No Easy Money

For Rick Gaines, a middle-age businessman who finds himself unemployed, the rules he’s always obeyed no longer apply. No Easy Money is a story that, in the opinion of one reader, resonates with such comedies as The Office, Modern Family and 30 Rock. Using elements found in such novels as The World According to Garp by John Irving, this novel uses its humorous, wacky and sometimes pathetic characters to illustrate the irony of everyday life both in and outside of the workplace, .


Rick Gaines is the Human Resources Director for a retail electronics store. One of the people he hired, Binny Jenkins, is an impulsive computer wizard. He sends a prank email to the wife of one of the company’s executives and is dismissed. Rick losses his position as well, due to the politics of the situation. He cannot find another job. Binny offers to let him participate in his scheme to rob a bank using his considerable computer skills. At first Rick declines, but after several weeks of a job seekers frustration, he decides to join Binny.

The computer they use to infiltrate the bank’s system belongs to an outside bank consultant. He donates it to Morgan Town Elementary School before the thieves can erase the incriminating evidence it contains. The computer is being used in the classroom of Sara Simpson, a dedicated young teacher prone to pratfalls. Through a series of unlikely events she comes under suspicion when the bank officials locate the machine. Rick is overcome by guilt, and attempts to exonerate her without giving up his ill-gotten gains.