To the best of your ability.

First thing you did was make yourself some coffee. It was super early, but you knew sleep wasn't an option anymore. You looked at your phone to see text after text from your boss. You smiled as you read through them. First he tried figuring out if you were just joking, followed by a series of texts trying to talk you out of it, which then progressed into him cussing you out and promising he'd make sure your career was ruined. You chuckled to yourself as if you'd ever work for that man again...heck...you wouldn't even have to work again. You went and opened the small safe just to check on the ticket. It was still there. Snuggled up against your gun, SSN card, and other important documents. You closed the safe once more and locked it. It was really going to happen.

Five minutes past eight you called Ray and Schuster. You informed them of what had happened and demanded that only Ray or Schuster would do for you. You found yourself soon after talking with Donald Ray, or Don as he **** you to call him. Don actually had previous experience with lottery winnings, though not to this amount. He was of course more than happy to help you every step of the way, and you knew full well it was because he saw you as a nice fat paycheck, but you were more than happy to pay for good services. Don sent you a limo to come to their office in downtown, and soon you were sitting in his office going through every step with him by your side. You found Don to actually be not only professional and knowledgeable, but also in general a fun person.

Soon you had accounts set up with a reputable bank, a full belly of a rather delicious meal curtesy of Don, and everything in place to make that final call to claim the money. When the call was made you didn't even have to talk all that much. Don did everything for you. Within the next week you'd have almost six hundred and fifty million dollars spread across several bank accounts and portfolios. It was almost too easy, and you made a mental note to message the person you'd stolen your plan from and thank them for the sound advice they'd posted. Soon you were back home and laying on your bed. It was pretty late again. The day flew by it seemed like. You also retained the services of Ray and Schuster for your financial needs from here on out as well. Ray was getting a big paycheck out of you, but you were entirely impressed with his firm, and saw no reason not to continue the relationship.

Sleep took you quickly this night. You dreamed of cars and women until you woke up the next morning. Checking your new accounts you weren't surprised to see they hadn't posted your new money yet. It was going to be a long week, but you were confident it would happen. You popped open the news and read that someone had anonymously claimed the lottery. Reading article after article your anonymity remained intact so far it seemed. You were thankful for that. You wondered how long it would take before people caught on, but that got you thinking. What next?

Well, one thing you'd always wanted to do was own your own home. It didn't have to be extravagant or anything, so you started perusing local listings. Then it hit you...why did you have to stay local. You didn't even like the city you were in. It was just not realistic to move in a financial sense, so you remained in place. You wanted to be somewhere where the winter you hated wasn't a thing you had to deal with. You started looking at homes in southern California. You started small, but didn't see the harm of looking at homes that were appealing to you despite the price tag. Then you saw it. The most beautiful home you'd ever laid eyes on...at least in the pictures. It was everything you wanted. Open concept, beautiful scenery around it with neighbors acres away, a pool and hot tub, fully furnished with new appliances. It made your jaw drop literally as you looked at the pictures over and over. It checked every box you'd ever had about a home and then some.

You immediately called and informed them in a week or so you'd be in town, and very much wanted to view it. The realtor was of course happy to show it to you. She seemed very friendly, and you ended up talking with her for a little over half an hour. You'd learned she was thirty five, married and had a nineteen year old daughter just entering college. The math didn't escape you on that one. Her husband was in sales as well, and her name was Marie. You felt a little disappointed that she was married as her voice alone seemed attractive, but maybe she just had a nice voice. A dangerous saleswoman it seemed like. She'd practically had you hooked on the home already and you hadn't even walked through its doors yet. You ended the call letting her know you'd inform her of your plans once they are finalized so an appointment could be set up to view the house.

Now there was not much more to do besides wait. You couldn't buy your airplane tickets or set up a hotel to stay in yet, so you did what you always did with time to waste. You loaded up your favorite games and vegged out smoking the rest of your weed for five days. Then one glorious morning you opened your bank app and the money was there. You immediately sprang into action. You booked yourself a first class ticket, one way, to southern California, and set yourself up in a very nice hotel for one month. You let Marie know you were going to be in town, and she agreed to show you the home in two days. Soon you were in the air enjoying a glass of champagne with a rather nice meal. You hummed to yourself as you listened to music from your earbuds. You felt reborn almost as the plane landed and you made your way to your hotel late at night.

Settling into the hotel you fell asleep. The next morning you realized you were wearing jeans and a t-shirt, your shoes were falling apart, you had a five year old cell phone that barely held a charge, and a fake Rolex watch on your wrist. It was time to do some shopping.