Page 57 of Conning the Billionaire
“Things got complicated last night,” Kylie told them.
Rita said, “Say a number between one and five if somebody is holding a gun to your head and forcing you to call us.”
“Ten! I’m fine. There isn’t a problem.”
Alma asked, “Did you go to Mass this morning? You didn’t have our money from the week. Salvatore Grande is going to be pissed.”
“Don’t worry about The Gecko’s money. I always get it to him. We’ve never had a problem, right?”
The other three women agreed, but Alma said, “So, spill it. I think we need to come rescue you because you’re in the Blond Italian’s cult.”
Kylie continued, “Okay, so, the blond Italian found me again last night. He explained what happened.”
Much groaning and slapping came through the phone as all three eye-rolled.
Rita asked, “Girl, what the hell is your problem? ‘Explained what happened.’ That’s how you take an easy mark again.”
“So, I’m in his hotel suite, and he didn’t try to frame me last night,” Kylie said.
“Talk about the bar being so low that it’s on the ground,” Rita said.
“Look, he’s pulling a really big job, and he said he’d give me half a million dollars to pull it with him,” Kylie told them.
Priyanka said, “Yeah, sure. And I’ll give you a whole million dollars to get the hell out of his hotel room before you end up owing the Tropicana eighty grand, too. You are at the Tropicana, aren’t you?”
“No, we went back to his suite at the Ocean Resort last night.”
More lamenting and slapping.
Alma asked, “You let this guy take you to a second location? What the hell is wrong with you? We never, ever do that. That’s how girls get killed.”
“It wasn’t like that.”
“So, what was it like?” Priyanka asked her. “Was it like this guy seemed too good to be true? Like he offered you an impossible amount of money to do something you knew was wrong? Because that is the very definition of how a con starts. You can only con people who want to do something wrong, who feel like they’re getting away with something, who know they’re breaking the rules. Don’t be the mark, Kylie.”
“I’m not the mark,” Kylie insisted.
Always the most levelheaded, Rita asked, “Then what are you?”
Oh, God. It sounded stupid even as it left Kylie’s mouth. “I’m his accomplice.”
A crescendo of groaning, slapping, and retching sounds emanated from her phone and echoed off the bathroom tile.
Kylie said, “Look, I know it sounds bad, but I trust this guy, at least a little bit, at least enough to see if he actually gives me the money. If he doesn’t give me the up-front money, I’m out of here, I promise.”
“So he hasn’t given you any money yet,” Priyanka said. “Doesn’t that seem like a red flag to you?”
Kylie argued, “He bought me even bigger earrings last night. Right, Priyanka? She saw us in Tiffany and Company again.””
“Yeah, he did that last time,” Priyanka said, “and you ended up paying for them, or at least added to your room charge that the Borgata tried to stick you with.”
“He said the up-front money would be here soon,” Kylie said.
More scoffing from her friends.
Alma said, “That is the oldest line in the book. Did he ask you to lend him some money because he’s going to have a whole bunch soon, either as an inheritance or he’s going to sell a bunch of stock, and then he’ll pay you back with interest?”
“No!” Kylie scream-whispered into her phone.
