Free The Score by Kiki Swinson Page B
Authors: Kiki Swinson
stopping Matt and me from walking away clean with a briefcase filled with cash except us. We had to be smooth, cool, and convincing. We couldnât mess this up. One wrong move, body language, or word and the bank personnel could get suspicious and have us like sitting ducks until the police arrived. That wouldnât be a good look at all.
I took a deep breath as I watched a tall, well-dressed white man head in our direction. He looked pleasant enough, but you never could tell with these stuffy suit types. Just like me, they also put on a good poker face right before they set your ass up for the downfall. I was going to be reading him closely.
âGood afternoon, Mr. and Mrs. Belton. I am Adam Schitz, branch manager,â the redheaded man introduced himself. He bowed slightly and extended his hand out in front of him. My gut didnât get a bad feeling from him so that was the first good sign.
âThe pleasure is all ours,â Matt spoke up, and extended his hand to meet his for a handshake.
The bank manager smiled. âWell, I have taken care of your request for the most part. Just a few loose ends to tie up on our end.â
âThank you for seeing us on such short notice. These things come up and you just have to take care of them as quickly as possible.â
âOh, itâs my pleasure. Yes, yes. We in the banking industry understand. Our economy is really taking a beating,â Mr. Schitz said in a tone that was a little too cheery for me. He turned and extended his hand out in front of him like an usher in a church would do. âRight this way. I have everything set up for you. Like I said, just a few minor things to take care of before we release the funds,â he said nicely. Oh God, a few minor things. That could mean stalling us. That could mean absolutely nothing. Keep cool, Lauren. My mind raced with all kinds of thoughts as we followed Mr. Schitz down a long hallway to a corridor with what appeared to be executive offices on each side.
Matt just nodded and smiled the entire time. I had already warned Mattâs ass to be very quiet and to just nod and smile. Matt was a street dude in every sense of the word so him opening his mouth and speaking his Ebonics would not have been a good look for us. For me, it was easy to switch it up to suit whatever situation I was in. Living with foster parents from all walks of life had taught me that. I was able to turn my broken English on and off, which was also the reason I was able to do so well with the credit card scams in the ritzy stores. I could speak like the most well-educated, high-class snobs in the city. Not Matt and Yancy. Those two were ignorant as hell and most of the time drew a lot of suspicion in stores and banks. Which is why I started just sending them to do transactions that didnât require much talking like kiting the checks at the hood check-cashing spots. And to think Yancy thinks she brings a lot to the table when it comes to getting this money. Sheâd better sit her ass down before I send her stupid, dick-sucking ass right back to the streets where she belongs.
âOkay. Letâs get right down to it,â Mr. Schitz said as he closed his office door behind us. He showed us to two nice leather chairs that were situated in front of his desk. Then he briskly walked behind his beautiful mahogany desk. My eyes were immediately drawn to the picture on his desk of his seemingly perfect familyâhim, his wife, a son, and a daughter. I couldnât help the pang of jealously that flashed in my chest. It immediately made me envy his life, even though I hardly knew him. But the look on his wifeâs face was one of happiness. She looked like she had the world. And she wasnât even that beautiful. I was prettier than her. I was a damn good woman so why couldnât I have that kind of life? I deserved a husband and kids too. So, where were they? I slowly turned my focus on Matt. All he cared about was
I took a deep breath as I watched a tall, well-dressed white man head in our direction. He looked pleasant enough, but you never could tell with these stuffy suit types. Just like me, they also put on a good poker face right before they set your ass up for the downfall. I was going to be reading him closely.
âGood afternoon, Mr. and Mrs. Belton. I am Adam Schitz, branch manager,â the redheaded man introduced himself. He bowed slightly and extended his hand out in front of him. My gut didnât get a bad feeling from him so that was the first good sign.
âThe pleasure is all ours,â Matt spoke up, and extended his hand to meet his for a handshake.
The bank manager smiled. âWell, I have taken care of your request for the most part. Just a few loose ends to tie up on our end.â
âThank you for seeing us on such short notice. These things come up and you just have to take care of them as quickly as possible.â
âOh, itâs my pleasure. Yes, yes. We in the banking industry understand. Our economy is really taking a beating,â Mr. Schitz said in a tone that was a little too cheery for me. He turned and extended his hand out in front of him like an usher in a church would do. âRight this way. I have everything set up for you. Like I said, just a few minor things to take care of before we release the funds,â he said nicely. Oh God, a few minor things. That could mean stalling us. That could mean absolutely nothing. Keep cool, Lauren. My mind raced with all kinds of thoughts as we followed Mr. Schitz down a long hallway to a corridor with what appeared to be executive offices on each side.
Matt just nodded and smiled the entire time. I had already warned Mattâs ass to be very quiet and to just nod and smile. Matt was a street dude in every sense of the word so him opening his mouth and speaking his Ebonics would not have been a good look for us. For me, it was easy to switch it up to suit whatever situation I was in. Living with foster parents from all walks of life had taught me that. I was able to turn my broken English on and off, which was also the reason I was able to do so well with the credit card scams in the ritzy stores. I could speak like the most well-educated, high-class snobs in the city. Not Matt and Yancy. Those two were ignorant as hell and most of the time drew a lot of suspicion in stores and banks. Which is why I started just sending them to do transactions that didnât require much talking like kiting the checks at the hood check-cashing spots. And to think Yancy thinks she brings a lot to the table when it comes to getting this money. Sheâd better sit her ass down before I send her stupid, dick-sucking ass right back to the streets where she belongs.
âOkay. Letâs get right down to it,â Mr. Schitz said as he closed his office door behind us. He showed us to two nice leather chairs that were situated in front of his desk. Then he briskly walked behind his beautiful mahogany desk. My eyes were immediately drawn to the picture on his desk of his seemingly perfect familyâhim, his wife, a son, and a daughter. I couldnât help the pang of jealously that flashed in my chest. It immediately made me envy his life, even though I hardly knew him. But the look on his wifeâs face was one of happiness. She looked like she had the world. And she wasnât even that beautiful. I was prettier than her. I was a damn good woman so why couldnât I have that kind of life? I deserved a husband and kids too. So, where were they? I slowly turned my focus on Matt. All he cared about was