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 and invest 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.