When the lawyer's mom is a bookie.
“So you just break the law, in plain view? In a public space?”
“I am an entrepreneur working in a collaborative workspace,” said Glory, before shifting gears. “Come on. I’m an old, fat, black woman. Nobody pays me any mind. In fact, most people don’t even think I have a mind of my own, let alone that I’m someone who’s capable of thinking and doing for herself.”
Delphine’s shoulders softened. “I know things have not been easy for you, especially over the past few years. But this is too dangerous. You could get into legal trouble, and I don’t want to even think about what one of these lunatics on the bad end of a wager might do if they can’t pay you.”
“Look, things are different nowadays,” Glory explained. “There’s online gambling. My customers like a personal touch. They can’t work a computer. Or don’t have the minimums they make you put up on the internet. Or they don’t want a paper trail. I’m proud to report the local bookie has not been outsourced to the internet.”
"And what happens when someone can’t pay up?”
“That is rare, and when it does happen, I tap into my freelance network.”
“You mean freelance muscle?”
“I’m not big enough to employ someone full-time, so yes, freelance. They get a cut of what they bring in.”
- from Glory Be by Danielle Arceneaux