It was bordering on trite how often Pearl would wake up with a splitting headache. This was what, four days in a row? She wasn't really counting, but technically the only day she'd woken up without a headache was after the night with Marina a bit ago.
As she slogged her way through her morning routine, the only thing that stopped her from doubling down on her problem by throwing back a can of Nacwin Light was the meeting looming over her later today. As much as she wished she could black out and skip the entire thing, at least mentally, that was a horrible idea in every conceivable way.
Pearl flinched as her phone buzzed. If that was a message from her father, she was going to lose it. The bastard already had her falling over herself about their stupid meeting, she did NOT want to hear a single fucking thing from him until then.
5472-0888 Pearl, Hi!!
Its Marina
Got a new phone
It took a few moments for Pearl to realize that it was Marina texting her. Oh fuck what? She has a phone— well, I guess she just said it right there huh? When did I... Right, I left her one of my stupid business cards that night at the hotel... Something in her felt lighter, knowing Marina kept the card, even though she probably didn't know what it meant at the time.
That only left one question: How the hell do I respond? Her hands hovered over the keyboard, every attempted motion drowned in enough hesitance to kill it completely. 'Hi!'... 'Hey!'... 'What's Up?'... No, not like that... Around and around her mind went, overthinking every single letter she wasn't even typing.
Pearl knew how to talk to people. Text, email, phone calls, video conferences, she had experience with all of it. When it came to matters of business, Pearl could juggle dozens of associates at the same time and not neglect a single one. That was the problem, though, wasn't it? Maybe Pearl was being a bit presumptuous with the thought, but Marina was more than just an associate. She deserved better than the meaningless fluff stapled onto the bookends of every transaction.
This text couldn't just be another client message, no it had to be something better. It had to be Pearl's best tentacle forward. This was her first message to Marina for Tide's sake, there was no room to mess this up. It needed to be clear, but friendly. She was genuinely excited to know that Marina had a phone now, but it was important not to overwhelm the girl. A measured, but thorough, response.
Pearl: Marina, hello! It's a pleasure to hear from you - I was
quite excited when I saw your text! It's great you got a
new phone, welcome to the modern world lol!
There. Totally nailed it. Flawless. That's how normal people write, right?
5472-0888 brand new
at the library
Pam is helping
"Pam? Oh, right, she's the library person." Pearl mused aloud, staring down at her phone like it was a puzzle. It took her a few more seconds to realize that her message had been accepted. I did good? It felt fair to assume so, since Marina sent her a new response. Maybe she wasn't as bad at this as she thought. Now, what does she mean by brand new? The phone? That'd make sense. I guess she's at the library, and Pam's helping her with her new phone. Ah, this is easy! I can totally do this.
Pearl: That's great to hear! New technology can get tricky,
I hope it's all going well.
5472-0888 much to learn
so many things
technology is amazing!
Pearl: Oh, yeah, they can be quite the handful, can't they? The
wonders of modern technology indeed. If you don't mind
me asking, what kind of phone did you get?
5472-0888 Pam says
ConchConnection FlipLyte 3
What the hell brand is that? Pearl quickly tapped over to her browser to look it up. Apparently, they sold a series of low-end flip phones, the ancient kind where you had to hit the buttons several times to get different letters. Damn, I forgot flip phones were even a thing! I haven't seen one since I was like, six or something. Truthfully, the idea that Marina hadn't gotten a smart phone never even occurred to Pearl, but given Marina's finances, it made a good amount of sense. Tides knew if her own phone broke, she'd have to join Marina in the land of relics just to save G.
Pearl: Oh, cool! I used to have a flip phone forever
ago, they made quite the splash when they
first came out. How does it feel?
5472-0888 small, clunky, fragile
I could break this on accident
5472-0888 but I can do so much with it
it is good
5472-0888 once I understand things
and get G
I might try improving it
Pearl blinked a few times, stunned by the deluge of messages. It was quite odd the way Marina broke up her messages. Then again, she does have a flip phone, maybe she has one of those data plans that charges by the letter. SHIT! I should—
Pearl: Does your data plan charge you per message?
5472-0888 No
Unlimited talk and text
what I was told
Then why does she... eh, doesn't really matter.
