Chapter 1―Joshua

I rolled out of bed around one in the afternoon, splashed some cold water on my face, pulled on my swim trunks, and made my way out the door. When I got to the resort, I hung back until I found a group of college-age guys heading toward the pool and fell in line with them until I got past the gate. Then I picked an open chair and flopped down. Another day on the job.

“Can I get you something to drink, sir?” a beautiful waitress asked, casting a shadow over me.

“Oh,” I said sweetly, “I don’t know if I should. You see, my wife is still up in the room, and she wouldn’t be too pleased if she noticed a bunch of charges on our bill. I’d better not.”

“Get him a drink,” the hefty middle-aged woman next to me called after her. “You can put that on room 917’s tab.”

“That’s so kind,” I said, “but I couldn’t possibly let you buy me a drink.”

“When you look like that,” the woman said, looking me up and down, “you should get whatever you want. You look like a young David Beckham.”

“I get that a lot. Well, in that case,” I said to the waitress, batting my eyelashes, “I guess I could go for a daiquiri.”

“Certainly,” she said, scurrying away. She returned minutes later with a tall glass of the slushy drink. It was just what I needed to cool me down on this hot Las Vegas afternoon.

“Cheers, ladies,” I said, raising my drink.

“There’s more where that came from.” Her friend giggled.

I slipped my sunglasses on and surveyed the scene. According to Ben, my work partner, the girl would be around the pool with her friends at that time. All I had to do was get my foot in the door, and then I’d be in.

When I spotted the girl from the photos, Amanda, lounging with her friends, I polished off my drink and headed to the bar.

“Could I get a bottle of champagne and four glasses?” I asked. “I’m in room 917.”

I recalled the exact way the woman had signed her bill and replicated the squiggle. It passed. I grabbed the chilled bottle and stemware and made my move.

“Hello, ladies,” I said to the four sunbathing women. “I heard that you’re celebrating a special event, and I thought you could use a bottle of champagne on me.”

“How did you know that?” the sunburned blonde asked skeptically.

“She told me last night,” I said, pointing at the lanky brunette.

“If I did, I guess I don’t remember it. That doesn’t surprise me, though.” Amanda giggled.

“What’s your name?” the blonde asked.

“Joshua,” I said, flashing my signature pearly whites. “My friends call me Josh.”

“Where are you from?” she asked. “Is that a British accent I’m hearing?”

“Yeah,” I said coyly. “I’m originally from Manchester, but I’m working in London at the moment. I’m here with a few mates on holiday, but they can’t handle the sun, so I’ve been out by the pool while they’ve been hiding out in the dark casino.”

The four of them smiled. American girls love British accents. It would break their hearts if they found out that I was born and raised in rural Georgia.

“So, what are you lovely ladies doing tonight?” I asked.

“We’re only here for another night,” the brunette said, checking out the bottle. “I think the plan is to lose the rest of our money at the casinos.”

“Then I’ll be seeing you around,” I said, locking eyes with the girl whom I had studied with Ben. I gave her a wink. She blushed under her giant sunglasses.

“Yes, tell your friends to meet up with us. We’ll be at the blackjack table all night,” the blonde said, uncorking the bottle. “Thank you so much for the champagne. This bachelorette party just keeps getting better.”

“It’s my pleasure. See you soon.”

As I walked away, I could hear their giggling and whispers. From my experience, they would be waiting for my arrival all night. As I went back to the house, I laughed at how easy this would be. I knew Amanda was rich, but I wouldn’t be surprised if the other girls had some money to spare as well.

I had mastered the game. I found a target and went for it. The best targets were girls in their twenties who didn’t always get the attention from men that they wanted. Girls always came to Vegas in groups, so I had to pick the wounded antelope in the back of the pack.

Amanda was a prime example of this rule. She was pretty, but she was overshadowed by her friends. They were tall, skinny, and wore skimpy outfits. Come club time, men would flock around them, leaving little room for me. Amanda was short, a bit chubby, and dressed more modestly. She looked like she would be a tough nut to crack. I couldn’t wait to try.

For the most part, picking up women was simple. My good looks and fake accent helped, but just a little common sense with women helped me seal the deal every time. I had to be kind, friendly, and not too aggressive. No girl wants to invite a creep up into her hotel room. I had to play it cool.

First, there was Stephanie Janowitz. She was a college girl on spring break, looking to make it big with her stupid viral videos. This girl had way too much time and money on her hands. Ben spotted her pouring money into the slot machines and hooked me up.

