Young and Scambitious (A short story)
Page 4
And then he stood outside the hotel and waited.
JANE
Once upon a time, Margaux and Jane's mom hung out in the same crowd. They were on the fringes of the elite circles of Manila society, both of them going by different names, and they managed to live a lavish lifestyle by preying on people who didn't guard their wallets as closely as they should.
The party ended with a scandal, a fall from grace, an overnight exodus.
Jane wondered if this was how her mother felt, that night, when it all fell apart. The past twenty minutes had been spent doing a mental inventory of the things she could leave behind. Her mind mapped the nearest ATMs, how much she could get, and where that would take her, provided this all ended tonight.
The "Princess Midas" superhero name didn't just come to her, conveniently, because she and two other people happened to be talking about it in a lemon-scented car. It was a nickname her mother used to have, a not so subtle wink at the way she made things out of nothing. And if you had even a childhood memory of the Midas story, you would know why Jane's mom was in hiding today. Blessings can also be curses.
Jane only had a view of Margaux's back from her place at the bar, so she didn't know what the hell was happening when Gabriel arrived. Didn't get any alarm signals when he finally shook Margaux's hand as he left. But this couldn't be good.
He was by the driveway of the hotel, just there, when she all but ran out.
"What the hell was that?" she said, forgetting which voice she needed to use, not caring. "Who are you?"
"Gabriel Grande, like I said," he answered.
"The name doesn't mean anything," she hissed.
"It doesn't have to. Look, apparently we're colleagues of some sort. You probably know that this can happen, if you work in a circle long enough."
But she hadn't worked in this "circle" that long. She wasn't going to admit that just yet. "What do you want?"
"A favor. You can help me do my job today."
Unbelievable. He was wasting her precious escape time. "Why should I do anything for you?"
"Jane, you want Caridad to buy that ring, don't you? I helped make that happen for you. She's probably buying it right now."
He turned in the direction of the busy Makati street that they were in front of, and gestured for her to walk with him. She could at least do that, and keep proper pace, because she wasn't wearing Elizabeth Madrid's ridiculously tall shoes. She knew she wouldn't be accidentally flashing anyone either, having left the short skirts and sheer tops.
It was just Jane, tonight. Jeans and shirt Jane.
"Your people are impressive," Gabriel said, a block away from the hotel. "How did you recreate the inclusion?"
Jane paused. "Trade secret. What do you want?"
"We," Gabriel said, carefully emphasizing the word, "want the amount that Caridad Pasensyosa is about to pay for the ring right now. Minus the cost of the copy and a… talent fee for your entire team."
"But we did all the work."
"And you'll all be compensated for your time."
"We don't do this for an hourly salary." You jackass was how that continued in her head, which conflicted so much with the physical memory of him she still carried. It was making her head throb.
"Look, I helped you out here tonight. That ring wasn't going to pass an actual authentication and appraisal. Not to mention the baggage of the police report and denied insurance claim. You would have ended up with zero. This is better than zero."
This meant she was back at zero, if what she got was just to make up for what she lost in the past few months. It meant that taking off for a while was out of the question.
Or she would have to get an actual job.
Gabriel paused at a red light and guided her toward the park. "You can walk away from this, if you want."
A young girl pushing a kid on a stroller tried to pass them, and Jane let her. "Walk away from what?"
"What have you done, really? Nothing serious. You partied, went to clubs, gave yourself a name. A socialite asked you to have a ring of a specific design made, and gave you money for it. Nothing that can't be explained."
Right then Jane realized that he was still touching her arm, from when they crossed the street, and she became aware of it likely because her blood just ran cold. She pulled away from him, and held her arm in the same spot, as if to check for injury. "Who the fuck are you?"
"I gave you my real name," he said. "You'll look it up and know exactly who I am. But I was saying—it's Margaux, back in the Chinese restaurant, she's actually doing something against the law. Technically."
"You can't prove it. No documents were faked."
"Ever?" Gabriel raised an eyebrow. "Maybe not this time, but you can say that for everything she's done? I'm pretty sure Margaux has at least estafa in her history. You on the other hand can just walk away while we do what we do."
It was a clear night in the metro. It had been for a stretch of time, over two weeks at least. No storms, no rain, and tonight, bright stars. Jane barely remembered what living in this place was like, having left in a hurry when she was so young. It seemed like it would be pleasant, not as scorching hot, not as bitterly cold. She should have remembered though that it wasn't the weather that helped her adjust to a place, but the relative anonymity that it provided.
In that case, this city was just like any other. Eventually she was not going to be anonymous.
It was her fault, by the way. She got greedy, just like Chrysalis, just like her mother. And just like Margaux. No one twisted her arm to do this. And now she could see that Gabriel was offering her an out, not realizing that it was actually going to keep her in for longer.
Because while she didn't care one bit about Margaux, the woman held something over her mother. A debt she hadn't yet collected.
"I'll convince Margaux," she said.
"You will?"
"We will be able to pay the ring designer and cover our expenses?"
Gabriel was surprised that she changed her tone. "You decide the figure. But we get the rest."
"I'll make computations. We have to make a little something, or Margaux won't agree. And enough to return what Chrysalis paid for the copy. I'll tell her the sale didn't go through."
"All right." Gabriel put his hands in his pockets. "You're not being difficult about this."
"I'm not a difficult person."
"We can help you earn it back. Some of it. Your team seems to be good at this. We may need you for other things."
They stopped in the middle of a jogger trail. Not quite private, because there were people out for a run on a clear night.
She felt her phone buzz. It was a text from Margaux: Score! Best deal. Will explain later.
"What is it for?" she asked. "The rest of the money."
"We call it investment recovery," he answered.
Jane scanned the rest of the park and watched the joggers, the yuppies smoking in threes, the city dwellers whose dogs were out on a playdate, toddlers out on a playdate. It looked the world was still turning, and hadn't yet crumbled.
"Jane." Gabriel waited for that break in her concentration, and almost sounded apologetic. "We haven't talked about—"
"One time," Jane said, quickly, before anything more embarrassing came out. "That's it. You've made this about business now."
He nodded. "That's fair."
Whether she liked it or not, Jane del Mundo was going to be in the business of "investment recovery" herself. Until she had enough to get out.
About the Author
Mina V. Esguerra learned everything she needed to know about writing romances from Sweet Dreams novels and the Buffy the Vampire Slayer TV series. When not working as a communications consultant, she writes contemporary romance, young adult, and new adult novels. When not working and writing, she's hanging out with her husband and daughter. Visit her site http://minavesguerra.com.
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