Rich Girl Meets Her Ex Begging on the Street – Story of the Day

Nancy is shocked when she runs into her high school sweetheart begging on the street. Despite her boyfriend's protests, Nancy offers her ex a job at her father's firm. However, her kind offer soon comes back to bite her.

Nancy had just left the office after a long workday at her father's firm. Her boyfriend, Christian, was a few steps behind her. He'd bought tickets to a concert featuring a vocalist Nancy adored. She smiled broadly as she thought of the wonderful night ahead of her.

Christian and Nancy had been dating for almost a year and a half. They'd met at work, where Christian was a bigshot executive. Dad had introduced them on one of the rare days he'd come into the office before he got sick, and they'd hit it off immediately.

"Excuse me, ma'am, could you spare some change?"

An oddly familiar voice interrupted Nancy's thoughts. She spun around and noticed a homeless man seated against the side of the building nearby. He had a cardboard sign propped up in front of him asking for money to buy food. The handwriting on the sign was familiar, too.

Nancy stepped closer and peered at the beggar's face. He wasn't making eye contact with her; instead, his gaze was directed somewhere near her feet. Although he wore several layers of clothes and had a scruffy beard, she recognized her first love immediately.

"Joe?" Nancy asked. "Is that you?"

The man's head snapped up. He grinned when he saw Nancy and got to his feet. Nancy's joy at meeting her old flame bubbled out in a joyful laugh as she rushed forward to hug Joe.

"Nancy!" Joe exclaimed. "Oh my God, it's so good to see you!"

"Hey, What do you think you're doing? Get lost!"

The next thing Nancy knew, Christian was there, shoving Joe away.

"What do you think you're doing?" Nancy put a hand on Christian's arm to get his attention as she rounded on him.

"Honey, are you okay?" he asked, staring at her in concern. "Did this bum hurt you?"

"Of course, I'm okay!" Nancy replied. How on earth could Christian see her harmlessly hugging someone and react like she'd been attacked?

"I wasn't hurting her!" Joe said. "I'm Joe. Nancy and I went to high school together." Joe gestured to Nancy. "Right?"

"It's true," Nancy said to Christian, not like he was looking at her, before turning to Joe. "I'm so sorry about Christian's behavior, Joe. He didn't mean it, right, Christian?"

"Yeah, sure," Christian replied grumpily.

"How are you doing?" Joe asked Nancy. "How many years has it been now since we broke up? At least ten years, right?"

"Yeah," Nancy replied. She couldn't keep the smile off her face. "It's so good to see you again, Joe. I'm working in Dad's firm now. I don't have my own office yet but that's for the best. Dad always said I should learn the business from the bottom up. What's new with you?"

"Uh..." Joe glanced around awkwardly. "Well, I slept over there last night," Joe pointed to an alcove across the street, "and I'm sleeping here tonight. There's nothing interesting to share about my life, Nancy."

"Are you telling me this is your ex?" Christian interrupted angrily.

Before Nancy could reply, Christian was in Joe's face again. He grabbed the front of Joe's shirt in his fist and forced him back against the side of the building.

Christian couldn't stand to watch Nancy fawning over this stupid bum any longer. The way they were looking at each other made him sick to his stomach.

"I need you to get lost," Christian snarled at Joe.

At the same time, he took his wallet and slipped it into the front pocket of Joe's ragged coat. Christian had a wicked plan in mind to make sure Nancy stopped making doe-eyes at this loser.

"Hey man, have I done something to you?" Joe asked softly, holding his hands up above his head. "There's no need for this..."

Christian turned away. After all, he didn't want to dirty his own coat by standing too close to the filthy beggar.

"Let's go, honey, or we'll be late for the concert," he snapped as he returned to Nancy's side.

"I hope you'll be alright," Nancy told Joe as Christian led her away.

Nancy's thoughts were in turmoil as she walked alongside Christian to his car. The last time she'd seen Joe was the day they broke up, roughly ten years ago. It had been the last day of school. All their plans for the future were neatly laid out until Joe told her he was breaking up with her.

Nancy had been devastated. She'd spent most of her summer in her bedroom, crying and trying to figure out what went wrong. She'd pored over the love letters Joe had sent her during the two years they'd been together, looking for clues that his feelings had changed, but found nothing.