Driver inbound, estimated arrival 30 minutes.
Shit.
Pearl: Hey Marina, sorry to say but I'm going to have to end this chat early.
I have a meeting that I need to prepare for, and my driver is going to get
here soon. It's been an absolute pleasure to speak with you though! Feel
free to keep in contact, since you have my number!
5472-0888 Alright!
I have work soon too
Text me whenever!
The jovial air around her quickly dissipated as she thought ahead in her day. "Alright Pops, you fucking prick, let's get this over with."
In the foyer, he was waiting. Father stood, hands clasped behind his back, with a perfectly neutral expression. "Pearl, it's nice to see you!" His words were warm and welcoming, but it was impossible not to hear the echoes of formality propping up tone.
Pearl's stomach twisted itself into knots as she walked forward, both from nausea and tension. She didn't let it show— couldn't let it show— not here, not to him. What's the best move here? Try to match his tone? Rip the bandage off? Take it slow?
Ultimately, old habits died hard. "It's a real fucking pleasure." She drawled, dropping her head to the side to give him a glare.
Father sighed, a deep, tired sound. His chiseled features fell in disappointment. "Still on with the aggressive behavior, I see?"
"I'm still on my bullsquid, yeah? You think a few weeks out of the house was going to fix me or some shit?"
"Well, one could hope."
Pearl's glare darkened. "What the fuck do you want."
"Right, no use in wasting time with formalities." He pulled a notepad from his pocket, briefly flipping over the pages before replacing it. "I've caught wind of your... endeavors... from the past few weeks, and—"
"Oh yeah? You disappointed? Impressed?" Her voice was a growl, each taunting word grating against the inside of her skull. Tides her head hurt. "Aren't you so fucking surprised it's going so damn fantastic?"
Several agonizing seconds passed in silence. "Pearl, you and I both know you aren't going about this properly. Only you know if this is some bizarre lapse in judgement, or a deliberate misstep, but regardless, that's where you are."
Just shove it up your ass already. Pearl barely bit the words back in time. She knew better than to interrupt her father once he got like this. Fucking fantastical guilt trip here. 'Woooahhhh that's crazy! Who would have thought I was fucking this up the entire time!! I sure didn't realize! Thanks for pointing that out daddy! I'll go fix everything now!!' Fucking asshole.
"There is no such thing as an untenable position, not truly. Yet, bearing that in mind, it is still quite the predicament you've gotten yourself into." For once, Father's professional facade cracked open just a sliver. A drop of informal, almost casual air colored his behavior as he shifted to smile at her. "Not many paths are open are they? What's left, a few manufacturing plants? Equity firms? Not exactly the top of the pack, and it's not like you're in much of a position to launch anything of your own either, are you?"
"Who the hell said I was trying to launch anything?" Pearl demanded through gritted teeth.
He was dragging this out, making sure she stewed in every aspect of her failure. It didn't matter that she was privy to the trick, the psychological toll of it was still enough to send her spiraling. Priming her embarrassment to be used as a self perpetuating cudgel, intent to knock her back on course. Even the supposed 'break' in professionalism was as much of a calculated move as the rest of his actions. Her father didn't do unintentional things like that.
Father regarded her for a moment, his eyes clear of any intentions yet still making a show of sizing her up. "Let's take a walk," he said, as he stepped towards the door. Pearl didn't have a choice, so she followed.
Staff members ducked into adjoining hallways, rooms, or otherwise made themselves scarce as Father's footsteps echoed down the hallways. They passed through the suddenly deserted hallways with brutal efficiency, never seeing an obvious trace of another person, but Pearl knew just where to look to catch the edges of shoes, or the flashes of uniforms around corners. She silently wished that she was there beside them, hiding just out of sight like she used to as a kid.
Finally, they ended up in a wing dedicated specifically to business affairs. The grand majority of dealings they ever engaged with were handled by dedicated sales reps and lawyers. Almost all of the deals more important than that were handled in the Houzuki Corporation's Inkopolis headquarters. Only a very scant handful, the most lucrative, the most powerful, and the most secretive ever happened here. National leaders, both foreign and domestic, religious leaders, weapons suppliers, peace coalitions; there was no party truly unwelcome to the table so long as they had cash to pay. And now, Pearl was being led down the same hallway she'd once led others.
