Colin's posts

Hal just shrugged, and chuckled.

"I don't sleep." he laughed. "Well, I mean I DO, but... it doesn't do much for me. It's more a de-stress and decompress session." he went on. "It won't hurt me at all to have that interrupted slightly." he assured her.

"So. Friday, then? Works for me." he told her. "You just let me know when you want to leave, and I shall be there to travel with you." he continued.

He then paused again, before shaking his head slightly.

"...you are the inheritor of the company..." he mumbled. "It never occurs to me that you are the daughter of Mariana Niell." he commented further, turning around in his chair.

"This is quite the interesting development, to understate it." he went on.

"How are you feeling about this all?"

Hal just sighed quietly.

"I see." he said. "Well, then I shall trust your judgement." he told her. "If we can use mana to get there, then I can clear my schedule and we can be there as early at this Friday." he informed her further.

"If that works for you, I shall clear all of that day." he went on.

"I assume you'd like to get this done bright and early?" he asked.

"And shall we depart from here, or from your own domicile?" he asked further.

"We shall do this all on YOUR preferences, after all."

Hal brought his hands together in front of him, and pondered for a moment. He seemed to be thinking about it intensely for a few seconds, as he looked over to the calendar on the nearby wall, and then 'woke up' his computer, checking his schedule.

"Hmmm." he mumbled.

"Depends." he said to her. "How do you want to go about the trip?" he asked. "if you wish to use mana to get there, I am free anytime between the day after tomorrow, and the first half of next week." he continued. "If you wish to leave a paper trail, then we're looking at needing a few days to do so, and the week after next is when I can confidently allocate time for that." he stated.

"So, what say you?" he asked.

"Are we doing this the convenient way, or the safer way?" he asked further. "Either one is fine with me, you're the one calling the shots, seeing as this your business, literally and figuratively." he reasoned.

"I'll clear my schedule when I know the time frame we're working with."

And now Hal was stunned at what he had just heard. So much so, he was silent for close to a full 5 seconds, before he shook his head lightly, cleared his throat, and looked at her.

"...I'm not sure what's more unbelievable." he said. "The fact that you are the inheritor of said company, of the fact that your brother left it to you in turn." he said further.

"Because the implications of you owning that company are... staggering." he went on.

"Firstly, I'm assuming you JUST found this out?" he then asked.

"Secondly, what sort of business help are you requesting?" he asked further. "Anything in specific, or do you wish me to just make sure there are no trap holes or the like?"

Hal paused for a moment, taking in all she said. He knew her brother was dead, was told of it long ago. Her mother leaving a company to him was news to him, as he never really cared about such things involving the man.... but her comment about his suit being a modified version of her mother's designs was what caught him truly off-guard, and he was pondering it.

"I... ah..." he stammered.

"For starters, yes, it IS a modification from its original." he told her.

"I loved the colour and the overall feel, but... too many unnecessary bells and whistles, fashion-wise, for what I needed it for." he said further. "So, I had Zeke tailor it up a little. Or down. Depending on viewpoint." he explained.

"But... your mother's design?" he then asked.

Hal looked at the bottle of wine, and raised an eyebrow as he lifted it up into his hands and looked it over.

"...well, then." he said. "This is some fine wine, to understate it." he commented. "Why such a lavish gift out of nowhere?" he inquired.

"Jaden's mother gave us some bottles, but we're not big on it." Desiree stated honestly. "So we need to get rid of them, preferably to someone who would appreciate them, but even if not, that's fine as well." she explained.

"Well, you certainly found one that WILL appreciate it." Hal told her. "Hollie and I will definitely enjoy this later." he assured her further. "Thank you." he added, setting the bottle off to the side.

"Also, I apologise for not touching on how you said that I should stop by there." he then apologised. "Admittedly, I was a little distracted when I replied, and thinking about it, I could have easily gone there." he sighed. "But... nothing for that now." he lamented.

"Anyway, to business, both figuratively and seemingly literally." he then said.

"You said you require some business advice. Regarding what?" he asked her.

