Writing for Fun
March 2017
More Than My Job's Worth - Anna Browning
‘Please, Jo, you’ve got to help me. I need this money desperately. If you don’t I will lose everything. They will kill me,’ Mary screamed in desperation. I looked at her white gaunt face, her eyes pleading with me. I sighed with resignation, wondering where I could find the kind of money she was asking for. I would do anything to help my sister, but she was asking the impossible. I had a suspicion she had got herself into trouble, but hadn’t been sure what the problem was.
Today I had come home earlier than usual and found Mary injecting herself with heroin. Apparently she had been borrowing money from an unsavoury money-lender who monopolised our block of flats, leaching from the poor, desperate people who lived there. I was unaware as to why she was borrowing money; I was in shock. How had I been too busy to notice how she had changed? Her hair was limp and straggly. Her face was ravaged with fear and worry, and her body was undernourished. How could I have missed these obvious signs? But I had been too busy immersed in my own problems at work to notice her decline. I racked my br
‘How could you do this to yourself Mary? Why? There is no one I can ask for money, because no one has any. I haven’t got any savings. Any spare cash I have goes towards the bills and the rent. You know that.’ I walked up and down our tiny living room wringing my hands. I felt sick with the enormity of what had happened. I stormed out slamming the door behind me in anger. I lay on my bed and closed my eyes. The only thing I could think of was fraud, be it only temporary. I could transfer the funds from one of the business client’s account into my own account for a short while, hoping the auditors would not notice. Then I would transfer it back in stages when my salary was paid in, before they could find out.
The following morning Mary was in the kitchen trying to make breakfast, with little success. Her hands were shaking and fumbling trying to butter the toast. She turned to me saying, ‘I was at a difficult time in my life Jo, I didn’t want to burden you. Mark had left me and I found out shortly afterwards that I was pregnant. I did not want a baby dragging me down so I had an abortion. But I did not realise it would be so expensive. That is why I went to that hateful money lender. I thought I could clear the debt quickly and get on with my life. But then I lost my job and everything just deteriorated. I was so depressed I turned to drugs. Now I have made everything worse. I’m so sorry Jo. I have been so stupid, I could kill myself.’
‘Don’t say that, Mary, please. I will try and help you. I thought it over last night and decided to borrow the money from work and pay it back before anyone discovers it’s missing.’
‘You can’t jeopardise your job,’ cried Mary, ‘if you are found out, we will both lose everything. This will be more than your job’s worth. Please think again, there must be something or someone we can turn to.’
I looked into her eyes and said, ‘You are my sister I cannot leave you to face this problem alone. I only wish you could have told me before you turned to drugs.’
I arrived at work the next day feeling sad and low. There was no alternative. Mary was my only family, this problem had to be faced, the sooner the better. ‘Good morning, Tom,’ I called out to my fellow colleague. He was a kind man, married with a disabled daughter. I sat down at my desk, getting down to work straight away. We had our targets to reach as quickly as possible and with our bosses breathing down our necks, there was never any time to banter. The silence in the office felt oppressive. I could feel the sweat sliding down the back of my neck. I glanced around the office to check but there was no one around who could pose a threat. The bosses were at another meeting. There was just Tom staring at his computer screen.
I brought up one of our largest client’s accounts and transferred the required amount into my account. There, it was done. I would get paid tomorrow and transfer some of the funds back without anyone being the wiser. I withdrew the cash from the nearest automated cash machine and went to pay the moneylender. He stared at the money counting each note carefully to make sure it was all there, including the interest. ‘Don’t worry the money is all there’ I said angrily.
He laughed back sarcastically. ‘She’ll be back’.
‘Over my dead body,’ I retorted. I walked away to find the drug dealer next and pay him back his blood money. I returned home to find Mary curled up in a tiny ball on her bed. I told her what I had done. She rushed over and wrapped her arms around me, crying softly. ‘Oh, Jo, what would I have done without you. You are my angel of mercy. I promise you I will never do anything like this again without telling you. Thank you.’ I stared horrified at the screen. Where was my salary? It should be there in my account, but it wasn’t. Oh no, what am I going to do. I picked up my phone and dialled human resources. I asked Jill the salary clerk what had happened. She told me there had been a glitch in the system overnight, but the problem would be rectified as soon as possible. My skin felt clammy as I stuttered my thanks. I put the phone down and placed my face in my hands, whimpering to myself.
‘What’s the matter, Jo? Can I help?’ asked Tom, his kindly face peering down at me.
‘No, no, it’s nothing. I just noticed my salary hasn’t been credited to my account yet and I had needed it to pay some urgent bills.’ I replied.
‘Yes I have also been affected. There is nothing we can do but wait.’ I nodded miserably in agreement, ‘Look Jo if you are that desperate I can lend you some money to tide you over until we get our wages.’
‘No, that’s okay, Tom,’ I responded. ‘The amount would be a lot more than I could comfortably ask you for.’
‘I’m sure I could help you out, Jo,’ said Tom.
‘The amount is £850,’ Jo said quietly, her eyes resting on his face hopefully.
Tom hesitated for a moment, then said, ‘Yes, no problem, I can lend you that. I will do it now for you. Give me your account details and I will credit the amount immediately. In the meantime I am sure we won’t have to wait too long to receive our wages.’
Jo couldn’t believe her ears. Thank God for angels of mercy. She checked her account and saw the transaction immediately. She then transferred it back into the client’s account. My wages were now back in my account. I withdrew the cash and paid Tom back, thanking him for his kindness. I bought him a bottle of good wine as a thank you gesture. My next step was to book Mary into a rehabilitation clinic to make sure she was cured of her addiction. I would be behind with my rent and bills for a while until all the money had been paid back, hopefully without anyone noticing the discrepancy.
I had acted dishonestly but the sacrifice was necessary to save my sister. I vowed I would always try and not ignore important signs around me affecting my family and eventually myself. I felt immense gratitude to good Samaritans everywhere. They made up for the evil lurking in the shadows waiting to pounce.