I chatted her up, seduced her at the bar, and she took me back to her room. After we had mediocre sex, I took advantage of her insecurities and told her how attractive she was. I mean, she wasn’t great looking, but I sensed she had a real need to be told she was beautiful. Then, I told her about how I came to Las Vegas to look for my missing mother, but I didn’t have enough money to hire the private investigator I needed to get her home safe.

Stephanie, drunk and infatuated with me, said that I could borrow some money from her parents’ bank account until a few paychecks cleared. I thanked her profusely and promised that I’d pay her back immediately.

I also promised that I’d join her for lunch before she went home. Those were two promises I had no intention of keeping. I took the $1,000 she withdrew from the account and never turned back.

Then there was Jasmine. I don’t even remember her last name. She was a little older and a complete train wreck. Our friend Reese’s girlfriend, Abi, scoped her out. While working at the strip club, she saw Jasmine tossing money around like it was nothing. We liked those girls—the ones who’d hardly notice that anything was missing.

This job was one of my more enjoyable ones. Jasmine was a freak in the sheets, and I was glad I was around to participate. Over a few cocktails, Jasmine proceeded to tell me about her failing relationship with her husband. They were both big-time investment bankers who worked together.

Her story was that she was in Vegas on a girls’ weekend to get some time away from him to think about their relationship. She seemed to think that a little vacation from him would make things work between them again. You see, if she left the marriage, she would have to leave her job.

It took all of one minute of light kissing to get her back in her room. My wrist had bruises the next day from her dragging me up there. She totally rocked my world in the sack, and I rocked hers when I showed her the video that I had recorded of the entire act. I threatened to send the video to her husband and her employer if she didn’t fork over $5,000.

That kind of money was chump change to a girl like her, so I got the cash and split. Ben, Reese, and I made our living this way, and while it wasn’t necessarily the life that I had wanted for myself, it paid the bills. And if Ben was happy, then we were all happy.

There were tons of smaller jobs in between. Sometimes, we just had to distract a girl long enough to grab a handful of chips at the casino or slide a few bills out of a purse. Other times, we let newly divorced women treat us to a night of casino food and drinks. Every little thing helped.

“Did you get it done?” Ben asked anxiously when I got back to our house.

I grabbed a questionably clean glass from the counter and filled it with water from the tap. “Yep, I’ll meet up with them later tonight at the casino.”

“Did Amanda seem like she was into you?”

“I think so. I think her friends were vibing me, too. They said they wanted to meet my friends. Do you want to come out with me? I bet we could get Reese to come, too.”

“Not if you did the accent. You know I’m not good with accents. I’m the brains of the operation. You’re the one who makes things happen.”

I bit my tongue at this comment. I had witnessed too many moments where Ben was short in the brains department.

“Speaking of which,” he continued, “I think it’s time for the big one.”

“I don’t like the sound of that,” I said, searching the cupboards for food. “I thought we agreed on a thousand, five thousand, tops.”

“I think she’s got a little more than that on hand,” he said. “All I’m saying is, this could be our biggest job yet, in terms of money and the size of the woman.”

I sniggered. “That’s fucked up, man. She’s pretty cute. If she takes me back to her room, I don’t think I would say no.”

“Well, that’s up to your discretion, as always,” Ben said, putting on his sunglasses.

“Where are you going?”

“I need to have a word with my bookie,” he said casually. “The old man is losing his marbles, and I need to sort things out with him.”

“Please don’t tell me you’re in some sort of trouble again,” I groaned. If Ben lost our shared income, then Reese and I were expected to make it up.

“Nothing like that,” he assured me. “With any luck, I won’t see you until tomorrow morning with a stack of cash in hand. Call me if you need any help.”

“Will do,” I said, watching him walk out the door and get into his gray SUV in the driveway.

One day, I knew I would get tired of this life. This wasn’t the day, though.

It wasn’t like I really felt bad for what we did to people. On the surface, I knew that lying and stealing was wrong, but to these people, it hardly mattered. They all had more money than they knew what to do with. I reasoned that if they were just going to throw thousands away at the casino, then it wasn’t a big deal if I intercepted some of it.

Besides, if I ever felt a sliver of guilt, it went away once I listened to their stories. These women were all as morally deficient as I was in one way or another, so we were hardly stealing money from charities. Sometimes, I even fondled women whose boyfriends and husbands were sleeping in the next room. I felt little remorse.

