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I let out a sarcastic sneer. “I wish I had known that at the time.”
Bryce reaches for my hand. “I’m going to do my best to reserve my comments until you’re done with your story, but something tells me, you were no match for the charlatan.”
I bite my lower lip. “No, I wasn’t. I’m certain after our first dinner––brainstorming session”––I say in air quotes––“he knew he had a live one. He wanted to know all about my goals. I told him. He assured me he had a solution. I bought it hook, line, and sinker.” I shake my head, trying to break free from the bad memories. “In any case, according to Brad, house flipping is sexy on TV, but the multiplex is where the real money is at. He had a step-by-step system for guaranteed success based on his own portfolio of twelve hundred units in New York State.”
Bryce whistles. “Impressive.”
“I thought God had put into my path a mentor who was going to take me to the next level. Instead, Brad Hyler took me to the cleaners.”
Bryce’s nostrils flare. “Did he show numbers?”
“Yes. I did my due diligence. He had a website at the time with case studies of his properties—the site is gone. He pulled down his YouTube channel that documented his before and after real estate renovations, but I had checked a lot of his videos. He always ended them with a breakdown of cost versus profit. He had far more wins than losses. On paper, he knew what he was doing.”
“His YouTube channel is a thing of the past?”
“Yes.” I confirm. “People downloaded a bunch of his videos and uploaded them on other channels. So, his content is still out there.”
“Good. What does he look like? Any particular characteristics?”
“He’s Late Night with Alwyn Breyer’s doppelgänger.”
“The Scot with curly brown hair and dark brown eyes?”
“Yes. Some say he looks like Danny Ocean, as in Ocean 11, but in my opinion, Alwyn is much more handsome. More rugged.”
“I’ll take your word for it in the ruggedness department. Same for Alwyn’s attractiveness,” he says.
I nod.
Bryce doesn’t need to know one of the reasons Brad was able to pull the wool over my eyes is because for a long time, I had hoped our business relationship could become so much more. He burst that bubble, along with the countless others he deflated.
“How did you fit in? Did you become a trainer?”
“No. Since I had access to listings, Brad wanted me to secure a building. We were going to use it as a training ground by filming the process from acquisition, renovation, management, and crazy profits. The plan was for him to Sell a high-priced package for motivated movers and shakers. His words. Not mine. Students would be getting hands-on coaching-slash-training.”
“How much was he charging?”
“Eighty-five thousand dollars—”
“Jesus Christ! People paid him eighty-five thousand dollars?”
“Yes.”
“Un-fucking-believable.”
“He pushes the idea that you pay attention for what you pay for. When you invest in something that is scary, you’re more likely to be all in. When you get something for free, it’s of little value.”
“That holds true if people aren’t buying into a pipe dream that’s a scam disguised as an opportunity of a lifetime.” Bryce bares his teeth like a wolf that was provoked. “Fucking manipulator.”
“Well said,” I agree. “Part of his hard-core sales pitch was that most people weren’t aware they could get one-hundred percent financing by putting together a solid funding plan to get investors. Multiplex buildings are the ultimate cash cow. Who wouldn’t want in on the action without doing the work?”
“And I have a spectacular ocean view property to sell in Des Moines, Iowa.”
I snicker. “Based on what I’ve witnessed at Brad’s hyped up seminars, a lot of people would be running to the back of the room with their credit cards on fire to buy it off you.”
Bryce shakes his head.
“You have to see it to believe it,” I say. “I once asked Brad how he does it. How does he get people to fork out money like that?”
