PROLOGUE    The saleswoman eyed the young man warily. She hated it when these young slackers came in and pawed the expensive jewelry. She had been waiting on the unkempt young man for some time, and had watched many possible sales be taken by other clerks in the shop. She was rapidly losing patience.    Jason Dowler III inspected each watch carefully. He looked at them under the lights, tried the clasps, he put each one on his wrist to see how it looked on an arm. He asked the saleswoman to try on the ladies watches so he could get an idea how the watch looked on a woman's arm. He was meticulous, much to the chagrin of the woman behind the counter. With each request for another watch, she became more impatient.    Finally he stood back and folded his arms across his chest. His brow furrowed as he pondered his purchase. The sales person was nearly beside herself now. There was more than a hundred thousand dollars worth of watches on the counter, Rolexes, Chopards, and other top dollar timepieces, this child couldn't afford the cheapest one here she thought. She began drumming her fingers on the counter, making it clear that she was at the end of her rope with this charade.    Jason Dowler sighed. "Okay," he said, "I think that will do it for today."    "Very good sir." The saleswoman's response carried all the sarcasm she could muster. The store manager had been watching this go on for some time. She knew he was disappointed that she hadn't sent the young man packing earlier on. She was sure this would cost her the raise she had been in line for. Angrily she began putting the watches back in the case.    Jason put his hand on the clerk's arm. "No, no" he said, "I'll take them."    "I beg your pardon," she replied incredulously, "Did you say you wanted one of these?"    "No mam, not one of them, all of them." This was the point in a purchase Jason Dowler loved the best, the shock and the attempt to recover.    "I'm sorry, did you say 'All of them'?" The saleswoman's heart was skipping a beat. She took another quick inventory of the young man at the counter. Maybe early thirties...blue jeans...henley style shirt...nike shoes...messy hair, she had been in retail for 20 years and could spot unassuming wealth at 50 paces. This was something else, a robbery maybe? Her heart skipped again.    Now the store manager was at the counter. Jason Dowler explained again that he wanted all the watches, they were gifts for some co-workers after a successful business venture. He enjoyed watching the store personel try and size him up, it was the same dance each time, just different dancers. And now the really fun part. He had to decide which method of payment would shock them the most. By the time the purchase was completed, Jason Dowler figured the sales woman would need a week off to recuperate. He strolled back to his car grinning from ear to ear. last page  |  table of contents  |  next page