She'd gone off to college to study business and law, none the wiser about what had made Joe break it off with her. It only added to her confusion when it became clear that he wasn't attending the same college, even though that had been part of their plan.

Nancy had assumed Joe went somewhere else to pursue his degree so he wouldn't have to be around her, but now she wondered if something else had happened to him. Maybe it was related to whatever bad luck had left him living on the streets.

"I can't believe it!" Christian's angry exclamation cut into Nancy's thoughts like a knife. "That freak stole my wallet!"

"What are you talking about?" Nancy asked.

"I mean, your hobo boyfriend robbed me," Christian snapped. "What don't you understand? My God, you're so naive. I'm calling the police."

"You probably left it at home." Nancy looked on in shock as Christian removed his phone from his pocket.

"What do you think I am, an idiot?" Christian snarled as he finished dialing the number and lifted the phone to his ear.

Nancy watched in amazement. She certainly had some ideas about what Christian was at that moment, but she didn't voice them. Nancy had learned that it never helped to point out Christian's more ridiculous behavioral traits in the moment. He'd grown up spoiled, and open confrontations only increased the intensity of his temper tantrums.

At that moment, Joe appeared at the passenger side window and pressed Christian's wallet up against the glass.

"Hey, your wallet!" Joe yelled. "I found it."

Nancy pressed the button on the center console to lower the window. Christian immediately lunged over and snatched the wallet out of Joe's hands.

"I told you!" Nancy declared. "It was all a misunderstanding. The wallet must've fallen out of your pocket when you so rudely rushed Joe earlier."

Christian didn't reply. He was busy going through his wallet and counting the bills inside it.

"Thank you so much, Joey," Nancy said. "Christian? Don't you have something to say to Joe?"

"Yes, I do." Christian looked up from the dollar bills fanned out in his hands. "There's $200 missing. Where is it?"

Joe shook his head and looked shocked. "That can't be right," he said. "I promise, I didn't take anything."

"That's it!" Christian lifted his phone again and put it to his ear. "I'm calling the cops."

"Christian, that's enough," Nancy hissed. "You're blowing things way out of proportion. Joe is a good man with a kind heart. Even if he did take that money, which I don't think he did, it would be because he's hungry. Surely that would call for some kindness...no? You can't begrudge someone for needing to eat."

Christian lowered his phone, ended the call, and looked at Nancy like she was crazy. Man, sometimes she wished she hadn't fallen for a man who needed so much work.

"Hey, I just had an idea. We need a new janitor in the office, don't we?" Nancy said.

"Are you offering me a job?" Joe cried out.

"Over my dead body," Christian replied.

Nancy just smiled. Once again, she'd have to teach her boyfriend a vital lesson he'd clearly missed out on in childhood. She reached across to stroke the back of her fingers over his close-cropped hair and thanked the heavens she'd been raised by decent people.

"Dad always taught me that people should be treated equally," Nancy said. "And if you really plan to step into my father's shoes and help me run this firm one day, you need to find some kindness in your heart."

"Fine." Christian tilted his head forward to give Joe a hard stare. "But you should take a bath and get cleaned up. $200 should be enough for that."

Joe was overjoyed, and it made Nancy happy to see him smile like that. Old flame or not, it felt good to know she'd helped Christian make a good choice and helped to spread some goodness in the world.

"Give me a minute," she said to Christian as she stepped out of the car.

"Thank you," Joe said, "I can't tell you how much this means to me, Nancy."

"You deserve a break, Joey. Come to our office at nine tomorrow morning, and take this." Nancy reached into her purse and took out a few dollars. "It should be enough for a motel room and a decent meal."

Joe accepted the cash with tears in his eyes. "Why are you making such a big effort to help me?"

"We all have bad times, Joe, but that doesn't mean we are bad people," Nancy replied.

"You haven't changed at all," Joe said tenderly. "You always had a big heart, Nancy. It's good to know that life's hardships haven't taken it away from you."

Nancy smiled at Joe. "You would do the same for me if our positions were reversed."

She climbed back into the car with Christian and drove away.

Christian was in the middle of an orientation meeting when Joe arrived at the office the following day. He immediately lost track of what he was saying to the two new employees as he watched Nancy hug the bum again and hand her a pathetic bouquet of white roses.

"You remembered that white roses are my favorite!" Nancy exclaimed.

