TNT ... Chicago 19
1 The trust fund was gone. 2 Well, to be fair, the trust fund actually still existed, but his access to it was gone. 3 That was due to a choice he had made awhile back when he had decided to stand up to his father and to fight for that which he believed -- a different story for a different time. 4 He wasn't planning to recant any time soon, and he knew full well that those big city bills weren't going to pay themselves.
5 A small part of him secretly hoped that his father would just get on with things and kick the can so that he could inherit what was rightfully his, but a bigger part of him always tamped down that smaller part and put it in its place. 6 He accepted that brutally honest thoughts like those should only get to express themselves in fever dreams, drunken rants and late night confessions to a loved one.
7 None of those occurrences were happening on the beautiful Chicago spring day that Matt set out to meet the guy from the ad that promised some quick cash. 8 Sure his paycheck took care of most of the basics, but he wanted cash for the extras. 9 He was still young enough to enjoy the occasional bar crawl, but his considerable charm could only go so far in getting a free drink here or there. 10 Truth was that it cost money to have as much fun as he wanted to have.
11 He needed cash. 12 The guy in the ad promised cash. 13 Chances were pretty strong that they would be a match -- so long as he wasn't walking into anything too creepy. 14 The guy wanted to meet in a coffee shop, so that was a plus. 15 He wasn't going to lose a kidney in a coffee shop. 16 He wasn't going to be pushed into taking suggestive photos in a coffee shop. 17 He wasn't going to be propositioned in any way other than a business way in a coffee shop.
18 Of course, he knew enough to stay out of the *bathroom* of the coffee shop. 19 All those things -- and more -- could feasibly happen in the *bathroom* of a coffee shop. 20 But not out in the common area. 21 In the common area, one could surely be safe.
22 Such was his thinking that day ... and such was the reason that he used his own bathroom before venturing out for the meeting. 23 As he walked into the coffee shop, he glanced at the patrons, scanning them to find the person with the purple tie. 24 Luke, the guy from the ad, had said that's how he'd find him. 25 From the looks of the folks seated at the tables, he needn't have been that specific.
26 There was only ONE person even wearing a tie in the whole group. 27 And yes, it was purple. 28 And yes, it was Luke.
29 Luke with the purple tie seemed a little stressed and a lot in his own head, but Matt reached out his hand all the same.
30 "Hello ... are you Luke? 31 I'm Matt." 32 He pointed to the tie. 33 "Purple, just like you said."
34 Luke stood up, shook Matt's hand and motioned for him to take a seat, nodding his head vigorously the whole time.
35 :"Purple. 36 Not just any shade of purple. 37 This -- THIS is the color of the acai berry," added Luke excitedly.
38 It didn't take too long for Matt to realize that something bad *could* happen in the common area after all. 39 He could -- and he did -- get pitched to be a part of a pyramid scheme. 40 Right there, out in the open. 41 He should have seen it coming.
