Paul was gone. Suddenly, I had to manage my company on my own and liaise with my clients. I was ill-prepared and terrified! I was also, suddenly, a single mother. Caleb stopped sleeping. We had never bonded, so he didn't want me; he wanted his father. He refused to sleep, and after finally succumbing to exhaustion, he would wake up screaming every morning around 3 a.m. Eventually, with the help of a child psychologist, we bonded. She diagnosed him with ADHD and separation anxiety. Trying to balance motherhood and work, I was completely exhausted.
Then, a competitor called me pretending to be a potential client to "spy" on my services and prices. However, due to my affordable hosting packages, they transferred all their clients to my hosting service. I arranged a meeting with them and suggested that our companies merge: they could handle contract procurement and customer relations, and I could focus on the projects. So, we merged.
The union did not last long, and things did not go as planned.
All of the company funds were spent on setting up and furnishing a new office. Because of this, I received no salary and couldn't even afford diapers. Then, unknown companies began phoning me, demanding payment for overdue accounts tied to another company with which I had no affiliation. The office building management also called, demanding payment for outstanding rent, which I had believed was already paid.
I asked everyone why they were contacting me, and I learned that my partner had told everyone I was the "finance girl" - even for his other company, which I had no connection to - even though I had no access to any finances. When I confronted him, he assured me that the rent was paid and admitted he had referred his other company’s creditors to me to buy himself some time. I told my father that I was in trouble. He asked me what I planned to do. I just said, "I don’t know, but I got myself into this mess, and I’ll get myself out too."
A while later, the office building manager called me in. She didn’t know me, but she knew my younger brother and reasoned that if I was anything like him, there might be a snake in the grass. She informed me that the company would be pursued for breach of contract and unpaid rent - which my partner blamed on my negligence. Since I had co-signed the lease, I would also be held responsible. However, she offered a way out: if I brought proof that I had resigned from the company, she would release me from the lease agreement.
I resigned, agreeing to finish the backend programming for a real estate project I had been working on - without compensation. I gave the building manager the proof of my resignation, and she released me from the lease agreement. The building management then pursued the company for breach of contract and unpaid rent.
I lost everything. I had no clients, no resources, and no income.
One day, I went to the beach to pray, and my inner voice asked: "What do you want to do?"
I answered that I wanted to study, travel, go into tourism, do web development and hosting, learn marketing, and learn how to work with clients. And, I wanted to combine all of it into a single career.
A few days later, I got a call...