Casey
Where are we with the Bonano story?
Vera
Just adding the finishing touches.
Casey
I needed it like yesterday.
Vera
You always need it then ;)
Casey
You’re terrible with deadlines.
Vera
The good stories take time.
Casey
What did you dig up?
Vera
Oh, just that his assistant wasn’t the first time…
Vera
He cheated on his wife.
Vera
His wife’s best friend.
Vera
She was only nineteen.
Vera
And he’s a frontrunner for city council.
Casey
Not after we get this up on the site.
Vera
I was thinking of calling it:
Vera
“Unpeeled: Bonano’s Banana Exposed”
Casey
Hey. I have another story I thought you might be interested in...
Casey
How would you like to bring down another alpha male loser?
Vera
Is that like my thing now?
Vera
What about my story on campaign kick-backs?
Casey
We do local gossip. Look, you’ll still be making a difference.
Casey
This guy makes Bonano look like a feminist icon.
Casey
Some guy who runs something on women called “The Burn Game.”
Vera
Burn Game? He isn’t dangerous, is he?
Casey
Just with emotions.
Casey
Apparently, he helps wealthy men get their exes back after they’ve been dumped.
Vera
How wealthy are we talking?
Casey
Like six figures on up.
Vera
So rich entitled D-bags?
Casey
Entitled enough to pay a guy to manipulate women.
Casey
He dates them and then breaks their hearts so badly they just slink back to their ex-boyfriends.
Casey
Apparently he’s very good at it because his track record is superb.
Casey
Most of these guys end up marrying these women.
Casey
So you’ll take the story?
Vera
First off, these women are pathetic.
Vera
They let some guy play with their emotions and then they just crawl back to their exes?
Casey
You can’t be serious?
Vera
How many dates does it take him to run this “Burn Game?”
Casey
My source says four or five.
Vera
So in four or five dates these women fall for him so hard their self-esteem is forever destroyed?
Casey
So you don’t think it would work on you?
Vera
Absolutely not. I’d see right through it.
Casey
According to my source this guy is a force of nature. Irresistible.
Vera
Does he have a name?
Casey
My source was uncomfortable going that far…
Vera
So how would I find him?
Casey
You’re an investigative journalist. You can figure it out.
Vera
If I do this, the next story has to be on something important. Something big.
Casey
This is important! Don’t you want to stop this guy?
Casey
What if he was dating your little sister?
Vera
I don’t have a little sister.
Vera
Ok. I’m kind of angry.
Casey
So you’ll look into it?
Vera
Fine. Just know, if any guy tried to pull some game on me.
Vera
He would be the one to burn, not me.
Casey
You know, Vera. I believe you.
Vera
You’d better. Cause I’m going to bring this guy down.
Unknown
My friend Ellison gave me this number.
Unknown
He said you helped him with a problem.
Topher
How is Ellison? Still on his honeymoon in Turks and Caicos?
Unknown
Just got back. That’s how I got this number.
Topher
My services don’t come cheap, Graham.
Graham
Money’s not a problem.
Topher
It never is with you guys.
Graham
How do I know you’ll deliver?
Topher
Less then six months ago your friend Ellison was living with his parents after the love of his life dumped him for some East Village bohemian idiot.
Topher
Now he just returned with her from his honeymoon in Turks and Caicos.
Graham
So you can help me?
Topher
Depends. What happened?
Graham
Sort of. She needs space.
Topher
So she dumped you.
Topher
Give you a reason?
Graham
I wasn’t the “one.”
Topher
Lol. The one… She’s a romantic. This is going to be easy.
Graham
Easy? I don’t think you know how stubborn she is.
Topher
Romantics are always easy. They fall the hardest.
Graham
Ok. So how does this work?
Topher
I have a name for it. I call it “The Burn Game.”
Topher
Step one - meet by accident.
Graham
How are you going to manage that?
Topher
You’re going to give me a list of all the places she likes to go to.
Topher
Meeting by “accident” gives it a flair of the “meant to be.” Women like that.
Topher
I get her digits, then I take her out on the first date.
Topher
Turns out I’m into all the things she’s into, same music, TV shows, politics.
Topher
All stuff you’ll tell me ahead of time.
Topher
Date #2. I take her somewhere special, maybe a fancy restaurant, turns out we can’t get in.
Topher
I pretend to improvise, she sees how fun-loving I am.
Topher
Date #3. My place. She sees my stuff, pictures of my family, starts to understand me as a person.
Topher
Then a friend calls, an ex-lover, needs a shoulder to cry on. I take it.
Graham
I feel like that’s just going to piss her off.
Topher
That’s the point. She sees what a caring guy I am AND she’s jealous.
Topher
She’s got all kind of emotions.
Topher
Date #4. Its getting serious. I confess that I’ve never felt this way about someone before.
Topher
She feels the same way. We go back to her place.
Graham
I’m not paying you to sleep with my girlfriend!!!
Topher
Relax, Graham. Eye on the prize. Turks and Caicos.
Topher
The next morning, she wakes up and I’m gone. She texts and calls - No response.
Topher
That’s the point. I agree to meet up. Somewhere public. Then I let her have it.
Topher
I tell her how needy she is and all the little annoying things she does and how I could never be with someone like her.
Topher
She runs away in tears.
Graham
God. Really? Is that necessary???
Topher
Yes, Graham. You want her back, right?
Topher
We give it two or three days and you come knocking.
Topher
All the sudden, you look pretty good. Sweet, caring, willing to forgiver her.
Topher
Within a week you’re back together, in two months you’re engaged.
Graham
This will really work?
Topher
Works every time. She gets burned and you get her back :-)
Graham
All right. I’m in.
Topher
Great. What’s her name anyway?
Graham
Veronica. But everyone calls her Vera.