Christian clenched his hand as a rush of anger filled him and snapped the pen he'd been holding. He didn't like how any of this was playing out.

"The meeting is over," he snapped at the new employees and stalked out of the room.

"Wow, you look amazing," Nancy was saying to Joe as Christian approached. "It's good to see you looking like the old Joe again."

"I thought you preferred red roses," Christian said as he cut into their conversation.

Nancy pulled a face. "The red ones are nice, but they're too...cliche."

Joe and Nancy spoke the last word simultaneously. They pointed at each other and burst out laughing, but Christian found nothing about this situation funny. Watching the two of them joke with each other, and an inside joke at that, only stoked the flames of his anger.

He thought of all the times he'd picked Nancy up when they first started dating and presented her with a huge bouquet of red roses. She'd always seemed thrilled by the gesture, but now it felt like she'd secretly been laughing at him all along.

"I suppose you know that because you two used to date," he said to Joe, carefully keeping his voice light.

"Many years ago," Nancy replied. She glanced at Joe with longing in her eyes. "I still don't know what went wrong between us back then."

"Well, this is great!" Christian snapped. He fixed his gaze on Nancy. "You bring your ex in to work at our office; what's next? Are you going to move him into our house, too?"

"Nancy..." Joe said hesitantly as he glanced awkwardly at Nancy, "Haven't you told him yet?"

Christian's jaw dropped, and he glared at Nancy. He couldn't believe she'd betray him like this! He'd always assumed she was a naive, goody-two-shoes, but it seemed like Joe had brought out a side of her Christian never knew existed. There was no way he was going to lose her to a bum!

Then Joe and Nancy burst out laughing again.

"I'm just kidding!" Joe said. "You were getting so intense there and I thought it would be a good idea to lighten the mood."

Christian wanted to wipe the smile off Joe's face with his fist, but he was in the middle of the office and surrounded by his colleagues and underlings. He was certain most of them would jump at the chance to get him into trouble, and he was determined not to provide them with an opportunity to do so.

Instead, Christian snatched up the broom and dustpan from the janitor's cart standing nearby and thrust them into Joe's hands.

"Well, I hope you clean better than you crack jokes," he snarled. "Now stop standing around here and get to work, or I'll dock your pay accordingly."

"Okay, I understand," Joe replied.

Nancy gently touched Joe's shoulder and wished him good luck as the man moved over to the cart. It made Christian sick. Nancy gave him a disapproving look, then strode away in the direction of her desk.

Christian's insides burned. He glared at Joe's back as he walked away with the cart. It didn't make sense for a woman like Nancy to fawn over that useless bum this way. Unless she still had feelings for him.

"Mr. Strong." A woman with a husky voice whispered close to his ear as she leaned in against his back. One of her hands trailed playfully up his spine. "I want to—"

"Not here, Lily!" Christian quickly broke away from her and glanced around the office to check that nobody had seen them. "Come with me."

Christian grabbed Lily by the arm and frogmarched her toward his office. Her outrageous willingness to act so seductively in a public space (and the warm thrill it evoked in him) was what had drawn him to her in the first place, but this was a time for discretion!

Christian tugged open his office door, placed a hand on Lily's back, and ushered her forward.

"Get in there," he ordered her.

"So bossy, Mr. Strong!" Lily giggled.

Christian shut the door and closed the blinds on his office door. His heart was thumping in his chest at the prospect of getting some alone time with Lily.

"Did you get it?" Christian asked as he sat in his chair.

"Just like the boss ordered," Lily replied with a playful pout. She perched on the edge of Christian's desk and stared down at him. "Have I earned my reward, sir?"

Oh, she was such a little minx! Christian lifted Lily's hand and kissed the back of it. He then reached into his drawer, pulled out a thick wad of cash in a manila envelope, and handed it to her. While Lily was counting the notes inside, there was a brisk knock on the door.

Lily immediately tucked the cash away inside her jacket, and Christian leaped up to see who the hell was disturbing them. The moment he opened the door, a cascade of trash rained down over him.

"I'm so sorry, sir!" Joe exclaimed.

"What the hell are you doing here?" Christian snapped.

"I was, er, cleaning!" Joe said as he fumbled with his dustpan and broom. "That's what you hired me for."

