The Deceiving Woman

Understanding The Con (1)

CHAPTER 3: UNDERSTANDING THE CON (1)

The next day in his office Albert was feeling energized from yesterday’s events. Unsurprisingly Mason decided to visit him again.

“So how did it go? You’re smiling from ear to ear.” Mason said while crossing his arms.

“Am I? I didn’t notice. It went well~” Albert said while still in a great mood.

“Did you sleep together again?” Mason asked with a serious look on his face.

“…we did.” Albert knew that wasn’t what he was supposed to do but did it anyways. He felt far too elated to care however.

“You know… for such a smart guy able to run an entire company on his own, you sure are a bloody idiot.” Mason remarked after seeing the unnecessarily happy expression on the other man’s face.

“I guess I am…” Albert’s smile suddenly started vanishing little by little after realizing his mistake.

“What did she take this time?” Mason asked while looking around the office.

“Just… 300$, nothing major.” Albert said, thinking back on it, he should have expected to be robbed again.

“You’re priceless~ haha~ Getting swindled twice by the same con. What a man!” Mason jokingly said instantly changing his attitude.

“It was partly due to your involvement as well.” Albert retorted  while thinking back on the conversation they had previously.

“It would have worked better if you didn’t sleep with her. Amanda now knows that you are wrapped around her little finger.” Mason explained, he had an amused expression on his face.

“I guess so… I’m starting to understand that a bit better.” Albert said analytically, he was the type of man to think about everything logically. He was a man of numbers and data. If you give him a problem he will give you a logical solution. However he almost never took into account the emotional aspect of things. While emotions are in fact the leading factor in any human’s decision.

 “You’re an endlessly logical man…” Mason said while observing the man in front of him. “But logic can take you only so far. You fail because you don’t understand the emotions involved.”

 “I’m not that good in understanding emotions in general.” Albert confessed. “I also don’t understand why they haven’t caught her before. You say she’s been a con for her entire life...”

“She’s the best con I’ve ever known. What she’s doing to you is child’s play. Amanda has scammed some of the most influential people in the world and left unscaved. That’s how good she is. Then yet I think she stopped making big cons a long time ago.” Albert said with both a gaze of admiration and pity for the woman he spoke of.

“You’re saying it like it’s something bad.” Albert observed.

“Oh not at all~ It’s great even! She finally won’t be mixed in with the wrong people. Then yet… I guess her bad habit of playing with the rich will never go away, even if it is on a much smaller scale than before.” Albert said with a softened tone, he seemed to truly care for the woman he spoke of.

“What makes her better than other cons then?” Albert asked in an attempt to create a better grasp of what kind of person the woman was.

“She knows who to target and exactly how to get in their head. Amanda has a clear understanding of each person’s motives and desires. She uncovers their deepest wishes and if they don’t have any, she will just create one… like she did with you.” Mason explained while standing up from the couch and moving closer to the CEO. “She’ll make you want something you’ve never thought you wanted before…”

“I see… so she creates a need in people by observing them.” Albert muttered to himself while thinking.

“Exactly! She also targets only the top tier rich people. She’s not interested in taking anything from those who can’t afford to lose it.” Mason continued his explanation.

“Hm… She could have taken more from me if she wanted to, but she only took money in cash. None of my cards were swiped, why was that?” Albert asked in wonder. He found it odd for her to take so little when she could have taken that much more.

“She’s not greedy like that. Honestly she doesn’t even have any interest in money at all. At her age she’s already made more than you can even imagine.” Mason said with slight laugher in his voice.

“What? Then why does she even bother taking anything at all?” Albert understood less and less the more he listened to the man who was comfortably looking around his office.

“She just likes playing with power… It’s a sick little hobby of hers. Oh~ can you guess what she does with the money she takes from little cons like these?” Mason asked with a grin on his face.

“What is it?” Albert was interested in knowing more. It seemed like Amanda was such a mysterious person. He had no idea what could be going through the young woman’s mind.

“She donates part of it to a local orphanage and the rest uses to feed homeless dogs. Both children and animals love her dearly.” Mason said with a cheerful look on his face like a proud father talking about his little girl’s achievements.

“That’s a very noble thing to do, even if it is with stolen money.” Albert had begun thinking more of Amanda. He found such a sweet detail to her character to be very attractive.

“It is. If I had as much money as she does, I wouldn’t know what to do with it.” Mason said while giggling lightly. “Do you know the bar she works at? Heaven’s Door I mean?”

“I do. It’s where I saved her from that… it was a ploy right?” Albert suddenly remembered the first time meeting Amanda. He thought he had saved her but instead he was played.

“She owns the bar. So she doesn’t need to work there, but it’s a perfect disguise I guess.” Mason explained and tired from looking around the office he finally sat down on the couch again.

“She’s very smart.” Albert didn’t need to remind himself of the fact he was played. But he couldn’t help but be impressed by the woman’s acting abilities and intelligence.

“You have no idea… She’s beautiful, intelligent, with incredible advocacy skill, so much so that it’s simply a pleasure to spend time with her. Did you even think about reporting her after she stole from you?” Mason asked while already knowing the answer to that question.

“I didn’t even consider it, I’m far too busy to worry about such a small sum being taken away from me.” Albert perfectly confirmed Mason’s suspicions.

“That’s correct! You see, Amanda clearly sees one’s bottom line. She knew you wouldn’t do anything about it because of your busy schedule. She knew that small sum of money means nothing to a CEO that makes 100 times that amount monthly. Everything was carefully thought out in advance and executed perfectly.” Mason said, again a hint of admiration could be heard in his voice.

“How do you know so much about her? I understand you’ve worked together but that seems a bit excessive.” Albert asked after listening to his companion’s explanation.

“I taught her everything she knows… She’s my protégé, even though she exceeds me in ways beyond your comprehension.” He paused for a second to think then continued. “Her understanding of human psychology is off the charts. I’m very proud of her for that… and also I pity that child.” Mason said with a bit of a saddened look on his face.

“Pity?”Albert couldn’t understand the sudden change in tone.

“That’s probably an emotion you have never experienced so I won’t bother explaining it to a robot like you.” Mason said with a cheery tone.