"You need my help?" I repeated, confused as I sat down on the edge of the bed, "Out of all the people you could have called, why did you choose me?"
"Because you owe me," Priscilla stressed, her voice coming out high-strung and tense, "You said that if I helped you destroy Preston, that I wouldn't be caught in the crossfire!"
"I assume this has something to do with the fact that your husband vanished in the wind," I replied calmly.
"H-how did you know?" Priscilla stammered.
"Because the police came to my restaurant and demanded that I go down to the station and answer their questions," I answered dismissively, "They thought I might have something to do with his disappearance, but if you want my two cents on he probably saw the shit storm coming after him once his little assassination attempt on me failed and his lackey Samson grew a conscious and decide to confess to everything."
Priscilla let out a frustrated groan that sounded just as spoiled as she was, "Well, thanks to that idiot, the police have frozen all of Preston's accounts and are looking to seize all of his assets for fraud and damages! Do you know what that means!?"
"That all of the people and businesses he's wronged will finally get some modicum of justice," I replied in a deadpan as Priscilla continued to whine.
"W-well, yes, b-but I meant what happens to me!" Priscilla stressed, "I might end up with nothing, completely broke, destitute."
I suppressed a sigh, "I highly doubt that. Surely you have something in your own name, some inheritance from your parents if they're dead?"
"I-I do, but it's all these trusts and stocks, and bonds, and I don't know the first thing about how to handle all of that stuff!" Priscilla sobbed, on the verge of tears.
"So let me get this straight," I muttered with a sigh and a pinch of my brow, "You're not really broke, it's just the fact that you don't wanna go through all the hassle of managing the millions of dollars worth of assets you inherited and just have lying around?"
"Yes!" Priscilla exclaimed, "I'm so glad you understand. When do you think you could come over and do all the files and paperwork?! You must be good with all of that stuff if you were able to find out everything Preston was doing with the scholarship fund."
For a moment, I was in stunned disbelief not only at Priscilla's spoiled attitude but the jump in logic she made to assume I would be able to handle something as complex as a multimillion-dollar will and trust.
However, her assumption just happened to pay off, and I just happened to have a bit of a conscience despite her horrendous personality, "Fine, I'm free in the afternoon. I can take a look at what you have and see if there's anything I can do."
I heard Priscilla let out a relieved sigh, "Oh, what a relief, tell me when you're ready to come over.."
Priscilla then hung up on me without so much as a thank you, leaving me with the dial tone ringing in my ear and a serious regret about agreeing to help her. 'She is lucky that the system is seemingly on her side.'
[SimQuest: Paperwork]
Objective(s): Help Priscilla Northwest get her affairs in order and prevent her from having to worry about the consequences of her actions for the first time in her life.
Reward(s):
1. +2 Skill Points
2. +25 Relationship with Priscilla Northwest
I dismissed the screen with a shake of my head, wondering what the hell I had agreed to, 'The skill points may not even be worth it.'
Refusing to think about the situation any further, I stood up and walked back downstairs and saw that Ashe was by the sink furiously whisking a bowl, "Whatca making?"
"Nothing," Ashe muttered after a quick pause.
I sniffed the air and noted the distinct smell of char. "Are you sure you're not trying to make another batch of eggs after you managed to burn the ones I trusted you to finish cooking?"
"No," Ashe quickly replied, though she still didn't turn around.
I let out a small chuckle and walked over, "Come on, give me the bowl."
Ashe sighed but handed over the eggs, "You had the heat so low, so I thought I'd turn it up a little."
"Low heat is the trick to good scrambled eggs," I corrected softly, "That way they don't come out like hard, dried-out curds. But I do appreciate you trying to fix your mistake."
Ashe rubbed her arm, clearly not knowing what to do with the genuine compliment, "So, who was the call from?"
"Priscilla Northwest," I replied, letting Ashe switch topics.
"As in Preston's wife," Ashe asked in disbelief, sounding like she wanted to spit at the sound of his name, "Why the hell is she calling you?"
"Because I convinced her to divorce Preston before the son of a bitch decided to drop off the face of the earth. She made it sound like she was about to go broke, but it turns out she just didn't want to deal with the process of having to liquidate some of her assets."
"So you agreed to help her out?" Ashe asked incredulously, raising a brow, "And just how exactly did you convince her to divorce her husband?"
"May or may not have slept with her," I admitted, "But I did kinda say that she wouldn't be caught in the crossfire if she helped me fuck with her husband, so I kinda owe it to her."
"One of these days you'll learn not to stick your dick in every hole with a pretty face," Ashe muttered with an unimpressed grunt.
"But look where it's gotten me so far," I replied with a sly smile and a wink, making Ashe roll her eyes, "All I know is that these better be the best damn eggs in town."
"I wouldn't be nearly this confident if they weren't."
---
"Ah, good you're here!" Priscilla cheered as she stepped back and fully opened the door, letting me step inside, "I was wondering if you were going to keep me waiting."
"No, I would never do that," I muttered insincerely underneath my breath, "Though you could have told me I wouldn't be going to your house in advance. I had to stop for gas while driving across town."
"Well, after those police tore up the mansion, it wasn't suitable for us to live in, so we've been staying here, quaint, isn't it?" Priscilla asked as she turned around and started to walk further into the house, and I inevitably followed her.
"Quaint isn't the word I would use," I replied as I looked around the luxurious interior of the beachfront property, "Also, who is 'us'?"
"My daughter and I," Priscilla answered with a exacebarted sigh, "That girl has been absolutely impossible to deal with ever since Preston disappeared, all she does is mope and complain about having her credit card canceled, mind you, she refuses to get a job."
'So the apple doesn't fall far from the tree,' I thought while fighting the urge to voice my inner monologue, "Well, that's somewhat understandable, but I can't help with anything that isn't food or paperwork. Speaking of which, where is all your paperwork we've walked past like six rooms at this point?"
"Oh, they're right in here," Priscilla said as we reached a pair of double doors that she flung open to reveal a scene straight out of every accountant's worst nightmare, "Now I can't remember what ended up where, but I'm pretty sure that these are all the documents I was given after my parents passed away."
I stared, dumbfounded, at the several stacks of thick, heavy organizers sitting atop the large oak table that took up the room. "Are any of these labeled?"
Priscilla laughed a bit nervously, "I-I don't think so, but it shouldn't take you too long to sort through-"
"Mom, the pool heater's on the fritz again, the water is ice cold!" A bratty and unfortunately familiar voice called out, and Priscilla and I looked over as Pacifica stepped into the main hallway wearing a neon pink bikini top and a sheer towl warped around her waist, "This is why I said we should have gone to stay at the four season-"
Pacifica stopped mid-whine as she realized that her mother wasn't the only one in the house, and after a second, I watched her eyes go from confusion to clarity, to spite in a matter of seconds, "What the hell is he doing here?!"
'Definitely not worth the two skill points.'