"Look more like you're making a mess!" Christian stared down at the trash lying on his floor and snapped. "These are new shoes! You'll be working for the rest of your life to pay for them."

"I'm very sorry," Joe said. "I'll clean up this mess right away."

"I know; otherwise you'll be back out on the street! You have five minutes."

"That's all I need," Joe assured him.

Christian stormed out of his office. Joe seemed to be doing everything in his power to ruin his life, but Christian wouldn't let him get away with it. No matter what, Christian was going to come out on top.

Joe ducked out of the way as the woman in the office hurried after Christian. He'd seen everything through a slit where the blinds didn't join properly. Now he was alone in Christian's office, Joe was determined to find out exactly what the man was up to.

Joe sat in Christian's chair and immediately noticed one of his desk drawers was locked. Joe searched through his pencil holder, the papers on his desk, and under his laptop but found nothing. He then noticed the globe-shaped mini-bar in the corner of the office.

He lifted the top half of the globe and found nothing but glasses inside. Joe then searched among the bottles on the lower shelf, but there wasn't anything interesting there either.

Then, another bottle of alcohol caught Joe's eye. This one was stored on top of a narrow bookcase and was partially concealed behind two awards and a potted plant. Joe lifted it and immediately spotted a small key taped onto the bottom.

Joe removed the key just as the office door swung open.

"It doesn't look like you're doing much cleaning," Christian said.

Joe smoothly slipped the key into his back pocket and removed a microfiber cloth from his front pocket. "I just noticed the dust on the shelf so I decided to—"

"Yeah, yeah, yeah," Christian snapped. "Get out of here! You're useless."

Joe snatched up his cleaning supplies and left in a hurry. He wasn't entirely certain what any of this meant, but he knew Christian was keeping a secret. Joe nearly ran right into the woman Christian was keeping his secret with as he turned into the corridor.

"Watch it!" The woman snapped.

Joe muttered a quick apology but didn't stop or slow down. He glanced back over his shoulder in time to see the woman slip into Christian's office and shut the door behind her.

There was definitely something shady going on between those two, and Joe felt obliged to inform Nancy about what he'd seen.

"That bum is going to drive me crazy," Christian remarked as he sat in his chair and smoothed down his tie.

"Oh, honey, be patient." Lily circled his chair to stand behind him and slid her hands down his arms. "Soon, this whole place will be ours."

That was another aspect of Christian and Lily's illicit relationship that worked well for Christian—her greed. Combined with her unshakable loyalty and faith in him, she made for the perfect accomplice to his plan. He'd certainly have to get rid of her later, but she was incredibly useful for now.

"You're right." Christian leaned back and smiled at Lily as she took her customary position perched on the edge of his desk. "As soon as I marry Nancy, half of all of this will be mine."

"And poor Nancy will end up in the hospital feeling very ill," Lily whispered as she removed a vial of white powder from her cleavage.

"So, this is the poison," Christian grinned. He couldn't take his eyes off the precious little bottle. "And it won't show up on any tox screens or other tests?"

"Only as a chemical that's already commonly found in the body," Lily replied. "Nobody will suspect a thing."

"Wow, baby, you are good. How lucky am I to find a woman who has a brilliant brain as well as knockout looks? Why don't you pour us both a drink to celebrate?"

Lily grinned and flipped her hair over her shoulder as she rose. She stepped toward the bookcase and reached for the bottle stored on top.

"What about this?" Lily asked, holding the bottle up high.

"Don't touch that..." Christian's words died in his throat as he noticed the key he kept taped to the bottom of the bottle was missing. "Oh my God. It's gone."

"What are you talking about?" Lily asked as Christian frantically searched his bookcase and then his desk.

"The key to my drawer! That's where I keep all my dirty accounting records," Christian replied. "Where the hell do you think I get the money for your new shoes and purses? From Nancy and her dad?"

Christian pressed his knuckles against his eyes as he realized the key was well and truly gone. Somebody must've taken it, but who? The only person who'd known it was there was him, and the only person who knew he was up to no good was standing just to his left with a look of shocked confusion on her face.

In a flash, Christian put the pieces together. Joe had been in this office just a few minutes ago, and Christian had seen him standing in front of the bookcase.

"Joe... it has to be Joe." Christian looked up at Lily. "We have to stop him before he exposes me to Nancy!"

