Marcus saw nothing wrong with Nathan asking for more money. After all, William clearly didn't lack funds, and twenty grand was simply too low. Any man, even if he couldn't sue, would feel insulted. Especially in Los Angeles. With the cost of living here, that money wouldn't last long.
However, he could also see that the "way" Nathan was negotiating with William wasn't smart. There were better ways to handle this, better ways to negotiate. It was too easy for him to let anger consume him, clouding his judgment.
'Well, his anger is understandable from his perspective.' Marcus got it.
[New Quest (Minor Quest)]
That sudden quest notification was unexpected—and it was even a minor quest. Marcus excused himself from his father and went to the kitchen. He quickly tapped the notification panel and read the new quest.
[Minor Quest: Help your father receive better divorce compensation. (Time limit: 1 week). Reward: 10 points.]
Marcus rubbed his chin thoughtfully. 'Honestly, I didn't really want to meddle with my father asking for more money. At most, I'd just give him some suggestions. But this quest changed my mind.' He smiled.
After reading the quest, he headed back to the dining room to see his father wasting himself with alcohol.
Seeing his 'father' consume alcohol like that without care, he sat down and decided to have a talk to fulfill the quest. "Dad, did you speak to the other party calmly and negotiate peacefully about the payment?"
Nathan looked at him, his eyes clearly tired, as if he'd been defeated by the world. "I can never talk peacefully with William, or any of those sons of bitches he sends to negotiate."
Marcus expected such an answer. Nathan was a fellow who was hard to move, and his pride definitely wouldn't allow him to talk calmly to the other party.
"Is that so?" Marcus said, looking as if it was a shame. "I even have 'ideas' on how to get more out of William."
The chugging Nathan stopped abruptly, his eyes turning to him. He gulped his drink and after a burp, releasing the smell of alcohol, he asked, "You have ideas?"
Marcus just nodded quietly, not giving much information. It seemed he would only speak when Nathan asked for it.
"Come on, boy. If you have something to say, just say it." Nathan pressed, his curiosity getting the better of him.
A faint smile of victory flashed across Marcus's lips. His plan worked. "Well, Dad. If you want the other party to willingly accept your demands, make sure you have leverage against them."
It was basic wisdom he'd learned from his previous life, but even if it was basic, it was easily overlooked.
And it looked like he was selling it well because Nathan seemed invested.
"Leverage, huh." Nathan's eyes flashed with curiosity. "Tell me about your ideas."
Maybe the alcohol was kicking in and he didn't care anymore, or maybe he was genuinely interested—Marcus couldn't tell.
"Since William is your 'old friend', then you should know a lot about him." Marcus's mind raced with the plan. "Like, where does he work, is his reputation there good or bad, whether he cares about it, etc."
Nathan looked at Marcus strangely for a long five seconds before saying incredulously, "Come on. Why does that matter? How will that help me get better compensation?"
Marcus scratched the back of his head. 'It seems Dad's intelligence is affected by the alcohol—he's not getting it.'
Either way, he was patient. "Well, let's just say it's going to be important." He added, "So... does William have a company or a high-profile job?"
Nathan furrowed his brows, looking confused. "Yeah. That damn son of a bitch is an executive producer for that mainstream network, UBA."
Hearing "UBA," Marcus was more than surprised. 'UBA. Or United Broadcast America. One of the mainstream networks in the USA.'
That network definitely didn't exist in his previous life—but in this one, it was a thriving major network. It was kind of unexpected that his mother had managed to land an "executive producer" from that network.
An executive producer was top brass in a mainstream network, or in any major company for that matter. So he could understand now why Nathan was so angry about a mere twenty grand compensation.
"So... now that you know what that bastard does, what else can we do?" Nathan slurred drunkenly.
Marcus pinched his nose at the alcohol smell. He wasn't unfamiliar with drunk people, but it was strangely uncomfortable for his current body. "Dad, don't you get it? If he's an executive producer at a mainstream network like UBA, we can use that to make him agree to your demands."
His father just nodded, his eyelids drooping. "So... we blackmail him?"
Marcus's eyes turned serious. "I gotta be honest with you, Dad. This state has no-fault divorce, and it's not William divorcing you—Marianna is. So William has no obligation to pay you at all. Actually, it's a sign of goodwill that he's even willing to pay."
Nathan grew frustrated. "Goodwill? Hmph. Are you saying I need to be grateful!?" He scoffed.
"That's not what I mean." Marcus raised his hands in surrender.
"Then what!?" Nathan pressed. "Just don't mess with me and tell me what you have in mind."
Marcus sighed. "What I'm trying to say is—we need to show how the affair has impacted us negatively." He continued, "We say that William's affair with your wife is causing damages—your mental health, your work, and your son's mental health, which is me. We get receipts to prove it and present them to him. And if he doesn't agree, you tell him you'll go to a rival network and tell everyone about it."