She was left to wonder for close to 10 minutes, when she felt her phone buzz, and heard the notification tone. She checked it, and saw that it was a response from the one she had sent the email to.

Greetings,

Apologies for the delay in this response, was in the middle of a quarterly business meeting. Thankfully, it was near the tail end, but I digress.

You say you are in need of some business advice, and I am more than willing to offer it to you, personally. Feel free to show up whenever you have the free time, as you know I shall make time for you. That being said, tomorrow is a busy day for me, but any time today, or any day after tomorrow works nicely for me. Just tell me when to expect you.

Actually, when you receive this, if you like, call me. We can discuss this more fluidly if you like. For now, just tell me where and when you would like this to be discussed.

-Hal Sharp it read.

It was pretty much what she expected, and the ball was in her court now.

"Take as much time as you need." the man responded. "I, sadly, cannot stay for long, I was merely requested to drop the papers off." he told her further, finishing his water and standing up.

He then took a cardholder out of his pocket, produced a business card, and handed it to her.

"Here." he said. "When you feel you have made the proper arrangements, contact me." he said further. "And please do not feel you need to rush this." he then stressed.

"Take all the time you need." he went on.

"If there is nothing else, I must be off." he then finished.

Tobias shook his head.

"Mr. Niell's rationalisations, motives, and reasons are unknown to even us." he lamented. "Whatever his reasons were for this, it seems he took them to the grave..." he went on, before pausing.

"Though THIS may offer some answers." he told her, taking a sealed envelope out of the briefcase, and handing it to her. On it, Desiree saw her name, and writing stating that it was to be opened by her at the time of the reading of his will.

And ONLY her.

"We have scanned it for any sort of tricks or traps or anything." Tobias assured her. "It's been shaken, scanned, tested, the works. All that seems to be in there is a slip of paper, and smaller thicker piece of paper." he finished.

"If you are offering, I will not be so rude as to refuse." Tobias responded. "Just some water please, though." he then said. Desiree nodded and went to the kitchen, getting him a glass of water with ice in it, and bringing it back to him, bringing her own drink as well.

"Thank you." he said to her, taking a small drink, and then setting the glass down, making sure to use a coaster. "And I assure you, Miss McCormick, I am exactly where I am supposed to be." he then assured her, before clearing his throat and looking at the piece of paper. With that, he began to speak.

He quoted the will verbatim, citing everything that needed to be cited, being clear with his enunciation, and although Desiree was no lawyer, herself, she was getting the gist of it. Or, at least... she thought she was. She couldn't have been. Because if what she was understanding was correct, then her brother had left her as the sole inheritor of ALL of his assets, liquid and otherwise. EVERYTHING. No matter how she tried to wrap her mind around it, that is what Tobias was saying... that is what her brother's last will and testament were saying.

Tobias then reached the end of the legal document, cleared his throat once more, and took another drink of water, before looking over towards the woman.

"I realise that this is highly unorthodox, as will readings are extremely rare in this day and age, and normally you would have been called ahead for this, and everything would have been prepared in advance for this, with you meeting myself at our office." he told her. "However, as Mr. Niell's executor of his will, I acted in accordance with his last wishes. And he specifically demanded that there be a will reading, it be done at your domicile, and you were to have no ahead warning of it." he explained. "Eccentric, maybe. But our firm has had stranger requests, I admit." he then added.

"I'm sure you have questions, though." he went on. "Feel free to air them now, as I'm sure this is a little overwhelming." he reasoned.

The man looked to be as professional as one would expect. He was a Caucasian man, standing at about 5'9'', wearing a dark blue business suit with a white dress shirt underneath, and black dress shoes as well. The only thing that really stood out about him was the fact that his black hair had blonde-frosted tips. He looked at her with his light green eyes, before nodding and stepping inside, allowing her to close the door.

"Before we start." Tobias said. "I will require proof that you are who you say you are.' he told her. "If you would be so kind as to present some form of official government I.D, please?" he asked.

Desiree nodded and fetched her health card, birth certificate, and her provincial I.D, handing all three over to the man. He looked them over, seemingly scrutinising every last corner of them, before nodding.

