I thought it would be easy money — three hours, five hundred bucks, pretend to be someone’s boyfriend, and leave. I didn’t expect it to spiral into a mess that nearly cost me everything I’d built.I’m Anthony, a marketing strategist with a stable life — decent job, tidy apartment, and enough savings to help my mom with her medical bills. Then, one Saturday, a woman named Meredith slid into my café booth and offered me five hundred dollars to pose as her boyfriend at lunch with her parents.
Her date had canceled last minute. I hesitated, but the money could cover two months of Mom’s therapy. I agreed. We rehearsed small talk on the way to the restaurant — until I saw her father. My boss. The CEO of my firm.Lunch turned into an interrogation disguised as small talk. David asked about client projections like it was a board meeting.....