Nancy was in the middle of a video meeting when Joe finally found her. Her desk was near a window on the far side of the maze of plants and cozy nooks in the bullpen, and it had taken him a while to spot her.

"Nancy, I have to tell you something." Joe leaned over and placed a hand on her shoulder.

"Can't it wait?" Nancy gestured to her laptop screen. "I'm in the middle of something."

"It's very important," Joe replied.

Nancy let out a little sigh. She apologized to the man on the screen and promised to call him back, then turned her attention to Joe. The arch of her eyebrows and the firm set of her mouth all made it clear she wasn't happy about the disruption, but Joe had to let her know about Christian's shenanigans.

"Nancy, I saw Christian—"

"Nancy!" Christian's voice cut in. "This man stole money from my office!"

"What!?" Joe rounded on Christian. The woman he'd seen her with earlier was there too.

"Christian, I don't have the patience for this anymore," Nancy said. "I know you don't like Joe, but please stop being so petty about it."

"I'm not being petty," Christian scowled. "There is a large sum of money missing from my office, and he was in there, 'cleaning,'" Christian made an air quotes gesture, "right before it disappeared."

"I saw him lurking around in Mr. Strong's office," the other woman added.

"Nancy, I swear to you, I didn't take anything," Joe said. "In fact, I saw Christian give this woman an envelope stuffed with cash! They're obviously in cahoots, I just don't know what shady business they're into."

"I've had enough of this!" Nancy firmly slapped her palm down against her desk and rose. "Christian, you're insane with jealousy over a relationship that ended ten years ago! And Joe, what on earth are you talking about? Lily is a receptionist... the only thing she and Christian could be in cahoots about is stealing food from the office refrigerator."

"You must've misunderstood whatever it is you saw, Joe," Nancy finished.

"No, I'm certain—" Joe said.

"Jealous! About this bum?" Christian let out an angry, staccato laugh. "And you have the nerve to say I'm being ridiculous? Look, if you don't believe me then there's a simple solution: we'll search the office until we find the guilty party. But, I insist we start with his locker." Christian pointed at Joe.

"Fine!" Nancy threw her hands in the air. "But if there's nothing in there, you will apologize to Joe, okay?"

Nancy bulldozed her way through the gap between Christian and Lily, almost sending the other woman flying into a tall potted plant nearby. She strode off toward the locker room.

"I didn't steal anything, and you know it!" Joe snapped at Christian before taking off after Nancy.

Joe's fingers shook as he inserted the key into his locker. Now that they were all gathered here, he couldn't help but feel this was a trap.

"Come on, we haven't got all day!" Christian shoved Joe aside and opened the locker himself.

Joe's jaw dropped when he saw the stuffed envelope on the top shelf of his locker. How the hell could it have gotten there? Christian must have a master key for all the lockers.

"Bingo!" Christian removed the envelope and held it up.

Nancy stared at the envelope and then fixed her steely gaze on Joe. "I can't believe this," she said.

"No, I swear I didn't do it," Joe said. "I saw Christian hand this envelope to Lily. They're framing me! He has a locked drawer in his office. There's definitely evidence of his wrongdoings in there.

Joe removed the key he'd taken from Christian's office earlier and held it out to Nancy. "Here. See for yourself."

"So, that explains who stole my key as well." Christian snatched the key out of Joe's fingers. "Seems like you have a problem controlling your sticky fingers, Joe."

Joe was speechless as terror filled him. He'd been certain he could prove to Nancy that Christian was up to no good, but the man took everything he said and did and twisted it to suit his own narrative.

Nancy turned her attention to Christian. "I want to see what's in that locked drawer."

"Are you out of mind? You can't be taking this bum seriously," Christian replied.

Nancy shrugged. "I'm asking you to prove your innocence. That's not a problem for you, is it?"

"I shouldn't have to prove anything," Christian yelled.

The silence in the small room grew heavy with the weight of Nancy's anger as she stared Chris down. Joe awkwardly stood to one side and waited to see which of them would give.

"Fine." Christian shrugged. "Let's go. You obviously don't have much faith in me, so I'll show you what's in my drawer."

The trio marched back to the main part of the office and went straight to Christian's desk. Nancy crouched down and unlocked the drawer.

"I really thought you trusted me, Nancy," Christian said. "But I guess I was wrong."

