Chapter 15
The Unfolding Scheme
When they got to the table, Brandon immediately introduced Samantha to everyone. The other four guys were Julian, Carlos, Dominic, and Dave. The two women who seemed older than Samantha were Jessica and Theresa. The woman with the cursor over her head, who looked younger than Samantha, was Sarah, and she just seemed really quiet, like she didn't belong. She was sitting next to Carlos, and his arm was around her waist.
After Brandon introduced Samantha, he pulled her to sit next to him and didn't let go of his arm around her.
"Ugh... disgusting," Samantha thought to herself, even though she kept a plastered smile on her face, leaning into Brandon.
They all started talking about their individual wealth, including Jessica and Theresa, who, it turned out, were married. They were discussing the crypto investment program that Dave and Dominic were pitching. Suddenly, Julian, who seemed pretty cozy with Jessica, turned to look at Samantha.
"Oh, so you're Brandon's new girlfriend?" he asked.
"We just met, but we have great chemistry, right, babe? (Ugh... gross)," Samantha replied, placing a hand on Brandon's chest.
"Haha, totally, babe," Brandon shot back, pulling Samantha even closer.
"So, what about Sarah? Why are you so quiet?" Samantha asked.
"Oh, she's still a bit confused. She's my friend's student, and I brought her here because I want her to invest her father's money in our crypto investment program," Carlos explained.
"Wow... is she underage?" Samantha asked, shocked.
Jessica and Theresa immediately glanced at Sarah. Clearly, they felt uncomfortable at the thought of her being underage.
"Relax, she's 21. Right, Sarah?" Carlos pressed.
"Y-yeah, that's right. I want to hear the explanation first before telling my dad," Sarah replied, sounding forced.
Samantha looked at the faces of the men in front of her, one by one. They all seemed to be in their 30s. Jessica and Theresa looked around 28 or 29 and were wearing rings. The presentation began. The five men started detailing their investment scheme, helping each other out. To Samantha's ears, it sounded exactly like a Ponzi scheme, where new investor money was used to pay old investors, though she kept a polite smile and pretended to listen. However, it was clear that Jessica and Theresa, who had seemed greedy from the start, completely fell for it.
Meanwhile, Sarah looked confused and kept asking Carlos questions. Carlos, of course, explained everything in detail; he even opened his laptop to show his PowerPoint presentation to convince her. But even after Carlos's long-winded explanation, Sarah still seemed unsure and hesitant. Finally, Carlos whispered something to Sarah, and her face immediately changed. She suddenly looked agreeable to convincing her father to join Carlos and his friends' investment program.
"Hmm... something's not right here," Samantha mumbled to herself, not missing a beat of what was happening in front of her.
"So, what do you say, Jessica?" Dave asked, moving to sit next to Jessica and immediately putting his arm around her.
"Of course I'm in, babe," Jessica replied.
"Sweet, I'll wait for the transfer, then. When are you going to tell your husband about us?" Dave asked.
"As soon as all the money in our joint account is moved for our new life," Jessica replied, kissing Dave's cheek.
After that, Jessica turned to Theresa next to her and immediately moved closer.
"What about you?" Jessica asked.
"I'm interested, I'll talk to my husband," Theresa replied.
Suddenly, Julian sat next to Theresa and put his arm around her. Seeing Julian's handsome face and well-proportioned body, Theresa leaned into his chest.
"Come on, babe, your husband won't understand investments. He's just a furniture maker, right?" Julian coaxed.
"Hey, he owns his own company! But you're right, babe, he wouldn't get this kind of investment," Theresa said, stroking Julian's cheek, his chin resting on her shoulder.
"Ugh... this is sickening," Samantha thought to herself.
"What about you, babe? You're in on this investment with us, right?" Brandon said, putting his arm around Samantha.
"Of course, babe, I'm in (she glanced at Sarah, who looked increasingly uncomfortable with Carlos's arm around her and being sandwiched by Dominic). Sarah, how about you come in with me instead?" Samantha asked.
Everyone immediately turned to look at Samantha, including Sarah. Sarah's face seemed to tell Samantha not to get involved. But Samantha took Brandon's hand off her and stood up.
