Shades of Deception

Kamani has not been in a serious relationship with the opposite sex for several years. Burned so many times and almost giving up on finding true love and romance, she questioned if Mr. Right would ever come her way. Most of her female friends were happily married, and those who were not were forever complaining how hard it was to find eligible bachelors.

Always feeling out of place at functions where there were mostly couples and never believing she had much in common with her married associates, she often envied them, because their lives and conversations perpetually centered on their husbands and children. For her, it was like looking at their existence through a window or having a minor role in a popular soap opera.

At age twenty-two, Kamani obtained a BA Degree in Graphic Arts Design and went on to complete her Master's Degree in Business Administration from a well-known university in New York City.

She went back to California and got a job at a firm that designed and printed posters for large media outlets. After working at the company for over fifteen years, she left to start her own business.

Because of her on-the-job experiences and contacts, she decided to start a design and printing service out of her home; she inherited the house from her parents. She would design and print greeting cards, posters, flyers, catalogs, and brochures for small cottage industries, churches, and non-profit organizations in the Oakland community. Since her major was in business, setting up the company was a breeze.

It took about two years for the business to get off the ground. Many of her clients came through word of mouth and from advertisements placed in community newspapers.

In its third year of operation, the business generated over two hundred thousand dollars in sales. She expected revenues to double in two years. With all of her accomplishments, she was still lonely.

Finding a suitable man was like searching for a needle in a haystack.

She was not into the club or bar scene, and finding someone in church was not cutting it; most of the single male members were as old as Methuselah or had more health-related problems than one could count. This is not to say she was hard to please, but most of the men she encountered in the past were married, gay, or bisexual, and the men she did date were either afraid to commit or just wanted to be friends with benefits.

This is not what she wanted out of life; she was searching for a man who shared the same interests and values as she did. He did not have to be rich but had to be financially sound. Living with a man without the benefit of marriage was not an option for her.