in person.
His name was Dan.
After reading Dan’s e-mail, Nia thought long and hard before answering him. She did not want to come over as being anxious and made a decision to wait a little longer before contacting him. If he did not respond, then he was just looking for a roll in the hay or simply playing her.
She waited four weeks before answering him.
In no time, Dan contacted her, and for the next several months, they were exchanging e-mails and letters. She admired him, because he did not pressure her into meeting or forming any type of personal connection.
He was all business and talked mostly about his real estate investment company.
He would buy dilapidated houses, renovate and re-sell them and make a nice profit. He sent photos of the refurbished homes to her. The houses were so beautiful that she was thinking of purchasing one as an investment.

After communicating for almost a year, Dan informed Nia that he was coming to New York on business and wanted to meet her. She was more than confident in getting-together with him and mentioned some great hotels and guesthouses where he could stay.
In two weeks, he would arrive in New York.
So excited, she could not wait to see him and believed he was the one.
Dan arrived in New York. He was staying at a hotel, which was not too far from Nia’s apartment.
He called and arranged to meet her for dinner at a restaurant near the hotel.
Changing outfits several times, she felt like a teenager going out on her first date and settled on a red satin off the shoulder dress and a black knit jacket.
Looking in the mirror, she said, “You go girl” and was on her way to meeting her date.
When Nia arrived at the restaurant, she saw Dan. He looked just like his photo. He was tall, dark and handsome and came over as a stylish person. When Dan saw Nia, he got up, hugged her and said how delighted he was to meet her, and that her picture did not do her justice.
“You are more stunning in person,” he said.
She started to blush.
Fascinated by his charming demeanor, she said, “Thank you, Dan.”
Throughout dinner, Dan and Nia talked about their interests and dreams for the future. He was definitely paying attention to her, as she was to him. They appeared to be star struck lovers stranded on an island and trying to determine what to do next.
After dinner, they went back to her place for a nightcap. When they arrived at her residence, he was amazed and said, “Your apartment is lovely.”
She thanked him, and offered him a drink. They continued to talk. With his help, she wanted to buy a house in Texas.
He said, “I would be delighted to help you find a home that would fit into your budget; I have a couple of properties that are ready to go on the market.”
Nia could not take time off from her job, because she had already used up her vacation time. It would be another year before she could travel and did not want to miss a great opportunity since it was a buyer’s market.
He told her that she did not have to come to Texas; he would send her a video of the finished homes. If she were interested in making a bid, he could handle all of the paper work from his end. She would have to put down a ten percent deposit, and he would hold the mortgage for her.
The houses cost anywhere from $300K to $500K. A one family split-level home with two bedrooms and two baths was approximately $300K. She thought the price was right and would utilize the house as a rental property.
Being so overjoyed, she asked him to spend the night. The two engaged in hot and erotic lovemaking for over four hours. It was a night she would never fail to forget.
The next morning, Nia woke up on top of the world. Dan was still asleep. She got up and took a shower. As she was coming out of the bathroom, he had awakened. They greeted each other with a deep tender kiss, and got dressed.
She went to the kitchen and made breakfast. They sat down and talked about the previous night and how awesome it was. He was going to remain in New York for another week.
The two had a whirlwind romance and took in some sightseeing and shopping.
On the last day of Dan’s visit, he went back to the hotel, checked out and returned to Nia’s apartment.
She made up her mind then that he was going to be her significant other.
The two made fiery love until dawn.
It was now time for him to get up and depart for his trip back to Dallas.
As he was leaving, he whispered, “I love you.”
She said, “I am in love with you and want to take our relationship to the next level.”
He left her place and hailed a cab to the airport.
If Nia thought her dreams of love and ecstasy were about to come true, she was in for the biggest revelation of her being.
A week later, he sent her a video and photos of three finished homes. She fell in love with the first house, which was located twenty miles north of Dallas.
She agreed to the ten percent down payment, got a loan from a private lending company and sent a cashier’s check for $30,000.00 to Dan’s Real Estate Investment Company.

A month had gone by, and Nia had not heard from Dan. For the next several days, she e-mailed him, but never got a reply. She called his company but kept getting his voice mail. She thought it was time to go to Texas and was able to take some personal days.
She made flight reservations to leave Friday morning, arrived in Texas that afternoon and took a cab to Dan’s company, which turned out to be a mail drop service.
When she inquired about Dan’s Real Estate Investment Company, the clerk informed her that the company had closed its box, and no forwarding address was on file.
It did not take a rocket scientist to guess what had occurred. She was taken in again and started to wonder, “What was it about me that attracted these underhanded men into my life, and what signals did I release that would cause me to be deceived not once, but twice?”
After Toto’s betrayal, she thought for sure she was more levelheaded and astute to reading people. Filing a complaint against Dan or trying to get her money back was useless. For all she knew, Dan was not his real name.
He was probably in another state or country, under an assumed name, and back on the Internet attempting to defraud another poor soul out of her money.
She was able to get a flight out that evening. On her way back home, she made a mental note to herself, “There will be no more searching for romance on the World Wide Web, and I can do quite badly on my own.”?