"I have money, so I'll make an initial investment of $50,000 for both me and Sarah. How about it?" Samantha asked.
Hearing the amount Samantha offered, dollar signs practically flashed in the eyes of Brandon, Carlos, Dominic, Julian, and Dave. Plus, Samantha arched her body, showing off how sexy and beautiful she was, leaving all five of them mesmerized. After that, Samantha leaned forward, resting her chin on the table.
"How about we continue the party somewhere else? Somewhere more private to discuss my investment?" Samantha teased.
Besides the dollar signs, their eyes were now fixed on Samantha's cleavage, which she deliberately showed to everyone. Jessica and Theresa smiled, but it was clear they were annoyed by Samantha's antics. However, they still agreed to Samantha's suggestion, and eventually, they planned to continue the party at a boutique hotel near the bar. But Carlos suddenly turned to Sarah.
"You're coming too, right, Sarah? You're always happy to spread your legs for grades with my professor friend," Carlos blurted out, either because he was drunk or just a total jerk.
"Yeah, I'm coming," Sarah said.
"Grrrr... stupid bitch," Samantha muttered to herself seeing Sarah agreed easily.
They continued chatting for a bit longer, finishing their drinks. After paying, they all headed to the elevator to go downstairs. Once inside the elevator,
"Hey, System, can you turn off the elevator for a second? I want to deal with them here," Samantha said.
[Okay, I can help with that.]
"Bam," "creeeak," suddenly the elevator stopped, and the lights went out. For a moment, no one spoke, and then,
"Hey... what's going on?!" yelled one of the men.
"Quick, press the help button!" yelled another.
"Thump... smack... crash... thud," "bluuugh," sounds of people falling at the same time could be heard. "Blam," the lights came back on. "Kyaaaaaa," Jessica, Theresa, and Sarah screamed, seeing Brandon, Julian, Carlos, Dave, and Dominic sprawled unconscious on the elevator floor. Jessica immediately crouched down, wanting to help Dave.
"Hey, don't bother helping him," Samantha said.
"Huh... this must be your doing!" Jessica shot back, turning to look at Samantha.
Sarah immediately looked at Samantha, her face filled with hope and admiration, seeing Samantha still clenching her fists.
"Why are you doing all this?" Theresa asked.
"Because they're con artists. That's the simple reason," Samantha replied.
"Liar! Their investment scheme could make us rich!" yelled Jessica, who was now standing and glaring at Samantha.
"Jess is right! We can get rich if we join them and upgrade our lives!" Theresa added.
"You yourself suggested going to the next party, didn't you? I heard you say you were divorced. You must not have been touched by a man in a long time, that's why you're so desperate," Jessica said, pointing at Samantha's face.
"Hmm, this is getting messy. Okay, how about this," Samantha thought to herself, secretly opening her skill screen. "Even if I didn't suggest the second party, they'd still take us to a hotel. I just sped up their plan," Samantha said casually.
"But you just beat them all up! I'm going to report you to the police because you committed violence with me, Theresa, and Sarah as witnesses!" Jessica yelled angrily.
Samantha smiled, then looked at Jessica and Theresa with a sharp gaze because she had activated her Intimidation skill.
"Go back to your husbands. Don't be selfish and don't act like the world owes you something just because you're pretty. Respect your husbands who pay for your lives and your outrageous shopping habits, judging by your designer clothes and purses. Don't cheat with losers like them, even if they're handsome, understand? Oh, and if you want to call the police, go ahead. I'll expose their scheme to the police while we're at it. Let's we all hear together what the police think about their scheme (as a dude, it hurts seeing women betrayed other dudes only because they greedy and selfish)," Samantha said.
Hearing Samantha's words, Jessica and Theresa immediately fell silent. They stood frozen, staring at their unconscious cheating partners sprawled on the elevator floor. "Ding," the elevator doors opened when it reached the ground floor. Without another word, Samantha grabbed Sarah's hand and exited the elevator, leaving Jessica and Theresa still stunned and motionless.