"This is a business affair, Christian," Nancy replied. "Please stop trying to make it personal."

Nancy pulled open the drawer and started searching through the folders stored inside it. Joe glanced over her shoulder. He was certain that she'd pull out the evidence any minute now. After all, there was no way Christian could've covered his tracks when Joe had had the key.

But all of Joe's confidence drained away when Nancy pulled out a small jewelry box instead of damning evidence. He looked on in horror as she opened the box and revealed a diamond engagement ring.

"What is this?" Nancy murmured. "An engagement ring?"

"Bravo, Joe!" Christian sarcastically applauded. "You've ruined all my plans to surprise Nancy. I hope you're happy."

"No." Joe shook his head as he looked into Nancy's eyes. "I was sure he was hiding something!"

Joe reached over and frantically scratched through the drawer's contents. He felt in his bones that he was right about Christian hiding something, and he felt equally certain the evidence was here in this desk!

"That's it, I'm calling the cops," Christian declared.

Joe abandoned his search and watched as Christian swaggered from the office, phone in hand. He turned to Nancy, who was studying him with a hurt look in her eyes.

"Nancy, please... I don't know how he pulled this off, but—"

"Just go away, Joe," Nancy said sadly.

"What? But I'm telling you the truth!" Joe said.

"I don't want to ruin everything, Joe," Nancy replied. "Please, get out of here before the police arrive. You have enough problems."

That cut Joe to the quick, but he couldn't give up so easily. Nancy deserved to know what was going on between Christian and Lily... she needed to believe him so she could see the real danger hiding right under her nose.

"Listen to me, please," Joe pleaded. "Why would I come to work here even after you gave me enough money to survive for months? Why would I return the wallet if I was a thief? You know I've never been a dishonest person. I'm genuinely trying to help you here!"

Nancy frowned and hung her head. "Dishonest? No, but you once promised me we'd be together forever Joe, and only a month later, you broke up with me and disappeared. I believed in you then but your actions proved to me that I shouldn't have been so trusting."

"I did that to protect you!" Joe reached for Nancy but then thought better of it and tucked his hands into his pockets instead. "The company my Dad worked for went under, and my family lost everything. I knew I wouldn't be able to give you all the things I'd promised or even attend the same college as you anymore. I didn't want to drag you down with me, Nancy."

"You really had such little faith in me and the love we shared?" Tears glittered in Nancy's eyes.

"That's not it, I just couldn't—"

Nancy cut Joe off with a sharp gesture. "Just leave, Joe. Go away."

"I won't abandon you again! Do you really think this is for you?" Joe gestured to the ring in Nancy's hands. "Christian is lying to you."

"I asked you to go!" Nancy pointed at the door as the tears rolled down her cheeks. "Get out of this office, and get away from me!"

Joe fought to contain his frustration, but it was clear that nothing he said to Nancy would convince her that he was telling the truth. As much as he wanted to help her and protect her from Christian's schemes, all his good intentions would come to naught if she refused to believe him.

He reluctantly turned and left the office. Without hard evidence, Nancy wouldn't see that he was trying to help her. So, he'd just have to get the evidence she needed.

"I want him out of here in five minutes, max!" Christian snarled into his phone. "Where the hell is that creep now, anyway?"

Nancy took a deep breath and walked up behind Christian. This entire day had turned from wonderful to terrible far faster than she could've imagined, and she just wanted it to be over now.

"I kicked Joe out," Nancy told Christian.

"What! Are you out of your mind? He needs to be arrested!" Christian replied.

"I'm so tired, Christian." Nancy sighed. "I'm delighted about your gift, but so much has happened today, and it feels like one more bad thing will just ruin everything. So, I'm going to head home and make us a great dinner. Cooking always helps me relax."

Christian's angry expression softened into a warm smile. "Okay, honey. I'll see you at home."

Nancy smiled and walked away. Soon, all of this drama would be over.

An hour later, Christian took the elevator down to the underground parking level and strode toward his car. He was running a bit late because he'd seized the opportunity to have a 'special meeting' with Lily after most of the other staff left.

Christian's footsteps echoed through the mostly empty parking area. As he approached his Lexus, Joe stepped out from a nearby pillar and blocked his path.

