"Are you dying?"
Quentin had expected something like this as soon as he saw that it was Darius calling.
"No, I'm not dying. I'm taking a day off, which I am entitled to by law."
"For the first time in six years, out of nowhere, you take a day off."
"Yes."
"Why?"
"Personal reasons."
"What's going on with you?"
"Nothing. Did you call me for a reason, or just to be annoying."
"I'm checking up on you, asshole. Because I'm your friend."
"Well, I appreciate it but there's no need for concern. I just… I realized I'm never home. I want to spend some time with my brothers ." Quentin was only half lying. He did want to spend time with his brothers. Darius was quiet for a moment.
"I've got you, brother. Turn your phone off. I'll handle anything that comes up."
"Thanks, D. I'll see you tomorrow."
"You can have tomorrow off too if you want. We'll make it work."
"No, it's alright. I just need the day."
"Alright. Oh, but text Alisa too. She's worried about you."
"Why?"
"Because you're being weird, dude. We've known you for over a decade, and we both care about you. If you need something, we'll always back you up."
"Thanks. Later, D"
"Later, Q."
Quentin ended the call. He was going home and it would be nice if his brothers were home, but that wasn't his real plan. He had things to do that he didn't want associated with his work computer.
He specialized in finance, but he'd studied tech for long enough to have made some powerful connections. He was going to figure out whatever it was that Em wasn't telling him.
He parked his car in his usual spot and went up to his room without greeting Mattice. He needed to get this done first, and then he would say hi to her. His suite was the furthest one from the staircase, and occupied a little less than half of the second floor. He stepped into his home office and threw his briefcase on the couch. Then he reached into his desk drawer and pulled out a burner phone.
"I need a full history of Emilia Day."
"...Which Emilia Day?"
"Emilia Day who works at Novatech. She's like 5 '5, brown hair?"
"Quentin, is that you?"
"...How did you know?"
"Actual criminals use a voice changer, and they don't tell me about their target's hair color."
"Oh."
"If you need a favor, you could have just texted me."
"Well, I didn't want to associate myself with you in a traceable way."
"What did you think was going to happen?"
"The government could put me on a watchlist."
"... Yeah, okay." Dev scoffed. "Emilia Day, born 2000, working at Novatech since February this year."
"Yes! That's her! Did you find her file?"
"No, you dipshit. I googled her." Quentin huffed.
"I could have done that. I wanted you to find out something deeper than that. There's something that happened that really affected her."
"I think the surface level stuff is already pretty depressing. You're looking for something worse?"
"Worse than what?"
"...You haven't googled her?"
"...No."
"Well, you do that. I'm gonna run a quick check anyway, just for you."
Quentin sat down at his desk and searched 'Emilia Day'. That brought up several hundred people, so he tried 'Emilia Day Novatech'. It brought up her linkedin page. Novatech was the only job she had listed. She said that she had graduated from Hum City University, and it said she graduated from HCPS's gifted high school program in 2019. So she was local, then. She grew up in the city like he did. Out of curiosity, he googled 'Emilia Day Hum City South Side'.
There were a few newer results, random mentions she got in high school and college pages, but the vast majority of the results were about a car accident in 2015 that left 3 dead. Mother, father, and daughter, survived by an older sister who was at home at the time of the accident.
Quentin scrolled through article after article, trying to piece together what had actually happened. Very little was said about the circumstances of the accident. No word on who was at fault or even the occupants of the other vehicle. As far as he could tell, it was completely random.
He couldn't imagine what that was like. He recalled the day he lost his mother. At least, on that day, he'd had his brothers with him. To have lost everyone like that… It was brutal.
Quentin spent a lot of time missing his mother. He had gone to therapy while he was in college, much to his father's chagrin. He'd always seen it as this massive loss. He couldn't imagine… he just couldn't imagine.
"Oh, shit." Dev said, breaking him out of his stupor.
"What?" Quentin said, picking up his phone.
"I mean, it's nothing too crazy. It's just…wow."
"What?!"
"Apparently your lady is in a ton of debt. Like, three hundred thousand dollars."
"Woah." That was a lot of money for most people. The average salary was what, eighty thousand? "How did that happen?"
"Not quite sure, but it seems medical. It's currently owned by something called Acute Healthcare Systems."
"Send me the info. And let me know if you find anything else." Quentin cut the call. What was his next move?
He would get rid of the debt, of course. The only question was how. She would probably be embarrassed if she knew, so he had to make it seem innocuous. Actually the best outcome would be her believing that she had paid it off herself. That would be nearly impossible to accomplish. These sort of debt collection agencies existed to keep their victims paying out for as long as possible. It would be best for him to acquire the company as soon as possible and change their management style.
He wasn't sure what Em's salary was. He'd never bothered to check. He would adjust the interest on her loan, without getting rid of it entirely, so she'd be able to cover the monthly payments easily within her salary. In a year or so it would be gone entirely, and she would have no idea he had interfered.
How long had she been on her own? Out in the world with no one to rely on? No one to take care of her. Quentin felt certain at that moment that they were supposed to meet. They were destined to come together. He'd never believed in fate before, but the feeling he had for Em could make him believe anything. She possessed his every waking thought and haunted his dreams. She was the most incredible person he had ever met, and she was so strong to have survived everything she did. She wouldn't have to on her own anymore. Quentin would never let her suffer, and he would never let her go.