A Charitable Scandal

The Last Task

I arrived early to the restaurant to make sure everything was set up to Quinto's specifications. Music was low and relaxing; wine had been pulled up from the cellars, ready to be served; and the table settings were lush and inviting. Alec came not long after I arrived and together we double and triple checked everything for our high-class guests.

I stood just a little behind Alec as he greeted the attendees, giving everyone a polite nod and a warm welcome as they entered. Well, everyone except Tamara, who looked absolutely disdainful upon the arm of the handsome son of Mr. Quinto. Fortunately, neither of us had any need to interact that night. In fact, I planned to stay as far away from her as possible. If she were to draw near, she may just pick up on my plan.

The night started off with light refreshments. Many of the guests lounged on some of the sofas by the open bar, while others remained standing and at the ready to snatch up the best hors d'oeuvres brought out by the waitstaff. I found Mr. Quinto, his family, and Tamara gravitating towards those sitting comfortably, while the remainder chatted amongst themselves by the bar. Those were the ones I needed to hone in on.

I headed over, introduced myself and once I established my rather low status in the company, the air between myself and the guests diminished. I discovered that most of them were significant others of the real moneymakers in the relationship. Not to say they didn't have respectable work, but they tended to resemble the common everyday man and woman more so than their other halves. I realized that this may have been why the Quintos seemed uninterested in working that particular side of the room, but it was perfect for me.

An amiable bunch, they tried to welcome me into their conversation by directing it towards my field of knowledge. Mainly the upcoming gala — which they were all excited about attending — and the charity. I answered truthfully, though they weren't asking the right questions to push me into telling the unfortunate truth. Until finally, the wife of a prominent lawyer brought up something she had heard from her husband.

"Charles tells me that he's a bit worried about this charity getting off the ground," said Natalie Laycome with a concerned pout. "He wanted to offer his services to the cause and help the charity with their legal paperwork, but he says that Quinto rejected him."

She scoffed at the very notion and paused for dramatic effect. The others responded with sympathizing shakes of their heads.

"So he decided to look into the registration for the charity to see who Quinto went with since his generous offer was declined. And well, he found real shoddy work in that registration and no one's name on it to point the finger at." She then looked to me, placing a bejeweled hand on mine. "You have to tell me who Quinto is using because I think the poor man may be getting robbed."

It was like the whole world had just been handed to me on a silver platter. I didn't even know where to begin. It also didn't help that now that I stood on the edge of the cliff, staring down into the canyon I had been determined to throw myself into, my heart was pounding.

"It's funny," I said with an uneasy smile. "It's funny you should mention robbery. In fact that's exactly what is happening with this charity."

I felt almost giddy. Giddy with fear and exhilaration. Adrenaline pumped through me, silencing all sense of self preservation that was screaming at me to shut up. But, soon that burden would all be off my shoulders and free to wreak havoc on the world.

"I'm not sure I follow dear," said Mrs. Laycome as she withdrew her hand in order to tap her lip with confusion.

"You see, what I mean is..."

"What she means is that Mr. Quinto robbed your husband of a real opportunity to do good in this community. Which is what they are discussing right now."