Chapter 21 - Defining Undue Influence

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"Undue Influence is a legal term referring to an imbalance of power within a business relationship, usually between two people," Leslie read under her breath (in the vain hope that speaking aloud would make sense of the legalese). "The more powerful individual of the two is able to sway the decisions of the other, using this to persuade the less powerful individual into making decisions which may not benefit them. This power imbalance can be caused by differences in social class or education, and in some cases, emotional manipulation is used."

Already a cloud of confusion was forming behind her eyes, and Leslie put the phone down beside her soggy cereal.

She was trying to find a way out of this contract. So far today, Alastor made himself scarce, and she used the time to search for a solution. Leslie expected him to make some excuse to swing by and justify his actions, but apparently not. Perhaps he had business to attend to elsewhere.

In terms of ending the contract, Leslie didn't know whether or not to play it by the book, since deal-making Alastor most likely didn't. It would be satisfying, though, to find a loophole in his hitherto watertight agreement. It was worth investigating what grounds she had for breaking it off.

Her first idea was breach of contract, since Alastor bit Leslie harder than any reasonable person would want. The problem was, again, that Leslie never stipulated what 'soft biting' was to her, or what kind of biting was unacceptable. Alastor would argue he was using his best judgment, based on her unclear wording.

Could she force him to rewrite the contract, to clear up any confusion? According to the internet, the answer was no, unless both of them agreed to make changes. Sorry, Les! Should've thought about that before you signed!

Was it an illegal contract, then? Not insomuch as Leslie was forced to let him play with her. Alastor included the ability to withdraw consent at any time, 'excepting the final date' for himself. Effectively, Leslie could refuse every rendezvous until the eve of the extermination; that would solve the problem, were it not for the wiggle-room he'd written in, that one other clause... Either party could be persuaded. Leslie sat with that for a while and considered what it might mean. The mileage in such persuasion was potentially endless.

No. If she was getting out of this, it'd have to be a clean break. Undue influence. Alastor took advantage of Leslie's crush, and worked her into a lather before giving his hand to shake.

As her phone complained of a low battery, Leslie realized this research was merely notional. She was not a lawyer, and he knew it. In fact, there was no criminal justice system here, unless you thought of Hell as one giant prison to begin with. Nobody was around to enforce the law.

Leslie hoped she was able to reason with Alastor.

"You know, I once had a girl who'd go sex-mad when she got a yeast infection?" said a demon seated nearby.

"No way," said his friend.

"Yeah. Said she liked to scratch two itches at once."

The demons broke into grossed-out laughter, and Leslie abandoned her food for good.

o - o - o - o - o

Ten minutes before work, she approached the front desk, holding her paycheck from last night. Husk noticed her coming and raised an eyebrow, then turned to the computer he kept on a countertop behind the bar. Leslie had the check in hand, ready.

"Here's yer receipt," Husk said, proffering a slip of paper. "And don't do it like that next time, 'kay? Niffty throws out anythin' she can't clean."

Leslie stood there dumbly. "Sorry, what? I'm here to settle my bill."

"You already did."

"What? No, I didn't."

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