90210 Hustle

Beverly Hills is a fairly swanky neighborhood you wouldn’t think you’d run into a criminal in that hood. It seems that nowadays they lurk in every nook and cranny of the city, don’t they?  I walked past this nice looking man sitting on one of the lounge chairs at my favorite BH ‘bean’.  I noticed him because it was close to 6pm, dusk had set in, and he still had his Persols disguising his eyes.  He was dressed in Polo it suited him and he easily fit into the Westside coffee crowd. I ordered my drink and proceeded to the patio for a little creative writing time between meetings.

I settled into my seat, sipped my latte and began busily clicking away at the laptop keys minding my own business.  About forty-five minutes into my artistic flow there was a sidewalk sound up, “excuse me, miss”.  I didn’t respond or turn around to see where the voice was coming from; I was focused and didn’t want to make eye contact with the person trying to interrupt my stream of consciousness. I hadn’t noticed that it was the sun-glassed gentleman who had alighted from his seat to smoke a ciggy. “Those are a great pair of shoes” he commented. Great pick up line! He got me. “Not many women can rock that pair of shoes, but you are doin it”.  Okay, I’m in, what else do you got for me. He launched into a platitude of praise.  He told me “I am a fine looking woman” and that he is looking for  “a wife”. He told me he wanted to have children and he’s got a year and a half to find the right girl. He was spewing what he believed every red blooded American girl wanted to hear.  Then he laid out the bonus, he told me he was an A-list actor who had appeared on many shows including CSI and 24, though I’d never heard of him or seen him.  I’m not a “24” devotee I had no reason to disbelieve him. Perhaps he was a regular on the show. I was buying into his story. But then he went deeper.

He launched into a diatribe about how shallow people from Beverly Hills are, that he and his male friends “who make over $100,000 a year” are a group of good honest Midwest guys. They are great “catches” and can score any girl they want. He and his friends sit at this very bean watching the world of fake Bev hills women walk by, but he flattered me with being the real deal. This is getting a little over the top.  He started to layer his story with how hard he works on the set, showed me his “real” Bulgari watch, how we’d enjoy our special dinner table at Maestro’s because they all know him by his first name there and if that weren’t enough there’d be a shopping spree at Tiffany’s, where they also know him by his first name. WOW. I think he thinks I’m impressed but I’m more than a little leery at this point.  I also started wondering if he was truly a “star” why he was working so hard to get my number. The next snippet of boasts included how devoted he was to his grandmother, the Caribbean vacation he sent her on, her million dollar home he purchased for her in Oprah’s Chicago neighborhood and the $23,000 earrings she received for her birthday. He’s beginning to sound like the LA people he just chastised 15 minutes earlier.  And I am pretty sure the b/s has escalated beyond believability.

I tried to politely get away when the conversation turned creepily sexual. It was overdue for my get away. Not sure why this guy did this, but he wouldn’t let me leave without giving me his name and phone number, his REAL name and number. He walked along side me as I headed toward my car and I could tell he was getting anxious. He repeatedly asked me to give him my number, “don’t let a good guy get away,” he urged. I told him I would call him from my car to placate him then made a conscious effort to shake his hand at the bottom of the parking lot staircase.  I absolutely did not want this man to see my car. I didn’t want to upset him either because you never know how crazy people can be. I noticed that he got a little jittery as we parted ways. The whole incident struck me as creepy and weird.

When I got home I googled the name he gave me and BAM! First listing up was an out of state warrant for his arrest.  How did I know he was a criminal? I didn’t. But my radar was sharp and I knew something was not right.

How can you know if you are being played and how do you protect yourself?

Here are a few tips.

1. When a stranger approaches you, don’t leave with him alone.  Always stay in plain sight of lots of people.
2. If you are not interested in the guy, try to politely brush off the interloper as quickly as possible.
3. If the guy persists in bothering you get up and walk away. Engage the barista’s or servers to support you. If all else fails have them phone authorities.
4. Whether you think you are interested in the guy or not, never give any man you don’t know your name and number. Let him give you his name and number. You be in control.
5. If you think you are interested in a guy who’s hitting on you, look him up.  It’s always a good idea to do a little homework. There has been a load of concern over the invasive nature of the Internet, but as you can see, in this case it was a wealth of valuable information.

Unfortunately, there are a lot of shady people everywhere. Be smart and keep safe. As I always tell my daughters, you take care of you first, because you are the most important person in your life!