"Very good." he said, handing them back. "Please, let us sit." he told her. She nodded again, and the two made their way to the living room, sitting across from each other, a table in the middle. Once they did so, he set his leather briefcase onto the table, used a special tiny key to unlock both locks on it, and opened it up with a snap. He then produced a piece of paper from within.

"I am here on behalf of Mister Deryck Niell " he informed her, Niell being her and Deryck's mother's maiden name, before she got involved with their father... and after they had split. "This is a rare instance, but upon his insistence, and in accordance with his final wishes, I am here to perform a reading of his last will and testament." he finished.

Jaden thought about it, trying to recall.

"Hmmm." he mumbled. "We've got A-positive, A-negative, B-positive, O-positive, and some AB-positive." he think. "Not sure on the O, though." he then admitted to her. "And as for actual food, I'll just go with a classic standby and get pizza." he told her. "One for you, one for me, and a side of those breadsticks I know you like." he chuckled.

"And then we'll channel surf until we find something to waste time on!" he declared.

For the next while, time seemed to move slowly for Desiree. She was a little on the paranoid side, always looking over her shoulder when she went out, and nobody was finding ANYTHING in terms of a plot that Deryck had in motion. Nothing. But nobody had any idea as to how long-term Deryck would be planning, which didn't allow Desiree to relax at all while she went on. At times, Jaden was scared she would become a recluse, but the thought of perhaps that was Deryck's plan of revenge for her caused her to not be like that. Barely.

7 months had passed with her like this, and at the moment, Jaden was out getting some things for them. Specifically, he was getting some liquid sustenance for them, as they were getting pretty low. However, he would also be gone for a night or two, as he needed to help his mother out with something for the Triad. It was rare, but not unheard of... and it meant she was home alone for the next couple of days.

She was pacing a little, wondering what to do with herself, when the comm by the door buzzed, causing her to jump slightly. Someone was at the entrance to the building, and wished to contact her. She cleared her throat, forced herself to calm down slightly, and made her way to the speaker, pushing the button to allow communication.

"Yes?" she asked, almost hesitantly.

"Am I speaking to Desiree McCormick?" a male voice responded.

"Yes..." Desiree responded nervously.

"My name is Tobias Conroy, of the Conroy-Knox law firm." the man introduced himself. Desiree knew that name, but only because her friend Kalin was a lawyer. And she knew that the name of the person and firm checked out. They were a VERY reputable firm, and Kalin had nothing but positive things to say about them. In the 100+ years they operated, from one generation passing it down to the next, they were a firm that anyone could and would trust.

"I have some documents for you, Miss McCormick." he added.

Jaden silently sighed, before getting closer and wrapping an arm around her, pulling her closer to him. When he did, he smiled a little and gently kissed her on the cheek, before thinking about it.

"Tell you what." he said. "For tonight, let's just relax." he suggested. "After all, this will be your first night home in a week or so." he said further. "So let's just chill, maybe watch a movie or something." he suggested.

"And we'll order in." he told her further.

"Whatever you want, from wherever you want." he offered. "Seriously. You name it." he went on. "Sky's the limit, whatever you want that you think might help you feel better." he continued.

"Feel like having anything in particular?" he asked her.

Jaden was a bit stunned at her response. To him, it seemed only natural that he would care as he did, and he was about to say it... before he realised and remembered that Desiree had spent a lot of her life with that being rare for her. At the very least, her early life was spent with that being a rarity, so it meant she appreciated it FAR more as an adult, now what she had it.

So he just smiled in response.

"You're welcome." he said. "I know you feel the same way about me." he went on. "And how I feel isn't going to be changing for a long... LONG time." he promised her.

"I love you, and I just want what's best for you. Or at least, I want to do the very best I can to make things all right in your world." he told her. "Failing that, I'll always try my damndest to get as close as I can." he added sincerely.

"For now... you're safe here. In this apartment. With me. Right now." he then said.

"So just concentrate on that. We'll take it one day at a time."