I managed to find a few handfuls of stale chips and some instant noodles in the cupboard. I hoped that the night’s escapades would somehow involve food that I didn’t have to pay for.

Ben ran a pretty tight ship around here, as far as spending was concerned. As the self-elected leader of our crew, he took on the role of treasurer. All money collected from our jobs was given to him to pay for the house and shared things like utilities and food. Whatever was left was divided between Ben, Reese, and me. It didn’t always seem fair, especially when I was pulling in the most money, but that was the way it went. There was no use arguing.

I showered and changed into a pair of slacks and a button-down shirt. I wanted to look the part of a banker from London. I had learned that it was best to dress like I had a bit of money already. It made me seem a little more trustworthy.

I walked around the casino for a bit until I found the girls huddled together at the bar. It was only seven, but the girls were already rather drunk.

“It’s Josh!” the bride-to-be exclaimed. “Did you bring your friends?”

“Sadly, no,” I reported. “They decided to go to a strip club.”

“And you didn’t want to go with them?”

“Not really my style,” I said. “They might show up later. What have you all been up to?”

“Just having a few drinks to get the night started,” Amanda said. “Tanya’s already well on her way.” She giggled at her blonde friend.

“When you get married,” Tanya said, “you can get as drunk as you want to.”

“Does anyone fancy getting dinner?” I asked. “I don’t know about you, but I hate to drink on an empty stomach.”

“Oh, we’re all right,” Tanya said, “but maybe Amanda should go. She hasn’t had dinner yet.”

The girls had clearly discussed the possibility of Amanda hooking up with me because they were all giggling and nudging her toward me. She looked embarrassed.

“Go on, Amanda,” they said. “Live a little.”

“Ok, fine.” She grinned. “Where shall we go, since my friends are so eager to ditch me?”

“There’s a nice-looking restaurant by the casino,” I said. “We can go for a quick bite, and then I’ll return you to your friends.”

“Behave,” she ordered the giggling girls before turning to follow me to the restaurant.

I took her down to this place that I had been before with another girl. It was pretty fancy, and I knew that she would love it.

“This looks nice,” she noted.

“Is it too much?” I asked. “We can always go to the buffet if you want.”

“No.” She smiled. “This is perfect.”

This is where the high rollers dined. The place was lit almost entirely by candlelight from the little tea lights on each table. It was very romantic for a first date.

I suggested we order a bottle of wine for the table, so she chose a middle-of-the-line Pinot Grigio. I ordered the lobster tail and she got filet mignon. I brought some cash with me, but I really hoped she’d end up picking up the tab.

“So your friend is getting married?” I asked, trying to make conversation.

“Yeah, Tanya. I’ve known her since we were kids. Our parents are friends.”

“Where are you from?”

“Texas,” she said, her southern drawl a dead giveaway.

“I’ve been to Texas,” I said. “It was a few years back. It was very hot, with lots of good food. There’s a lot of oil in that area, right?”

Her eyes lit up. “Yeah, my family actually works in oil.”

“Is that what you do?” I asked. “Work in the oil business?”

“My dad has me help him out with his wells from time to time,” she said, blushing. “Actually, I was looking to move away from home. Start a new career.”

“Doing what?”

“I actually went to school for fashion design and merchandising. I would love to own a store one day and maybe do some designing.”

“That’s cool,” I said. To be honest, I figured she’d tell me that she would live life as a socialite for the rest of her life.

“And what about you?” she asked. “What’s your story?’

I gave her my rehearsed story that I told any stranger. I told her about my very average life as a banker in London. I used so few details that no one could possibly refute my story. When people got caught in lies, it was because they improvised too many minute details. I had a system.

We talked for a little while longer as I made sure to keep her glass full at all times. We ended up getting dessert, just to make our time together stretch a bit longer. Amanda was a lot smarter than I gave her credit for. She was sweet, funny, and cool to talk to. I kept forgetting that I was there to do a job, not to get her to like me.

Luckily, she ended up paying for the meal, even after I pretended to insist that I pay.

“So,” I said. “Should we go find your friends?”

The job must have been wearing me down, because I didn’t want to take anything from her. We came from completely different backgrounds, but we shared a lot of similarities. We both had a love for adventure and the need to branch out from where we grew up and make something of ourselves.

“We could,” she said slowly, “or, we could go up to my room before the others get back.”

I couldn’t help but grin a wide, genuine grin. The wine must have gone to my head because the thought of getting under the covers with Amanda was extremely enticing.