"That gives me an idea." Nathan's eyes lit up. He stood dizzily, stumbling. "Why go through all that trouble? I'll just call that bastard and threaten him—"
Marcus saw Nathan walking off and immediately rushed to stop him. "Easy, easy, Dad."
"Why are you stopping me? You're the one who gave me this idea!" Nathan drunkenly tried to push him away, but Marcus held him.
"Hey, let's take it easy." Marcus felt helpless. "It's not that simple. If you do that, we have no leverage."
Nathan finally stopped struggling and sat on the floor with a thud. "What am I supposed to do?"
Marcus sighed in relief. "Like I said before, if you just go and threaten him like that, we can't tell for sure if William would even care. Maybe he'll encourage it since this is a no-fault state." He continued, "But by providing proof of the affair's impact—proof that he caused it—we can frame it as demanding 'fair compensation.'"
"And you know how TV networks work. Ratings are everything. A story about William House, an executive producer, ruining a family's life? That's definitely going to attract attention. Even if it doesn't ruin his career, it's leverage. After all, you have nothing more to lose, unlike him. William has everything to lose."
Nathan might have been drunk, but he had to admit his son made sense. "I see. And if I do that, a lot of people will care about my story and it'll damage his reputation? So he'll have no choice but to agree to my demands..."
"Exactly." Marcus said with relief. 'Fortunately, the old man understood.'
He thought the [Minor Quest] would be completed, but he waited—no notification came.
'No way. Do I have to help this old dude all the way to the end? I need to show actual results—that he got more compensation—for the reward?' Marcus already felt exhausted, but he didn't complain. 'Well, for 10 Points, I'll do it.'
"Tomorrow, we should document the impact—get actual therapy and so on—so you can get better compensation from the affair." Marcus said, rubbing his eyes. "But for now, I need to sleep. You should too, Dad."
Nathan didn't move, grinning there like an idiot. "Hehehe, I'll definitely get a hundred grand from that shitty man."
Marcus shook his head and headed to his room. He gained a few points from making his bed and other tasks, then collapsed onto it like a dead man.
---
The next morning came in a flash, with birds chirping cheerfully outside. Marcus woke to the sound and sunlight streaming through the window slits.
He left the bed, made it to gain points, and left the room while yawning. "I'm so thirsty." He headed to the refrigerator for some water.
There, in the dining room, he saw his dad sleeping with his head on the dining table.
Seeing this made Marcus shake his head repeatedly. "Oh man. That mental health thing was something I exaggerated to get William to agree to the demands, but seeing this, I don't think it's over the top."
He drank his water and poked his dad. Nathan was hard to wake, but after some poking and calling his name, he finally stirred.
Nathan looked at Marcus and complained, "You better have a good reason for waking me—"
"You're sleeping on the table." Marcus said bluntly.
Nathan froze. He flinched and looked at the "bed" he was laying on, realizing it was the dining table. He immediately sat up, embarrassed. "God. Did I drink too much last night?"
Marcus sighed. "Yes, you did." He pointed at the floor. "There are about three bottles here and you chugged them all."
Nathan looked, then felt dizzy. "I remember."
Marcus then asked, "Do you also remember our talk last night?"
"Talk?" Nathan seemed confused as he tried to remember. His memory was fuzzy, but he managed to recall it. He felt ridiculous for discussing such things with his son, but either way, it had really helped him.
"Today is when we start documenting the negative effects caused by the affair." Marcus reminded him.
Nathan looked up. "Actually, I already have some paperwork showing I've been going to therapy. So no need."
Marcus pointed at himself. "What about me?"
Nathan waved his hand dismissively. "Don't worry about it. Mine is enough. You've helped me plenty." Then he added, albeit hesitantly, looking at Marcus: "I know how incompetent I've been as a man, bringing you into this kind of situation. It's humiliating for me to stoop this low."
Marcus was quiet. This was going to be a deep talk, he could tell.
"But I promise you, when I manage to make a good movie—we won't have to suffer like this anymore." Nathan looked at Marcus, but quickly averted his eyes, as if too ashamed.
Marcus could see that. 'I might not have been a father in my previous life, but I can understand how low a father must feel when his son sees him in this condition.'
He had to admit Nathan was pitiful.
"Anyway, it's Saturday today, so..." Nathan shifted the subject. "How about I show you around my studio? I know, since you were a kid, you've been curious about filming and all. Very curious about my work."
He said hesitantly, almost shyly, "We... we can hang out..."
Marcus looked at Nathan deeply. He couldn't help but smile. 'This old dude is trying to be a good father.'
"Of course. I've wanted to see your studio for a while now." Marcus said.
He could tell the original Marcus had actually admired his father a lot—it was obvious from the casual diary the original Marcus had left behind.
Yes, Nathan and Marianna weren't parents to be admired, but despite that, the original Marcus had loved them deeply and was hurt seeing them fight. That's why the original Marcus, with his parents unaware, had actually left this world due to stress—allowing the current Marcus to replace his soul in this body.