Elite Fraud

Chapter 1: Gimme a Ride to Heaven

"Morning, Mr. Roman."

That usually sums up the interaction the man and I have had every morning for the past month. He would drink his coffee with no more requests before paying the bill with a nice tip that equates to a day's wage. So I'm taken aback when he mutters the next words.

"Sit."

My head snaps back to him, wondering if I've misheard, but he merely gestures to the seat in front of him, his silver Rolex reflecting sun light from the window. He's not looking at his phone anymore but gauging my reaction, an amused glint in his eyes. When I don't move, he nods once more to the seat. I take it.

David Roman is a man of power, wealth, and success, his name as rich as his crisp Armani suit. He owns one of the largest medicine manufacturing companies in the north with apartment complexes dotting the whole of the country, from Las Vegas to New York. His son attends one of the most expensive prep private schools in the sub-area.

The family practically bleeds and sweats Benjamin Franklin green notes. But like every other wealthy person, the rich are blackcurrants; polished and perfect on the outside, until you bite into one and taste the lip-puckering sour fruit. It's hard to miss the scandalous headlines he stars in on tabloids every other day. Tax evasion, illegal procedures, dead workers, and other fishy schemes that have gotten him to his position of supremacy today.

Marlowe Lui's father, Jack Lui, is one of said dead workers.

Marli has been my only real friend since freshman year. We bonded over the little things life have had to offer us, and soon enough she became one of the few things that made my high school experience bearable.

Her dad died in our summer of junior year, four months ago. She's been complaining to me about his frequent visits to the factory and his long hours at night. I assured her it was nothing because Marli has always been a worrier. A week later they announced his death a 'terrible accident' in the factory—machinery error. But we knew better.

I watch him now as he takes off his sunglasses, revealing a pair of piercing grey eyes. They contrasted sharply against his dark skin, and I wonder how many filthy acts those eyes witnessed. I don't miss the way they travel from my brown braid to my dirty apron to my beat up thrifted shoes.

My mind runs through all the possible reasons that would make him confront me, and I can't help but wonder if he didn't like the coffee. But that's unlikely. The coffee is the product of the press of a button and a sugar cube, leaving no room for human error. A silly part of me wonders if he will offer me a job at his company, maybe a PA just for making coffee, but I quickly scold myself for the senseless thought. Don't be stupid. It will make no difference where I offer him coffee, whether that be in his office or a café down the street. And the coffee can't be that good.

As if reading my thoughts, he chuckles. The amusement lacing his voice sets my teeth on edge. I don't like to be made a fool. Especially by rich men looking down on me. "Don't worry, you're not in trouble. I just want to have a chat with you," he pauses, pondering over his words. "A simple offer maybe."

Rin rushes to write down an order for a table next to us. She catches my gaze over David's black-haired head. Her eyes question me sitting down to chat but she says nothing, pressing her lips into a grim line. She won't pull me away from her richest customer.

"An offer?" I return my attention to the man in front of me.

Once he realizes he has my undivided attention, he continues straight to the point. "Yes. I know of your. . . Daily struggles to stay above the water. Your mother is a simple cook in a restaurant, your father an unemployed man, and you and your younger brother attend a low-cost public school. You work this job to help pay the bills, sometimes even working double shifts. And your family lives in one of the tenements in Lexington Avenue. Correct me if I'm wrong."