The scam

Daniella’s POV

I called Mr Gary and asked him if he could meet me the next day, he said he’ll be available at noon and we should meet at a cafe. Actually, he was the only person I could think of calling, I don’t know why but I’ve gotten comfortable with him since the last meeting.

“I called you because I have something to tell you, actually…I have an event in four days time and I need you to pretend to be my husband for just an hour” I said without stalling.

“Woww, I thought you’re normal but you’re actually crazy. No, you’re totally crazy” he said in awe.

I ignored it and continued.

“We are both single and it won’t even take up to an hour, please come with me, you won’t have to say or do anything, I’ll do all the talking” I said in a low and pleading tone.

“You don’t even know me that much, you’re being crazy” he roared at me. 

I couldn’t find words, he’s right, I don’t know him that much but he’s the only person I could ask, afterall..they have the same name. Should I tell him? Should I not? I decided not to. Before I could get out of my head and face reality, he stood up to leave.

“Wait” I shouted, holding his left hand with both hands.

He froze.

“Please sit down and hear me out” I said without letting go of his hand.

“Fine, you have two minutes” he said while rolling his eyes.

He took a seat and I began explaining things to him.

“I became a divorcee before I got to walk down the aisle” I started.

He sat down slowly, with his hands on the table, ready to listen to me.

“I had someone I loved so much, we dated for a very long time and I got engaged to him. Few days after registering our marriage and starting the wedding preparations, I found out he was cheating on me and decided to get a divorce. The situation was so overwhelming and I had a breakdown. During that time, I got to know the apartment my mother rented for us as an early marriage gift turned out to be a scam, I’ve been asked to evacuate the apartment” I said all at once, rubbing my thumbs together nervously. 

“Wait” he interrupted.

“What do you mean by that?” He asked with concern written all over his face.

“My mother fell victim of a scam and rented an apartment from people who are not the actual owners of the building” I explained calmly.

“Ohhhh, I’m so sorry” he said, looking at his hands under the table.

“I signed up for a raffle before my marriage registration and I won it, the price is a house for newlyweds. I would’ve rejected it because I’m now single but if I leave my current house…I have nowhere to go” I added. My vision got blurry and my eyes were filled with tears.

He handed me a handkerchief. I took it from him and wiped my tears.

“So, what do you want from me now?” He asked with a little frown on his face.

“My husband needs to be present for me to be able to receive the price. I called my ex husband to tell him about this so we can receive the price together and figure out what to do with it. He completely ignored my calls. I was thinking if you could stand as my husband for just an hour to be able to receive the price” I said, holding my breath, patiently waiting for his response.

“Your story is touching and all but I will not pull this scam with you. I hate scammers and now you want me to scam someone? Wait no…you want me to scam a whole company with you? It’s a NO” he said firmly and left almost immediately.

My walk home was lonely and I was lost in thoughts. I was deep inside my head, my phone rang and I jolted back to reality. It was my mom. I was skeptical about picking up but I eventually picked. 

“Hi mom” I said in a rather love voice 

“Ella, are you okay?” My mom asked, I could hear the concern in her voice.

“Yes, I’m okay” I said with life this time.

“So, I made some food for a get-together with my friends, I was thinking of bringing some for you tomorrow. I made your Favourite too. Oh, I’ll bring some for my in-laws too” my mom said very happily. 

I never got the chance to tell my mom about the divorce and the scam, I didn’t want to break her, she’ll find out one day, but now is not the right time.

“Mom, you need to rest, I’m fine, we are all fine. You’ll need to drive three hours to see me and that’ll be a lot of stress. Jjst stay at home, please” I said to her. No, I pleaded with her.

She agreed and hung up. I finally got home and drifted to sleep almost immediately.

I woke up with a headache, I looked at a table beside my bed and say my evacuation date circled on a calendar. My chest tightened. 

“It’s to early for this” I said to myself in a motivating tone.

I had my bath, ate something and went to work. I wore a smile to help brighten up my day.

“Good morning” I said waving at everybody as soon as I entered the office.

“Ouu, did something good happen today? Tell me what it is .You look so full of life” my secretary said to me returning the smile.

“Hopefully” I whispered to myself. 

I turned on my laptop to play games, I’ve not had a single client this month and I was starting to get tired. But I had hope.

My telephone rang almost immediately and I answered with enthusiasm.

“Good morning, this is Els Designs, how may I help you?” I answered smiling like the person on the other end of the come could see me.

“This is Red line games&co ltd, we are developing a new game and we want to partner with you for the designs, can you come please?” the man at the end of the line said.

“Yes, I’ll come for a briefing by 2:00pm today, thank you very much” I said before hanging up.

“Heheeeeeeeeee” my employees and I screamed at the same time.

My whole day, no, my whole month just got better.