Like most practical things, the space served a dual purpose. Rows of hand painted portraits hung from the walls, each of their extravagant golden frames meticulously spaced and lined without so much as a speck of dust. The imposing gaze of her ancestry traced her movements, collective centuries of judgement weighing on her shoulders. It was both an exhibit of family history, and an overt intimidation tactic made exceptionally effective against Pearl specifically.
The meeting room itself was very sparsely furnished, designed to be rapidly customizable to accommodate changing every detail, down to the colors of the wall, at a moment's notice. The Staff would reoutfit the room as demanded, according to the guest they would be seeing. Today, it hadn't been set up in the slightest. A large conference table, easily large enough to seat thirty people, had only two chairs, one at the head, and one beside it. A small stack of paper sat between the seats, with a fountain pen beside them.
"You're not meant to be a mere 'cog in the machine' Pearl." Father finally broke the silence, his tone matter of fact, like he was commenting on the weather. "There isn't a board position, office, or buy-in you could ever find that would truly satisfy you. That's the truth— it's just how things are. You are meant to be a leader, a dominator, a Houzuki. There is no being content with 'good enough!' or satisfaction in merely riding to the end. It's in our blood, our very nature as Houzuki. Anything less is suffocating, is it not?"
Pearl didn't answer. She couldn't. The nerve, the audacity, the GALL to accuse her of these feelings. Of this innate, self-serving obsession with power and control. She was afraid if she let her mouth open, she'd scream so loud the walls would come down...
...because he was right. That's why she was here, after all.
"I know you and I don't exactly see eye to eye on many things these days, but Pearl, I don't want you to fail. Quite the opposite, in fact."
Yeah, sure. What's your angle you bastard? She needed him to say something else, pushing a different thread she could attack, something for her to latch onto that wasn't... that.
"Your siblings are all wonderful, each and every one of them are more than capable of revolutionizing the world if they put their minds to it. But you, Pearl, you have something they all lack. Something very few in the world really have at all."
It took everything Pearl had to not turn away right then. She didn't want to hear this. There was no desire for this unwarranted comparison, or this pedestal she was being forced onto against her will. 'Your siblings don't have the same mojo you do, so stop wasting your talents with this petty rebellion, and take your station.'
Pearl's face darkened. Her voice was low, flat, and utterly devoid of any positive emotion. "What. Do. You. Want."
Father finally took his seat at the end of the table. "I am prepared to offer you a loan for 200,000,000 G. I stand by what I said before, that there is no truly untenable position, but it would be remiss to leave you languishing for years and years to rebuild a base to grow from."
Two hundred million G... The room swirled in the corner of her eyes. That was enough to get any possible idea off the ground, so long as she was smart about it. It was a lifeline, a savior. That much money... was a trap of some kind.
"What's the catch?"
"The single stipulation, is that you must, by three years of your signing, either have paid it back in full, or have a verifiable, business expenditure-related reason you have deferred payment. Otherwise, there is no 'catch' with this deal."
"No interest either?"
"None."
She knew he wasn't lying. They were both equally capable of calling foul on the contract if it played dirty, so it saved them both time to avoid the hassle. The loan itself was absurd, if not downright predatory. The deal demanded she not only pay back two hundred million G in just three years, but that she had to do so while actively financing business operations.
But... it was money. Money she more and more desperately needed with every passing day. There was no launching a corporate endeavor from her current position. Her reputation was utterly shot, and her capital was nonexistent. There was not another option if she wanted to live under the Houzuki name.
"And if I fail to make the payments?"
"Then we rip you apart, piece by piece, to reclaim as much of the value as we're able."
It was coercion. A pity play. A predatory offer in a time of crisis. An olive branch. An intimidation tactic. A deal, same as any other. Pearl could see each and every single one of these angles in full, and many, many more on top of them. It was a bad decision, one that had far, far more disastrous consequences than it did rewards, but it was her only way forward.
Pearl knew it, Father knew it too, from the start. This was his answer.
The world dulled as Pearl took her seat, beside him. She collected the pen, and scanned the contract in full. Everything was as he said. With a steady hand, and void in her stomach, Pearl signed her name on the line.