Hey, Big Spender . . .

Ricky enjoys the best life has to offer – and with his good looks and charm, living it up usually isn’t difficult at all.

- Catherine Young

JUST a starter, Sir?” The waiter raised his eyebrows in a perfect arch of scorn as he wrote down Ricky’s order. “Nothing else?”

“That’s correct. I’m not terribly hungry. A starter will be fine, thank you very much.” Ricky’s cheeks flamed crimson under the man’s obvious disapproval.

“And will Sir be requiring the wine list?”

“No, thanks.” Ricky flushed redder still. Rub it in, why don’t you? he thought irritably. Make Sir feel like a complete loser for not being able to afford any of your overpriced plonk! “Just a mineral water, please.”

“Very good, Sir.” As the toffee-nosed headwaiter turned and strode away, the superior expression on his face revealed exactly what he was thinking: last of the big spenders, eh?

Ricky seethed. He hated people looking down on him. Being penniless was a humiliating state, and fortunately not one Ricky had experienced too often. But times were hard and even the most skilled of conmen were finding the going tough these days. Ways of making money without working were getting harder and harder to find.

Still, there was one get-rich-quick method that never failed. And luckily for Ricky, it was his speciality. All he had to do was find himself a nice wealthy woman, use his legendary good looks and smooth patter to charm her socks off, and before you could say “sugar mommy” he’d be enjoying a taste of the good life!

He wouldn’t stay with her for long, of course. Just a few weeks of unbridled luxury and then he’d move on, the way he always did. He usually liked to slip away while the lady in question was sleeping soundly. That way he got the chance to help himself to a few trinkets on the way out. Hey, a man’s got to survive in this tough old world!