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“No way anyone puts something so expensive on an office desk!You’re trying to scam me!That record’s fake—you just want money!”
I opened my phone to call the police,retorting:
“Lady,let’s get thsi straight.If your husband hadn’t gone berserk and smashed it,I wouldn’t be “scamming”you.If you don’t want to pay,fine—we’ll call the cops now.
“Oh,and since you don’t seem keen on settling,the amount’s large enough for criminal charges.Maybe we can add intentional destruction of property and get your husband a record.”
Jane,who knew nothing about law,softened immediately,half-kneeling before me,tears streaming as she begged me not to take this further.
I rolled my eyes and told her to pay for it now.Jane clutched her phone,stammering that her salary went to her husband and she only had $500 to offer now.
“Then we’ll call the cops,”I said coldly.
A lifetime ago,I bought her so many snacks,and she always used this excuse to avoid paying.If I believed her again,I’d be a damn fool.
I gestured to call 911.Jane lunged to stop me,nearly collapsing as she wailed about her hardships.She said if her husband got a record,it would affect her child’s future schooling and job prospects,begging me to spare her and her baby.
I pushed her away,thinking to myself:Too bad,you’ll kill that child yourself in a few months before it ever grows up.
“What’s all the fuss about?”My husband,Mark Wilson,appeared at the door.He had come to pick me up after work but came upstairs when I didn’t answer his calls.
“Nothing serious,”I said,pulling out another phone from the drawer that I used beside work to chat with him.
Mark,confused,offered a diplomatic comment:
“No need to make things ugly with colleagues.”
Jane latched onto his words like a lifeline,redirecting her pleas to Mark.She put on a reasonable facade,pointing to the shatterd crystal and explaining that her husband meant well but accidentally broke it.They weren’t refusing to pay—just wanted to pay in installments.
Mark,who usually stayed out of my affairs,frowned and patted my shoulder,leaving the decision to me.I grabbed my bag,pulled Mark along,and said:
“Then we’ll see you at the police station.”
Jane’s eyes dimmed,and she slumped to the floor,murmuring:
“What about my baby?”
Mark,who hadd been cheerful so far,turned serious when he heard Jane was pregnant.He asked her to confirm.
Jane seized this chance,standing and touching her belly while holding her pregnancy tests.She walked to Mark,tears welling as she pleaded:
“Yes,I only found out recently pregnant,and there’ll be lots more to come that requires money.Emma’s asking for forty thousand all at once,and I just...I’m not refusing to pay,it’s just...”
Jane,who frequented bars and had gone through all those family drama,wielded her sob story,vulnerability,and moral guilt-tripping like a pro.
I was about to retort,but Mark beat me to it,taking her pregnancy report and frowning.He turned to me softly:
“Maybe let it go?You don’t need the money,and she’s got a kid on the way.”