"Stay away from me," Christian warned him. "There are cameras all over this parking lot. And don't even think—"

"You didn't think I'd find this, did you?" Joe pulled out a slim folder from behind his back and raised it into the air. "I'll give you a chance to come clean, Christian, but if you don't, then I'll send these files to Nancy."

"You have nothing on me." Christian chuckled. "What is this?"

"It's all the information you were hiding in your drawer." Joe looked him dead in the eye. "All your dirty secrets are about to come to light, and there's nothing you can do to stop it."

"How did you do this?" Christian asked as he stared at the folder in Joe's hand.

Joe shook his head. "Your only concern here, Christian, is whether or not you're going to take this opportunity to do the right thing and confess to Nancy."

Christian didn't bother to contain his smile. Joe must've thought he was very clever to come up with this trick, but it was still just a trick. In fact, Christian was willing to bet that there was nothing in that folder but blank pages the bum had stolen from the copy machine.

"You think you're so smart, don't you, Joe? You should get an award," Christian raised his briefcase and unlatched it, "an award for being the biggest idiot in the city. Did you really think you could blackmail me with fake documents?"

Christian pulled out the portable hard drive from his briefcase. "Now I understand why you have to eat from dumpsters. You're so stupid; you thought I was keeping my dirty accounting on paper instead of digitally. Wow!"

"You have no idea how stupid you are, Christian."

Nancy's voice echoed through the parking lot. Christian's heart fell as he watched her step out from behind a different pillar with her phone in one hand.

"What did you say you have on that hard drive, Christian?" Nancy's heels clicked against the concrete floor as she stalked toward him.

"Honey, it's not what you think." Christian gave Nancy his most charming smile. "I was just...winding Joe up! It's nothing—"

Nancy shook her head. "I finally got it right this time. You were trying to frame Joe, just like he said, and I know why, too. You want to take the firm away from me. And as if that wasn't bad enough, you've been cheating on me with Lily!"

"That's not true, honey, nothing that bum says—"

"I did my own investigating, Christian," Nancy snapped. "Part of which included placing a camera in your office. I saw everything you and Lily got up to before you left, and I saw you take that hard drive and put it in your briefcase."

The wail of police sirens froze Christian in his place. He stared at Nancy, hoping there was still some way he could convince her that this was all a big misunderstanding, but the look on her face told him he wouldn't be so lucky.

"That's right, be quiet now, Christian," Nancy said. "Everything that comes out of your mouth is a lie, and I don't want to hear any more of it."

In desperation, Christian turned to run. However, the cops were right there and closing in on him.

"Is this the man?" One of the police officers called out as he hurried toward Christian.

"Yes, that's him!" Nancy yelled. "And I believe you'll find all the evidence you need on the portable hard drive stored in his briefcase!"

Christian looked the police officer dead in the eye and dodged to the side. He sprinted flat out as he headed for the parking lot exit. If he could just get out onto the street, he could dump the hard drive down the nearest manhole and destroy the evidence.

A hard tackle from behind sent Christian to the floor. The breath was knocked from his body, and his briefcase flew out of his hands.

"You're under arrest!" The police officer declared as he folded Christian's arms back and cuffed his wrists.

"Nancy, I'm so sorry about all of this," Joe said as he turned to face Nancy.

Nancy frowned and gently shook her head. "No, Joe, I'm the one who should apologize..."

"What are you talking about? You gave me a job and, with it, a chance to get back on my feet." He smiled at her. "Even after all these years, you were willing to believe in me."

Nancy shrugged one shoulder. "And yet, it seems like I don't know people at all. I doubted you because of the way things ended between us even though you were always good to me, and I believed in Christian, even though there were so many warning signs in his behavior."

"Don't blame yourself for having a good heart and believing in the best of people, Nancy. Most people wouldn't have given me the time of day, even if they recognized me. They think all homeless people are on the street because they're lazy and that because someone is homeless, they're also useless. But you're better than that, and I'll always be grateful for it."

Nancy grinned and pulled Joe into a tight embrace.

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If you enjoyed this story, here's another one: Wealthy businessman Larry is watching a news report on a bomb threat in Paris when a beggar runs into the reporter. He instantly recognizes the beggar as his wife, Susan, who stole $500,000 from him and disappeared 12 years ago. He leaves for Paris immediately to find her and get answers. Read the full story here.

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