Risky Business

What is it Cam?” Roman asked, looking at his frozen face in concern.

“It’s from work, I just got paid and this is just too much.” Cameron said, looking back at the screen of his phone unbelievingly.

“It’s that bad huh? I’m sorry man.” he sympathized.

“That is the problem, this is about a hundred times my usual pay, something is very very wrong. I think the accounting department made a mistake.” Cameron said feeling astonished.

“What?!” Roman exclaimed then grabbed his phone. “Give me that let me see.”

Cameron watched as Roman’s eyes widened as he looked at screen then up at him.

“No way! I thought they were going to dock your pay, what happened? Did you get a raise or something?” He asked in confusion.

“No, it must have been a mistake from work, when I go in tomorrow I will report it and have them fix the problem promptly.” Cameron shrugged.

“What? No way!” Roman protested vehemently and Cameron looked up in surprise at the aggression in his voice

.

“What do you mean? You are not suggesting I keep quiet about it are you? I have to report it or I will get in trouble.” He said and Roman stood up in exasperation and walked around the living room before coming to a stop in front of him.

“This is your opportunity to have a better life Cam, think about it!” he said.

“But I can’t keep the money, I will get fired.” Cameron countered.

“I am not saying you keep the money permanently, I mean you can use the money to make more money then return it back to the company in less than a week and no one will be the wiser. You have to take advantage of this opportunity, remember that they were going to dock you for something you did not do anyway.” Roman said emphatically.

“How do I make more money in under a week? I don’t think this is a good or even plausible idea Ro.” Cameron said uneasily, unconvinced by his roommate’s words.

He had too many responsibilities and he could not afford to lose his job or go to jail, what Roman was suggesting sounded dangerous and honestly criminal and Cameron wanted no parts in it.

“I know someone that works at the races, he knows exactly what horses to bet on, we can get ten times on whatever we put, you know its wealthy guys that gamble there.”

“Gambling? Is that not too risky? I could lose everything, I don’t know...” Cameron answered reluctantly.

“That is the beauty of it, this guy knows the sure winners and we are not going to be losers, aren’t you tired of those TV dinners you are always eating? Or always getting behind on rent and having to beg that miserly old landlord? You can even move out of this trash building and don’t you still have to pay those hospital bills?” Roman said persuasively.

Maybe Roman was right, it was a fact that he was sick of TV dinners and never having enough money and living on the brink of homelessness, he still had a substantial amount to pay for his mother’s cancer treatment.

How ridiculous is it that hospitals still demand for payments after the patient died anyway. He hated to acknowledge it but Roman’s words were beginning to sound really enticing and he was torn between doing the right thing and the easy thing.

“You could even buy a little present to show Lilia how sorry you are and we could pay the rent and use the rest to put on the horses and when the money comes you return what you owe to the company and have enough money to even resign and take time off to look for a better job.” Roman urged and Cameron’s eyes gleamed.

Being able to quit that job with all it’s accompanying abuse would be such a relief, no more screaming Brent and haughty Melania or gossipy nosy Susan or Mike from accounting with his hard punches that he disguised as friendly punches And he would be able to buy something pretty for Lilia like flowers or jewelry, she really did deserve it.

Why not? If Roman thought this was fail proof then maybe he should really try it, after all You Only Live Once.

“Okay fine, let’s do it.” Cameron perked up at last as he warmed up to the idea.

“Yeah? Yeah? That’s my man.” Roman said, slapping back back excitedly.

“You won’t regret this man, I promise.” Roman assured him and he said a little prayer that he did not lose all that money, he did not fancy spending the rest of his life in jail. He chased that negative thought away, there would be no place for bad vibes.

*

Cameron spent the next day at work jittery and jumpy and every time anyone called him he would bolt out of his seat anxiously, ready for the axe to fall and imagining that the police were at the door waiting to drag him away for fraud.

Despite his crippling fear the day went pretty smoothly and other than general office ribbing on him nothing out of the ordinary happened.

As he prepared to get out of the office at closing time Trent called him into his office and he felt so nauseous with fear that he had to restrain himself from running to the toilet and retching.

He entered Trent’s office expecting the worst when he looked up at him sternly, all the while Cameron was cursing himself for letting Roman talk him into such madness that was definitely going to send him to jail.

“I wanted to talk to you about how much of a difficult decision it was to dock your pay but it was issued to be a lesson you can learn from and with any luck you won’t repeat something of that nature again. You see Cameron, we are all family here.”

His flippant attitude towards taking away his money even when he knew that he was not responsible for the mistake and the fact that what he was paid was a pittance made Cameron even more resolute about making use of the money for his needs after all he would return it all and nobody would be none the wiser.

“Yes Mr Clinton, I promise that I have learnt my lesson.” Cameron said, his knees almost bucking from the relief he felt from knowing that he had not been found out and he was actually going to get away with it.

Trent dismissed him with his usual haughtiness and Cameron hurried out of his office and went straight to the jewelry store.

At the store he found a tennis bracelet with pretty pink stones that would be perfect for Lilia, It was a little pricey but considering how much money he was going to be coming into the price seemed pretty insignificant. All that mattered was that Lilia loved it.

He did not bother even going home but headed straight to the restaurant where he had already gotten reservations for them.

By the time he got there she had not yet arrived so he sat at the bar waiting for her until when she showed up about eight minutes later.

She was led in by the maitre d, she looked stunning in a pretty snug dress that showed off her perfect figure, flawless legs and shoulders. Cameron felt so lucky to be her boyfriend.

She was a petite 5’2 doll with her slender frame and small even features, she had curly auburn hair that complimented her green eyes and the freckles that dotted her perfect skin and her voice was so soft and Cameron was entranced with her.

Cameron kissed her cheek and led her to their table where he had steak while she had lobster with a decently priced bottle of red wine under romantic candle lights and after they finished their dessert of chocolate mousse over pannacotta he brought out the jewelry box and handed it to her.

He was gratified by her happy gasp and then she leaned over to kiss him gently on the lips he felt like he was on top of the world. All of the trouble that he went through would be worth it all just to see her smile.

After they took a taxi to the apartment she shared with her roommate Cameron was a little disappointed that she only gave him a heated kiss that fired him up but did not invite him up for coffee but he brushed it away and deemed the night a success. If Lilia was happy then so was he. Nothing could burst his happy bubble.